New Studio

[macmanmatty]

 Hello I am converting a chain link  (fence will be removed) cat enclosure in to a new recording studio, my outside noise levels in dbs are,  ambient readings for A is under 30db and for C is 45db This for just nature and wind. When the neighbors have there AC/ heat about 100ft away on the A jumps to 45db and C goes to 50db. But that is only by the long outer wall of the live room. The maximum DB readings (loudest when a Semi- Truck goes by this doesn't happen often as we are on back county road but there are still stores that need pepsi, Miller, and sysco; ). 50db for A and 75db for C. I have never actually gotten numbers this high they are rounded up from around 47-49 for A and 73-74 for C. 

I have included a cad drawing of the studio. Everything is to scale. and all dimensions are in inches if the number has more than digit after the decimal point round up to the nearest .5 inch. The square in the middle and the other two squares as well. is a filled concrete block and is one the pilings for our house that is 12 foot high in the air. I plan to rip all of the current celling and bring the studio to the bottom of our house which makes the ceilings about 9' 8" high. The concrete slab it sits on is at places slightly over 2ft thick. Every line in the wall is where a 2x4 is they are on 2ft centers but for the where the 1/2" durock will be installed on the outer walls of the live room Ithere will be 2x4's on 18 in centers. Where there is a double wall in the live room the inner 2x4's will be on 18" centers for the 3x5 durock sheets which will also be 1/2". I was going fill both walls with 3 1/2" thick r-13 fiberglass insulation that is 15" wide and seal all gaps with great stuff expanding foam. NO durock or anything else other than the insulation  on the insides of the walls and they will be 1.5-2" apart from each other unless you think I would need more?   I was only going to double the outer walls of the the live room as I don't have that many db's to cancel and I think that it would only needed there?  Is it even worth it to just double the outer walls of the live room? i was think that since all of the double walls dead end into 12" x 16" filled concrete blocks that just  doubling the walls of the live room would be effective  and I would not need to double all of the other outer walls. Is this good logic?

In the control room I plan to do all of the mixing and monitering with headphones as that is what I am used to and with weird way of hearing things that works best for me. ( I hear can't notes, octaves , keys or anything musically related All I hear is sounds and I can hear sounds no one else does. I hear people talking (most likely people in the control room) in old records from the 50's 60's and 70's that no one else can; But I can play ANY stringed instrument very good and by ear).  I also Have another room that is much more acoustically treated that I can listen to tracks in.

The walls of the control room are already covered with 3/8" plywood on both sides and filled with 3 1/2" fiberglass insulation (but it was old and some of the paper was rotten fiberglass was fine though). Would their be any added benefit to putting 1/2" durock on the outside over the plywood? Or on the inside aswell?

The doors are homemade doors out of 2x4's that are 3 1/2" thick one side now is 3/8" ply wood and I will fill them with insulation and put durock or possibly more plywood if the weight limits won't let me use durock. They are hung by three heavy duty hinges and are 80" tall.


To cool this the summer I was just going to put a window ac in the storage room and turn it off when I am recording. Sometimes in the summer the outside humidity is 100% and temps are 98+ would I need an additional de-humidifer and possibly a source of fresh air as well?

 

 

attached is the cad drawing

Any other tips advice or ideas would appreciated! 

Thanks

Jesse Macmanmatty

Edited February 8, 2014 by macmanmatty

[dnafe]

I would suggest you run this design by the guys at these forums...good people, good advice

 

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

 

http://recording.org/index.php?forums/studio-construction-acoustics-forum.24/

[macmanmatty]

I would suggest you run this design by the guys at these forums...good people, good advice

 

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

 

http://recording.org/index.php?forums/studio-construction-acoustics-forum.24/

 

 

I have posted at johnsayers forum and have made many modifications to my design based on the advice there.

[symphonious7]

does your hearing condition have a name?  I have a hearing condition too I can't remember what it's called, but it means that I see sound more than I hear it.  I just looked it up it's called "Synesthesia"  But I've heard it makes it difficult to mix, as I can't just listen to the emotion in a song, instead I see the shapes of each sound.  I've noticed that in popular recordings they usually have the bass and kick looking like a diamond in the center of the mix, and then the off shoot sounds make ovals and the main ones shoot out like a curvy trumpet shape.  So when I mix and my sounds don't create these shapes I spend ages trying to get them to, even though I'm told I shouldn't listen in that way.  I don't however hear things most people can't, so I'm curious about your condition.  

