Suggestions needed for Control Room shape in Montana Studio

[Aaberg]

Here's a sketch of the room I have to work with for the new studio. It's currently a concrete slab building used as a shop with an apartment attached. Not too many problems, but wondered if I could get some opinions on control room size and placement so I can flesh out the plans. Right now the planned dimensions of the Control Room (CR) in the upper left of the drawing are one of the Golden Section ratios (1X1.6X2.6) It is approximately 8' High, 13' Deep, 18.6' Wide. Currently there is no enclosed room there, but a 6'X13' open alcove. That's why I've brought the space out in those dimensions. Wondering if the effectiveness of this Golden Section is real, or as John Sayers implied, it doesn't matter as long as your CR is stereo symmetrical, big enough, and you treat it with sound modifiers correctly. Any real world experience with Golden Sections?

Helena studio smart draw.jpg

I know the 2 CR windows I've sketched are not symmetrical in terms of reflection, and I guess if I change the shape of the room and position of the desk and speakers, I could make it symmetrical, but lose the Golden Section ratio, as in drawing below. I also lose too much of the Recording Room (RR) for my taste. Any thoughts? The sample corner control room plans by John Sayers would be great, but I'm stuck with the room at lower left. It is an already enclosed hallway between the apartment and the shop/planned studio. Can't afford to tear it out and it also makes for a nice way to enter the Control Room and the Recording Room, a separate entrance to outside, and is also a buffer between studio and apartment.

Helena studio version 2 smart draw.jpg

The building is concrete slab with windows and a garage door I plan to cover with free-standing walls filled with 4" Corning 703 and covered with 1/2" gypsum board/drywall. I record mainly my piano and acoustic instruments, but need to keep neighborhood intermittent traffic sounds out. I've thought of putting a few glass bricks on the new walls to let in light from the existing windows, but was told that filling the air space between the existing and new walls with more fiberglass may help block noise. I've done tons of research for my current studio, so just looking for a few opinions on the forum so I can finalize budget and get to work. Thanks!

[Aaberg]

Found a post from Soundman 2020. He says, " The room MUST be symmetrical for at least the front half: the rear half (behind the mix position) is not so critical."
Never heard that. Really? If so, I have some other options.

[Aaberg]

Guess I'm answering myself here, eh? In another post, Soundman 2020 says, "Yes, keeping the control room room symmetrical is VERY important! Regardless of which design concept you choose, symmetry is critical." So...my question is, does the whole CR have to be symmetrical or just the mixing area?
He references a lot of design theories and recommends reading a lot of literature "In order to design a studio." His implication is "Leave it to the pros." Right? Maybe that's what I should do.

[Soundman2020]

Guess I'm answering myself here, eh?

You seem to be doing fine! Finding the answers in the forum is a great way to learn!

So...my question is, does the whole CR have to be symmetrical or just the mixing area?

symmetry is important for the front part of the room, between the speakers and your head. Behind that, from your head to the back wall, it's good to have symmetry if you can, but it isn't as important as for the front. The rear part of the room should be treating the reflections produced by the front, and dealing with the modal and rear-wall SBIR artifacts, so there's a lot of treatment there to calm things down. If you are using the RFZ criteria, then anything coming back to your ears from the back of the room should be 20 dB down from the direct sound, so far less of a problem for your ears and brain to figure out.

Regarding your layouts: definitely not the first one! A small room should always be oriented so that the speakers are aimed down the longest axis, never the shortest axis. This is to ensure that the stuff that does come back from the rear end of the room is delayed as long as possible before it hits your ears again, ideally it should be considerably longer than the Haas time. Also, your head should be in the front part of the room, ideally around 38% of the distance between the front wall and rear wall.

Your second layout is better, but you should "chop off the corner" in front of an have the wall going diagonally across that "corner", parallel to the front edge of the desk. That layout is often called a "corner control room design", and can work well, but does need a bit of tweaking and fiddling.

one of the Golden Section ratios (1X1.6X2.6)

I'm not sure where you got that from, but it isn't very high on the list of good room ratios! It comes up in 20th place, as "Origin unknown" on one very highly regarded acoustic calculator... It is also not inside the Bolt area, which is a commonly used measure of suitability.... Not so good, I'm afraid!

but was told that filling the air space between the existing and new walls with more fiberglass may help block noise.

it does help... PROVIDED THAT the entire wall is built correctly, as a fully decoupled 2-leaf MSM system. If not, then it won't do much. Insulation on its own does not isolate a room, contrary to popular belief. Most of the sound passes right through.... It only works when used as acoustic damping on the resonances inside the wall.

His implication is "Leave it to the pros." Right? Maybe that's what I should do.

Not necessarily! You really can learn this stuff yourself, if you are inclined to do that, and have the time (it takes months, realistically). On the other hand, if you want your place done quicker and better, then it might be worthwhile hiring someone to design it for you. Especially if it is a commercial facility you are building, and you plan to be charging people for using it!

If you want it to be the best it can be, then hire an experienced designed to do it for you. If you want to learn how to do it yourself, and have plenty of time to do that (months...), then you really could do that. Many forum members have, with good results. As with most things in life, it all boils down to time and money....

- Stuart -

[Aaberg]

Stuart....thanks a million for all the answers! I do have quite a bit of time before the build can start, so will continue to plug away.
The 1X1.6X2.6 ratio mistake is me confusing length with width! Although at some point, an engineer friend who designed a bunch of studios told me it's better to have a wider rather than longer room. Looking at the Bolt chart, however, I see I have better options than the ones I posted.
Another studio owner said I should consider the one-room option, but I think that since I mainly record piano, strings, the occasional percussionist and brass, I should isolate the control room. Little sounds from the computer, hard drives, speakers, power supplies, etc. can stay in the control room where they won't get recorded and at least I know what they are when I mix.
The recording room will also function as a room for small concerts, so I'm trying to get a reasonable space out there for that purpose. I don't intend this to be a facility I'll rent to other artists. It's entirely for my own recordings solo and with others, but I do want it to be as good as I can get it with my budget.
Thanks, again!

[Aaberg]

Helena studio version 5 smart draw.jpg

Your second layout is better, but you should "chop off the corner" in front of an have the wall going diagonally across that "corner", parallel to the front edge of the desk. That layout is often called a "corner control room design", and can work well, but does need a bit of tweaking and fiddling.

Not so good with this drawing program yet, so the symmetry is off, but wanted to get a quick sketch down of your suggestions. Closer? Thanks.

[Soundman2020]

Not so good with this drawing program yet,

Try SketchUp instead: Much better, and it is 3D, which you definitely will need. Sound moves in 3D, so your studio design must also be in 3D.


- Stuart -

[Aaberg]

Yeah....but $695 is a little rich for my blood.

[Soundman2020]

"SketchUp Make" for private use is free. It's only the pro version that you have to pay for.

[Aaberg]

Ah! Thanks.