Gettin' a little crowded in the old project studio...

Ha! I know that feeling! The next thing after space going is time to do anything about it! Totally worth it though.

I was able to find some time to work on the studio over the thanksgiving break.

Slow going to be sure, but I cannot wait to put up the drywall...

Shot of the room from the door:



New framing and furring:



Finally installing some resilient channel:

I put up OSB over the resilient channel so I won't have to keep track of where the RC is and where the joist is.


Next stop walls...

On a side note, I'm feeling a little burnt out by this whole process... I would really like to go on vacation for a week and come back to find the walls done!

Trying to decide how to run the wires over the drywall (PVC conduit, Steel Conduit, Wiremold, Raceway...

Part of me wants to do steel conduit and make the lighting look something like this:

OK so 2 years later...

Finally getting back to work on the studio...

The humidity currently stays between 49-58% and it's usually around 55. So I may need to consider dehumidifying incoming air, once the whole thing is sealed up.

It's nice and cool down there in the summer and not bad in the winter with a space heater. The floor is bare concrete, and it needs some work.

I am planning the HVAC.
I'm going to use one Fantech FG6XL as an exhaust fan. I will install another silencer with 6" duct for fresh air intake.

The room is 287 sq feet. The ceiling is about 7'9"

At 494 cfm the Fantech will provide more than adequate airflow, and I'm hoping to run it way below max speed.

Would anyone care to glance at the attached PDF plans and tell me if the sizing is right? I made them this size because I can build 2 with the 3/4" plywood that I have, but I could make them larger and buy more if that is necessary. Basically the air will go from a 6" duct sized hole (28.27 sq in) opening, to a 9x9 square duct (81 sq in) and back down to 6". I understand that when you change volume you should go to at least double the original volume. I will be lining the ducts, so that will decrease that 81 sq inches to something like 50 sq in.

Thanks!

I'm fairly happy with the isolation at this point (need to put up 1 more layer of drywall and make better door seals). But once I start cutting holes in it, I'm sure all that will change so I have to get this part right!

I guess I will post my plans in the acoustics main forum and see what response I get.

My dad helped me put up some drywall and green glue on the ceiling today. He was sort of shocked at how much work it was compared to just putting up drywall normally.

We ended up 1 panel short! Should have planned my courses better I guess.

Also, my Milwaukee m18 drill fell off my belt into an almost empty bucket of green glue! I spent about an hour removing the chuck and soaking it in rubbing alcohol. Didn't get any in the electronics thankfully. It was dry and working again in an hour or so.

Green glue is very sticky.

Caulk caulk caulk... I'm a dumbass and I forgot to wear a mask for the first 45 minutes or so... Must install ventilation...

I think... the drywall is all up.

It's taken me so long to get here. Mud and tape next.

I'm so bad at it...

Digging the progress man!

Mud and tape don't need to be pretty if you covering it up,.
Looks like a lot of work !!! it will be well worth it

Thanks Steve,

It's nowhere near as much work as yours!!!

But full time job, wife, baby. It sure feels like a lot!

I haven't been spending much time in there lately. Now that I have drywall up it is plainly clear how much it needs ventilation and the whole prospect is a bit scary to me. I don't want to get it wrong and I've never done any HVAC work at all.

Can you go with split type aircons and a fresh air system ? Or do you want a central,. single hvac unit ?

I see yor silencer design, it looks good, it will work,. but... it might be better to run 10" insulated flex duct.. im not clear on your plans,, but I think the 6" might be to small.

Long time no post...

I’ve decided to finish the room as much as possible, then see what it’s like without HVAC.

I don’t know how leaky it will be. Probably very until I replace the window.

Luckily the window is in the concrete wall, so I’ve done almost no soundproofing on that side of the room and hopefully a retrofit will be easy.

Good news is, I bought 2 old Yamaha SW118iii Subs for my PA, which can really excite the room modes for acoustic testing.

35Hz at 85dB is audible throughout the house, but in the bedrooms it sounds like someone is tapping lightly on the basement ceiling.