[dnafe]

I've heard of it but never met anyone who suffers from it...must be bizarre...so you are actually seeing things...are the shapes big, small? mostly transparent?, colored?  

 

I'm very curious - hope you don't mind the questions

[macmanmatty]

I don't know about his condition, But I play by math and music theory.

 

 

If I'm playing in key of G major I  know that the G major scale is  G A B C D E F# G and a G major chord is composed of the first third and fifth of that scale or G B D the most common added notes to that chord are A and C or the 2nd and 4th. Sometimes you may use a 6th or the E note.  I also know that root 4th and 5th chords of the G Major scale or G C D are major and the 2nd 3rd and 6th chords are minor or A B E and the Em chord is the relative minor of the G Major chord. The 7th F# is dimished in the G major scale. Now when I go to a C Major chord the 4th in G major scale I know  that the C major scale is  C D E F G A B C and a C major chord is composed of the first third and fifth of that scale or C E G the most common added notes to that chord in key of G major are D and A or the 2nd and 6th. I may also use a 7th or a B note.  When I go to a D chord 5th in key of   G major the D major scale is  D E F# G A B C# D and a D major chord is composed of the first third and fifth of that scale or D F# A the most common added notes to that chord are G and E or the 2nd and 4th. Sometimes you may use a 6th or the B note. When I go to a E minor chord the relative minor of G major chord I know that the   E  minor scale is  E F# G A B C D E and a E minor chord is composed of the first third and fifth of that scale or E G B the most common added notes to that chord are A and  D or the 4th and 7th. Sometimes you may use a 2nd or the F# note.  When I go to a B  minor chord I know that the   B  minor scale is  B C# D E F# G A  and a B minor chord is composed of the first third and fifth of that scale or B D F# the most common added notes to that chord are A and  E or the 4th and 7th. Sometimes you may use a 2nd or the C# note. When I go to a A minor chord I know that the   A  minor scale is  A B C D E F G and a A minor chord is composed of the first third and fifth of that scale or A C E the most common added notes to that chord are B  D and G  or the 4th and 2nd and 7th.

 

 

All this goes in my head the first three seconds of playing.  I know what I'm doing but because my ear is tin I play entirely by math, logic, scales, chord theory and music theory.  It's not that I can't hear the notes, it's that every thing I hear is different, no two notes sound the same even though they are the same note.  A 440 hz , 220 hz, 110 hz, 55 hz waves are all   A notes but my ears / brain wouldn't know that. They are just 4 different sounds  unless they are played 2 different instruments then they would be 8 different sounds.  or 12 sounds for three instruments even if they are all guitars. So I have to play my math because if I played by what my ears hear I would get lost pretty quick.  But my unique condition does make me better mixer as I can hear the different sounds and make them blend like no one else can.

Edited March 6, 2014 by macmanmatty

[dnafe]

Hey Jesse

 

My understanding is mass is the only thing that will prevent the transmission of sound so where ever you can put up either 5/8 particle board or drywall I'd do so, i. e. the inner side of the outter wall should have some as well as the inner side of the inner wall.  I'm not sure what r13 will get you as I've been using the Canadian equivalent Corning 703. Roxul RHT 40 (or 60 not positive as it's been a couple of years)

May I ask why Durock as opposed to 1/2 dry wall  - if I remember correctly the price was pretty steep for the same surface area, although things have probably changed since then.

 

For your Control room door you could by two rolls of barrymatt and glue them to either side of the door then add a layer of plywood or particle board...barrymatt has the equivalent sound absorption as 7 sheets of drywall (I think) ...you could also try Green Glue between layers of drywall or durock or particle board - it's the equivilent of 10 sheets of drywall (I think) and is damn expensive but it does work.

Also remember to use a rubber type seal around the doors - car trunk gasket does a pretty good job - chevy's the best  hehehe

 

Best of luck with your build!

 

 

edited to add - I would love to be able to hear (or see) things the way you guys do for a day...would probably blow my mind...kudos to you both for pursuing your music...it's awesome!

Edited March 6, 2014 by dnafe

[macmanmatty]

May I ask why Durock as opposed to 1/2 dry wall  - if I remember correctly the price was pretty steep for the same surface area, although things have probably changed since then.

 

 

 

Durock is m ore expensive but it is heavier and more weather proof plus in the future if I need more db of isolation I can just motor some cement blocks to it.

