Acoustics advice sought on a home studio build.

[myeggsareboiled]

Hi there. I'm Rick, and I hail from Aberdeen, Scotland. I'm currently setting up an amateur home studio. Invariably, as with most home studios, I am having to make compromises with certain aspects, but I'm hoping that someone more knowledgable than me can help me get the most important factors right - i.e. the acoustics of the space. First off I'll explain what I want to do in my studio - I want to record rock/electronica music. Guitar, Bass, Drums, Vox keys etc. I'm not a screaming metalhead by a long shot, and value my ears, so I don't play anything particularly loudly. I do not consider myself an audio professional, but I do like to do things as well as I can, so it is important to me that I can capture my music to the best of my ability and budget.

My recording equipment is also not what I would call 'pro'. I use a MOTU 828 to channel music into Logic 9, using microphones such as Shure SM57's, Rode NTA-1's etc. Nothing stellar, but good enough for me. My monitoring equipment at the moment (until such time as budget permits an upgrade) is through a Samson Servo 170 amp, to a pair of bowers & wilkinson 600 series speakers. I understand that these aren't ideal, however they are what I have to work with at this point.

Some information about my space:

My home studio is being set up in an L-shaped timber cabin type outbuilding. (Currently a garage, but I will be replacing the garage door with a wall and window in due course.) The walls are 2 inch thick tongue and groove pine, and the structure is set on a very thick concrete slab. (Approx a metre deep at one end, the other end goes into the dirt, but I suspect it is the same depth. Dimensions are attached to the files studio 1 and studio 2 (please excuse the rough drawings, but they give the necessary info.) The space at the moment is very live sounding. There is also a small window directly behind where the computer monitor is on the sketchup.
After having some discussions with people more knowledgable than myself on the studio central forums, I settled on the idea of lining the entire structure with 4" thick RW3 Rockwool (The UK equivalent of corning 703). I also plan to add floor to ceiling bass traps in all the corners. I plan to leave a 1" gap behind the insulation, and face it with some kind of fabric (probably burlap or similar). Obviously, doing this will completely deaden the space, so in order to reclaim a bit of life to the sound, I want to add timber strips to the walls in the performance space (see images studio 3 and 4).

My question to anyone here who might take the time to answer, is:
Would there be an optimum ratio/thickness/spacing etc for the timber strips? I thought about making a system where I can move the strips to 'tune' the room, but I'm wondering if there are rules or ratios for that kind of thing?

In terms of budget, I am not wealthy, and will generally DIY as much as possible to save money. By that I mean I can't afford to purchase expensive diffusers etc in the next few years, and my skill level as a musician probably couldn't justify such an expense. I'm not totally poverty stricken either though, and am more than happy to spend a couple of hundred pounds (uk) if it will improve the overall useability (and therefore my enjoyment) of my space. If a better solution is available for a bit more cash, then I'd look at it too. It just means it would take me longer to get the readies together. I'd rather do something once, to a reasonable standard, than multiple times 'on the cheap'.

I hope that I've provided enough information, and that I've obeyed all the rules. Apologies if I have missed anything.

Thanks in advance for any responses I might receive.

Rick

[leon.payne]

Hi Rick,
For tuning rooms and slat information see the below link

http://johnlsayers.com/Recmanual/index.htm

I believe the information you are looking for is the Helmholz calculator on the right hand side

[leon.payne]

I would suggest taking some readings of both your room acoustics with Room EQ wizard (you can do a search for it on this site), the noise levels of the environment (SPL Meter) and the level of what your planning to do in there.

You may want (after taking some of these readings) to incorporate some treatment to reduce either noise from outside appearing on your tracks or your music's levels to say your neighbors.
If your neighbors think you music is to loud they could cause problems for you.....worth considering

[myeggsareboiled]

Hi Rick,
For tuning rooms and slat information see the below link

http://johnlsayers.com/Recmanual/index.htm

I believe the information you are looking for is the Helmholz calculator on the right hand side

That's fantastic. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

[myeggsareboiled]

I would suggest taking some readings of both your room acoustics with Room EQ wizard (you can do a search for it on this site), the noise levels of the environment (SPL Meter) and the level of what your planning to do in there.

You may want (after taking some of these readings) to incorporate some treatment to reduce either noise from outside appearing on your tracks or your music's levels to say your neighbors.
If your neighbors think you music is to loud they could cause problems for you.....worth considering

Thanks for your response. I've just downloaded Room Eq, and will be testing things out tomorrow.