Very beginning home studio situation

[jambadrummer]

Hello all, new to the forum, curious as to what everyone thought of my small home studio setup that i'm growing into a new house soon. Using KRK 6's, white 2.4Ghz Macbook, Digi 003 Rack+, Shure drum mic kit, and Avenson Audio omnidirectional OH's ( in a nutshell)... I've attached pics of a jazz drumming setup i've been recording, full drum kit is recorded in the next room over... but this is basically my 'control room'. Any thoughts as to how i could better organize or rearrange anything? it will usually just be the desk, drums aren't there all the time.

Also, i'm looking to build a new desk to better suit my needs, this one was given to me. I'd like raised spaces to put my monitors and shorter middle section for an iMac in my near future. I like my 003 in my ATA rack cause it moves sometimes but would like it out of the middle of the desk, but still reachable (cause i need the monitor and gain control knobs often, but don't need it right in the middle of my desk.)

thoughts, comments, questions, concerns.. politely please

thanks!

[pulverizer]

Welcome!!!

Dimensions of the room? LxWxH?


I do know that being a drummer and taking an interest in recording will give u major skill with practice. Drums are the hardest instrument to record and in small rooms can be quite a challenge.

Just remember its all about the room and where u put the mic!!

Don’t do the gear lusting until those basics are covered. I wish I would have spent a fraction of the time spent on gear on acoustics.

Good Luck!

[AnthonyRochester]

some little thoughts about acoustics for mixing:

Ideally if you are mixing in that room, you want the speakers positioned so that they are in the middle of the wall, so the room is symmetrical. You'll get a big reflection off that wall on the right which will affect the stereo image and frequency response.. You'll probably also want to put something that will absorb sound at the first reflection points (where it bounces off the walls first before hitting your ears) so that you hear a more direct sound that isn't clouded by the reflections.
You can make absorption panels quite cheaply using insulation material and covering it with fabric. These work better and are cheaper than the studio foam kits you can buy. RealTraps and GIK Acoustics make good stuff too, but DIY is cheaper..

[Syncamorea]

Originally Posted by beebay007

some little thoughts about acoustics for mixing:

Ideally if you are mixing in that room, you want the speakers positioned so that they are in the middle of the wall, so the room is symmetrical.

Agreed. Is there any reason you cant rotate the desk to the wall to the right?

Recording drums in a bedroom is difficult. I'd add some diffusion above the kit and do some DIY bass traps and diffusers. Keep an eye out for good deals on mics to upgrade your mic locker. Beg, borrow and rent mics to compare with too. Try a range of micing approaches, including the Glyn Johns method, different room mic positions, etc. Getting decent recorded drum sound may be relatively simple but getting great sound from an untreated bedroom is probably impossible.

[pulverizer]

Hard to say not knowing the dimensions. Is the ceiling flat, vaulted, or slanted? If slanted u would want to setup where the ceiling is highest.

Personally I would use a couple panels on stands for early reflections and bass trap every corner including as many ceiling wall corners as possible.

It doesn’t matter how you setup in that room you will have an issue with the room being symmetrical for early reflections. If you go to the right wall the door is in your way (on right). If u stay on the current wall (in middle) you have the window on your left. If you go to the far left side you will have what appears to be a closet on your left. (my directions are in relation to u sitting facing with the current setup)

2 panels with stands on your left right reflections.

1 over mix position (spaced from ceiling).

Floor to ceiling traps in the 3 corners (open back).

As many ceiling/wall corners u can (open back).

And a 6" bass trap spaced from the rear wall (open back).

[jambadrummer]

thanks for the input everyone! although, i'm not recording loud drums in this room, they are next door in a larger room...

just a few more thoughts:
- the ceilings are flat, about 9' high
- there is a one inch thick, foam (covered in corduroy) 4' x 4' panel directly behind my workstation (behind monitors)

So the consensus is to turn my desk on that wall so that my back is to the window/bed and the monitors are firing in that direction where my bed is?

On a different note, what OH mics do you guys suggest? Avenson STO-2's are what i have been looking at, keep in mind i use a 24" and 22" crash on my kit, 7x14 snare.

thanks everyone!

[AnthonyRochester]

Originally Posted by jambadrummer

thanks for the input everyone! although, i'm not recording loud drums in this room, they are next door in a larger room...

Loud or soft, doesn't matter. And this is for mixing just as much as recording, right. So room treatment matters.

[pulverizer]

Originally Posted by beebay007

Loud or soft, doesn't matter. And this is for mixing just as much as recording, right. So room treatment matters.

Yes it does!!! It matters more than new shiny toys....u can have the best gear in the world in there and it wont matter till u get treatment. Both rooms your live drum room and the control room need it.

