Not the first, nor the last basement involved in music:)

Hello. My name is Drib, and i am from Bucharest (Romania;|...i want to set up a small music production place in my basement but i am not certain where to place the main "event" (i.e. the PC & monitors). You can see in the pictures below the size of the basement. Here goes the questions: 1. Where should i place the desk so that i can get the best possible acoustics in this given space ? 2. The ventilation isn't as good as in a normal room so there is a slightly higher level of humidity (however this can be improved) . I know this can damage my gear on the long term. How can i improve the situation ? (isolation & stuff ?) 3. The water meter should be "read" by the water supplier's employees once a month and i wanted to set up the "desk" right in front of it (water meter)....I figured i can find a way to let the man "read" the numbers somehow above or below the desk but keeping the acoustics in mind, is this placement option a good choice ? If yes, i must then change the location of the water meter isn't it ? 4. The basement measures 6 meters in length from the furthest wall (yes the one with the all-mighty water meter:)) to the first stairstep. However....from the first stairstep (lowest one) to the entrance in the basement there is another space of approximately 150 Cm length, and 95 cm wide. Should i add this volume to the "active" (or whatever name it has) space of the room ? 5. Given these facts...which type or which precise model of monitors should i use ? We are talking about a 1000 Euro budget. Thank you in advance, Dribbler.

Ok i see that talk is expensive around here... At least on this subject of mine...Could you at least advise me on the following : KRK or DYNAUDIO or ELSE (for these 20 cubic meters of space of mine)?

I think it's more a case of where to start!! Easy one first -KRK, my opinion only. You'll find them in a lot of studios. I've never had them returned under warrenty or repair. and there just cool. Is this room your only option? Is it water proof down there? is the water meter noisy? In aussie land 185cm is not a legal ceiling height, not sure about you guys. MMMM not sure what to tell you. lil

Phew....thanx for the reply man, i thought this forum was dead. Q: Is this room your only option? A: By GOD YES ! Q: Is it water proof down there? A: Almost...soon YES. Q: is the water meter noisy? A: NO YOUR Statement: In aussie land 185cm is not a legal ceiling height, not sure about you guys. MMMM not sure what to tell you. lil My Answer: I didn't realize that there's such a limit in basements...i can't give you a height-by-law here :P My next 1: Why is KRK over Dynaudio ?

hey, Any habitable room(where people spend time) has legal guide lines. If your only recording your own stuff and not having guest then thats cool. If thats the case I would put the speakers on the long wall. No additional walls, lost of foam!! Or a vocal booth maybe, see skp. Which model dyna audio were you thinking? I hadn't really heard much about them. It's just too narrow and low.

Damn man, thank you for all the drawing...i somehow forgot to mention that i don't want a recording space...only a production space....a desk with 2 montors & stuf....there is just not enough space there ....and i sure as hell don't want my clients to feel as if they are on a sinking submarine...:)) As for the monitors i'm oscilating between: BM6A series (super expensive & very good) and KRK V6 Series 2/ V8 Series 2 (less expensive and stil good)

I'm really shocked at the rise and run on those stairs leading to the basement! :shock: Be careful going up and down those things!! :roll: --Keith :mrgreen:

Aloha and welcome to the forum, Part of the reason why you've not had a lot of responses might be because of this - http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=7572 So, any chance you could resize your pic down to about 700 pixels wide to eliminate having to scroll back & forth, please? Thanks! You may want to fire your speakers down the length of the room.

because you don't want rear reflections to interfere it is better to start with a longer front to back dimension than the side to side dimension. - John Sayers

Most of the acoustic treatments prescribed here on the forum are usually of a fiberglass/mineral wool variety. Take a look at these - http://www.johnlsayers.com/HR/index1.htm Aloha 8)

Oh excuse me about the pic resolution i thought i'd resized it to 640x....1 moment please...there it is exactly 700 x ... Ok...some fellow advised me to place the desk EXACTLY on the corner....so that the reflecting sound would go in an oblique direction rather than perpendicular onto the walls....i am looking forward to learn about the corner placement advantages vs the "LONG" placement advantages...thank you very much for your attention. I shall try to obide your forum rules to have access to your opinions. Drib

Aloha, My apologies, Drib. It appears that the issue was not your fault and has been resolved. Will get back to you on the "corner placement advantages vs the "LONG" placement advantages." Aloha 8)

Up !

In general, you do not want your monitors firing diagonally into the room, in a rectangular room. A good guideline is to measure 38% of the way back on the longest dimension of the room, centered between the 2 side walls.... this will be your "sweet spot". Your mixing chair should go here. Then put the speakers in an equilateral triangle in convenient spaces from that point. Fire your monitors lengthwise into the room, in other words. Then with acoustic treatments you will want to create a RFZ, and put absorption on the back wall. Plus your bass trapping. That's a small space, but you could make it sorta cozy for a production-only room....

X = chair ? Err...RFZ ? http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/1549/38iz0.jpg