Building A Budget Project Studio In My Garage - advice required please!

[hazza]

Hi all,

I’m a uni student studying Music Tech and have just got back for the summer to find a garage full of stuff – and a mother adamant that I was to clear it! Well as you can imagine I wasn’t overly enthusiastic about the prospect :p


Bad quality, I know, but unfortunately I only have a camera phone. Hopefully you can see what you need to.

The room is 5 metres long by 2.3 metres wide (at its thinnest section). I haven’t measured the height yet, but as you can see there is a large open loft space. I don’t know if this is going to make things worse or not…

The furniture that has to stay is the sofa, some bookshelves for the huge amount of books we have in boxes, the table which I’ll use for my DAW and an oak desk in the corner. Space is relatively limited, but I think there is enough there to make something work.

It looks like this is going to turn into a bit of an essay, but I want to get this right. I’m planning to use it to record work for my university course, but I also hope to get in some local bands for an affordable alternative to the expensive professional studios that are around. I don’t know if I’ll have space for a drum kit, but we’ll see. I am currently reading through the Practical Acoustic Treatment series from a few years back, but any other advice anyone has for me would be greatly appreciated, as I’m rather inexperienced when it comes to making a decent sounding control room… Up until now I’ve been restricted to bedrooms.

As a student my budget is limited, but as I said – I want to get this right, so it’s something I can work on over time.

My equipment so far:

Powermac G5 Dual 2Ghz with 1.5 GB RAM. I’m running Logic Pro 7 with an Mbox 2, an Edirol PCR-50 and a pair of Tapco monitors. No mics as yet. I was planning to get an NT2A as well as an SM57 to start with and expand as and when I can afford it/need to.

I’m having extra security installed etc. What I really need help with though is how to set everything up. Placement of equipment, of insulation for acoustic treatment. Whether or not I have the space to manage a small sepourating wall for recording instruments in a none acoustically treated space… or perhaps a vocal booth style section (I’m planning on recording a lot of spoken word too, so a nice sound for that would be good too). Placement of my monitors.

Also power considerations – there is one electrical socket in the room. Is running everything off this a bad idea? I’m thinking of costs here, but if it’s unsafe perhaps some extra sockets should be installed.

Other considerations: dehumidifier and air con. Because I’m in a garage, these things may well be important…?

Bellow is a link to a rough over head diagram I’ve made of the garage. Very littl

OK, I think that’s it. Basically ANY advice that anyone has to offer would be awesome. Like I said, I’m reading up on the Practical Acoustic Treatment articles, but I’d really be up for anyone willing to share ideas on how I might attack this project. Also the equipment I’m buying - is an NT2A a good choice?

Cheers guys, I’ll keep you updated on my progress incase anyone’s interested

Thanks for reading if you've got this far!

-Harry.

[Ethan Winer]

Harry,

> What I really need help with though is how to set everything up. Placement of equipment, of insulation for acoustic treatment ... I’m reading up on the Practical Acoustic Treatment articles <

Be sure to see my Acoustics FAQ:

www.ethanwiner.com/acoustics.html

There's also a large amount of related information - articles, videos, etc - on my company's web site, linked below.

--Ethan

[orange]

and try...http://johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/index.php

[redroom]

Ehtan hasyou look like Ronny Corbet! are youa s short?

[Acoustic Cloud]

couches!! stand them up in the corners, FREE BASS TRAPS!!

[big country]

I still think hanging tampons from the ceiling and sticking maxy pads to the walls
would work great.

[Acoustic Cloud]

Originally Posted by big country

I still think hanging tampons from the ceiling and sticking maxy pads to the walls
would work great.

Well, I'll know who you are if I see you at Albertsons with a cartfull of them.....at least, I hope that would be you!!

[adam_w]

Yeah, like they said - BUT

First off, dull as it may be...spend a huge amount of effort acoustically insulating yourself from the outside world as if you're in a residential area and the neighbours kick off...you'll be buggered. You probably won't be applying for planning permission, I presume ? If this part goes wrong, nothing else was worth the effort when you get the fun police get on your case...plus, of course you'll be insulated from outside noise. But the fun police is the thing to worry about when it comes to _game over_

Security is important - the first place I set up I got robbed TWICE. The second time they took the roof off after I put in a steel door and filled the windows with concrete blocks...so...don't take any chances ! Either that or don't tell anyone you're there..
No gear, no recording. Comply with your insurance requirements !!

You'll survive without aircon at first as you're in England...Well, maybe not THIS summer, but usually you'd survive !

good luck !

[Naren]

I have a few thoughts, opinions...

First you must decide how long you will occupy the space. If it is indefinite, then you can invest in some materials for sound isolation. Such materials, as I'm sure you know, have large mass and considerable expense.

Check out Ethan Winer's site for sure. Come up with a plan for sound treatment. Again, if you are staying there for a while, then do whatever you need to do. However, it might be best to invest in portable solutions. Such solutions can be relatively inexpensive and last you for years wherever you may go.

It's a small space (typically tiny European garage!) and I certainly wouldn't want to partition in order to gain an isolated recording space. The acoustics would be something you will always have to fight unless you're close miking a loud source. And your control room sound will suffer too. Record in the room and go under headphones. I know that is unpleasant but your results will be better. Of course, you can get excellent results without phones for either you or the performer. Speaker leakage to the null of a microphone is not always a bad thing. (Perhaps you already know about the trick of wiring the speakers out of phase to cancel at the mic?)

