Top 5 things you'd want in a studio.... (building)

[nemisis633]

Hey everyone,

I thought this question might invoke alot of good discussion and I could really use the information. I'm about to embark on new construction and wanted to see what features you all thought were important.. (How big of a live room, # of iso's, Control Room features, machine room etc....). I'm mainly just looking for some requests to feed to the designer.
Thanks in advance..

So whats your top 5?

Cheers,
Jon

[mtsupiano]

I'm don't have the experience of some of the guys on gearslutz, but here is what I look for.

1. Decent sized live room with good acoustics and a high ceiling
2. 2 iso booths of decent size. I really don't want the artists to be cramped, but I don't need a huge room either.
3. Space for the clients to hang out. I don't want them in the control room if they are not recording. A good lounge with TV/video games help this.
4. Machine room is an absolute must, and it should be situated in a way that I can see what is going on from the console.
5. Erogonomic layout of the control room. For instance, tracking dates tend to move at a quicker pace than mixing. Because of this I like to have any outboard mic pres closer to the console than say reverb.
6. Intrence to the live room/isos should not be through the control room. I don't want a lot of people coming in and out of the control room.

well thats a start

andrew

[DirkB]

1 great sounding control room (at least 4,5x5,5m2)
2 great sounding recording room (at least 5x7m2)
3 relaxed atmosphere
4 being able to walk in an out of the CR without going through the recording room
5 great equipment

[jason]

Am I recording rap records? or orchestra's ?
Mostly tracking? mostly mixing?

For any studio a nice control room is a must- Its extreamely annoying to work in a room where you're always trying to compensate for a whacky sounding control room.

1) fully adjustable air con
2) the ability to look up / anywhere without the dreaded 'spotlight glare torture'
3) Place to dump the manager and non recording band members to talk.
4) Espresso machine
5) Take away menu folder

[hollywood_steve]

1. Huge, massive and generally large tracking room with variable acoustics; so I can track an orchestra one day and a live rock band the next.
2. Carefully designed control room: big enough for all of my gear, and enough room for the Altec 604s to properly project, but just enough room for 2 single chairs. I've never understood the idea of the control room doubling as the lounge, family room, therapy room, etc. Engineer and producer sit in the control room while all musicians are out in the live room playing together. When its time for playback, route it to the big 813s in the live room. The control room is mine, all mine, damn-it!
3. Big storage room for all of the cool amps, drums etc.
4. Bank vault for the mics
5. no booths of any kind - if you can't play nicely with the other musicians out in the live room, go home!
6. hidden panel that opens to reveal private tunnel straight to a room at the Four Seasons. You reach a point where a shower and a nap are quite necessary, followed by room service breakfast.
7. basement stairs leading to subway station, I'm really sick of driving in LA.
8. a fabulously equipped tech shop where all of the vintage gear gets serviced weekly.

and finally,

9. a little shoe-shine stand out front, because we all know recording studios don't make any money.

[Dave Martin]

1. clean and reliable electrical power
2. a well designed and implemented HVAC system.

Without those, nothing else is gonna matter.

[nemisis633]

Thanks for the responses. So to many of you the little things, (lighting.. air.. etc) are really make or break. Let's talk about actual sizes for a while.

What would you consider the ideal sizes to be for a tracking room and control room be? Any particular features of these rooms that you love/hate?

Cheers,
Jon

[thethrillfactor]

Originally posted by nemisis633
Thanks for the responses. So to many of you the little things, (lighting.. air.. etc) are really make or break.
Cheers,
Jon

I wouldn't call these things little, i would say the right word is essential.

If the clients don't feel comfortable, the nicest rooms with all the cool gear won't mean squat.

Its the one thing i've seen the seperates the great rooms from the project studios.

I would also add to the HVAC,Electrical, client ammenities, the quality of the audio wiring itself.

If these things are solid, then you have the makings of a nice solid place.

With dimensions, working in NYC you get used to anything.

[Dave Martin]

Originally posted by nemisis633

What would you consider the ideal sizes to be for a tracking room and control room be? Any particular features of these rooms that you love/hate?

Jon, only you can answer that for your work. I track full rhythm sections so I needed not only a decent sized tracking room, but a pretty big control room (where there may be a dozen people listening to the playback). I've got 3 iso booths off of the tracking room, but I know a couple of people who want a minimum of 5 for a country record date. Someone earlier in the thread said that they wanted no isos. And we're all right.

