Basement studio in West Virginia: build diary

[gullfo]

looks nice!

[britune]

I finally got my Primacoustic Recoil Stabilizers RX5 upfire. They are angled up at 10 degrees which points the tweeters right at my ears. My new open 19" rack is in the back of the photo. I also bought a Focusrite ISA One that is back there.

[britune]

I built my portable gobos (bass traps). I wanted to make two that I could stack in the corner as bass traps, although by putting a small gap between the two sheets of 703, I compromised my bass response some. But I felt I wanted stability more than bass trapping. By putting two 3/4" boards inside, the gobos won't collapse if someone sits on them.

I used all 3/4" x 5.5" pine boards. They cost about $7 for an 8' board. I used 2" thick Owens Corning 703. I bought some material at JoAnn Fabrics to wrap over the 703. I stapled that to the inner frame. I painted the outer frame black. The inner dimensions are 2' x 3'8".

I added speaker stand mounts, so I can put the gobos up high behind a vocalist. I have the Reflexion Filter to go on the other side of the mic.

Since one of my first reflection points in my control room is where my window to the drum room is, I can also stack the gobos in front of the glass when I am mixing. So I think I can get at least three different uses for the gobos.

[britune]

By the way, I think I spent about $120 to make these. I think Primacoustic's (GoTrap Studio Gobo) professionally made version is about $450 each or $900 for two.

Here is the rest of the gobo build...

[britune]

I forgot this one...

[xSpace]

I have heard the saying for years, you only need three items in a tool box.

Duct tape, WD-40 and a hammer.

If it moves, tape it, if it doesn't move put wd-40 on it and if a hammer won't fix it, you must need an electrician

But sitting on your work should make the list since...really, who hasn't done that?


Looks good!

[britune]

My new FAILED SPORTS TEAM song is at this site... http://letsgosteelers.yolasite.com/

My daughters play on the song.
Hannah (12) plays drums
Brooke (15) and Erica (10) sing
I play guitar, bass, and sing.

[rpriggleman]

awesome man did you submit that to WTAE news in Pittsburgh they have some type of a contest going on

[britune]

Thanks! I'll go find that on wtae.com

[Ro]

Great update, those GOBO's (or are they really just absorbers, a GOBO should have a HARD and SOFT face... right?) look pro!
(dunno about the (to me ugly) cloth texture, but hey)
Great work, as always!

[britune]

Maybe I don't understand the definition of "gobo"...

But on the Real Traps website , it looks like they have peices of framed OC703 4-6" thick that make their gobo traps.

On the Ready Traps site, it looks like the same thing.

They all look like bass traps on wheels to me. Maybe I'm missing something.

[gullfo]

some of these?

[lionelmessi123]

I measured exactly the space I am starting with. In the Control Room, there is 19' max by 13'.
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[britune]

I started work on my daughter's album recording before the bass traps are built. You can see drummer Bob Workman in the drum room with bare OC 703 rigid fiberglass piled up against the walls. This did help to deaden the room and minimize the room sound on the recording.

There are also pictures of the piano recording setup where I ran the little bro snake upstairs. I just keep it hid in the HVAC return register when not in use.

I also did a mic shootout for my daughter's vocals. From top left to bottom right: Groove Tubes AM51; Shure SM58; Shure SM5; AKG C414; Neumann BCM705 (dynamic); Rode NT1. The $400 Groove Tubes mic won, over some more expensive competiition. Sometimes the cheaper mic just fits the voice better. The midrange seemed to flatter her voice a little better.

Bass trap builds will be posted next.

[britune]

I finally got around to start building my bass traps. As per Ethan Winer's recommendations, I'm starting in the corners with 4" thick Owens corning 703 panels, so they will absorb bass frequencies almost evenly with mids and highs. Three years ago, I bought 60 2'x4'x2" panels for $360 at Geo. V. Hamilton 412-771-0900 in Pittsburgh, PA. They have been sitting in my basement waiting for this day. I bought 5.5" x 0.75" x 8' boards at Lowes for about $6 each.

I measured the height of my drum room and made the traps almost that tall. I used a drill and jigsaw to cut out the oval holes in the lumber, similar to Jakemans panels. I bought some fabric on sale at Jo Ann Fabrics at the mall and stapled the fabric on. I put some small 2x4 blocks on the bottom as feet to keep them off the floor.

Part 2 is next...