Stuthumper Posted July 29, 2001 Share Posted July 29, 2001 hey guys i'm going to build my own home studio and i was wondering if any of u guys have built ur own studio and if u have any tips tricks eg building materials to use? that could help me out thanx stu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1642605905 Posted July 29, 2001 Share Posted July 29, 2001 Thumper, You know I have so I'll let someone else post! ian* ian* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrummerCafe Posted July 29, 2001 Share Posted July 29, 2001 I built the one I'm in now. I converted my garage into a small project studio / practice studio. Here's my basic recommendations if you are using an existing room. First, if possible, a free standing room which does not share any of the walls, floors or ceiling is going to give you the best insulation. Float the floor if the other two are not possible. I gutted my entire garage before I began. Used two layers of standard Sheet Rock (3/4 inch) on the walls and ceiling; R-19 or thicker in the walls (I can't remember exactly what I used). There are a lot of possibilities for the wall materials (ie. Sound Board). I think Sheet Rock is the cheapest. I blew in 10 inches of insulation in the ceiling. Put in a new garage door that has 2 inches of insulation (styro foam), plus built a false wall with a 30" wide door for the outside wall. Having the garage door on the inside, a 4 inch air space and then the outside "false" wall really cut down on the outside noise. I call it a false wall because it could be knocked out if needed (like if I sold the house). So for loading gear in and out ... it's a breeze. I just open the garage door (automatic door opener), which then reveals the false wall. I unlatch the door (built into the wall) which reveals my cargo van which remains backed up to the door in the drive way. If I need to load gear quickly to get to a recording session or help out a frantic band leader, I'm only a few feet from my van ... which is AWESOME I must say. I originally used to back my van inside the studio (before the false wall) so that when I got home from late gigs, I didn't have to unload my gear. Nice, safe way to leave my drums over night. But alas, I have too much gear and needed the room; plus I wanted to cut down more of the outside noise. Oh, I also ran the Heat/Air duct out to the garage. Make sure you have enough BTU to do this, or by a Heat Pump and install it some how. So in closing (sorry for giving more info than anyone would possibly want to know) there are several basic things to remember. 1) Air makes the BEST insulator. Creating air pockets and space between two walls is the key. 2) Not allowing your studio structure to connect and/or touch the rest of the house structure will keep sound from traveling in or out. 3) Mass is the second best insulator. If you structure MUST touch the rest of the house's frame or walls ... building up the thickness of the walls will really help. 4) If you need to absorp sound inside the studio, you need something that is fluffy and not too dense. Putting carpet on the walls isn't going to work very well. The sound just reflects off the flat surface. The expensive types of "sound foam" works well because it has different angles and shapes, plus the foam is "fluffy" and will absorb. Egg crate foam is better than nothing, but you don't have to put it all over the walls. I personally have a number of "office dividers" which are free standing walls on wheels. The have foam insulation in the walls covered by a burlap material on both sides. You also may want to create some "bass traps". The low frequencies are the one's that travel and refract around corners; this is due to the wide wave patterns. High frequencies tend to be more directional. Just thick of what you hear when a car rolls by with the stereo cracked and the windows rolled up. BASS BABY!!! 5) Try to eliminate flat, parallel surfaces. A garage or standard room in a home is typically bad in that it's too square. Creating some non-parallel surfaces (you could use office dividers like I do) will break up the sound in your studio and not let it bounce all over the place. I track drums and percussion in my studio, so it's nice having these dividers that I can move around. If I need to liven the room up, I adjust the divider walls so that the room isn't so broken up. I hope this helps. Remember, these are just some BASIC ideas and a place to start. Good luck and have fun! ------------------ Bart Elliott http://bartelliott.com Drummer Cafe - community drum & percussion forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felix stein Posted July 30, 2001 Share Posted July 30, 2001 The studio craze is on! Are you doing a room in your house or garage like Bart man is describing? Is isolation a factor or not? ie. keep your noise in and the outside noise out. You will need to mix up wall and floor surface materials ie/barrier sheet/celotex sound stop (I prefer) rsc channel...lots of construction glue/acoustic caulk/silicone caulk. Tons of screws. Oh shit, I feel so sorry for you! Dead air is a good thing...so is SAB mineral filled insulation. We blew that newspaper shit around before in a practice room we built and I felt I did a better job taking down the drywall and re-insulating or possibly extend the stud walls. Blowing newspaper is fun though. I never laughed so hard in my life when we did that. There are so many variables. JUST DO IT! Do you have windows with leakage? We will be here if you need us LOL. felix's band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrummerCafe Posted July 30, 2001 Share Posted July 30, 2001 Yeah, but don't be calling me to come over and help! How's that Bette Midler song go? "From a distance ...." Drummer Cafe - community drum & percussion forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1642605905 Posted July 30, 2001 Share Posted July 30, 2001 It's definately a labor of love! ian* ian* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModernDrummer Posted July 30, 2001 Share Posted July 30, 2001 O.K., you all convinced me. I'm not doing it now... http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/frown.gif No, just kidding. Of course I'm (the band) is going to do it. For a bit of general info: We have a free standing building about 200+ feet from any surrounding habitated building. Since it was there when the property was purchased, not sure what it was originally used for. Possibly a garage. Built pretty much like one, sort of a shell on a slab, but no garage door, just two walk-ins. The building itself is about 5 years old and I think it's at least 40' x 40', perhaps somewhat larger. So I think there's sufficient space for a room in a room thing. Standard gabled ceiling, which I figured would work as vaulted ceiling to give more cubic volume. Heating and electric are already present, but we'll need to add air conditioning. The control room won't be contained within the existing walls, it'll be added on later. LOL, and of course, a bar, 'fridge and toilet facilities. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/wink.gif For now though, we'll be able to use it as a rehearsal space and very informal studio. I already understand some basics: Floating floors, walls, double sealing double doors, oversize doors, isolation, insulation, bass traps for the trihedral areas, staggered joints, keep some portions reflective and live, etc. One question I have is if the walls are to be non-parallel, HOW non-parallel to they need to be? Just a straight taper from one end to the other? Or more of a zig-zag design? Obviously the zig-zag would be a bit more effort, but if it's more efficient, it's not THAT much more effort. A few beers, and it's zig-zagged anyway! LMAO! http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif And yes, we understand there'll be some $$$ that need to be spent. Before we ever put sound equipment inside. Different doors, apparently a million tubes of caulk (!), one screw for every dollar Bill Gates has (!!), etc. But hey, it's a group project and we gotta do sumpin' with our money. Who wants to fly to Vail, CO. to ski anyway? Afterall, as skiers go, I'm a half-way decent drummer! LMAO! http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif ThanX A Million everyone for the help. Researching this (a lot more involved than our current sound-deadened room) is certainly giving me an education! And also the observation that there's not as much useful information on building a studio as I had thought. I figured there'd be just dozens of books, pamplets, websites, etc., etc., etc. Like there is for almost any other construction project. What's the big secret? Jeez, you can find out about almost every nut and washer in Gates $50+ million home? Ya can't find a book of studio plans?? I'm mean ultimately it's just 4 parts, isn't it? Separate, mass, isolate, insulate? If you always do what you've always done, you'll always have what you've always had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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