[symphonious7]

I've heard of it but never met anyone who suffers from it...must be bizarre...so you are actually seeing things...are the shapes big, small? mostly transparent?, colored?  

 

I'm very curious - hope you don't mind the questions

Small really.  It's like having glasses on and I see them coming out of the stereo in my minds eye.  You know when you close your eyes and see splotches, and then when you open them they're still there but you can still see in spite of it?  It's kinda like that.  If I hear an earthquake I might see a cloud going up and down, if I hear a keyboard I might see ripples like a river.  But I see it the most when anylizing a mix.  To me mixes look like an atom sorta.  It's like this black nucleus of bass and then it has things swirling around it and hanging off of it, the main instruments like rhythm guitar or piano usually hang right below it in a good mix, with the vocal then taking up the top of the mix and usually the center is a diamond like I already said.  But in my mixes it doesn't look like that and I start trying to make it LOOK like that rather than just listening lol  I talked about this a bit on another forum I was on and a guy who had heard of it said he heard that for musicians it was a curse.  When you consider how much trouble I have mixing I'd have to agree...

 

Edit:  On an interesting note, it shows me just how precise professional producers can be.  This doesn't happen so much on newer recordings, but on the old 70's productions like pinkfloyd and steely dan etc, they fit their sounds together so perfectly it's like placing them in a puzzle.  Like in my mixes and even pretty good mixes these days, there are holes between the sounds a bit, or some sounds overlap a little, in really bad mixes you get lines zig zagging and crossing each other all over the place, but even in good mixes they overlap a little bit but still reach the correct general vicinity.  But in the old mixes?  It's as if someone measured the areas of each sounds core essence and then cut them up to fit together with exact precision.  It's quite amazing really.  I have no idea how they did that but on some records it's there.  

[dnafe]

 

May I ask why Durock as opposed to 1/2 dry wall  - if I remember correctly the price was pretty steep for the same surface area, although things have probably changed since then.

 

 

 

Durock is m ore expensive but it is heavier and more weather proof plus in the future if I need more db of isolation I can just motor some cement blocks to it.

 

 

So I'm assuming the cost / benefit falls heavily on the side of Durock as opposed to layers of drywall...I remember working with that stuff and it doesn't always play nice

[macmanmatty]

Here is my progress so far my hard working crew (composed of me, myself and I) have torn down the chain link cat enclosure and nothing is left but 2x4's on 2ft centers. I took down the false ceiling (stapled up 3/8" plywood does not come off easy!!)  that was 22" below the bottom of the house. When I get done with that ceiling construction they will be 9.5 ft tall instead of 8ft tall. will update as I progress

 

 

before

 

 

 

now

Edited March 31, 2014 by macmanmatty

[macmanmatty]

Here are some updates on the studio progress. There are 4 rooms a 210 sq. ft. "L" shaped  tracking / control room 35 sq. ft isolation booth 90 sq. ft tracking / bedroom 16 sq. ft bathroom. The walls are double frame MSM system with 1/2" durock  and r-13 fiberglass  on the outside and r-13 fiberglass and then 1/2" osb 3/8" plywood  and then 5/8" drywall. The ceiling  is  vinyl tile and tar paper  along with  1/2" particle  board  then 3/4" oak flooring  then 3/4" foam board with green glue  and r-19 fiberglass in between the joists and then RC-8  resilient channel to decouple the ceiling from  the floor above  then 3/8" plywood and then 3/4" oak plywood. All of the  audio outlets are are one phase and are isolated ground  and the common ground outlets, ventilation fans, and lights are on the other. the 240 v mini-split ac will share both phases however. All rooms other than the bathroom bathroom have audio connections xlr and trs  and trs headphone connections. the main  console is a soundcraft gb-32  32 channel mixer.  here are some pics of the the progress  

half way finished

 

 

3/4 of the way finished

 

 

Almost done

 

 

Edited October 4, 2015 by macmanmatty

[TapperMike]

Wow, that's a lot of work.

[macmanmatty]

Wow, that's a lot of work.

when you are doing  90%+ it yourself that a whole lot of work and time.  So far I have done everything myself except the ceiling  drywall  and some of the outer walls which  me and  friends did together   and  painting which my dad did  because  I cant paint (more paint on the floor than the wall i'm painting and more paint on me than either of the other two).