Move your mix position a decent distance away from the rear wall (not an absolute however). Keep things symmetrical. Get that oak table in the middle of the wall (front or rear). If you don't need the surface space it provides then turn it upside down and lose that big reflective surface. Of course you could use that reflective surface creatively when miking an acoustic guitar or other instrument. Actually, you'll need to put that couch behind you on the rear wall (the garage door). Find a way to get those shelves out of there if you don't need them. They take up a lot of space (floor and vertical space).

You have plywood in the ceiling area. Get rid of as much of that as possible. I know it is storage space, but at least try to get some symmetry up there because if you have different ceiling heights on either side of your mix position you will have a huge disparity in your stereo perception (I know it is huge because I had a similar situation years ago). The concrete block walls are going to bounce sound like crazy in there so you have some work ahead of you to treat those.

Security is tough. But, whatever else you do, leave on a light if you have windows, and keep some audio going on in the room through a cheap stereo system or whatever so that any potential perpetrators think you are in there.

The high ceiling is a good thing - great for quieter sources such as vocals. Regardless, loud sources such as drums will suffer in that tiny space - it will always sound like a drummer playing in a small garage, and my opinion is that there is no way around that.

Let's say you want to record a band with a drummer. My recommendation would be to find some other location to record the basic tracks (your gear is pretty portable). It shouldn't be too difficult to find a location for a cheap rate or even for free - a school gym, a church, whatever - and get a lot of basic tracking done in a couple of days. Then take as much time as you need in your garage for vocals, overdubs, and mixing.

But you're not there yet because you don't have any microphones! I don't want to recommend specific mikes, but I would advise to not overlook good dynamics. Frnakly, I'd rather have an RE-20 than almost any similarly priced LDC. And then of course the usual assortment of dynamics from companies like Shure or Audix. As for condensors, I concede you'll need one LDC. Personally, I'd go for a 4050 over the Rode, but you may - should - have your own preferences. You could do decent work with both. For sure, you should get a pair of SDCs which will be good for overheads and spot work such as acoustic guitar, tambourine, etc. Beyer ribbon mics are a nice, economical choice as well.

Okay, I recommended mics in that paragraph - just ignore that because we all have our own opinions and they vary widely.

Spend money where it effective. I contend it is better to first invest in good mics rather than high end preamps. But one good preamp for vocals and overdubs might be a good idea. Try to get a channel strip device with a good compressor in it so you can compress to "tape." If you feel confident enough to EQ to tape, then include that feature as well. This will not be cheap of course.

Okay, this is turning into War and Peace. Did I mention going to Ethan Winer's site? You need to start studying a little so you have the basis for a plan. Good luck!

-Naren

[hazza]

thanks guys for a great response!

Ethan - some great reading there - thanks! still getting through it now. (bw - awesome living room! :D)

Naren - thanks a lot.. the symmetry in the roof is going to be almost impossible. there has to be some space available so that i can get up into the storage space if needs be... i don't know how best to deal with this. i was planning to add some absorbers to the ceiling - perhaps i could place some on hooks in these areas so they are removable, but help insulate the sound when mixing...?

are there any affordable preamps you could suggest? this is something i've never looked into before.

as for planning permission - is this something i need to consider for interior additions to the building? nothing i will be doing will be perminant, so is it an issue?

i have a few ideas now - i might draw up a basic plan, set up what furniture i have now in the basic positions i'm thinking and get some more photos - see how that looks and what you guys think of it.

thanks again for some brilliant responces!! will keep you posted,

-Harry.

[Naren]

Originally Posted by hazza

thanks guys for a great response!

Ethan - some great reading there - thanks! still getting through it now. (bw - awesome living room! :D)

Naren - thanks a lot.. the symmetry in the roof is going to be almost impossible. there has to be some space available so that i can get up into the storage space if needs be... i don't know how best to deal with this. i was planning to add some absorbers to the ceiling - perhaps i could place some on hooks in these areas so they are removable, but help insulate the sound when mixing...?

are there any affordable preamps you could suggest? this is something i've never looked into before.

as for planning permission - is this something i need to consider for interior additions to the building? nothing i will be doing will be perminant, so is it an issue?

i have a few ideas now - i might draw up a basic plan, set up what furniture i have now in the basic positions i'm thinking and get some more photos - see how that looks and what you guys think of it.

thanks again for some brilliant responces!! will keep you posted,

-Harry.

Hi Harry, I don't know what to suggest for the ceiling. I have an obsession with symmetry in the listening environment. I guess my inclination would be to throw up some plywood (removable, not nailed-in) over the listening position so that symmetry is achieved. Behind you would not be as critical, but I can't say how much since I can only address acoustical issues from my own experience without much scientific knowledge.

Then you would want to treat various areas of the room with broadband absorption, and that would include most definitely on the ceiling above. There are decent solutions which involve hanging stuffed bags from hooks on walls and ceilings. See this website - http://www.readytraps.com/ - to get an idea of what I mean. Then you'll have to address the bass trapping as well.

Planning permission is an issue specific to the owner of the property and local/UK laws, so I don't know, but if it is easily undone I wouldn't worry about it at all.

As far as recommending preamps, I really can't, because my preamps are either very expensive or unobtainable. There is a ton of info on this forum though! Do a search for preamps. One thought: if you're an electronics whiz, there are kits you can buy to save money such as those from Seventh Circle Audio. Personally, I don't touch my electronics any more after a couple of rather unfortunate experiences - I leave it to the pros!

And, yes, let us know how things progress.

-Naren