Setting up my "Man Cave" recording studio. Could use some help...

[BoneDigger]

I am in the process of convincing the wife to let me buy one of these for my backyard:



It will serve a dual purpose as a small recording studio (for just me) and a man cave with a couch and chair and TV. It will have a window unit heat and AC unit, thermostatic controlled.

Now, these come unfinished on the inside, with just studs and open rafters. I will be finishing the interior myself, so I have a little leeway on how to finish it out. I will be running my own electric, putting in insulation, flooring, ceiling, and walls. I was thinking paneling on some kind, but now I'm wondering if there might be something better for a home studio?



So, if you guys were doing this, how would you finish it on the inside to make it better for recording?

Todd

[Warren Gilmour]

Wow, now that is cool! I cant offer you any advice but I will offer you my support in convincing your wife to allow the purchase.
Best of luck to you!

[MBE]

Look up the Green Glue line of products. I hope to build a similar studio to yours someday and will definitely use Green Glue for soundproofing. Keep in mind, soundproofing and room treatment are two different things. Soundproofing will keep noise out, and room treatment controls reflections to improve the "room sound". I'm just learning the basics of that stuff now, but there are tons of threads on it. The Green Glue is something that you have a great opportunity to utilize when building a room from scratch.

[SpiritShooter]

I hope you don't reside in a tornado prone area?

[BoneDigger]

Originally Posted by SpiritShooter

I hope you don't reside in a tornado prone area?

I have insurance. But, we are not in a tornado or hurricane prone area.

Todd

[moon]

When I think of an "ideal" recording space, I think of something like this:



Above all, it's big so there's time for the sound to bounce around a bit.

The angled ceiling avoids a large, flat surface parallel with the floor and (presumably) parallel walls look to be well-covered in diffusors and absorbers.

It looks like there's a careful blend of different acoustic ingredients: diffusion, bass traps, broadband absorbers and reflective surfaces.

The wooden floor will be quite reflective but, because of the configuration of the rest of the room, and the large size of the room, any reflections which don't get absorbed somewhere en route should be quite well scattered by the time they make it back to the listener.

Since you need to insulate the cabin anyway I'd be tempted to build frames onto the walls and ceiling and stuff them full of slabs of Knauf RS60 or equivalent to the desired thickness. High density mineral wool makes good thermal insulation as well as being a good acoustic absorber.

Cover with fabric and hang some diffusers around here and there to liven up the room to taste. I'd probably just make my own with angled plywood slats. You could even get creative and design these as some kind of flat sculptures. So long as they have lots of differently angled surfaces, they'll work as a diffuser.

Wooden floor should be OK.

[Scott Whigham]

+1 to what moon said. You're going to find "boxy" is the norm in a small space and, AFAIK, the only way to mitigate that somewhat is to really stop as many reflections as you can. The angled ceilings will help. You might check out my thread that I just started about whether you should put a rug down in a small room with a wooden floor.

Also, that rectangular shape of even proportions is going to make it harder to deal with room modes. Read up on room modes for why you this is bad/sub-optimal dimensions. 11x13 is way better than 10x12, for example.

http://www.bobgolds.com/Mode/RoomModes.htm

[freedomfarm]

I don't know as much as others, but I have been recording for years in a small room, which I have to add heat to in the winter. I think a real basic concern is going to be your window Heat/AC unit. Never ending noise except on a perfect day. I would look into radiant floor heat (electric), that would be completely noise free, AC . . . not sure how to do that with out noise in such a small area.
Good luck!

[Rudy4]

I'd be tempted to start right now on a bunch of Fran's broadband panels to tame the relections in there!

http://www.homebrewedmusic.com/2011/...adband-panels/

[BoneDigger]

Would hanging a sheet or curtains across the space, behind the mics serve basically the same purpose?

Todd

[moon]

Not really. Curtains etc can audibly deaden a room but all they really do is attenuate a little high end. To absorb sound effectively across a wide range of frequencies you need to use thick slabs of high density mineral wool.

[BoneDigger]

Good info! So where would I get such material?

Todd

[moon]

The slabs come in different thicknesses and densities. In the US Owens Corning 703 and 705 are used a lot. In Europe, you might find it easier to track down something like Knauf RS60.

The fine fibres can irritate you skin so wear rubber gloves and a dust mask while you work with the material.

Some manufacturers use formaldehyde in the manufacturing process which might potentially be an issue with a lot of slabs in a small, poorly ventilated space (and maybe not even then). That's one reason why I like Knauf - it's formaldehyde free.

[Mr Fixit eh]

Are you going to store guitar(s) in the proposed man cave? I'd be concerned about security from break-ins. I'd want to invest some $$ and time to beef up door jambs making the windows opaque and shatterproof. Maybe a security system. Also, if you're storing guitars/ electronics, it may cost you some money in climate control.

Steve

[BoneDigger]

No, the guitars will be stored inside my house.

Todd