John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum Archive

Subject line says it all, I guess. Would anybody out there care to share with me how they were able to set up their synth-oriented studio? I don't mean for two or three keyboards; I have three A-frames I'd like to have ready access to, plus a modular that takes up about 35 rack units, in addition to about 35 RU's of outboard pres, effects, etc; plus a 32.8 console. In all the examples I've seen of rigs this size, the rooms look like they either sound like hell (Clouser/NIN) or cost $10 million to build (Hans Zimmer)... I've got some kludgy ideas, but before I post those for feedback I'd like to see how (if?) others have already tackled the same problem.

best,
- Scott

If you want it all in the same room with you, one way would be the "jet cockpit" approach -

If you can keep all your racks at desk height, they can be nearly anywhere in the room with not too much acoustic problem - then, the three A frames could go evenly behind you (as you face the speakers) - a good, QUIET, chair and you just spin around and play with whatever turns yer crank...

I've done similar with a "writing room" approach, had mixer/nearfields in one location, guitar with floor processor at another, E-drums at another, small keystack at yet another - all within reach of the same chair location, just rotate. Some sort of CAD program can help lay this out.

Of course, aesthetics and acoustics would still need to be addressed - but as I said, if you can keep most of the gear low profile that will help. The key stacks behind you shouldn't cause much problem, their angles should not return much to the mix position if the rest of the room is treated... Steve

Thanks Steve! I had always been assuming that I would have a couch in the rear of the room. But the more I think about having access to all the gear in-the-round, the less I really care about having a couch. I've always found that it slows things down considerably to have other people in the room anyway.

I'd still love to see some photos of studios that are set up this way... Anybody want to show off their labors and ingenuity?

My floor is concrete, and I would like to simply stain it for looks. The ceiling will be plasterboard on RC, with a matte paint. The unfinished ceiling is 7'. Do you think I will need to float a cloud over the mix position? Am I just being ignorant in thinking to leave the concrete exposed?

best,
- Scott

Concrete is fine, you may want an area rug or two to break it up - and yes, a cloud will be almost mandatory to avoid flutter between floor and ceiling and to take some of the reflections down a bit.

I don't have pix of the "writing room" I described, and it's since been disassembled on the way to a full-fledged studio - ground breaking won't likely happen before a couple of years but I'm forced to do SOMETHING in between due to some industrial video work that's been dropped in my lap - however this won't likely look anything like what you need...

Anybody out there into synths, got any pix? C'mon, 2000 lurkers can't ALL be "Pix-less"... Steve

I love this keyboard based studio here in town. Very nice vibe and atmosphere.

http://www.thevalleystudio.com/

Looks really comfortable. Yeah, even from the photos it's clear that there's a really nice vibe in that space.

I'm attaching a really crappy drawing I did in MacDraft of my plans so far. I'd really appreciate any feedback! I'm more of a pencil and paper kinda guy, so this is really crude and only "more or less" accurate (doors may not be exact widths for example) but everything is pretty close. Just sloppy because this is my first time trying to lay this stuff out on a computer... On paper it all works

The unfinished ceiling is 7'; I'll lose some of that when I finish it. I'll hang a cloud over the mix position - probably similar to the one at The Valley Studio - incorporating track lights.

This is for a project studio; it's not a commercial studio so I don't need a drum room. Just a whisper booth and an amp room. Those two rooms, and the utility room will have proper double-framed walls on RC, with rockwool between.

I didn't draw doors on the closets because I'm not sure what I'll do there. Maybe folding doors?

All windows except for the one in the utility room are glass block. I thought I could close up the one in the amp room easily enough, but the ones in front of the CR are a puzzler. Is it sufficient to hang heavy draps in front of them? Or, since they're symmetrical, and since glass block has an irregular face, could they possibly be fine as is?

It's tight, but I've been in smaller whisper rooms/vocal booths...

I'm assuming I'll have to have a somewhat dead amp room, yeah? Or are there steps I could take to massage a lively sound out of such a tight space? I mostly want to use it for sending signals out through guitar and bass amps, so a little ambience would be nice. Would it be impossible to put drums in there? Unfinished, the room is 7' tall, 6.5 wide, with an irregular length 11' on one side and 6.5' on the other (see drawing).

All floors are currently concrete. I'm thinking about laying down a heavy rug in the vocal booth and some of that heavy limp vinyl (I think it's an Auralex product, yeah?) in the amp room. Throw rugs in the CR.

On a tangent: I read somewhere (maybe in another thread in this forum?) that before I suspend plasterboard on the ceiling, I should seal off all seams up there with "acoustic sealant", or alternately with butyl rubber. I went to Home Depot over the weekend and nobody there had any idea what I was asking for. Is this a specialty product? Can anyone point me to a specific product that I can look for by name?

best,
- Scott