John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum Archive

Greetings!

First post, so hopefully I have read all the rules on posting right?!

attached pic shows prelim floor plans... (still time for limited adjustments)

Live room ( external dimensions )... 5.99m wide x 9.46m long. Height anything up to 3.6 m max
Control room.... (internal dimensions)4.59m wide x 6.39m long, height up to 3.6 m max

Floor solid concrete throughout (as has underfloor heating)
Windows in live room will be double layer of laminated glass (taking from current studio setup)

Have given external dimensions for live room because, as pic indicates, the double line is tentatively for concrete block with an internal lining/wall strapped on with maybe using the GIB Rondo system, OR alternatively a double wood frame (150 x 50mm framing) and clad with??? Will regularly be in the 110dB range in live room,so sound isolation is important,will want to mitigate any future issues with potential neighbours. Site is rural,so external noise not an issue... Council bylaws in New Zealand ( Waihi) allow for 45dB at property boundary (180 metres away)... currently closest dwelling 500 metres away..

SOOO... any thoughts/input on any of this?
Materials for cladding??
Positioning of my SSL XL desk (about a 1000mm wide 800mm deep)?? north/south or east/west alignment??
Roof height?? Have space to hang a roof if required..
Overall dimensions??
Control room treatment??

Thinking ceiling will be weakest point for sound isolation...

At this stage I am not a commercial studio, but putting out limited material for friends and associates- that may change?? or not... Budget is not open ended, but will do what I have to, to get "good" (subjective I know) results..

Sorry if this is too long!

Thanks in advance,
Dave.

First post, so hopefully I have read all the rules on posting right?!

Apparently not... You can find the rules for posting by clicking here. .

Windows in live room will be double layer of laminated glass (taking from current studio setup)

That will only work if each pane goes in it's own separate leaf...

tentatively for concrete block with an internal lining/wall strapped on with maybe using the GIB Rondo system

From what you are saying so far, it appears that you do not need much isolation at all. I'm wondering why that is? Most studios need substantial isolation, both between the rooms themselves, and also between the studio and the outside world. How come your studio does not need isolating?

Will regularly be in the 110dB range in live room,

So basically a small drum kit played quietly? Are you not planning to track full bands with heavy-hitting drummers, loud bass, screaming electric guitars, and screeching keyboards? That can be ten times more power than what you mention.

sound isolation is important,

That's confusing.... because your plans and descriptions don't seem to include much isolation so far.

Council bylaws ... allow for 45dB at property boundary

That's probably A-weighted, and your studio measurements will be C-weighted. Don't forget to take that into account. There's a very large difference for contemporary music.

Materials for cladding??

Cladding what? Cladding usually goes on the outside of a building, not the inside.

Positioning of my SSL XL desk (about a 1000mm wide 800mm deep)?? north/south or east/west alignment??

The control room is small, so you'll need to orient it on the long axis: speakers up tight against the front wall, firing down the longest axis of the room (the 6.39m axis). Your mix position (the engineer's chair) will go at about 2.3m from the front wall, so the SSL will be set up in front of that, such that you can operate it comfortably with your head at the sweet spot. However, you'll have to get rid of those strange doors all across the rear wall: there's pretty much no chance that you'll get a usable room with those at the back. They are blocking the area where you will need all of your rear-wall treatment. The doorway at the front left of the CR into the "breezeway" will also have to go. Or be moved further back. It's blocking the location where you will need your speaker soffits and/or front corner acoustic treatment.

Roof height??

In general, you want the roof as high as possible, such that the inner-leaf ceiling can also be as high as possible. There are exceptions (for example, if doing that would create a bad modal response situation), but that's the general rule.

Overall dimensions??

For the control room, use one of the room mode calculators to figure out the best room ratio, while allowing for the thickness of the inner-leaf walls and the air gaps.

Control room treatment??

The usual. Whatever it takes to meet ITU BS.1116-3 specs (assuming you want the best possible acoustics in there). Here's what that looks like in a room a little larger than yours: http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewt ... =2&t=20471 and here's how the process goes for tuning a control room to meet those specifications: http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewt ... =2&t=21368 That last one is in progress right now, in the final stages, actually. Should be done in a few weeks. You can see exactly how the process goes, starting with the fully isolated but totally empty room, through all the stages of treatment and tuning. You will need to do something similar.

Thinking ceiling will be weakest point for sound isolation...

Not necessarily true. The weakest points are usually doors, windows, and the HVAC system. (Assuming that you build your inner-leaf correctly, and that your outer leaf is also built suitably).

At this stage I am not a commercial studio, but putting out limited material for friends and associates- that may change??

Both of the rooms I linked you to above started out with the owner's thinking along the same lines you are thinking. Both of them changed their minds along the way, and decided they actually needed their studios to be the best they possibly could be. Fortunately, I had designed both studios originally with plenty of flexibility, so I was able to change the designs to upgrade the acoustics to what you see in each thread. As long as the initial design allows for it, it is usually possible to modify the design for better acoustics. Here too there are exceptions: a really bad initial design won't leave any chance of doing that. It has to be reasonably good to start with. I have also worked with some customers who had built something totally useless, and then had to tear it down and start again.

Budget is not open ended, but will do what I have to, to get "good" (subjective I know) results..

Don't be subjective about your studio design: set measurable goals, and design the place correctly to achieve those goals. Your control room is large enough that you can meet ITU BS.11166-3 or EBU Tech.3276 if you really wanted to. That's pretty much the highest level you can get, acoustically. It is entire achievable in your CR, if you want it.

Sorry if this is too long!

On the contrary...


- Stuart -