Starting from scratch

robertbonello · Post by **robertbonello** » Tue Apr 22, 2003 3:32 am

Hi John

i've been reading absolutely everything I can get my hands on relating to studio design and your pages have seriously been the most useful things i've come across by far... so thanks for that

anyway, I've still got a good six months left before anything serious starts happening, but i'm being hassled by the architect to give dimensions, so i've got some decisions to make...

the location is an urban area on the top of a hill with a higway tunnel a few hundred meters below - through solid rock.
2 houses are being built on one plot of land, semi-detached, so it's one big house split in two. Underground, there are going to be two levels of basement/garage, one for each house. I'm taking the lower one, and the area is pretty big.

This should be a pretty good location to start with, shouldn't it?

anyway, what i have in mind is a 'sky's the limit' complex, which isn't going to present any problems in the future - although i plan to start with a d8b/motu setup, i sencerely hope to end up with a chunky neve or ssl and the works. so space needs to be generous, though not over-the-top... i'm fresh out of university so my capital is very limited, and although i'm planning to do the bulk of the work myself, materials still add up...

looking at your designs, the "big facility" is kind of what I have in mind, though i'd rather the second live room - studio 2 - were a dedicated stone drum well.

I'm planning to be doing most of the construction myself, having nothing more than the empty space and the floated conrete floors done professionally to start with, then i can work from there and get help when necessary.

which brings me to my great dilemma : what dimensions am i looking at ideally? My main concern is height, can i still have (near)optimal acoustics without having a two-storey live room?

could you recommend ideal dimensions for a complex somewhere between the "big facility" and the "corner control room"? i know i'm being vague, but i've not decided on actual design yet, all i need is to get length, width, and height dimensions to the architect. I guess there is no objective 'best' , but could you recommend what you'd choose, were you building this for yourself.

(sorry about the essay)

Cheers

Bob

p.s
just remembered. you'd probably ask what work i'm planning to use the studio for(duh)...

well... i'd guess that any space which would allow me to track a 5 or 6 piece band live would be about right. I don't expect to be handling full symphonic orchestras..

Post by **John Sayers** » Tue Apr 22, 2003 9:31 am

That's a hard one Bob not knowing how you intend to build the basement. Obviously your architect is going to want to put jackposts (columns) to hold up the second floor and the placement of those will be critical to any design.

The area you will need will be around 1700 sq ft and if you can get a 12 - 14 ft ceiling height you'll be in business. you'll need around 20 x 17 ft for a decent sized control room with the rest of the area for live rooms and booths plus coffee facilites/rec room and bathroom.

hope this helps.

cheers
john

GeorgetheParrot · Post by **GeorgetheParrot** » Tue Apr 22, 2003 6:55 pm

Hi Robert,

Fellow Maltese here!! Seems like uve got a lot going on for you here!! D8b - - - nice!! I'm using a Vs-2480 for now!! Let me know what ure gonna put on the walls for absorbtion!! I've been using my studio for about a year now with horrible acoustics, so its time to spend some money now on the acoustical treatment!!

Keep in touch
Gavin

robertbonello · Post by **robertbonello** » Tue Apr 22, 2003 10:53 pm

cheers john... i'm meeting him today, i'll see what we can work out.
and i'm guessing gavin is gavin attard - aw gbin, konna nmorru st.edwards flimkien...

GeorgetheParrot · Post by **GeorgetheParrot** » Wed Apr 23, 2003 12:22 am

nope,,,not Gavin Attard!!

Gavin Borg