Re-building my project/home- studio.

[boosh]

So I'm rebuilding my room. I want to create the perfect spot for me to work on my music and after years of sitting in this small room with piles of gear gathered around me I finally have some time and money to do it right.

 

The room is : 8 ' and 2.42 " x 6 ' and 2.80 "

 

 

Yup it's small,.. but it's the only space I got. I learned how to work in this room with all it's flaws and weird sound buildups.

 

This will be my little project and I probably will spend a few 1000s of hours in this room before I die so I want it to look and sound perfect.

 

I've made a few plans already but yesterday I was thinking of documenting everything I do and put it on a website so that other people with very small rooms like me could benefit from it.

 

What do you guys think? Would there be others interested in seeing a weblog about re-building a room that small?

[ggm1960]

So what's the idea, get rid of most the hardware and do things ITB?

[Ernest Buckley]

 

So I'm rebuilding my room. I want to create the perfect spot for me to work on my music and after years of sitting in this small room with piles of gear gathered around me I finally have some time and money to do it right. The room is : 8 ' and 2.42 " x 6 ' and 2.80 " Yup it's small,.. but it's the only space I got. I learned how to work in this room with all it's flaws and weird sound buildups. This will be my little project and I probably will spend a few 1000s of hours in this room before I die so I want it to look and sound perfect. I've made a few plans already but yesterday I was thinking of documenting everything I do and put it on a website so that other people with very small rooms like me could benefit from it. What do you guys think? Would there be others interested in seeing a weblog about re-building a room that small?

 

 

Yes, I`m definitely interested in watching and reading about your studio makeover. Please put up a blog and a link so we can follow. Good luck Boosh. I have a decent size room for what I do which is mostly record vocals, guitars & bass but I`ve been thinking about buying an Argosy desk for some time now and re-arranging things for the same reason as you, I spend lots of time there so it should be welcoming and comfy.

[boosh]

 

So what's the idea, get rid of most the hardware and do things ITB?

 

 

Ik work solely in the box at home but my pc and audiointerface are out of date. I need everything new with enough inputs and aux busses so I can hook up all kinds of outboard gear when wanted.

A Blog ,yeah I think I'll do that.

[russrags]

Hey Booshy,

 

The 1st thing I'd do, is get another mic like your new one, then you'll have a matched pair and can have twice as much fun.

Poke a hole through your wall and run your computer cables through it, get your computer into another room, and forget the vocal booth.

I'd then go with Polar Bear fur and Leopard skin treatment on everything.

 

I'm still waiting on pictures of your kitchen !!!!!

 

Russ

Nashville

[boosh]

I'm going to build a noise free closet for the pc Rusty(so the whole room is vocalbooth and controlroom at once). Can't go through the walls here. The other mic I'll buy later. I can only use one at a time now so 2 mics won't help me.

 

1/ treat the room

2/ Build new furniture and a desk.

3/ new PC/Audio interface (dual monitors)+ midicontrollers and a mixercontroller and a keyboard.

4/ new mic

5/ new videocam + some outboardgear(maybe a nice pre-amp)

 

edit : I've sent you those pics 3 times already,.. stay of the bourbon man.

[boosh]

 

 

 

Indeed! And what's more important to me is that whenever a musician comes in to record guitar or bass or whatever because he heared others tell him what I do with music and sounds,...they always get a weird feeling because my set-up at home looks like a bedroomstudio. Stuff piles up inhere and I even have three boxes of crickets inhere that are used for food for little Skippy's toads that he keeps in a paladarium lol.

 

Here I am, there's a few pages in a book that Bruce wrote about me with picture and all and I have to invite people into my bedroom.

 

This place needs to look and feel like being in a real studio. It needs to give musicians the idea that magic happens here and now it just doesn't do that. I know for a fact that beautiful recordings can be made in this room and maybe even better when it's rebuilt so making a Blog about it isn't such a bad idea. I'm now thinking of capturing it all on vid and posting that in the Blog as well for others to learn and see what you can do in such a small room. Maybe even create some instructional videos about producing music the cheap way by using free-plugins and daws.

 

What I'm looking for now is some way to measure my room's acoustics and find out what my room needs to improve. Diffusers? Basstraps? Tubetraps? How can you find out what you need to do?

Any suggestions? We ain't gonna close this by just covering all the walls with some layers of foam,....

 

Booshy

[roomjello]

Why not make it as cozy as possible, get some fresh air in there, and get a really great, like $1000 pair of head phones, Grados etc.

Your room acoustics are not going to be worth treating in that small of a space and you don't have room for bass trapping.