Interestingly I can put my ear to the concrete slab outside the space and I cannot hear a thing!

I put in some cheap work lights for now. (Literally $39 for 6x2200lumen surface mount LEDs)

I will add ambient lighting and outlets once the acoustic treatment is roughed in.

Hi,. great news about your isolation Those subs are Loud !! hahahah

Only in a perfect world is a studio completely isolated. My focus is more on the work flow, music and acoustic treatment in the control room.

After doing this for many years I relies nothings perfect... and to not worry about complete isolation. But again,. I want the control room to translate mixes well.

So what's your plan for the air-con ?

Sadly, for now the plan is crack the window and open the doors every once in a while.

The basement is very cool in the summer and I have been using electric radiators in the winter. The room is not air tight (old window, no seals on doors yet).

I am worried that once I run fresh air ducts the room will become humid in the summer and frozen in the winter.

We will cross that bridge when we come to it.

I am interested in the Ururu Sarara, but I haven’t done a lot of reading about it.

1 coat of primer.
Cheap LED shop lights
Rubber floor tiles from Samsclub
Some R30
Some coat hangers
108” Muslin from joanne’s fabrics
1x4 furring strips spray painted black
Ratty old bass traps leaned up against the walls

Shelter in Place studio progress

I am impressed with your rear wall trap, and also with your keeping going with this buildout. Keep up the good work!

Thanks Starlight! That’s actually the front wall...
... but I plan on doing a similar thing to the rear wall!

Since I started this I haven’t really worked on much music. My focuses have been voiceover, 3d graphics, DJ/VJ stuff, lighting, a bunch of other things too.

Breaking out the gear did inspire me to make some noise, which was fun. And I hope to get back into doing more of that!

One nice thing about doing a REALLY long low end build is that it gives me time to use the space to make sure I know what I want.


I ramble on a bit below:

Today is my birthday, so I got some time away from the family . And spent it measuring the response of my room!

Here's a comparison of my measurements from 2017 with my measurements from today.

I also did a lot of measuring while moving traps into different positions, but I'm not quite ready to post that data yet.

Edit: I forgot to mention that I added ceiling wall corner traps along the sides.

I got a Father’s Day present, from my father!

A second HS10W, which they do not make anymore.

It did wonders for my 30-60Hz range!

I've got some updates.

I'm experimenting with positioning of the subs and the mains. Trying to figure out a good organized way to document the locations.
There is a huge null at 170 and another at 287. Presumably these are related to positioning of the speakers. Maybe back wall FR points. Suggestions welcome.

I built a cloud with R30 to hang right over the speakers, hoping to tame the floor ceiling mode of my room.

I cut some boxes that I had from work in half to make a nice cardboard box house for my uncompressed R30 rear corner traps. I will work on those some more and build something more permanent for them once I get something that works.

I moved my desk out of the listening space, because it was impossible to experiment with speaker positioning and to leave the mic in place when I had to move it to sit down to measure. I should probably put something there, but I don't actually have a decent desk yet.

Just for fun I included a measurement of my low end with some EQ to adjust the room modes. I don't think that the parametric on TotalmixFX has a steep enough Q for the job. Perhaps when I can't add anymore traps I will look into getting a MiniDSP.


Edit: I’m pretty sure that the 270 Hz null is related to reflections off of the computer monitor and rear wall first reflection points.

I will have to devise a trap that can hang on the back of the door and a couple more that will allow the door to open. Hopefully that will tame the null.

I added some more cardboard boxes stuffed with insulation, adjusted speaker and subwoofer positions, and I have got the 30-100Hz range looking really good especially if I use EQ! Makes me want to get a MiniDSP.

I am thinking that my issues in the 150Hz+ range are just a lack of wall coverage. Although they could be some sort of phase/SBIR issue.

I am wary of making my room too dead, but I think I will just try bringing in some more R30 and see where that gets me. Maybe I will move some of my Roxul 60/703/705 traps to the ceiling, since I think it will be a pain to get more R30 up there.

Anyway, please take a look and let me know if you have any suggestions!