Hey all. The time has finally come for us to dive in and build a proper room to house all of the toys you gearslutz tricked us into buying. Inspired by the threads by Seti and Dave et al, we figured we might as well put up photos as we go, for your amusement.
There is a twist with our project. We have a tiny budget, some would say an impossible budget. And no, we're not embarrassed to say so. I know there are lots of people on the board that will scoff at our attempt, but the point of this thread is to prove, in a way, that it *is* possible to build a sexy, functional midsize project studio without spending a fortune. And considering the way the industry is going, more people are being forced to think this way.
Now, this is by no means a bedroom operation. All of our gear is top notch and we have every intention of making this place sound really nice. Our floorplan includes a midsize drum booth, live room area, control room and a tiny lounge/kitchen/bathroom area.
We simply have no illusions about the risks involved in dropping hundreds of thousands on the best building materials, the biggest spaces, and professional acousticians and contractors. These days, it's just too risky to invest that much in a top-of-the-line space.
So our approach is this:
- Do all the labour ourselves.
- Find unusual deals on lumber, drywall, flooring, etc.
- Be creative with making use of the curious little space we've leased.
- Come out with an inspiring, studio-alicious atmosphere, with above-average sound proofing, and above-average sound qualities.
Are we crazy? Maybe. Are we doomed? Nah. What's the worst that can happen?
We'd love to hear your comments and even suggestions as we go -- though please, try to refrain from making light of our choice in materials and approach. We've spent a lot of time deciding what was most important and making sacrifices where we had to.
Without further ado, I'll post up some "before" shots of the space before we touched it, and some "prep" shots too. I hope someone finds this half-interesting!