Reddit mentions of Home Recording Studio: Build It Like the Pros

Lots to go on.. but start with the Rod Gervais book

Go by this and you'll be OK. Walls with double drywall + green glue will do you right... take care with ANYTHING ELSE that goes through a wall. Doors, HVAC, electrical... that's the tricky part.

A couple other suggestions. Don't buy any soundproofing product unless the company selling it publishes reliable test data on transmission loss. Lots of sketchy marketing out there -- or things that seem intuitively helpful, but really aren't (like glass block - the regular kind at least).

Get this. I wouldn't expect to start designing studios once you read it. But it will at least give you a sense of the concepts & help cut through the bs that is out there.

read this: https://www.amazon.com/Home-Recording-Studio-Build-Like/dp/143545717X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1495683568&sr=1-1&keywords=home+studio+build+pros

It's full of expert advice on how and what to do in a home space.

search google for mass loaded vinyl.

Also read a lot before wasting money on sound treatment. This book will save you a lot of $.

http://www.amazon.com/Home-Recording-Studio-Build-Like/dp/143545717X

You might not be building a home studio but the concepts are all the same.

It is absolutely possible to treat ducting and, in fact, studios and theaters typically even have extra requirements for cooling based on the extra heat they produce from people and equipments.

But... that's not something that can be easily discussed in a reddit post since the details absolutely matter.

Some generic tips, though:

1. Non-rigid ducting works far better than the rigid type
   
2. Long lengths with S-curves robs the sound of its strength over time
   
3. No straight runs between rooms
   
   If you want to read up on this, then this book Home Recording Studio : Build it Like the Pros has an extensive chapter on just the ducting requirements.
   
   

Tons of info and helpful people at the John Sayers Forum

Also Philip Newell's book Recording Studio Design

and Rod Gervais Home Recording Studio

I always recommend this book - it has lots of info on how to set up your space for best acoustics:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/143545717X/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Although having just gone through this process in my own basement, my advice would be (assuming you are building this yourself) to make it easy on yourself when possible. Things like keeping 16" 2x4 spacing, and using complete pieces of drywall where it makes sense will save you a lot of grief.

a Zoom H1 or H2 or another Tascam should do an adequate job, they have pretty decent condensor mikes but you'll have to have a room that doesn't reflect too much sound off the walls.

If you want to move towards audition quality recording, you want (probably) a large diagphragm condensor mike, an audio interface and DAW software (Logic pro, cubase, FL, garage band, reaper, etc). For a bigger budge, you're getting into a a second mike, maybe a SDC (small diaphgram) or ribbon mike, and a mike preamp like the $300+ ones that ART and focusrite make.

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If you want to read about home recording tech, books by Dave Hunter, Dave Huber, Gervais, Idiots etc, look for them in your library:

https://www.amazon.com/Home-Recording-Handbook-Youve-Great/dp/087930958X

https://www.amazon.com/Home-Recording-Studio-Build-Like/dp/143545717X/

https://www.amazon.com/Recording-Secrets-Small-Studio-Senior/dp/0415716705/

Have you tried doing some research?
There is a wealth of information on the internet, and numerous books on the subject as well.
Here's one: https://www.amazon.com/Home-Recording-Studio-Build-Like/dp/143545717X/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=home+studio&qid=1564774723&s=books&sr=1-2

I'm assuming this is a be-all, do-all type of room that includes tracking and mixing. I'm going to give pointers based on a "perfect world" scenario. It's up to you to make the necessary compromises.

1. Your monitor position is not great for mixing or tracking; for a few reasons. You got the angles right for the ideal sweet spot, but the monitors are close to the front wall boundary. The ideal placement is somewhere around a third of the room length away from the nearest boundary (9' room length = monitors at ~3' from front wall). Setting monitors on top of a desk is also not ideal because desks will most likely move with the speakers, thus effecting bass response. Desks also cause bad early reflections, and monitors on a two-tier desk will be sitting approximately half way between the floor and ceiling (thus breaking our 2/3 rule again). My suggestion would be to mount the speakers on heavy duty brackets screwed directly into the wall studs 2/3 of the way up the wall above you, pointed down. You will be able to get a wider sound field without sacrificing floor space due to the geometry, avoid reflections, and get better bass response because they will be coupled to the highest amount of mass possible (wall studs + slab). This was my personal solution at home and I have pristine stereo imaging and excellent bass response as a result. This obviously isn't an easy option for most consumer monitors though because not all of them have mounts. The alternative option (although pretty weak) is to at least use Auralex Mopads between the monitors and the desk to keep the two from coupling. I've used them and you will hear an immediate difference. Acoustics are all about mass, and you either want as much mass as possible keeping monitors still or as little as possible to let them move. Two schools of thought, both of which have applications, but setting them right on top of a wooden desk is the worst of both worlds.
   
   
2. It looks like you have bass traps in the corners, which is good. Ideally these should be 4" thick Owens corning 705 or a mineral wool of similar density. Yes, you can stack two 2" thick sheets together to get the same result as long as you don't use the stuff with the aluminum on the outside. 705 is better than 703 for bass traps because of the density. 703 is good for mid frequencies, so you can save a buck and get some of that for the door panels, but I'd go with 705 anyway because bass will go through the panel and then through the door (assuming it's a lightweight interior door) into the hall, acting as another bass trap. Do not pack pink stuff behind the corner panels. It's not worth it and it kills some of the bass trapping.
   
