Acoustics advice sought on a home studio build.
Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2011 12:14 am
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
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