Are you building a private facility, where you're the main client? Then build whatever makes YOU happy. Are you building what you hope is a commercial room, with outside engineers and producers renting the room? Then talk to your prospective clients and see what they want.

Either I'm mis-reading what you want to know, you aren't sure what you want to know, or you simply don't understand yet that the infrastructure - AC, HVAC, wiring - are of paramount importance. Far more important than the sizes of the rooms and the control room features.

[Bernd G]

We are currently building the kind of "live room" you would want :)

[Bernd G]

Oh, and perhaps you like our new control room as well :)

[nemisis633]

Dave,

Sorry for being so vague. I'm trying to make the leap from a project studio environment to more of a commercial facility. In regards to power, HVAC etc, I have every intention of getting that done right... To ignore that side of things would be similar to putting sugar in a ferrari's gas tank.

I was more looking for what general sizes of spaces people are looking for in a commercial facility. Personally I haven't really been into to many non-project arena's and wanted to make sure I built something that others would see as desireable/useable. Instead of building what I considered to be a huge rooms only to be seen as too small by others.. (and thus completely defeating the purpose of expanding in the first place).

Once again sorry for the confusion.

Cheers,
Jon

[Bernd G]

Sorry to be such a show-off. We had the same concern a while ago and I pressed for the following:

Control Room as LARGE as possible. I expect to see more and more musicians in with the engineer. Large rooms with high ceilings are easier to control acoustically. HVAC system must be designed professionally (quiet&adjustable). Decor is incredibly important IMHO, down to the color of the walls. Lighting as flattering to the dark circles under your eyes as possible. We opted for many sliding glass doors because they can be left open easily to create an acoustically and optically even larger space. Wood flooring. Heavy mass walls to contain low frequencies and to to insultate against outside noise. Conduit EVERYWHERE, you will want it at some point, and make sure it is wide enough to accomodate more wires than you anticipate. Toilet and kitchen within short distance. We are still building this thing, but it looks as if it will fulfill our requirements.
Hope this helps.

[rynugz007]

how about a hot-tub?



an ejector seat for anybodys wife/girlfriend/husband/boyfriend that thinks they should be producer/engineer too.

spinal tap anybody? - "i think it would of been better if it was recorded in dubley"

[The Byre]

Quote: "I was more looking for what general sizes of spaces people are looking for in a commercial facility. Personally I haven't really been
into to many non-project arena's and wanted to make sure I built something that others would see as desireable/useable. Instead of
building what I considered to be a huge rooms only to be seen as too small by others.. (and thus completely defeating the purpose
of expanding in the first place). "
_______________________________

The minimum would apear to be 25 sq ft control room and 700 sq ft live room including booth.

Other things that attract customers (in no special order) are:

1. Good analogue desk.

2. Lexicon 960L reverb

3. Neumann mics

4. Some good outboard (Eventide, SPL etc.)

5. A good concert grand piano from either Steinway or Bösendorfer.

6. Cool lighting

7. Daylight

8. Good range of monitors and subs inc. Genelec 1031 and NS10s.

9. Kitchen

10. Beer

11. Some backline for lead and bass (tubes only!)

12. Greenroom with toys (videos, games) and sofas

13. Machine room with space and links for guest equipment.

14. No machine noise anywhere.

15. AC

16. Additional production rooms for tape-ops and interns to do some laptop editing in PT

17. Fast Internet connections

18. Clean toilets

19. Good accomadation close (but not too close) by.

20. Good location either in city centre or rightaway from it all in the countryside.

[Drumsound]

I may be adding to my room soon. The things that have been on my mind include power and wiring, HVAC (the landlord's main biz) as well as acoustics. I plan to hire knowledgeable people to help with that. I'm also thinking about using a designer to help with the vibe.

My main concerns after the above are:
1. Storage-The current room is 20 pounds of shit in a 10-pound bag. I always have to move one thing to use another (this is mainly a tracking issue).

2. Lounge- I don't have one now and it gets to be a pain in the ass. It's fine during basics, the whole band is usually out in the live room. When it get to overdubs the rest of the band is in the CR with me. They are either too loud, or too busy telling me or whoever's playing t what to do. This must end.

3. CR size- I want to have a bunch of people in there to listen and not feel cramped

If I was building from the ground up I'd also try for five or more iso-areas. And I'd float everything!