One Big Room

[Aaberg]

One question as I do some mockups of what I want: When I said, "corner", I was simply thinking of putting the CR over to one side in the back of the concert hall/big room. If I'm building that as a separate room, that shouldn't matter, or am I missing something? I'm not that swift with the CAD programs, so am trying to avoid having to do the drawing more than I have to. Thanks.

[Soundman2020]

If I'm building that as a separate room, that shouldn't matter, or am I missing something?

No problem. That's fine! Some people try to set up their control rooms literally "in a corner", in the sense that they are facing into the corner at an angle of 45°, with an imaginary line coming out of the corner, anf the speakers and desk on each side of that line... That's not a good setup at all.

I'm not that swift with the CAD programs, so am trying to avoid having to do the drawing more than I have to.

Instead of using CAD programs, I'd really suggest that you use SketchUp. It's a 3D modeling program, not a CAD program. Most people here on the forum use it, which makes it easy to exchange files and parts of files, as well as to view the designs of others.

- Stuart -

[Aaberg]

Thanks. Downloaded SketchUp.

[Aaberg]

Still working on ideas. Checked out a studio in Texas that uses a log cabin-style construction he built inside a metal barn! I'm very intrigued by the idea, because my main piano is currently in a very large log room and it sounds great in there. The log shapes reduce direct reflection and the wood seems to give the room a very warm sound, perfect for my planned concert/recording big room. Of course, the control room would be built inside that structure and have nothing to do with logs. My main concern would be how to further sound insulate the log structure without losing the curvilinear interior surfaces. Any ideas? Thoughts? Thanks.

[Aaberg]

Any links to sites that help calculate the size of a recording/concert room big enough to hold 2 concert grand pianos and 40 people? Thanks very much.

[Aaberg]

Slight change of plans, but will keep it in this post. Adding a control room on to the big garage and wonder if there’s a link to some varied ideal dimensions. This is not an entourage hangout, but would be nice to accommodate 4 listeners sometimes. My desk is pretty small, all digital, and I have one 6’ rack of gear including computer. Storage is outside of CR. Thanks!

[Soundman2020]

Welcome back! It's been a while...

Adding a control room on to the big garage and wonder if there’s a link to some varied ideal dimensions.

Take a look at ITU BS.1116-3, or EBU Tech.3276. Those are both documents that lay out all of the parameters that a "critical listening room" (such as a control room) needs to meet. They include the minimum recommended floor areas for stereo rooms (20 square meters), and for multi-channel rooms (30 square meters), as well as some simple rules for setting the relationship between the length, width, and height of the room, in order to get optimal acoustic conditions. It also tells you what the layout should be like inside, what characteristics the speakers should have, and what the acoustic response should be like, after the room has been fully treated acoustically.

Personally, I prefer ITU BS.1116-3.

Google it, download it, and read chapters 7 and 8. Those are the ones that are relevant to the room, the speakers, and the layout. You can skip the other chapters, as they aren't meaningful for studios.

- Stuart -

[Aaberg]

Thanks, Soundman. Excellent!
Somewhere you wrote about a minimum ceiling height and I haven’t found that post yet. The building space for area is unlimited, but since my budget isn’t, I thought to start with ceiling height and build ratios from there. I know that many of the professional CRs I’ve worked in as a studio musician have pretty tall (11-14’ ceilings), but that would be outside my budget.

[AVare]

I know that many of the professional CRs I’ve worked in as a studio musician have pretty tall (11-14’ ceilings), but that would be outside my budget.

I am confused. I am doing that a lot this morning. In an earlier post you are asking about a performance space for 2 grand pianos and seating for 40 people. Assuming Yamaha C7s that is ~$150k. Concert seats are ~$1.5k. That is $210k, but can not afford higher ceilings?

BTW, my minimum first class ceiling height is 11'.

Andre

[Aaberg]

Don’t need help with budget.
Working on control room size.

[ehrenebbage]

A bit off topic...

Unless I'm mistaken about your identity, I think I went to elementary school with your son in Oakland. We weren't extremely close but he did have me over to the house once or twice and your home studio was the first 'studio' I ever laid eyes upon. I was probably 6...I still have a faint memory of what it looked like and how it felt to be around a bunch of cool-looking keyboards. It was my first peek into this world and it left a huge impression on me.

Anyway, I write and produce music for a living and I'm planning a studio build...came across this thread because I'm looking for one-room ideas. Looks like you're going a different direction now but I'll be curious to see what you come up with.

Cheers!

[Aaberg]

Yes, Ehren. Sorry to answer so late. Haven't checked in for quite a while. Hope you're doing well. I think you can message me.

[Aaberg]

Okay. Humor me. I still want to build a single-room studio. I have the land and am working on design. I got a chance to buy a steel building for cheap. In the U.S. it’s called a Model S Quonset Hut. It’s 30X50X17 high. Once I figure out the isolation materials it'll be something like 23,000 cubic feet. The most famous steel building studio was in Nashville and was called “The Quonset Hut”. It was Columbia Records Studios.
This will not be a commercial studio, but primarily for me to record my keyboards, both acoustic and electronic, the occasional small chamber music group, and a few instrumental overdubs. Every once in a while, I’ll let in my friends for small concerts.
I need to keep out some intermittent light traffic noise from a street about 150 yards away. I wonder if anyone has experience with steel buildings or just some thoughts. For example, is the steel building one leaf by itself? If I spray insulation on the inside, is that one leaf? Is it even possible to achieve the required Mass-Space-Mass?
In thinking about the one-room concept, I drew a simple floor plan using the Quonset Hut dimensions. I need the storage areas, so thought that putting a Reflection Free Zone between them might work. I hope this is enough information to get an idea or two. Thanks very much.

New Studio Floor_Plan bones(3).jpg

[Aaberg]

Small Quonset Hut Model S.jpg

Quonset Model S.jpg

This isn't the actual building, but it's a Model S Quonset Hut slightly smaller than the one I'm looking at with the same straight walls and dome roof. The actual building has wider and deeper ridges.

[Aaberg]

Talking to myself again.
I did find these, which are very helpful:

http://johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic ... ilit=steel

http://johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic ... et#p148181

http://johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic ... it=Quonset

I've tracked down all the posts with "Quonset" and "Steel building", I can find, and some of it is very helpful, particularly one post that said "Studio building is 80% design and 20% building." So far, everything for my studio is in my head and on paper. The other great quote is from "The Studio Builder's Handbook" by Owsinski and Moody: "Priorities, not perfection." First priority in my case is to build a room I can afford. In this era of tariffs and crazy building material prices, that is a big job. Thus, the idea of a Quonset Hut which I can get cheaper than any other material. It doesn't provide mass, but aesthetically, I can see it fitting well on the property. Perhaps the dome ceiling is a bad idea. I've heard that said many times in the forum without concrete examples, but I'm willing to accept it. All I can say about my experience is that I recorded a number of beautiful-sounding tracks in a church with a domed ceiling. It was the same church where my garage band held forth for years. True, in all the studios I've been lucky enough to make records in, including Criteria, The Record Plant, The Power Station, Electric Lady, Capitol, on and on, there were no domed ceilings. Point taken. Just thinking out loud. Will let you know when I've made some conclusions. Thanks.