John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum Archive

Hello,

Long time lurker, first time poster – please forgive me if I get anything wrong. I have been researching studio design for a while now and read 'build it like the pros' as well as many of the threads on this website. Thank you for providing such a wealth of information.

I have a room that's 6m x 5.7m x 2.4 high. I know the height isn't ideal, but going higher would involve major $$ going into the roof cavity. I am mostly mixing foley and recording music and VO for film, a lot of sound effects and bass heavy stuff. I have some loud guitar amps that I'd love to use more often but I live in one of the sleepiest self-funded retiree parts of Australia, where all you can hear are birds squawking and people mowing their lawns. They're the kind of neighbours that would call the cops if your TV went louder than their Hey Hey it's Saturday re-runs.

I have a couple of quick questions before I get into the planning / build phase.

I am wondering if the control-room design attached would work in this space or if I can squeeze another room in? Ideally I'd like a live room and small vocal booth / isolation booth for amp cabs.

I'm unsure of the dimensions needed for this – the professional mix rooms I've been in before all seem quite large.
The utility room will be the kitchen and the third garage was a non-negotiable, but I'll block off both sliding doors and access from the external door.

I also have the option of removing the garage doors and putting two windows there, but I'm unsure how I can get that to work acoustically? The room is essentially almost a square with a crap roof height.
Really appreciate any advice and thanks again.

even though the "exterior mass boundary" will be almost square, the internal mass boundary and treatments don't need to be. assuming you'll keep the one door opening on the back top of the room? the main thing to consider is your HVAC and how that will fit into the space - and that means fresh air more than just cooling or heating. then what is the ceiling? concrete? joists? you'll want to know (and perhaps share that info) so that you'll know what additional work is needed for the isolation mass.

So how loud are these Lawn Mowers?

gullfo wrote:even though the "exterior mass boundary" will be almost square, the internal mass boundary and treatments don't need to be. assuming you'll keep the one door opening on the back top of the room? the main thing to consider is your HVAC and how that will fit into the space - and that means fresh air more than just cooling or heating. then what is the ceiling? concrete? joists? you'll want to know (and perhaps share that info) so that you'll know what additional work is needed for the isolation mass.

Thanks for your answer. Absolutely - ducted aircon is being installed through the whole house, this room will have its own zone with an extra s bend in the path. The roof is Gyprock on timber frame. I can add more insulation in the roof cavity if needed.

My main query was is the overall size big enough for the design above?
Could I also squeeze in a vocal booth / small live room or for that size am I better off doing everything in the control room?

Im assuming you need the additional info to work out wall thicknesses to answer that?

DanDan wrote:So how loud are these Lawn Mowers?

Loud and constant but not loud enough to turn a JTM45 past 6 without a visit from the local constabulary.