John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum Archive

Hey all!

I'm in the process of researching and designing a control room/live room dual purpose space for the basement of our new family home we're building.
I'm a mix engineer by trade but will be creating the space as a production room for some family members to use, and occasional mixing when I am visiting home (I live overseas).

I've been reading everything I can (both here and on other forums) and watching every video I can find on studio room construction and philosophy for the past few weeks, and have been reading a copy of Rod Gervais' book, but have several questions I can't seem to find concrete answers too! Apologies in advance for the long post!

Some basic information first:

I have 2 possible rooms to use, however I am leaning towards the bigger one simply because I have read that larger rooms generally speaking will have less problematic issues with bass. I will be using one of the suggested ratios either in Rod's book, or the dimensions which fall into the bolt-area in amroc's room mode calculator. The room sizes are:
First room: 8'4.5 H x 21'3 L x 14'2.5 W (2.55m H x 6.47 L x 4.33 W)
Second room: 8'4.5 H x 20'5 L x 13'8 (2.55m H x 6.23 L x 4.16 W)

- The walls, floor and ceiling are all constructed with thick concrete (basement). The house is being built in the suburbs and my family and I do not play music loudly, or work at irregular hours of the day, so I do not want to float the floor or ceiling. I understand this does not achieve isolation and understand the implications of not having complete isolation - given all this, would you still recommend I decouple the room from all surfaces?

- The room will only have nearfield monitors, instead of sofit wall monitors.


1. Regarding splayed walls vs Rectangular control room; given the space constraints I have to work with - would it be better to stick to regular walls and work to achieve a good sounding room through using golden ratios & absorption on the first-reflection points?

2. Unfortunately the door has been placed in the corner of the room and I am unable to use 1 of the trihedral corners as a bass trap - is symmetry for bass trapping necessary? I know symmetry is crucial for a control room; however would I be able to achieve sufficient bass trapping by covering 1 of the rear trihedral corners, as well as the dihedral corner where the rear wall meets the ceiling?

3. In Rod's book, he recommends a control room with 20-25% of the total control room covered in absorption/bass trapping. I have seen some images/plans/studio builds where almost every wall is constructed "inside-out" with exposed rockwool/fibreglass tightly wrapped in acoustic cloth. In my situation, would 20-25% of the control room be sufficient absorption for a RFZ mixing position? I have also read it is better to construct all the walls and ceiling "inside out", and instead add diffusion in-front of the rockwool to "taste" until the room livens up again - which approach is recommended?

4. There are plans in Rod's book with a room very similar in size to the room I am working with, however the control room is very small. I have read over and over the problems with small control rooms due to bass and room modes - does anyone recommend against copying the layout given by Rod?


It's been tough wrapping my head around all these concept but I am slowly learning. Any help is much appreciated!

welcome!

so, how far along is the construction? if it hasn't started yet, i might suggest making your ceiling height 3.1m and working your ratios (which is a good start for a single room approach, not necessarily correct for the design you've shown).

that said, a large volume single room would probably be your best bet. you can use gobos etc to provide separations for live instruments and vocals. you suggest there is a door in the very corner of the room - i would suggest with new construction - move it now. this way you have the corner space available for trapping. no reason really to not make the change while you can, rather than struggle with it later.

HVAC - that's a big one so plan early and plan often. low air velocity <200fpm or slower. 6x air exchanges per hour. runs 24/7 while room is occupied. make sure the vibrating systems are isolated from the structure. fresh air - min 25%-35% of room volume 6x per hour.

even with little or no isolation needs - proper windows and doors. easier now than later.

treatments - depends. are you planning on baffle mounted speakers (in the wall?) speakers - maybe build a concrete wall for really large speakers? regardless - leverage the ceiling-wall corners for soffits - air ducting and absorption. a 3.1m ceiling would provide plenty of depth for your clouds as well. moving the door means all vertical corners are now possible for trapping sufficiently.

That looks like quite a Pro studio. Probably best to employ an Acoustician to work with you.
This should steer you clear of mistakes or unnecessary spending.


I've been reading everything I can (both here and on other forums) and watching every video I can find on studio room construction and philosophy for the past few weeks, and have been reading a copy of Rod Gervais' book, but have several questions I can't seem to find concrete answers too! Apologies in advance for the long post!

Some basic information first:

I have 2 possible rooms to use, however I am leaning towards the bigger one simply because I have read that larger rooms generally speaking will have less problematic issues with bass. I will be using one of the suggested ratios either in Rod's book, or the dimensions which fall into the bolt-area in amroc's room mode calculator. The room sizes are:
First room: 8'4.5 H x 21'3 L x 14'2.5 W (2.55m H x 6.47 L x 4.33 W)
Second room: 8'4.5 H x 20'5 L x 13'8 (2.55m H x 6.23 L x 4.16 W)

- The walls, floor and ceiling are all constructed with thick concrete (basement). The house is being built in the suburbs and my family and I do not play music loudly, or work at irregular hours of the day, so I do not want to float the floor or ceiling. I understand this does not achieve isolation and understand the implications of not having complete isolation - given all this, would you still recommend I decouple the room from all surfaces?

Isolation requirements can be estimated using loud sound sources and a Sound Level Meter. https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/noise/app.html

1. Regarding splayed walls vs Rectangular control room; given the space constraints I have to work with - would it be better to stick to regular walls and work to achieve a good sounding room through using golden ratios & absorption on the first-reflection points?

I would not build unnecessary walls. Flutter echo is easy to treat.

2. Unfortunately the door has been placed in the corner of the room and I am unable to use 1 of the trihedral corners as a bass trap - is symmetry for bass trapping necessary? I know symmetry is crucial for a control room; however would I be able to achieve sufficient bass trapping by covering 1 of the rear trihedral corners, as well as the dihedral corner where the rear wall meets the ceiling?

Given that LF is not directional, I don't spend much thought on LF symmetry. When it comes to LF trapping, MORE is the key. I have three large SuperChunks in my Concrete Room.

3. In Rod's book, he recommends a control room with 20-25% of the total control room covered in absorption/bass trapping. I have seen some images/plans/studio builds where almost every wall is constructed "inside-out" with exposed rockwool/fibreglass tightly wrapped in acoustic cloth. In my situation, would 20-25% of the control room be sufficient absorption for a RFZ mixing position? I have also read it is better to construct all the walls and ceiling "inside out", and instead add diffusion in-front of the rockwool to "taste" until the room livens up again - which approach is recommended?

Hmm. Richard has a great book called Recording Studio Design. He develops Hidleys concept of Non Environment. This of course involves massive treatment, up to 60% of the available volume.
I suspect you may have misread Rod. If you look at his design Bunker Studios you will see the walls are pretty much 100% treated with absorbent, fronted by massive amounts of reflective laths where appropriate.

4. There are plans in Rod's book with a room very similar in size to the room I am working with, however the control room is very small. I have read over and over the problems with small control rooms due to bass and room modes - does anyone recommend against copying the layout given by Rod?

MORE BIGGER ALWAYS

maybe share a drawing of the raw spaces?