Studio in a Container

Discuss the studios designed by John Sayers productions

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Firew
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Studio in a Container

Post by Firew »

yes i would be happy to buy the Studio in a Container.

Firew
Firew
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Studio in a Container

Post by Firew »

yes i would be happy to buy the Studio in a Container.

Firew
Firew
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Post by Firew »

sharward wrote:Who here would jump at the chance to buy a copy of the container itself? (That's a serious question!)
I would like to buy it,
Please e-mail me.

Firew
wopwop
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Post by wopwop »

would like to buy it :o

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John Sayers
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Post by John Sayers »

we are about to start on an adjacent container studio. Mark's work has expanded and he needs to expand the studio.

Will keep you posted.
spark1studios
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Re: Studio in a Container

Post by spark1studios »

I'm indeed selling this container, as John and I are in the process of designing a complete control room this time, as I now have completed the 2nd tracking room and now have no need for the vocal booth. Currently up on Gearslutz Aust, as well as being featured in the next edition of Audio Tech mag in the 'What's On' section.

Hi all, I'm selling my complete recording studio, all built within a 20' ex-shipping container, including all the fittings and full ducted aircon system. The container consists of both a control room and vocal/amp booth, with the interior all designed by the brilliant John L Sayers.

I came up with the idea of a studio within a container, as I don't own my own home, but I needed a space that would not only inspire musos to record with me and feel comfortable, but also give me great sounds to hard drive, due to a well acoustically treated tracking and control room, (albiet very small). I believe I achieved all this and now have a number of albums under my belt, primarily from Sunshine Coast artists, with nearly all past clients recording their next albums and projects with me now for the second time around.

I recently enlisted the help of John L Sayers again, to design me a dedicated tracking room, (again within a shipping container). I've just completed the construction 2 months back. One of the main reasons these rooms work is due to John's slot resonator designs, (basically Helmholz resonators), which take up most of the low mid probs you tend to get within square rooms, or indeed most untreated rooms. The resonators are specifically designed and calculated for the room's actual dimensions, and every resonator has been built and routed out to particular specifications. They definitely work!! Acoustic guitars really seem to 'sing' easily, without having to resort to the use of corrective EQ etc.... Vocals also seem to have all the food groups represented, even BEFORE any EQ or compression etc...

Anyway, as I now track most of my clients in the new room, (via a multicore and video link), I find I'm no longer using the vocal booth, so I'm now in the initial stages of designing a new dedicated control room, (again through John and within another hi-cube container), with the intention of selling my original control room/vocal and amp booth to another avid audio fan, perhaps in a similar situation to mine.

The complete studio container will be sold with all the ties lines intact, (in between the vocal booth and control room, with 16 XLR inputs in the vocal booth, as well as 4 XLR out and a guitar unbalanced jack, should the guitarist want to track within the control room, with amps in the booth). The stage box within the booth terminates in the control room via balanced jack inputs, (all Neutrik connectors), that you can easily route to a patchbay or wherever. There's a small port thru which you can run a multicore out to wherever, connecting the outside world to the front vocal booth. I often record my drums downstairs in my rented house, not only close mic-ing, but also utilising the adjacent bathroom and stairwell for drum ambience. Bands recording together often sit in the control room with me, (or within the new tracking room), while the drummer does his thing downstairs. The studio also will be sold will all the lighting intact, (all with dimmer switches), and has 16 power points in the control room for all your gear. All the power points are star earthed, with the buyer needing to bang a few copper earth rods in the ground for proper earthing, preventing any potential ground hum probs, once the container is positioned in it's new home.

The main monitors are soffit mounted, (speakers not included with sale), with the speaker enclosures all built to John's specifications, giving you a very accurate aural image with good monitors, (I'm currently running Mackie HR 824's, as well as Auratones). Also built in is an aircon duct, running via an attached ducted aircon system, that services both the control room and the vocal booth, with the return air also exiting the opposite side. The aircon unit will also be included in the sale, with the buyer having to re-gas the unit at it's destination. The remote and wall controller are hardwired to the control room. The aircon system is wired completely seperate to the power and lights, as well as having a power box mounted to the container, with two power leads attached to this, that can be plugged into any household power box, single phase.

This container not only could be used in remote locations or within a school situation, but also within an inner suburban environment, (perhaps from home), where sounds from either outside or inside can be kept to a minimum. Being a shipping container, it can be easily winched up onto a tray truck and shipped to wherever, with the minimum of fuss. I'm currently based in Montville, on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, so the buyer would have to cover the cost of transportation to it's intended destination. Initial inquires indicate that transport to Melbourne is around $2000.00, but you may want to check this....!!

I'm selling the complete container, fittings and complete ducted aircon system, (NO GEAR), for $30,000. There's a phenomenal amount of materials, labour and passion gone into getting this studio "right". It really works and has been my main source of income for the past 4 yrs. I'll be very sad to see it go, as I know this studio inside out and I'm very comfortable there, (as are my clients), but I'm keen to keep moving forward. Hell, maybe one day I may even get a REAL house, within which I may just build a permanent studio..... now THERE's a concept!!!

Anyway, one can contact me via Recording Studio : Sunshine Coast : Spark1 Studios : Queensland or my mobile, 0416 262 319.


Here's a link to some new photos of the studio: http://www.gearslutz.com/board/album.php?albumid=932


Spark 1 Studios on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Videos

Go to the "New Photos of Spark 1, June 09"



All the best,

Mark "Sparky" Paltridge


Mark "Sparky" Paltridge
0416 262 319
http://www.spark1studios.com
http://www.echelongrey.com
http://www.myspace.com/spark1studios
http://www.myspace.com/acousticboogaloo
http://www.myspace.com/toothfaeries
http://www.myspace.com/jambezimusic
http://www.jambezimusic.com
http://www.youcantpolishaturdbutyoucanrollitinsparkl es.com
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Mark 'Sparky' Paltridge
http://www.spark1studios.com
spark1studios
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Re: Studio in a Container

Post by spark1studios »

Hi again, here's a few photos of the finished 3rd container, (complete control room), for you all. The first control room/vocal booth was sold over 3 months back, and I now use both the new control room and the tracking room, also designed by John. The space is fantastic sonically, as well as very comfortable for both me and my clients. Nice to have the room to spread out this time around!!
The only issue this time around is that my current monitors, (Mackie 824's), while certainly sounding great in their new soffit mounts, seem to be going thermal late in the day when the sun shines on the front of the container: the time when the aircon works the hardest to keep up. We've modified the soffits twice now, by reworking the vents above the speakers, but we still are dogged by this problem. The Mackies are mounted horizontally, facing down at me and turned in to me at a 30 degree angle, but there's little room for the air to escape above the speakers. We also tried small fans, but these just were too noisy, no matter how we mounted them.

I believe now that I'm going to bite the bullet and invest in 2 Event Opals, which can be mounted on brackets, and we'll mount these to the bulkhead, as well as refill the soffit space with poly etc... and close these up, essentially acting as a bass trap again. I'll keep you informed......
Funky Animal
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Re: Studio in a Container

Post by Funky Animal »

Wow man, this is truly amazing!
How did you go with building permits on this?

I've investigated in this. I can get a reefer container (45ft!) ( inside size: 13,6 m l x 2,4 m w x 2,6 m h) delivered in my garden for 3500 euro's (excl vat)! Now that's a bargain.
I only have to tackle the building permits, and this might a be a really good idea!

And how would you see (isolation wise) would a metal band hold up in a container like that?
Would the neighboors have anything to complain about?
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