Studios in old churchs or synagogues

[RyanC]

Hey All-

I've been shopping for a building and I looked at a bunch now. . .

I'm wondering if anyone here has a studio that is built into a old church or synagogue?

I really like the vibe of cool old buildings more than the feeling of a warehouse or industrial condo. I have a decent understanding of room-within-a-room studio build outs etc, and I know that we arn't talking about rooms with 2dB noisefloors here. BUT

I'm also thinking that it's not too hard to pour some casons in the basement, put an I-beam under the joists, and increase the floor strength enough to put down some neoprene blocks, then throw a slab of concrete on top of the blocks. Then frame out a room on the slab and bam, sounds like a room within a room to me.

Would this work well in a big open room like a church or synagogue? I'm thinking if the big room was treated to be fairly quiet and sound good, and then make a control room and several booths off of it, it seems like it could be good.

Anyone do anything like this? success/horror stories? Thanks-

Oh and I know some people might be offended by the hertical nature of this; but frankly I think it's more hertical to tear the building down and build condos for yuppies.

[jinksdingo]

I got a disused Church I am currently renovating into a Studio and it is taking too long. I am already loaned out to the banks so funds to do it a re on a as can afford basis.
If I may point out that the Church itself might have the sound you want on your recordings. If you room in a room it like the fad in the 70s it'll be a dead. You might as well get a warehouse than waste the possible sonic possibilities of the room. Walls far away from a source will have minimal pickup probs. With Enough bass traps and diffusers to tame things acoustically you could be on a winner. Consider the draw appeal of it!
In my Church I have traffic noise to handle coming thru the roof. Painfull! It also has a back room which I am near finished on doubling as a control room iso space. The recording gear is set up on a long towering table on wheels to wheel in and out as needed. Primative patch headache but as I said ongoing work of art as funds prevail.
So first up have the ready capital to knock it over pronto so your operational and making a return back.

[avare]

There dozens of studios like that. Some guy called Allen sides did that in Nashville. Oh, yeah then is that George Martin person in England. Do a search engine search for "church" and "studio'"

[RyanC]

Thanks-

Of course I would want to keep the main acoustics of the building, but to have a CR and some boothes that are dead, or somewhat dead, but definitly isolated, just to have those options.

I figure that the warehouse is easier and probably cheaper, especially when it comes to whatever older style HVAC system you have to deal with. . . .

Thanks Avare, I have searched. . . And I looked some more, generally google re-turns mostly actual churches that have a studio attached to them. But a website with a few pics is a very small amount of information.

I guess that jinksdingo's response is what I was looking for, I don't have a mega budget, and I'm trying to find a place that could be made decent right away, with the option to renovate more seriously later on. A church typically has better acoustics right out of the gate than a warehouse, and I love the idea of a place with a really cool vibe.

Thanks

[bigos]

I will soon finish the nightmare I started over a yaer ago of renovating a 220 year old house into a studio. I wanted a church but in Poland its difficult to get one because of the religious beuacracy here. Though they are readily available in Germany. It is really expensive to renovate old buildings into modern studios. If I could go back in time I would have built a studio from scratch. Of course you probably wont have to deal with Polish workers coming to work drunk at 7:00 AM.

[PDC]

Originally Posted by RyanC

Hey All-

I've been shopping for a building and I looked at a bunch now. . .

I'm wondering if anyone here has a studio that is built into a old church or synagogue?

I really like the vibe of cool old buildings more than the feeling of a warehouse or industrial condo. I have a decent understanding of room-within-a-room studio build outs etc, and I know that we arn't talking about rooms with 2dB noisefloors here. BUT

I'm also thinking that it's not too hard to pour some casons in the basement, put an I-beam under the joists, and increase the floor strength enough to put down some neoprene blocks, then throw a slab of concrete on top of the blocks. Then frame out a room on the slab and bam, sounds like a room within a room to me.

Would this work well in a big open room like a church or synagogue? I'm thinking if the big room was treated to be fairly quiet and sound good, and then make a control room and several booths off of it, it seems like it could be good.

Anyone do anything like this? success/horror stories? Thanks-

Oh and I know some people might be offended by the hertical nature of this; but frankly I think it's more hertical to tear the building down and build condos for yuppies.

Leon Russell and Steve Ripley operated studios in an old church in Tulsa. I was sad to see it become an office building.

The downside with old buildings, settling, electrical systems, lack of wheel chair access...the same stuff you would have with any other building of age.

[Zabak]

Echo Mountain in Asheville, NC. I've heard some good stuff from musicians who've recorded there, although I've never been there myself...

Echo Mountain Recording Studio - Asheville, NC