Recording in the control room . . .

[GuitarStv]

Hi, I was thinking of the advantages/disadvantages of having two rooms (a live room and a control room) or just one room for both recording and mixing. I plan on recording acoustic guitar, harmonica, hand drums, electric guitar, and maybe the occasional drum set. I'll be recording by myself quite a lot, so I'd like to have the convenience of reaching over and playing with the volume on my preamps, or starting and stopping the recording software with my mouse, but here's my worry: If I build the studio as a control room only, can I achieve a good environment for both mixing and recording in the same space? From what I've been reading, you normally want a much more live and brighter space for recording (especially for acoustic guitar), and a much more dead space for listening . . . how do people deal with this if they only have one room?

Thanks a lot for any replies!

[Ethan Winer]

> If I build the studio as a control room only, can I achieve a good environment for both mixing and recording in the same space? <

Probably. I have a single large (34 by 18 feet) room for my own use too, and I can't imagine recording any other way. The room is mostly on the live side, though with plenty of bass trapping, and the mixing end is more controlled at mid and high frequencies.

> From what I've been reading, you normally want a much more live and brighter space for recording (especially for acoustic guitar), and a much more dead space for listening <

It depends on the size of the room. If the room is very small you'll have a difficult time getting a "good" ambience no matter how you treat it.

How big is your room?

--Ethan

[GuitarStv]

Well actually, my fiancee and I are in the process of looking for houses to buy next year . . . I'm just trying to figure out what to look for. I've talked it over with her and she's agreed to give me free reign over the basement. I was just trying to start the planning process to see if there's anything in particular that I should be looking for as far as my studio goes. Anyway, back to your question - I guess that the average basement size seems to allow for a room that's at least 14' X 16' X 7.5' (or occasionally 8' ceilings). I can probably stretch the studio rooom out a bit more in each direction, but let's say that size just to be safe. I'm wondering if there's anything else that I should be looking at or thinking about (acousically speaking) while buying a house. (I know that the larger the room the better, and especially the higher the ceiling the easier it will be to acoutically treat.) Thanks for your response,

- Steven

[Ethan Winer]

Steven,

> I'm wondering if there's anything else that I should be looking at or thinking about (acousically speaking) while buying a house. (I know that the larger the room the better, and especially the higher the ceiling the easier it will be to acoutically treat.) <

It sounds like you already know what to look for. Maybe also consider what's above where the studio portion of the basement will be. That is, you probably want to be able to have it under the kitchen, or some other place that will be disturbed less by the racket you're sure to make.

--Ethan