A dimensions question -- Home studio for commercials, jazz and classical recordings

[Jim Easton]

I have an enclosed brick room 20x30 with 12' ceiling that I want to build an in home studio.

When building booths when do you use the 12 foot ceiling as part of a particular booth sound. What is the ideal height of typical instrument and vocal booths?

I plan on using the space to do voice overs for commercials and record jazz and classical ensembles.

How would you suggest cutting up this space. I have done location recording and do have some nice equipment purchases, recommended by Steve Remote, to get started.

Thanks for your input.
-jim

[sonare]

Voiceovers for sure-- jazz if you buy a really nice piano (at least 7ft), but for classical continue to go on location to great acoustics. There are fewer than 6 studios in the US that are REALLY well-suited for classical music. It is a matter of space and many other factors, and a room the size of yours is simply not large enough for classical, except piano, and a good 9-ft is a neccesity.

Remember, for jazz and classical the room is as important as the mics.

Rich

[tenor39]

Well said. In recent years I've heard a few stinkers that were overdubbed Classical recordings, with each section coming in to record at a time because the studio could not handle an entire orchestra. How about "Hell, no!"?tutt Flat, 2-dimensional, like a cardboard cutout of a real person. Nothing beats a great acoustic space.

[Jim Easton]

I said recording ENSEMBLES which to me means small groups of musicians.

I know there is not room for a symphony.

Why 7' piano?

[tenor39]

Originally Posted by 2db

I said recording ENSEMBLES which to me means small groups of musicians.

I know there is not room for a symphony.

My response would still be the same. Unless you think that artificial room space (as in reverb/delay) is as good as the real thing, I would still want to record even small Piano quintets or String quartets in a decent sized room or small hall. It's not just delay or room tone, it's what a good room does to the cohearence of the ensemble. No box can duplicate that. As in all things your mileage may vary...

[pianoman]

A full-size piano will sound "better". In particular, in smaller pianos, the shorter string length must be compensated for by relatively thicker strings for a given pitch and maximum string tension. This causes deviation enough from "ideal" string behavior that the bottom octave or so suffers. The difference further up the piano becomes more marginal. I'd argue that the difference in the mids and treble between a small grand and a large grand from a given manufacturer is not as significant as the difference among manufacturers (e.g. Steinway vs. Yamaha) in terms of discernable sound difference.

So to summarize, if your piano player uses the bottom octave or so a lot, you'll likely notice the difference in piano size; otherwise quite possibly not.

[sonare]

Sorry, but to my ear only a 9ft works for classical, and a 7ft is mariginal for jazz. And it has nothing to do with bottom octaves.

Rich

[tenor39]

Originally Posted by sonare

Sorry, but to my ear only a 9ft works for classical, and a 7ft is mariginal for jazz. And it has nothing to do with bottom octaves.

Rich

Ditto.

[sonare]

To put this all in perspective-- I think those of us here who have a performing/recording background are trying to prevent you from sinking alot of money into a space that classical players are not going to like. The room is as much an instrument in classical recording as what is in the player's hands.

You can spend $80k easy on a really good (but not really great) piano. Your space could be killer for overdubs and such, and maybe for jazz, but the piano will make the difference. For classical (even a solo guitar) the room will be a problem rather than a drawing card. Everyone will be happier with the results if you go on location, as many of the European engineers do.

Rich

[Sound Chaser]

You have an excellent dimension for a great sounding "medium small' room, especially with the 12' ceilings. Height is everything. The only advantage of splitting the room is for vox overdubs, ADR or a very small acoustic combo. If that is your primary application and not band recording then the two room solution can be done under your perscribed dimensions: proper size control room with full size vocal booth. (a 2/3 vs 1/3 spit) You still want to use full height in your booth as you can always go dryer and smaller.

If band recording is your main activity.....
I would rather live with the inconvenience of being in the same room as a jazz band I was recording as long as the acoustics sound great, than to have a control room and a live room the size of a vocal booth that doesn't work.
With one large room which doesn't follow the traditional 'control room' tradition, some of the best mix acoustics are acheived when the monitors and mix position are far away from any surface. The sound is 'effortless.'
In this case go for one excellent sounding room that is pure pleasure to just sit back and listen to tracks in...and do it right.

Either way I envy you. Since you do location work, I think a great work space can be a fabulous creative and comfortable alternative to the traditional studio....God knows....there are enough of them around. Wish I had your problem.