Hi, I’m brand new to this site, and wasn’t aware of this amazing resource before paying to draw up plans for my house/studio. I was hoping to get feedback on the design, obviously I’ve got a long way to still go so this would be the perfect time to ask I suppose. I am based out of Louisiana, USA I am planning on recording a seriously varied mix due to the size I have and my experience with the following genres: hip hop, country, Cajun/zydeco, heavy metal, jazz. I am building about 500 ft from a church on the back left wall opposite the booth. This is why I have added a fully walkable outer layer of the live room for extra isolation. I record mostly drums right now in a small room (for lack of other options in the meantime). I don’t have anything in terms of soundproofing so the transmission loss is still about 80-90 db. But I don’t have close neighbors besides the church so that’s not a big problem. The building is going to be metal but I am building the rooms inside the main building. The live room is 26x24x10 (but I am thinking of going to 12” height if it is possible at construction). Control room 14x20x10 and a 4” walkway wrapping the live room.
This is the studio itself, control room(shop), live room(storage), and booth, labeled as they are to avoid having to get a separate license. There is a bathroom and lounge behind the control room.
The bigger picture is the whole building.
I am not looking for treatment advice or electrical help as I haven’t even set a dirt pad to the house yet and am more than ecstatic to read all the info on these pages. At this point I am worried about isolation in the corner near the church. Would two walls about 4” away from each other, with insulation, be able to bring the db level so that the transmission loss is reasonable? I was told that if it becomes a problem, to put cinderblocks in the walkway against the wall for more mass. Would this be reasonable or is there a better option? I was obviously not following the golden ratio due to the limits of my design capabilities, is this a major problem? I figured with all the treatment, it can be remedied to an extent. I am completely open to criticism or advice as the people around me keep their audio knowledge pretty close to the vest. Also, any suggestions on practical design is more than welcome as I am all about practicality.
Thank you
Thoughts on studio design?
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TwiceBaked LA
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gullfo
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Re: Thoughts on studio design?
welcome! it's always nice to build something new and especially when you have room and budget to do so!
i'd rethink the studio space a bit in terms of isolation from the house as well as exterior sound levels. for example, if the hallway existing between the house and studio space, it would help reduce and/or eliminate any issues there. then on the studio side of things, no reason not to have the space properly structured - symmetry for the control room, nice big live room, and some isolation booths and/or air locks.
some things to to answer: is this a commercial or purely personal space? do you need to load in/out equipment often? what levels do you mix at? what levels do you think you'll be performing at in the live room? 500ft is a lot of air attenuation from your place to the church, so that may help in the overall assessment. how do you think you'll operate in this space? several musicians in the control room and some in the live room? an amp room for separation and reamp? equipment and speaker consideration.
the 12' high ceilings would be nice indeed. but ultimately getting a good ratio in the control room (even with angled walls) will be more important.
HVAC will likely be your biggest cost esp in LA where heat and humidity will need to be controlled. plan this early and often. even mix engineers need oxygen. and in a sealed hyper-insulated space, no one can hear you scream.
consider making separate slabs on the ground for each major section of the studio and separate from the house.
while labeling the rooms are something other than what they may turn out to be sounds like a cost saving, if something happens and you need to make an insurance claim, problems can arise.
i'd rethink the studio space a bit in terms of isolation from the house as well as exterior sound levels. for example, if the hallway existing between the house and studio space, it would help reduce and/or eliminate any issues there. then on the studio side of things, no reason not to have the space properly structured - symmetry for the control room, nice big live room, and some isolation booths and/or air locks.
some things to to answer: is this a commercial or purely personal space? do you need to load in/out equipment often? what levels do you mix at? what levels do you think you'll be performing at in the live room? 500ft is a lot of air attenuation from your place to the church, so that may help in the overall assessment. how do you think you'll operate in this space? several musicians in the control room and some in the live room? an amp room for separation and reamp? equipment and speaker consideration.
the 12' high ceilings would be nice indeed. but ultimately getting a good ratio in the control room (even with angled walls) will be more important.
HVAC will likely be your biggest cost esp in LA where heat and humidity will need to be controlled. plan this early and often. even mix engineers need oxygen. and in a sealed hyper-insulated space, no one can hear you scream.
consider making separate slabs on the ground for each major section of the studio and separate from the house.
while labeling the rooms are something other than what they may turn out to be sounds like a cost saving, if something happens and you need to make an insurance claim, problems can arise.
Glenn
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TwiceBaked LA
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- Joined: Wed Jun 30, 2021 2:42 am
- Location: Lafayette, Louisiana USA
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Re: Thoughts on studio design?
Thank you, I will be making some modifications starting with the control room since I can fit the ratio pretty easily with a 12' ceiling. This helps a lot cause I don't have anyone that I can ask for educated advice. I will be doing a lot of research on this site. Thanks again