The planning phase

A little background: I currently do all my recordings in an untreated basement room which is very awkwardly shaped and, not to mention, small! I mainly record my own band but have recorded other bands as well. The type of music is mainly rock/alternative. Today! The place where the band and I have been reheasing is 400 square feet on the 2nd of two floors in a unit complex. It is owned by a family member and I am lucky enough to not have to pay any fees as long as we don't push the wrong buttons! The idea has been thrown around many times to turn it into a small project studio and finally we have the OK to go ahead and put the wheels in motion. Requirements The neighbours have come to like the band including the downstairs tennants. They do not complain about the volume. Now if only we were so lucky that they didnt operate loud tools, we wouldnt have to worry about the different layers and thicknesses of insulation! However, it is what it is. Just to get the great minds of this message board to help me out, I have (tried to) draw up a sketchup with a rough layout showing the different rooms we would use. The area on the right is a staircase and the door in the upper right corner leads to the existing bathroom. I know height is important, but I dont have that measurement yet, and a drop ceiling will be part of the construction so I will be taking some physical pictures and taking more accurate measurements tomorrow! Thank you all and hopefully with some help, we can transfer this to the construction forum!

the layout looks decent. I recommend Rod's book on home studio construction to assist you with details on isolation, AC, treatment, electric, er, well pretty much everything to build it properly. this wll be especially important in a building were multiple families live. http://www.amazon.com/Home-Recording-St ... 1598630342

I have Rod's book and I am sure it will be my best friend while constructing the studio. The neighbours are not family, they are other businesses, it is an industrial unit. Now the isolation is going to be a challenge because I was there yesterday and I could hear the people downstairs talking clearly. Gulifo, I was also looking at the space and I tried to visualize the sizes of the rooms and I was thinking that if I eliminated the Isolation booth, I could have a larger rehearsal space. Do you think that I could make better use of the space like that? Thanks, Guy

it depends on what you're trying to achieve in the space... rehearsals, pro recording studio, live acts or isolated tracks, etc... or you can balance things as best you can with the space. maybe a single good isobooth big enough for drums with a wide opening door and then the rest of the space is a single room studio will give you what you need.

Hello, thanks again for the input. I was at the unit today and took accurate measurements. Turns out I have an extra 40 square feet! The space is 22X22. The ceilings will be 9 feet tall. This is an updated sketch of the space with measurements for the stairs. I like the idea you brought up however I have now decided against the second isolation booth and will build an isolation cabinet (4" by 4") in the live room just to help reduce bleed from the drums should I have to record a band live. The plan is to have: a good sized rehearsal/live room where I can jam with the band and record instruments (drums guitars) a comfortable control room which has isolation from the live room a decent sized vocal room to record vocals and guitars The space will be used for two things: Recording- Likely drums bass and guitars all together (drums in live room, guitar in vocal booth (if more than one the iso cab) and the bass direct in) Practicing- in the live room How should I divide the space? Also in the new sketchup, you'll see the windows that line the front of the unit. Will this be a problem even if I build a wall in front of it? Thanks, Guy