   
3. The panel above the piano will not be doing much. A more effective placement for that panel would be to use 4" of 705 mounted parallel to the wall but with air space of 2+ inches between them. This will trap lows down to ~50 or 60hz, mids, and highs. Mounting the panels directly against the wall will not allow them to absorb low end. The airspace is necessary to stretch down to deep low absorption. Mount as many of these types of panel as possible in this sized room for the flattest bass response. Expect to have some pretty bad modes below 80hz without more bass trapping. Ideally you'd cover as much wall and corner as possible.
   
   
4. Lots of insulation around a room will make it sound pretty dead in the highs, which make be to your liking. you may be happier though by taping crate paper or grocery bags to the faces of your wall panels. This will reflect the highest highs, keeping the room sounding a bit less claustrophobic. It's cheap and effective.
   
   
5. I don't see any ceilling treatment or mention of ceiling height. I'd install (at the very least) a 4" thick cloud above the drum kit and above mix position to kill early reflections. Ideally you would cover the upper corners where the ceiling meets the wall with 4" bass traps as well. This will greatly improve clarity. You can never have enough bass trapping in a room.
   
   
6. If that's a closet next to the drums, I'd fill it with bales of pink stuff as an additional bass trap (yes, just leave them packaged and stack them up).
   
   If you're interested in where I got my information, I basically just followed any advice I could find from Ethan Winer, but a lot of it didn't make sense until I built my studio and ran some of my own calculations using this porous absorber calculator. I found it very interesting that a really thick layer of the pink insulation works way better than the dense fiberglass stuff at controlling low end for cheap. The reason people like the dense stuff so much is simply because it saves space, but it's actually pretty ineffective compared to say, 8" of pink stuff.
   
   If you plan on mixing in this room I would highly suggest the books Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio and Home Recording Studio: Build It Like the Pros, as they both go over small, existing room treatments in great detail.
   
   Good luck with your room.
   
   Quick edit: Don't be tempted to put your monitors on their sides just to look cool. If they have tweeters then they should be standing upright to give the best imaging.

This book is super helpful.

http://www.amazon.com/Home-Recording-Studio-Build-Like/dp/143545717X

If you don’t build your walls on top of your floating floor you’ll still be sending lots of transmission down through the walls into the floor/ceiling below.

Best analogy is that you should try to keep your sound within a watertight bubble. Any holes or weakspots will absolutely let sound through.

I spent >50k on studio construction on the 2nd floor of my building, and I can tell you that it’ll take a lot more than that to stop it from going below unless you’re in a concrete reinforced building. I have a storage space under me so it wasn’t a big deal.

Also structural engineering blah don’t crush the person below blah

Build It Like The Pros

^pdf is out there

+1 for cans after 10p or moving

Buy this book - http://www.amazon.com/Home-Recording-Studio-Build-Like/dp/143545717X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1425908164&sr=1-1&keywords=build+it+like+the+pros

Basically, lots of drywall, and as few physical connections to existing structure as possible. Get a dB meter if you can, and measure the existing situation (use a PA or something) to see what kind of reduction your existing structure gives you.

I build a similar room a number of years ago for playing and recording drums. If your clearance allows for it, you will get the most isolation using a 'room within a room' design like /u/Bolockablama said. If you can build a box that everything will fit inside comfortably that does not attach to the surrounding structure it will be easier to contain.

It will also help to add as much mass to your walls and ceiling. Using two layers of drywall instead of one will help, adding rigid insulation like Roxul will help a lot. There are products like resilient channels and Green Glue that work to help decouple drywall from other layers of drywall and the studs behind it as well which will all help keep sound contained.

I had a lot of help perusing the 'Studio Building' threads on Gearslutz as well. I've also heard great things about Rod Gervais's book.

Once your room is built, your on to room treatment!

oh my god I found this at a used bookstore for 10 dollars so I figured I'd pick it up not thinking much of the book at the time. Thanks for calling it the bible. What an epic synchronicity.

https://www.amazon.com/Home-Recording-Studio-Build-Like/dp/143545717X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487605995&sr=8-1&keywords=home+studio+recording+book

My recommendation.

https://www.amazon.com/Home-Recording-Studio-Build-Like/dp/143545717X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1524062230&sr=8-1&keywords=home+studio+like+the+pros

Here are some links for the product in the above comment for different countries:

Amazon Smile Link: Home Recording Studio: Build It Like the Pros


|Country|Link|
|:-----------|:------------|
|UK|amazon.co.uk|
|Spain|amazon.es|
|France|amazon.fr|
|Germany|amazon.de|
|Japan|amazon.co.jp|
|Canada|amazon.ca|
|Italy|amazon.it|
|China|amazon.cn|




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You really need to either hire someone to consult you on this, or do a crap load of research, and I mean a lot because if you don't you'll just end up wasting money with on a room that behaves no better than your average room.

This book is has just about everything you'd need to learn to do it right.

https://www.amazon.com/Home-Recording-Studio-Build-Like/dp/143545717X

Treating a space is one thing and doesn't take a lot of planning to get good results, but PROOFING a room takes a lot of planning and specialized construction to make it actually work, miss one thing and have leaks and all the work you did was for nothing.