John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum Archive

Hi. I´m Fernando, this is the space that I have to build my recording studio... I was thinking in something like a Control Room & a Recording Room (at the beginning)... The Area has 17m x 9.7m (51.50´x29.40´)

So... the first plan:

Control Room: 6 (l) x 5 (w) x 4 (h) = (18 x 15.1 x 13.1 feets)
Recording Room: 9.3 x 6.4 x 4 = (28.1 x 19.40 x 13.1 feets)

I have a dilema with the ceiling... the high of the old construction has 4 meters (13.1 feets)... and I wanna built my rooms with modal settings... for better frequency response... so... can I down the roof with some acoustical plasterboard and glass wool up the roof?

The construction ubicated in the down corner are already built... the rest is isn´t.

Well... Any, but any ideas is going to be taked!

Excuse me for my bad english!
Thanks a lot!

Fernando Musarra
AWS

Fernando, is this the same project we've been discussing in other threads, or a different one?

And, can you take a hard look at the existing construction and describe it bit by bit, as if you had built it?

Thanks... Steve

Hi Steve!

Yes, it´s the same studio, but this time I was thinking in some new ideas that maybe change my mind about this basic design.

Well... talking about materials... I must say that the only things that are built are the bathrooms (both) and the perímeter. It´s a loft (spanish = galpón?). Either the rec room as the control room aren´t built.

The total surface is 17mx9.7m (rectangular surface)... I want to built a generous rec room, a confortable control room, an isobooth, and a relax space with a mini-bar.

The wall are made of concrete and brick (25 / 30 cm), the ceiling is made of concrete equal to the floor.

There´s a little electrical installation that we´ve to really update, and we´d like to install a tri-phase electricall line (220V for general lights - electricity - 110V for audio equipment - 220 V for studio lights / electricity

Any Ideas?

Thanks a lot!

Fernando Musarra
AWS

Hi Fernando - I have several ideas, but not the time tonight to elaborate. I ran your overall dimensions for modes, and as a single space it looks pretty good except for a slight dip around 25 hZ - of course, you'd not want a single-room studio though.

You already know from my other comments that you're going to need a LOT of bass trapping with all those rigid boundaries, so I would think that one of John's RFZ layouts would be ideal here - the irregular shapes would lend themselves to hiding several traps/absorbers, which is just what you will need.

As to the perimeter walls, they should be sealed tight and furred out with 2-3 layers of paneling on RC (earlier posts, remember?) with 3 lb/cubic foot rockwool in the cavity, and the right kind of caulk applied liberally everywhere, etc.

You may want to check into the cost of 3-phase power - if it's not already close to your location, it could get pretty costly.

Also, keep in mind that I can NOT act as your general contractor, and if you have any access to LOCAL people who've built this type of construction it would be MUCH better for them to help you with all the smaller details - just don't let them talk you into methods of construction unless you run it by us here - I've heard so-called drywall EXPERTS claim you can get good soundproofing by putting RC OVER an existing paneled wall and adding more sheet rock. Yes, that makes it quieter than it was - but nowhere NEAR as quiet as putting that RC directly on the studs and putting ALL THREE layers of board onto the RC, so that you have just one air space. Just one example.

Gotta get up before dawn tomorrow, so that's it for now - please check out John's site and the SAE site for some design ideas that can be adapted to your space, and let me know what YOU think you should do and why - I love a good argument... Steve

“John's RFZ layouts”? What´s that? Here I´ll show you the complete design of the control room… My idea was to put the plasterboards with certain degree inclination (like 12º o 6º - show in red color)… to redirect the sound and void the standing waves.

About the general contractor issue.. sorry if I bother you with my details. It wasn´t my intention to take advantage of your advices!!! Sorry again!

Recently (a few month ago) I visited an “acoustic engineer”… to put price to my project and get some ideas and orientation, the reality was that I cannot afford that cost, so I decided to do it for my own. I´ve some contacts were I can find cheap carpenters and technics, the materials that I need will cost me half of the engineer price. So, I´ve a tight budget, 15K for be exact and I´ve to do it all! From the connectors to the doors, it´s a lot of job.

The SAE site… the website adress?

My very first idea was to put a commercial recording studio, more like a project one. With the time I realize that I was tending to much more, so we bought this empty loft, and make some plans and ideas, see the inversion and stuff like that.

Well, now… we want to have a commercial recording studio with a few facilities like:
Confortable – good sounding – acoustical – great lighting – good RT60 – high STC.

If we talk about dimensions, we choose to take the modal way… to avoid problems, in general, the rooms are big enough to our needs.. so.

First, I think that we´ll have everything well planed and think before make any buy decision. Starting with the audio channels, electricity, lighting cables and the floor, later the concrete walls leaving the doors and window holes. Next, the plasterboard construction, and later the ceiling construction. Of course that everything will be inspected and checked once and again, to maintain the consistence of the project, and some agrees like… A LOT OF GOOD CAULK!!!

Thanks again Steve… your unconditional helps means a heaven to me!

Fernando Musarra
AWS

Fernando, here is the link to John's old site - click on "studio plans" on the left column for some possible ideas for floor plans - you have the room for the first plan and more in your existing space.

http://www.saecollege.de/reference_material/index.html

RFZ stands for Reflection-Free Zone, and refers to splaying the walls and ceilings to avoid any early reflections at the mix position - if done right, there will be a fairly large sweet spot with no sound other than the direct sound from the speakers.

After you look at the plans on the SAE site, click on EVERYTHING and read all you can - this will save me a lot of time explaining terms , and you will learn more in less time. I'm serious here - this is a very valuable resource, don't take it lightly.

Here is a link to Johns other site, again read EVERYTHING you can here -

http://johnlsayers.com/

Between the two sites, there is a wealth of information. If you're thorough about it, you could probably spend several days just on these two sites. I still find new things nearly every time I visit.

Oh, and where is the drawing you referred to in the last post? I didn't see one... Steve

Thanks for all the data, I was checking the two websites and there is a tons of data!!! It´ll take me a lot of time to check it all! Thanks!

Hi... uhmmm.. I forgot... I get too close to my speech, that someone was bother me and make me forgot to put the draw in the reply... Sorry, I haven´t here, so tonight I will be posting the draw.

Sorry Again!
Fernando Musarra
AWS

Hi Steve.... Here´s is the draw that I promise.



Thanx!
Fernando Musarra
AWS