John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum Archive

Ok, so here we go. This is my garage. This is the studio I intend to build. This is what I know about doing this. [ insert large blank space ]
Nothing is built yet... so everything is flexible at this point. However, I don't have forever, as I'm losing the commercial spot I'm in now, and have clients that are going to want to get going soon.

I've read lots of stuff on this site, and the vague sense of things is beginning to turn slightly less fuzzy. I guess I need a couple of quick directions to continue my research on what I need to do to make this room sound good.

I think the slot resonator on the bottom wall of the drawing is a good idea. John seemed to agree. I'm clueless as to how to figure out slat and slot widths, not to mention exactly where the insulation goes, and how thick it should be. I'm thinking I need your basic broadband absorption, from as low as we can up to mids– does this seem right to you?

Here the other big burning questions that I'm not sure how to attack.

1. Front wall. I'm not sure about soffits for the Genelec 1031s I'm using. I'm on the "super tight budget" plan, and want to shave costs where I can. Should this be a hard wall? Diffusion? Bass traps in the corners? Or the ceiling corner over the desk?

2 Back wall. I know I've got to stop the hi/mid slap back from the front, and also need as much low end control as I can in such a small room. What the best way to do this? I was thinking some sort of angling would be good, but I don't want to chew up a bunch of space. Ideas?

3. Ceiling. It's low, but I've got some room to play with where people don't stand... over my desk, over the couch (or whatever there's room for) in the back, etc. Again, I realize we're trying to control the flutter from the hard floor. Some sort of reflective panels angled at the back of the room? Or should they be absorbing?

4 Iso booth. Should one of the walls in there be a slot resonator like in the control room? I think the left wall could be angled opposite the door wall... actually if we were going to do that, I might square up the door wall for easier building. And again, what about that ceiling... here we do need the ceiling height... but definately don't want ringing in here. For this booth I'd probably lean towards dead (well, a room without a lot of "character") overall as I'm going to need to be able to cut everything smaller than a drum kit in here... vocals, groups, acoustic instruments, etc.

I've got a few wall construction and A/C questions too... but maybe those should go in the construction forum, eh?

This is a killer site... thanks for all you guys do to inform us clueless musician types...

Thank you,.
brian

1. Front wall. I'm not sure about soffits for the Genelec 1031s I'm using. I'm on the "super tight budget" plan...
With such a small control room I would definitely soffit mount. You can save cost in your design by eliminating the redundant walls along the exterior of the control room. With the angled the interior walls you still have double wall construction. Turn that unused material into soffits. Notice I made the room wider and splayed the walls even more.

2 Back wall. .....
How about something like I've drawn? Instead of covering the studs with drywall, fill them with 703 and cover the wall with fabric. So you use the garage and storage space as a big bass trap.

3. Ceiling. .....
I would angle the ceiling in the front of the room. It should be reflective. You could make also make this a slot resonator.

4 Iso booth......
Yes, this booth is very small, so it should be dead. If you search the board, I think you'll find some designs for panel traps with 703 suspended in front. It would be great to cover the walls with these.

Thomas

Hey Thomas,
Thanks for replying...

Ok, I'll head down the soffit route... after reading on the Genelec site, it sounds like my monitors are well suited for it. I was reading a post the other day about using concrete blocks as the stands for the speakers, behind the soffit wall. That seems like a good cheap way to keep them semi isolated (not totally, as everything's going to be built on the concrete floor). I'll try and find a good example to emulate.

I like the resonator above my head idea... I still don't quite know what I'm doing there, or in the back right resonator, design-wise. I'll take a crack at it, and run it by you.

Yeah, that back wall thing would be cool except I've got to keep the noise in the room, and don't want to try and sound proof that side of the garage. That's sort of the point of this whole thing. Don't want to bother the neighbors, or the wife in the house. Other ideas?

Are your more splayed walls just to add a little more volume in the room? Or to put the RFZ a little deeper? Are those 12° now? I had in my head that the resonator had to be big enough to get down to the lowest frequencies. Maybe that's not a big deal... especially since I don't have a sub for the 1031s at the moment...

I'll look for those panel traps again for the iso room... do you think I'll need a corner bass trap in there somewhere? I just have no feel at all for what it takes to control the frequency range evenly.

Thanks a bunch for your help,
brian

Here's the plan for now... I made the room a little bit longer to accomodate some bass traps at the back. And the walls are at 10° each. Also added the soffits and the ceiling slant in the front.

What's the best way to construct that slant ceiling? Again, cheap is good... will a 1/2" drywall sheet with some can lights in it allow enough low end through to make it a good bass trap? Should it be packed with insulation or should it be bass hangers up in there?

I've read so much I'm not sure what the best soffit construction is, but the general ideas I've gotten make it sound like I've got two main pieces. The mount for the speaker, and the actual soffit wall itself. I think the soffit wall is supposed be isolated from the walls and the ceiling with a gap filled with 703. I assume that means it has to be firmly affixed to the floor, as it won't be getting any stability from the walls of ceiling. Then the speakers should be sitting on a heavy stand (concrete block?), also attached to the floor, but not touching the soffit wall. Or alternatively, the soffit and speaker mount are all one rigid piece, with the speakers isolated from the stand using rubber or something... (would my MoPads work well enough?) Then you pack insulation in all around the speaker, and add hangers underneath in the open space, covered with fabric. I'm looking for the simplest, yet pretty good here... not necessarily the best. Also, should the soffit wall go to the ceiling, then the angled ceiling fit around that, or the other way around... the ceiling first, then the soffits.

What do I do, if anything, about the heat generated by the amps on the speakers?

So, how does this room sound now? Still too bright? Too much 120?


Thanks,
brian