Creative solutions for a tiny studio (Pt.1: Overview)

[Vagodeoz]

So I`m finally building my own studio! :D
It`s going to be small, and my budget is sort of tight (20k$ for everything), but for Bolivia`s standards, it should be pretty dam good he he.
The plus side is that I already have most of the gear I will need.

NOTE: Please keep in mind that this is a VERY tight budget studio in a third world country, so abstain from bragging that you can`t make music without gazzillions of dollars in gear, becouse we all know that ain`t true.


THE BACKGROUND:
Since my space at my bedroom/studio is quite limited, for the last 2 years I have been doing a lot of live recordings, with gigs and festivals. This year alone I made about 20, so I`m specializing in live recordings. The only studio in Bolivia doing it seriously, and I have earned quite a name for the studio lately.
So now that I`m building the studio, my idea is to use the same concepts and techniques of a live recording, but on an acoustically controlled space, and build the whole studio with that in mind.


THE IDEA:
The idea is to make a minimalistic studio designed to accommodate a full 6 piece band (drum, bass, 2 guitars, keyboard and vocal) with every single detail based on that concept, making recordings almost "plug and play" and making the most of the space and with the least quantity of visible wires possible.
There would be a recording room for the drums, guitars, bass and keyboard, and a small vocal booth. All instruments would be recorded by line and monitored by headphones. And I would have 2 bass traps for guitar amps, and it would be built so the guitars go to the traps and then get miked.


THE LOCATION:
The space I have is quite small, so a lot of creative thinking is required.
Right now it`s a storage, but will soon be freed. Its about 20 x 8.6 feet, but we are going to "stretch" the length to about 24-25. And before you ask it, no, it`s not an option to make it any bigger than that because it`s in a house. So the control room would be about 8 feet long, and the recording room about 16 feet, with a corner used for the vocal booth.
Here is my idea of how to use it.




THE MONITORING STATIONS:
The core of the design, is the monitoring stations.
It will be many things into one: Headphone amp, headphone hanger, patch bay, bass/guitar hanger and lamp
It will be like a wooden box, approx 1x1.5x0.3 feet, and it won`t have the upper wood, and inside it will have a light bulb, so the only light in the room comes from the 6 monitoring stations pointing to the roof, focusing the attention even more into them. It will have one knob to regulate the light strength on each station.
It will also have 4 more knobs for audio. One called "Me", one called "Others", one called "Metronome" and one called "All", controlling a small mixer and headphone amp stored inside the wooden box.

Also 3 of the stations (for bass and 2 guitars) will have a wall hanger right next to it so it can be hanged without unplugging anything, and all of them will have the required input female connector. A plug for bass and guitars, two plugs for keyboard, a XLR for vocal booth, and nothing for the drums, since they will have a separate 16 Ch wall plate on the wall of the recording room for all the mikes.



THE GUITAR BASS TRAPS:
Since I don`t have much space, my best idea so far is to make them underground he he, two 3x3x3 holes in the floor with a small wall plate for the audio connections and a 220v connection.
I`m still looking for other solutions, but so far it seems to be the best.


THE CONNECTIONS:
Everything that can be normalized, it will be. The input from the guitar in the monitoring station will go to one channel on the preamps to be recorded clean and one copy to the guitar 2 bass trap to be miked and recorded.
Also, the drum kit would be permanently miked, except for the condensers, for humidity issues, but the stands and cables would be there.

Also my idea is to use ceiling stands, to clear even more room and having less to do every recording session.


THE GEAR:
Most of the gear I already have. The brain would be my mobile studio, which is a Lightbridge with 3-4 ADA8000`s. Also a desktop (with hackintosh e), M-Audio Bx5a`s monitors, two screen monitors and about 20 mikes, although no one more expensive than 200$…

What I would buy would be one fine condenser mic (500+$), a controller for pro tools (Projectmix I/O, or if I can find it in Bolivia, a Command 8), a bass and a guitar (300-400$ each), new heads and cymbals for my drumkit (500$), a standalone preamp (about 500$), a keyboard midi controller (200$) a Subwoofer (probably the one from M-Audio, about 400$), the Mackie Big Knob (300$), and a few other cheaper gadgets... Maybe also a flatscreen... :D



THE EXPERIENCE:
The idea is to offer people in Bolivia a chance to record music like no other studio here offers. They all record instruments separetely.

This gives them the feeling and power of a live performance, but in a studio enviroment.
Also this gives them the option to rent it by hour, and decide that instead of their 3 hours rehearsal today, they rent the studio for 3 hours and record their rehearsal for demos.
Ideally, the set-up shouldn`t take more than 10 minutes before recording.

Also, I live in Santa Cruz (east of Bolivia), which is the countries biggest city, but the second biggest, La Paz (west of Bolivia), has the most musical movement, and therefore good recording studios.
There are many good bands from Cochabamba (center) and Sucre or Tarija (south) that travel to La Paz to record their albums...
This could be a good alternative to those bands, especially since recording an album like that, and with a studio built like this, should take at least 3 times less that recording it on a "regular" studio, each instrument at the time, which is an important issue if you have to pay your expenses everyday of the recording travel...


