Composing Room From Scratch

Hi all. After being a silent observer and active reader for a while I'm finally daring to make a post. I'm a full-time composer who mostly writes orchestral music. I've got a stand-alone shed in the back of my yard that I'm planning on tearing down in the very near future and rebuilding a studio that measures 27x27 feet. Hopefully (haha) everything will be finished by the end of this year. Other than a control room (which is actually my "composing" room) we're planning on having a small kitchen/bathroom and storage downstairs with a small bedroom upstairs. There's really no need for a live room, since the only live recording I do is with orchestras in big recording studios and the occasional solo voice (which will be fine in the bedroom with some portable sound panels). I'm planning on spending $70,000 to $100,000 for the construction, (hopefully) including all the acoustic treatment for the control room. I'm in Raleigh, NC, USA in historic downtown. I'll be floating the control room floor as well as all the other recommended techniques on the forum (Golden ratios if applicable, non-parallel walls, room within a room, lots of isolation, multiple HVAC units, etc). I was thinking somewhere in the range of 2/3 of the downstairs space being the control room and the rest dedicated to storage, bathroom and the kitchenette. I'm completely flexible for the ceiling height as well. I know there are MANY factors involved with room dimensions and non-parallel walls push the Golden Ratio past accurate calculations. My overall question, after reading everything I can find on the subject through all the links, "FAQ's," and related articles on the site is this: If I have a 27x27 square foot space and am building from scratch, what would be the ideal dimensions for my control room? hopefully I've provided enough info to make an informed answer. Thanks so much! Jason

jgraves wrote:

I'm planning on spending $70,000 to $100,000 for the construction, (hopefully) including all the acoustic treatment for the control room. I was thinking somewhere in the range of 2/3 of the downstairs space being the control room and the rest dedicated to storage, bathroom and the kitchenette. I'm completely flexible for the ceiling height as well. I know there are MANY factors involved with room dimensions and non-parallel walls push the Golden Ratio past accurate calculations. My overall question, after reading everything I can find on the subject through all the links, "FAQ's," and related articles on the site is this: If I have a 27x27 square foot space and am building from scratch, what would be the ideal dimensions for my control room?

Congratulations on your new studio build! The most important thing I have learned about acoustics, is that the more know, the more I know how little I know (credit to Knightfly for teaching me that). In no logical order here are several points in response to your post. How much will you be doing yourself? $70,000 for 500ft^2 is a very realistic budget, if you are doing much of labour yourself. How high will the ceiling be? The NARAS recommendation is 11' minimum. Having one workspace makes perfect sense. It is good. Assuming for the moment that you will have a 11' ceiling and 500'^2 of space, the ratios of the dimensions are starting to become not that important, because the dimensions are so large that the the range of the effect of the room modes is so low that they are not significant sonically. As long as obvious ratios that are bad like 1:2:3 are avoided, the room will be good, Hah! I answered your question! How comfortable/knowledgeable are you with mathematics? Applied acoustics is very much involved with mathematics. The reason for this is that building a wall, or ceiling, is much more expensive than thinking about it. Keep asking questions. The more you know, the better your studio will be. Once it is finished, can you schedule a visit from a Canadian to see your facility? Infomatively, Andre

500ft^2? What is that Andre? I'm just trying to keep up here...I'm not getting the 500^2 . I am certain once you show me I will retain it forever.

Andre, Thanks for the tips! I can easily go with an 11 or 12 foot ceiling, especially if it makes a big difference in the acoustics. Overall, anything over 400 square feet seems a little silly, especially considering the only real equipment in the room will be my master keyboard, possibly a few outboard synths, and my rackmount Apogee Symphony system and Cranesong monitor system. There's a mixing board, but it's an analog summing board that only takes up a single rackspace. Obviously I'll also have a couch and some built-in bookcases and CD racks (figured they may help disperse the sound) but that's about it. Oh, and LOTS of action figures. :) So I was thinking somewhere between 300 and 400 square feet total, in some sort of rectangle and along the lines of the "basic control room" on the SAE plans page (see below). Fortunately I'll be busy composing as the studio is being built. Unfortunately that means I'll have to pay for the labor. :) That's why I had the 70-100k estimate, assuming labor would be no small part of the total cost. Let me say I am NOT a math guy! Once I start getting really serious I'll need the help of a pro. I'm just trying to get some general ideas of what can go where and how much space I need for my room. That way I'll have an idea of how much space is left and the best way to make use of it. Thanks again! Jason (and you're more than welcome for a visit anytime!)

xSpace - I assumed he meant 500 square feet. Andre, if you meant something else let me know... :) Jason

I got it. 2/3, thats where it came from. 27*27=729 /3=243 *2=486 Thanks.

the 11' ceiling would be nice, it would be even nicer if you go higher but that depends on your build site. some of that would be constrained by choosing the footprint though and 450-500sq ft for just a composition and mix room should be plenty. unless you're planning on isolation booths and/or live room, you can probably skip the sliders and windows (unless you have some outside view to preserve...) depending on your speakers, monitoring levels, etc. would also determine some of the room characteristics (like monitor soffits or not, etc).