[AnthonyRochester]

Originally Posted by pulverizer

Yes it does!!! It matters more than new shiny toys....u can have the best gear in the world in there and it wont matter till u get treatment. Both rooms your live drum room and the control room need it.

What I meant is that it doesn't matter if you play the drums loud or soft, you still need acoustic treatment..

[jambadrummer]

ha, it appears we are all confused... i understand that treatment is needed in both rooms, i was just pointing out that most drumming is done next door, i was just setting up to test new mics for a day or two.

SO; using this room as my control room, and i've moved my desk to the center of that wall that used to be to my right... my first move (i think) will be to hang some hefty curtains over that window and work on bass traps for those rear corners... as far as the side walls from where i'll be sitting, one of them has a door on it, and the other is just flat. ideas? suggestions?

thanks guys

[AnthonyRochester]

can you attach an absorption panel to the door? The important points are where the sound will bounce off the walls from the speakers to your ears. Imagine a mirror. Put absorption at those points. Indluding the ceiling if possible.

[jambadrummer]

So youre saying diffusion in the rear of the room (any window treatment ideas?) and sound panels both directly above the listening position, and on the left and ride side of the listening position?

Also, is that 4'x4' panel behind my monitors in a position to do any good? its just a 4' square pegboard with an inch of foam covered in corduroy...

lastly, would 2" of 703 insulation an inch away from the wall work out ok for my sound panels for this room?

thanks !

[AnthonyRochester]

Originally Posted by jambadrummer

So youre saying diffusion in the rear of the room (any window treatment ideas?) and sound panels both directly above the listening position, and on the left and ride side of the listening position?

sounds good. the absorbent panels for the first reflection points is probably more important (and cheaper and easier to make) than the rear wall diffusion.

Originally Posted by jambadrummer

Also, is that 4'x4' panel behind my monitors in a position to do any good? its just a 4' square pegboard with an inch of foam covered in corduroy...

I reckon it wouldn't be helping much at all in that position.

Originally Posted by jambadrummer

lastly, would 2" of 703 insulation an inch away from the wall work out ok for my sound panels for this room?

yep they should do OK for first reflection points. Using 2 layers making 4" would be more effective down to lower frequencies. Consider making 4" 703 panels straddling the corners - these make good bass traps and will even out the low frequency response of your room.

[jambadrummer]

soooo, went to home depot to get some DIY sound panel materials... asked where i might find 703 or 704 insulation, and got a blank stare... they showed me what they DID have, R19, R20, and R30. any ideas? comments?
where did i go wrong?! hah

also, can i build the 'bass traps' and panels for left and right walls of the listening position the same? are the they the same material and build, just called bass traps if they're in the corner?

thanks!

[AnthonyRochester]

Originally Posted by jambadrummer

soooo, went to home depot to get some DIY sound panel materials... asked where i might find 703 or 704 insulation, and got a blank stare... they showed me what they DID have, R19, R20, and R30. any ideas? comments?
where did i go wrong?! hah

someone else can reply to that, I live in Australia..

Originally Posted by jambadrummer

also, can i build the 'bass traps' and panels for left and right walls of the listening position the same? are the they the same material and build, just called bass traps if they're in the corner?

thanks!

correct. They are all just absorbent panels, and positioned in the corner works best for low frequencies/modal ringing..

[jambadrummer]

sweet thanks man... any comments on fabric to cover my DIY traps?
does it matter what fabric you use? I found some killer suede i'd like to use, and i know ive seen that before... buuut what about denim? would that work at all?

thanks

and i figured out the 703 situation, just ordering it online... found some for 70 bucks ( three 4" panels for 3 bass traps)

[AnthonyRochester]

the type of fabric doesn't really matter, but you want it to be quite light and breatheable. I'm not sure if suede or denim are ideal. But I'm not really an expert, all I know is what I've read in the acoustics area of the forum from when I was building mine...

[jambadrummer]

cool, sooo, the backing fabric to go on my wooden frame behind the fiberglass doesn't matter really, correct?

its just there to enclose the fiberglass, no significant sound differences, right?

thanks

[AnthonyRochester]

as long as it doesn't reflect the sound, same as with the front. it has to absorb sound at the back too..

[jambadrummer]

panels are done, study has come a long way... a few more questions:
- best way to connect my new octopre mkii dynamic to my 003 rack? using optical cables?

- any links or suggestions towards building a floated floor for our tracking room?

thanks!

pictures soon!

[JoeMilner]

John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum • View topic - Is a Floating Floor Right For You? Answer: Probably NOT.

John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum • Index page

An incredible amount of info on this website, also Rod Gervais' book is a must-read.

Good luck with your studio!

Best,

Joe