Some idiot just offered me more for one of my "hand-built" Harley's than anyone in criminal possession of rational sense could possibly turn down...
So, I'm gonna do something I was gonna do a long time ago, and build myself a studio, right here in my house. Well, okay... not exactly "in" my house, but right next to it.
Here's where is gets complicated. Right next to my house are (4) shipping containers (all welded together, and insulated with 9"-12" of spray-in foam insulation) buried under four feet of soil.
The guy I bought the property from was gonna use it as a temperature-stabilized warehouse.
When I got it, it had (10) old cars pushed into it. I sold three of them, to build the Harley I just sold. So, HE actually paid for all of this! I love it when a plan comes together!
"The Cave" is cut into a hillside, that is really just a berm created by piling dirt on top of the containers. It's structurally sound, I had it checked out by engineers. There's a ton of rigid insulation and then almost 6" of steel-reinforced (rebar) concrete sprayed over the top of it...
There are several skylights (okay, about 12) built into the warehouse, that are basically just concrete boxes 5+ feet tall, capped with regular "venting" 4' x 4' skylights. These extend up thru the earth roof.[/color]
The vents are motorized, and "mech operated." You can set them to open or close with a thermostat.
One long side of the box is exposed, with an overhang of about four feet, to provide some shade. In the center, are two big truck doors, that I'll tear out, and replace with an "airlock door" and windows...
The rough measurements are: 32' x 40' x 9'6"
The inside measurements are: 30'6" x 38'6" x 9' with a slab floor that is 12" of steel-reinforced concrete. (He was gonna drive tractors over it.)
It's completely open inside. He used beams, the existing container steel framing, and enough welding rod to build the Eiffel Tower to build one big open space.
Don't get me wrong, I've been in lots of studios, but nothing like this "space." And frankly, as a guitarist, I haven't been as attentive as I should have been, to "the technical bits..." That's what techs, geeks, and ponytails are for, god love 'em...
It's got its puzzles. The inside of the box is solid foam insulation. I mean... solid... in some places a foot thick. Massive skylights all over the place. NO HVAC and just a "wee bit" of power. Except for the bounce off the floors, it's a dead zone.
And then there is actually coming up with the layout. It's only about 1300 square feet.
But I'm thinking with some help, it could be fab.
I'm thinking a control room, an Equipment Room, a nice studio "space," a podcast booth, an ISO booth, and a Piano room (for a Boston GP195 Grand Piano), some kind of "production lounge," and a small bathroom.
It'll be used for writing and producing scores, doing some podcasting and interviews, and other assorted projects, primarily by myself and a few drunken hooligans who call themselves "a guild of guitarists and musical miscreants."
I figure I need to allow for space for no more than about 8-10 musicians at any given time.
What I want to do is build a place where "new talent" can go to record, without suffering the slings and arrows of the "ponytails." As a guitarist, I've had a good run, and it's time to give something back.
I'll do some rough sketches (remember I'm a guitarist, and not an architect or engineer) and then I'm gonna ask for your help and suggestions.
I have about $50-70 grand to spend on the actual building.
I gotta be careful, because at my age, it ain't likely that I'll meet any rich widows (my wife wouldn't like it), and I ain't gonna come into any money from relatives. Heck, I probably won't even get Social Security, cuz' it'll be broke by then!
Some follow-up thoughts for "Man Cave Audio:"
I've thought about doing this for a while now. But, like everybody else, I had to justify the expense. Selling that ride just put me over the top, and with the economy going straight to "you-know-where..." I figure it's "now or never."
I've got a SSL AWS 900+ that's been sitting in a crate for a few years now. Don't ask. I won't tell... Upgrading it to SE won't be that hard.
I've got a Studer A-800 MkIII, and a pair of Akai DPS24's. All trade-outs, both "talent" and "stuff."
I've got enough computers and tools to fill a small bunker, so that's no problem either.
I'm really handy in the workshop, so custom enclosures and "boxes" will be pretty straight-forward.
About the studio;
Not only would it enhance my ability to work at "home," I could open it up to the locals, and take in a intern or two, to help the "educational learning curve."
The hardest part about getting behind that big desk... is getting behind a big desk, in a REAL environment. I know that the schools have cool stuff, but the feeling that "you have to make money or die" just isn't there. It's just not the same.
I already have a bunkhouse, so I can put up several people at a time, to work and record. But, those people better be "olfactory challenged," because frankly, musicians can be a rather smelly lot...
I'm thinking that once it's started going up, I'll bring in an intern or two for the summer, who "lives in..." every year. Maybe even a resident musician or two...
I suppose it makes sense to begin this studio build, by trying to define the spaces needed, both by use, and approximate size.
A Podcasting booth is just a room with a mic and a desk with a tele-prompter, so that's a no brainer - we're talking about a cubicle sized room, that looks into the control room. It'd also double as a "commercial vocals" (as in radio and TV commercials) and "voice-over" booth.
Again, it'd be used enough to dedicate a space to it.
The ISO booth for vocals or a guitar or two... How big is enough? Figure three or four guys (or gals) in there at once, maximum.
But I need a room for professional drum kits, and a grand piano. Anybody got any suggestions about how big those two spaces should be?
The piano gets used daily. The drum kit, almost as often. So, I'd like to make 'em warm and cozy!
The ISO booth for vocals... How big is enough? Figure three or four guys (or gals) in there at once, maximum.
I figure once I carve out these places, I'll know what I have left, for the "main room..."
I have access to as much gear as I need, so that'll come later. What I can't get "because I'm an old 'used to be famous' guy," I'll buy out of a "war chest" that has about $40,000 in it, to date.
I've seen the kind of things you guys can do, and frankly, I want a piece of it. Your talent would make anybody proud!
(How's that for gratuitous praise and the piling on of "butt-kissing and brown-nosin'?")
I need help with this! You have any suggestions? Comments? Sarcasm?
(Remember, I'm old. No "anatomical impossibilities," huh?)
Help an old guy learn new tricks. It's good karma!
And keep this on the "low-low..." Huh? If my wife finds out about it, she'll wanna buy (gasp!) shoes!
Sorry for the lack of "metrics..." and I apologize for the lengthy post...
And... as a footnote, I want to figure out what I want to do, before I go sign a contract to a designer. If I do this right, some brilliant "tech type" here may just end up getting a check from me, for helping figure this mess out!
Lexx
I'm not 100% sure, but I don't recall any other space that tops "four shipping containers welded together deep underground with motorized chimney vents and foot thick solid foam insulation on the walls and ten old cars plus a recently sold Harley inside"! Most of us get to build in highly original places like "basement" or "garage" or "bedroom", but your mundane and rather common space is something else! 