 

Second to phones try using IK media's ARC program. It may help you out and be cheaper than buying a bunch of crap like tube traps.

 

I'm trying to save you money here. I have done a {censored}load of research on this stuff in the last while as i am building my second studio this year. I have worked in an under sized studio for the last 8 years, and i painfully and intimately know the problems the small space causes in recordings and mixing. I can tell you that your only option is to kill EVERY thing in that small of a space and you don't have room to even do that. So make it nice, keep the volume low and use good headphones.

[boosh]

Thanks for the advice but headphones are a huge No here ;-)

[roomjello]

 

Thanks for the advice but headphones are a huge No here ;-)

 

 

Ok, fair enough. They are a great tool regardless, i wouldn't rule them out completely.

ARC may be your best bet, Read up on how it works....http://www.ikmultimedia.com/arc/download/ARC-1.1-User-Manual.pdf it makes sense.

ARC and maybe dull up the hi reflections a bit if you are hearing your voice back when you talk.

[boosh]

Well I use headphones while tracking ofcourse.

I decided to go for esthetics and some basstrapping/diffusers and some panels. I know what the flaws of this room are so I guess it's going to work out.

 

Please tell me you are kidding with the ARC solution.

[roomjello]

 

Well I use headphones while tracking ofcourse. I decided to go for esthetics and some basstrapping/diffusers and some panels. I know what the flaws of this room are so I guess it's going to work out. Please tell me you are kidding with the ARC solution.

 

Please tell me you are kidding trying to treat a 6'x8' room.

[nice keetee]

Nearfield monitors for sure.

[boosh]

 

Please tell me you are kidding trying to treat a 6'x8' room.

 

 

Nevermind man. You go with the headphones and a roomsimulating EQ. I go with treating my room and my Yamaha HS80m Monitors.

[John Sayers]

Boosh - I have a whole website dedicated to your question. Why not visit it.

 

http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/index.php

 

it's actually my signature.

[boosh]

Thanks John! I knew that you and Ethan are heavily involved in stuff like this. I'll check it out later tonight.

 

Boosh

[John Sayers]

Yup we are.

 

here are my latest designs

 

http://www.johnlsayers.com/Pages/Shanghai_Twang.htm

 

http://www.johnlsayers.com/Pages/112F.htm

[boosh]

They're a bit larger than my room ;-)

[roomjello]

 

Nevermind man. You go with the headphones and a roomsimulating EQ. I go with treating my room and my Yamaha HS80m Monitors.

 

 

Hey Boosh, I'm only trying to share what i have learned the hard way over the last several years.

If you don't want to hear it that's fine. I just thought i would try to save you the disappointment of not getting where you want to get and spending money you shouldn't spend.

If ultimately your goal is to make good recordings and mixes that translate well then you are going to have to let go of the idea of that small of a room being suitable to do so.

And thus the tools that will help you out consistently if you are to be working in that room are the ones i mentioned.

I have used ARC and it helps a lot. Have you tried it? Don't knock it till you do. It's meant for guys like us.

 

I'll leave you to it.

John's Forum is a wonderful resource btw.

[boosh]

I've been working in rooms this size at home since I was 12. I'm 39 now so I guess I have some experience too when it comes to knowing what problems you can run in to. Mixing with headphones or a Corrective EQ is not what works for me.

You can tell me 2 million times it's made for guys like us but clearly we are not alike. I can get perfectly great mixes in this room as we speak but I have to think of certain things like sitting in the right spot and leaving the door closed. I can hear a bass build up behind me at the ceiling and when I snap my fingers on the left side of my desk there's a weird reflection.

I do dub reggae, drum and bass, hiphop and R&B overhere. Now how the hell are you going to feel that bass hit your stomach through headphones?

 

If the ARC system works for you,...great! I've heard people tell otherwise. I just need my room to sound as good as it can without fiddling around with systems like that.

 

Browsing John's forum right now. Good stuff!

 

 

 

 

Hey Boosh, I'm only trying to share what i have learned the hard way over the last several years. If you don't want to hear it that's fine. I just thought i would try to save you the disappointment of not getting where you want to get and spending money you shouldn't spend. If ultimately your goal is to make good recordings and mixes that translate well then you are going to have to let go of the idea of that small of a room being suitable to do so. And thus the tools that will help you out consistently if you are to be working in that room are the ones i mentioned. I have used ARC and it helps a lot. Have you tried it? Don't knock it till you do. It's meant for guys like us. I'll leave you to it. John's Forum is a wonderful resource btw.