Phattbelly Studio - Northamptonshire Uk

[TekniksSamples]

There’s nothing quite like building a studio and I’m very happy to be working on room number 4.

It all started 10 years ago when I was introduced to David Scherchen who at the time was in the process of building his studio complex near Clapham. Having seen his work we spoke about the prospect of converting my parents double garage into a recording space as I was working from home hoping to hit the big time.

After initial talks and planning we had our final design and the all important start date. It took two weeks of hard work ( he does everything himself ) until the room was completed and I was ready to make some hits. ☺ DAMIEN EGAN: MULTI TASKING

Fast forward to 2010 and I'm calling on David's services again.
Having built over 140 rooms since 1997 he really knows his stuff and most importantly makes great sounding rooms.
Over the years he has worked for some big names including Goldie and Adam F.
For more info about his work please visit http://www.davidscherchen.com/

As the wife and I are in in the process of moving into our new home I'm ready to start converting the garage into the new hit factory. I’ve spent the last 5 years in a tiny box room behind our kitchen and am so happy at the prospect of getting a bigger space and the all important vocal booth.

Work started on the 28th of May and already is taking shape. I'll try and keep the pictures flowing as we (he) progresses.

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This is where I have been working over the last 5 years.





And with the gear inside:

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So all the material arrived as planned and David set out preparing the room.

First job was to lay rubber strips and boarding which would act as our base.



Work also started on preparing to block the main garage door and covering any holes to stop the expanding foam for getting through.

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Wall to cover garage door goes in and expanding foam is used to help deaden the door.


Now work can start on the primary ceiling

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Prep work for the ventilation goes in as well as the hatch for access to the loft which will be used for storage.

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So today is day 4 and the first wall has gone up.
David also wired the fans to drawn air in and out.

Unfortunately I have no room left in my flickr account so will need to find an alternative to host the pics.

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[Brenton]

Excellent, I love these threads.

I'm in the same boat as you. My studio is boxed up in storage as we have just sold our house and moved into a rental, we will be buying a new one later this year. I'll be building my third studio then.

Good luck with yours.

[wrekdahouse]

looking great !

[goldenlotus]

So tiny! Can't you grab some of that backyard lawn space?

[andyspiller]

Welcome to the world of UK property - this is common to have a relatively small plot of less than 0.1 acres due to the fact that the rich own all the land :-)

[TekniksSamples]

Originally Posted by goldenlotus

So tiny! Can't you grab some of that backyard lawn space?

Tiny! It's about 3 times the size of where I've currently been working.

I would like to have a bigger room but the cost of resizing the garage, getting planning permission makes it impossible.

The next room (give or take 8-10 years) will be the one!

[TapeOpAl]

Looking forward to seeing more of this Damien - hope you're well mate!

[clivek]

Good luck with your new space !!

Looks slightly bigger than the average single garage !!

Good luck

[Syncamorea]

Looking good. How long will the entire build take?

[TekniksSamples]

Originally Posted by Syncamorea

Looking good. How long will the entire build take?

Start to finish will be 13 days.

David really works hard but the key is that he has a formula when constructing rooms which he has perfected over time.

Since the last build 5 years ago he has changed certain aspects and is continual tweaking his design.

[TekniksSamples]

Originally Posted by clivek

Good luck with your new space !!

Looks slightly bigger than the average single garage !!

Good luck

Thanks Clive.
Nice to meet a fellow SE1 and Golden Throat owner!

[TekniksSamples]

So we are on day 6 and more walls have gone up. We've even managed to increase the vocal booth by 10cm (wow) as the worktop I liked from Ikea came in a fixed size of 2m46.





More pics to follow

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Sorry I went quiet for the last week but I took a much needed break to Ibiza. Kinda risky I know half way through a build but I trust David's work.

Got back early this morning and went to the studio and all I can say is WOW! We now have one day left and the studio is on course to be completed as planned.

I know I didn't quite keep this as a diary but if you head over to
Damien Egan's Photos - Studio Build | Facebook you'll find some more pics as the build progressed.

I'll do a final upload on Monday once I've managed to put all the gear into place.

[TekniksSamples]

I'm very pleased to say that the room is looking (and after a few quick tests) sounding good too.

The desk will do for now but I need to have something custom built as the worktop isn't deep enough and I've already run out of rack space and I still have another 6 2u units and 1 1u to put in.

I think I'll extend the worktop on the right hand side so that I can fit some more racks and then place the mpc/keyboard above.

Have to spend the rest of the week wiring it up and then start working to pay for it all.















I found these led strips in Ikea when buying the worktop which I couldn't resist.

[Toni-P]

turned out great!

must be a joy to come home from vacation to a room like that

[TekniksSamples]

Originally Posted by Toni-P

turned out great!

must be a joy to come home from vacation to a room like that

Sure is!

[Uk_property]

It is so good to have room like this in your house where you can take rest and practice your hobby.

[TekniksSamples]

Have made a few changes to the studio since my last post.
Finally got the room the way I want and now open for business!

[TapeOpAl]

WOW!

[Trev@Circle]

looks very slick and like a nice place to work in. Congrats man!

[quadrafunk]

Matrix and Buss Comp in the X-Rack!!! H&LL Yeah!!

Nice build and great gear. Rock on.