So tell me what you guys think about it, and I will soon post Part II with photos and a specific subject to get feedback like acoustics, wiring, gear...etc.

[tallpaul]

i'd not be considering having a separate control room with the space you have available. i'd have one room with a live end and a dead end. i wouldn't build a vocal booth, either. use movable panels to isolate the singer. that's just my opinion. whether the experts agree or disagree, i do not know...

it would be a lot cheaper having a one room set up.

[Vagodeoz]

Originally Posted by tallpaul

i'd not be considering having a separate control room with the space you have available. i'd have one room with a live end and a dead end. i wouldn't build a vocal booth, either. use movable panels to isolate the singer. that's just my opinion. whether the experts agree or disagree, i do not know...

it would be a lot cheaper having a one room set up.

All opinions are welcome!! :D

Yes, it will cost more to make a 2 room set-up, but it also gives the studio more cache, therefore better and more paid jobs.
I`m trying to leave the "home studio zone", and a one room set-up is a step backwards in that area...

Also, it wouldn`t be that much more expensive to make a two room setup. Maybe a difference in 15% of the total budget.

Do you suggest a one room setup for other reason besides money?


EDIT: Also, the room is rather small, is long and has parallel walls, so either way it`s going to be a dead room.

[Adimus]

IMHO, you might be better of, converting your "control room" into a "dry-ish sounding room". That way, you can record a reference drum track in the "dry-ish", and initial guitar, bass, cello, violin, keyboard, and what-not in your biger room.

Later you can reamp the good guitar/bass tracks, overdub the drums, do a vocal dub, etc. in your "dry-ish room".
You will also have a better chance of building a nice control area, since there will be no doors in you way.

Also if you have a good mixing environment, you are more likely to get mix only gigs.

my $0.02

[tallpaul]

[/QUOTE]
Do you suggest a one room setup for other reason besides money?


EDIT: Also, the room is rather small, is long and has parallel walls, so either way it`s going to be a dead room.[/QUOTE]

i think that you are being ambitious with the space you have. it is very well looking at the shell measurements but you are looking at an 8' by 8' 6" control room prior to making it a treated room with the loss of space the trapping will need to get over the problem frequencies (and having a client couch). i cannot see how you could mix in that environment. if you're used to live mixing, maybe just make a good live room with movable panels and then use the same panels to improve the mixing area at one end of the room.

the thread titled "My Experiment with a Metal Panel Absorber" has a very interesting approach to bass trapping and the treatment not taking up much room. if i was starting again, i'd be looking there.

good to hear of your intentions, though. i imagine some very interesting music and possibilities...

[tallpaul]

what's your ceiling height?

[tallpaul]

the aim of the step up is not having more rooms, in my opinion, but having the best sounding space in what you have available. at the end of the day the cache with the client comes from the product. that's the result of the space. i've heard excellent recordings done on a few pieces of very good equipment in a domestic space. the talent of the engineer and the performers was obviously the first necessity.

i cannot see how you can get a control room and a space for six musicians including a vocal booth in the space you have. i think with some ingenuity you could have a good sounding space for what you want to do with just one room. using equipment you already know will be helpful. having the designed space is one thing. knowing how the equipment integrates best in it is the next learning curve. when you need to mix down, you do it in an enjoyable space. enjoyable in the sense of what you can hear which you will not in the control room you propose.

i'll wait for the experts to step in and give you the best solution...!

[Vagodeoz]

Hmmm very interesting insight...
I will take a look at your metal absorber project...

About the room itself, right now I`m mixing in a space of about the same size (10x10). The difference is that it`s also my bedroom, and therefore I have a limited space for my gear. Actually right now I`m closer to a corner than to the center of the wall... and I`m having some decent mixes.
I also use nearfields and will continue to use them. Since I don`t have the space or budget for full range monitors.


About the recording room, keep in mind that it will hold 6 musicians, but almost bare naked :P
No amps, no cables across the groud (except for pedals), everything hangs in the wall.. Only the drumkit would be on the room.
The idea is to get a 6 piece in the least ammount of space possible.

Also keep in mind that most of the bands I work with aren`t a 6 piece. They are a 3-5 piece, but when the day comes, I want to be ready
Also, planning it this way allows me to decide in advance which station would be for which instrument, so I can build the connections and accessories accordingly.

There are 2 guitars? Go get the 2 monitoring stations for guitars and hang your instrument next to it.

One guitar and a keyboard? The keyboard station is on the rear. Go and plug your stereo out in the stereo in of the station, and the guitar in one of the guitar stations.

And of course the gear and ears of the engineer play the biggest role, but we are talking about the same gear, same engineer, so lets only handle the location/acoustics for now, since firing myself and hiring another engineer is not an option