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Building a studio from scratch
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| kitphillips |
So, say hypothetically I had the chance to build a studio from scratch; what tips would you guys suggest for the design of the room?
I'm asking from an acoustics perspective and also a functional perspective.
The only catch is that it has to be a bedroom as well, so has to have room for a bed and bookcase somewhere:p
I'm asking because I may be moving soon and I'm wondering what I should be looking for:)
What I need is a space to record vocals and guitar, somewhere where I can mix and generally work on tracks comfortably. It also needs to be fairly well isolated in terms of sound so I don't bother people with the guitar.
So far I'm thinking a really long desk along one wall, a bookcase or bed on the wall opposite to damp down low end reflections, maybe some acoustic treatment behind the desk so I can finally get some monitors.
I'm wondering mainly about things like what's the best material for floors (I love floorboards but will go carpet if its better for acoustics) whether its advantageous to have a pitched cieling, where to put acoustic tiles, where to put windows and whether its better to have gyprock then some sort of insulation or plaster straight onto brick and then put acoustic tiles around it.
At the moment I have to contend with a less than 1.25 metre desk for my computer, production gear and studying, so theres no room for monitors or anything:(
I've also got my guitar amp stuck in a corner which leads to hideous bass overexageration and stuff. So I'm hoping to improve all of this and get a better space happening! |
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| wesleysnipez |
One place I go is this site Gearslutz for studio builds for acoustics and general knowledge of studios. Most studios in there are full blowning studio builds but there atleast 2 section for what you need.
Studio building / acoustics, Bass traps, acoustic panels, foam etc,
All those under Studio construction & acoustics section.
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/forums/
Usually you see atleast 4 or more forum members who regularly post from the acoustics industry at that site. I seen so far is just 4 so far in my time there all from 2 different companies and all that are major players in acoustics industry. |
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| echosystm |
i wouldn't worry about it too much man, you can get ok accoustics in most normal bedrooms. the main reason most people don't is because of parents. i've been to a few recording studios and a lot of them have pretty poor acoustics too.
get front ported monitors. rear ported monitors are too hard to position properly and are unrealistic for most bedroom studios. eg. you shouldn't put rear ported monitors infront of windows. on the topic of windows, get VERY thick curtains (like a quilt) and you will be fine; glass will reflect highs, but bass will just pass through. try to keep the room generally symmetrical - don't have a massive window running down one side.
in regards to recording, i strongly suggest you look into something like the realtraps pvb http://www.realtraps.com/p_pvb.htm. you can make one of these yourself really easily and use it for lots of things, maybe even guitar amps. it's basically just a normal absorbption panel, mounted to your mic stand. |
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| kitphillips |
Ah ok thanks for the info guys:) Good to know that about windows, so I'll try to keep windows away from my desk, or at least to the side maybe? Or does that violate the symmetry rule too much?
What about floor and wall materials?
Pitched ceiling or flat ceiling?
I'll definately have a look over at Geaslutz for the acoustic tiles and stuff too. |
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| Eldritch |
Go for an isolation booth for the vocals and guitar. No amount of acoutic treatment will stop sound from leaking outside the room. I just built one and it blocks sound from leaking outside my apartment.
This is a great resource for acoustics and studio building in general. http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/index.php |
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| Eldritch |
| quote: | Originally posted by kitphillips
Ah ok thanks for the info guys:) Good to know that about windows, so I'll try to keep windows away from my desk, or at least to the side maybe? Or does that violate the symmetry rule too much?
What about floor and wall materials?
Pitched ceiling or flat ceiling?
I'll definately have a look over at Geaslutz for the acoustic tiles and stuff too. |
Symmetry is important. Just put curtains over the window and hang some absorbers behind the curtain.
Speaking of absorbers.. Read this thread. http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=10304
There's lots of info on how to make really good DIY absorbers. |
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| kitphillips |
More great info, thanks alot Felix and Eldritch:)
I have considered the idea of an isolation booth, and the Realtraps stuff, but I'd much rather avoid it if possible, mainly because I like space around me when I practise guitar, so its not that great for that. I doubt there'll be room to build a proper isolation booth too, and they aren't very attractive in a bedroom:p
Same with Realtraps too, I have an issue finding somewhere for my mic stand where I won't trip over it, so I can only imagine how much worse it'd be if I had a trap stuck on it:eek:
I was just thinking too, when I put my guitar amp out in the living room with 2 metres of space on each side of it, I find its a lot treblier and the bass is easier to control. When Its in my room its very boomy and unpleasant. I've tried it in a corner facing outwards and also flat against a wall, seems the same. so two questions: will I get better results out of having it flat, or in the corner? And also, if I got some foam or pillows (maybe something like what the guy eldritch mentioned has created) and stuck it behind the cabinet, would that make it better or worse? Its an open backed cabinet with 2 12 inch speakers. |
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| Eldritch |
| Foam? Pillows? You need high density material to aborb mid/bass frequencies. You need atleast rock wool at 80kg/m3 or glass wool at 40kg/m3. |
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| kitphillips |
| Ah OK, so higher density, I see. Good to know I'm on the right track though. From what I'm reading it seems that Low density stuff works for absorbing high frequencies and you need denser material for low frequencies, I never realised that before! Thanks again for the help:) |
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| echosystm |
for recording the amp, i think you can make one of those isolation boxes. could work ok?
it's basically just a box, with a load of rockwool, you put your amp and microphone in. |
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| kitphillips |
Yeah I saw that on that studio forum and suddenly understood what you guys meant... I thought you meant a proper little room:o
Yeah it's a good idea for recording, but I often record direct anyway, so most of the noise is created by practising, which goes on for far longer than recording anyway. So it probably wouldn't be the most practical. I'm going to look into making up some rockwool pads for behind my amp though to combat that bass problem, so hopefully that'll help the noise issue a bit. Once I get the full proper studio happening, I'll look into getting it completely insulated so I don't bother anyone at all. |
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