Well, that's your method of moderating. On this forum, we aren't here to baby-sit, and hold hands. We just don't have time for that. I have a couple of boiler-plate "copy-paste" responses for newbies who forget to fill in their profile. First, a nice one with a gentle reminder. You got that on your first post. Then a second more direct one, for folks who didn't notice the first one. You got that one too. The vast majority of newbies get it on the first try, and the remainder get it on the second try. After that, I'm not interested in playing nice any more. I assume that members who are about to embark on the giant project of building a studio are emotionally stable enough to take a sharp word and deal with it.
People who come here usually just want help, and don't care for being nursed and coddled through their builds: They just want the plain truth and sound advice, and don't care if it comes harshly (especially considering that they know that it comes for free, from some of the most respected studio designers in the world). We don't pull our punches, we are not politically correct, and to be very honest, I really don't give a damn if somebody doesn't like my style of administering the forum and responding to threads. There might be other places that will molly-coddle unhappy newbies, but I don't have the time or the patience for that. If I look at somebody's partial design, and say "That's a terrible way of doing XYZ", I don't expect them to burst into tears and go hide in the corner, or run away! I expect them to handle it like a mature adult man or woman, and say: "OK, thanks. How do I fix that?". Because anyone who can't handle a short, blunt comment like that with no sugar coating is not going to be able to do what it takes to build a studio anyway.
so please take that for whatever you think it's worth.
Now, to answer your questions:
My question for all of you is would this "stepped ceiling" be better for sound than if I went with just a solid ceiling at a lower height?
Very probably, yes. In general, anything you can do to increase the room volume will probably improve the overall acoustics. The rule is simple: Small rooms sound bad. The smaller it is, the worse it sounds. That applies to footprint, and also to height. Especially with drums. Drums always sound better with a higher ceiling. So if you do go this route, be sure to set up your kit under the highest part of the ceiling, not the lowest.
The room dimensions are on the photo/drawing of the room.
Except that the text and numbers on that original photo are not legible.
The solid ceiling would have the single soffit at 84" from the ground and then a ceiling height of 107" for the reminder of the room. If do the stepped ceiling it would be 84" to the soffit, then go out 56" with an 107" ceiling height and then the remainder of the ceiling would be at 117".
Excellent. That's a worthwhile inc erase in height, and volume. 23 inches of extra room height is very good. Use it!
I have read before that not having a perfect box is a good thing when it comes to sound
I've read that too, but the truth is a lot more complicated than that. A perfectly rectangular room can sound fantastic, if done right, while a non-parallel, multi-sided, angled, faceted room can sound disgusting. It's all about volume, angles, dimensions, construction materials, and treatment. There are certain things that treatment can help with a lot, some other things that it can help with a little, and some things that it can do nothing about, at all.
It would be nice if things were all cut and dried, and phrases like "not having a perfect box is a good thing" were always true, but it isn't. Abbey Road, for example: Every single room in the entire building is a "perfect box" (simple rectangle), yet not too many people would say that it's "not a good thing!"
...because I could run the furring channel ...
Furring channel? You are planning on using furring channel? Then how come you don't want to use resilient channel???? The price difference is not all that much... The acoustic difference is night and day!
I was going to do track lighting at 117", then two smaller spot light style lights at 107.
That's fine, as long as nothing penetrates your drywall. No holes for cables, light boxes, switches, etc. Any hole, even a tiny one, will trash your isolation. Use only surface mounted electrical stuff.
I also priced out Roxul and am planning to go with that in the walls and ceiling as it ended up not being as expensive as originally planned.
What density? For that application you need 50 kg/m3 for mineral wool, or 30 kg/m3 for fiberglass. (Ballpark. Not critical, but get close.)
Last thing, does anyone have experience with laminate wood flooring in their practice spaces?
Yes. It is an excellent acoustical surface, and the good quality stuff also wears well. I have done many rooms like that, and it looks good, as well as working well for acoustics. There are many examples of forum members who have done that too. This room, for example, is done with laminated flooring
http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewt ... =2&t=20471 Not just the control room, but all of the rooms. It looks great, and sounds great.
I have read that cork underlayment does help a bit to keep the noise down.
It won't do anything at all to isolate the room with respect to airborne sound. But it will help slightly with impact sound. However, even better than cork is the proper acoustic underlay that is specifically designed for laminate flooring. It is synthetic, not cork. Normal underlay is usually 2 or 3mm thick: Acoustic underlay is usually 5 or 6mm thick. It is soft and a bit spongy to the feel. Usually comes in rolls. Easy to lay, and very effective.
I just want to reiterate that I am not looking for absolute silence outside of the room just bringing it down a few notches to make the rest of the house more comfortable to be in while I'm playing.
Even the best laminate flooring with acoustic underlay is not going to take out the impact noise of a drum kit completely. You might want to consider building a drum riser that further isolates your kit form the actual floor.
- Stuart -
