StudioConstructionandAcousticTreatment

AcousticTreatmentandDesignforRecordingStudiosandListeningRooms INTRODUCTION Itisverypleasedtoseethecurrentgrowinginterestinacoustictreatment.Evenasrecently as five years ago, it was rare to read a magazine article or newsgroup posting about acoustic, bass traps, diffusers, room modes, and so forth. Today such discussions are common. And well they should be the acoustics of a recording or listening room are arguablymoreimportantthanalmostanythingelse! These days, all gear is acceptably flat over the most important parts of the audio range. Distortion,asidefromloudspeakersandmicrophones,islowenoughtobeinconsequential. And noise a big problem with analog tape records is now pretty much irrelevant with modem digital recording. Indeed, given the current high quality of even semipro audio gear, the real issue these days is your skill as a recording engineer and the quality of the roomsinwhichyourecordandmakemixingdecisions. WhatsthepointinbuyingamicrophonepreampthatisrulerflatfromDCtomicrowaves whentheacousticinyourcontrolroomcreatepeaksanddipsaslargeas20dBthroughout the entire bass range? How, important really are jitter artifacts 110 dB below the music whenstandingwavesinyourstudiocauseahugeholeat80Hzexactlywhereyouplaceda mike for the acoustic bass? Clearly , frequency response errors of this magnitude are an enormous problem, yet most studios and control rooms suffer from this defect. Worse, many studio owners have no idea their rooms have such a skewed response! Without knowingwhatyourmusicreallysoundslike,itisdifficulttoproduceaqualityproduct,and evenmoredifficulttocreatemixesthatsoundthesameoutsideyourcontrolroom. Thisarticleexplainsthebasicprinciplesofacoustictreatmentmagazine.Howeverthevast majority is new content that does not appears anywhere else. I have consolidated this information here to provide a single comprehensive source that is free of commercial references.Mygoalistoofferadvicethatiscompleteandaccurate,yeteasytounderstand using common sense explanations instead of math and formulas. Although many books aboutrecordingstudioandlisteningroomacousticsareavailable,mostofthebetterones aretootechnicalfortheaverageaudioenthusiasttounderstandwithouteffort.Andyoud needtopurchaseandreadmanybookstolearnafewrelevantitemsfromeach. Please understand thatI am not a degreed acoustician or studio architect. However, I am veryexperiencedinacoustictreatment,andparticularlyinbasstraps.Therecommendation

describedherearetheresultofmyownpersonalexperienceandshouldnotbetakenasthe finalword.Althoughthisarticleisintendedmainlyforaudioengineersandhomerecordists, all of the information applies equally to home theaters. Small churches and auditoriums, andotherroomswherehighqualityreproductionofaudioandmusicisrequired. PART1:ACOUSTICTREATMENT There are four primary goals of acoustic treatment: 1) To prevent standing waves and acousticinterfacefromaffectingthefrequencyresponseofrecordingstudiosandlistening rooms: 2) to reduce modal ringing in small rooms and lower the reverb time in larger studios, churches, and auditoriums, : 3) to absorb or diffuse sound in the room to avoid ringingandflutterechoes,andimprovestereoimaging;and4)tokeepsoundfromleaking intooroutofaroom.Thatis,topreventyourmusicfromdisturbingtheneighbors,andto keepthesoundofpassingtrucksfromgettingintoyourmicrophones. Please understand that acoustic treatment as described here is designed to control the sound quality within a room. It is not intended to prevent sound propagation between rooms.Soundtransmissionandleakagearereducedviaconstructionusingthickmassive walls,andisolatingthebuildingstructuresgenerallybyfloatingthewallsandfloors,and hangingtheceilingswithshockmounts.Properacoustictreatmentcantransformamuddy sounding room, having poor midrange definition and erratic bass response, into one that sounds clear and tight, and is a pleasure to work and listen in. Without effective acoustic treatment,itisdifficulttohearwhatyouredoing,makingyouworkmuchhardertocreate a good mix. In a home theater, poor acoustics can make the sound less clear, harder to localize, and with an uneven frequency response. Even if you spent many thousands of Rupees on the most accurate loudspeakers and other equipment available, the frequency responseyouactuallyrealizeinanuntreatedroomislikelytovaryby30dBorevenmore. There are two basic types of acoustic treatment absorbers and diffusers. There are also two types of absorbers. One type controls midrange and high frequency reflections; the other, a bass trap, is mainly for low frequencies. All three types of treatment are usually requiredbeforearoomissuitableformakingmixingdecisionsandforseriouslistening. Many studio owners and audiophiles install acoustic foam all over their walls, mistakenly believingthatissufficient.Afterall,ifyouclapyourhandsinaroomtreatedwithfoam(of fiberglass, blankets, or egg crates ) , you wont hear any reverb or echoes. But thin treatmentsdonothingtocontrollowfrequencyreverborreflections,andhandclapswont reveal that. Basement studio and living rooms having walls made of brick or concrete are especiallypronetothisproblemthemorerigidthewalls,themorereflectivetheyareat low frequencies. Indeed, simply building a new sheet rock wall a frequencies because a sheetrockwallthatflexesalsoabsorbsalittle.

You may ask why you need acoustic treatment at all, since few people listening to your musicwillbeinaroomthatisacousticallytreated.Thereasonissimple:Allroomssound differently,bothintheiramountoflevelnessandtheirfrequencyresponse.Ifyoucreatea mixthatsoundsgoodinyourroom,whichhasitsownparticularfrequencyresponse,itis likelytosoundverydifferentinotherrooms.Forexample,ifyourroomhasaseverlackof deepbass,yourmixeswillprobablycontaintoomuchbassasyouincorrectlycompensate basedonwhatyouarehearing.Andifsomeoneelseplaysyourmusicinaroomthathastoo muchdeepbass,theerrorwillbeexaggerated,andtheywillhearwaytoomuchdeepbass. Therefore,theonlypracticalsolutionistomakeyourroomasaccurateaspossiblesoany variationothersexperienceisduesolelytotheresponseoftheirroom. DIFFUSORSANDABSORBERS Diffusers are used to reduce or eliminate repetitive echoes that in rooms having parallel wallsandaflatceiling.Althoughtherearedifferentphilosophiesabouthowmuchnatural reverberation recording studios and listening rooms should have, all professional studio designers agree that periodic reflections caused by parallel walls are best avoided. Therefore,diffusionisoftenusedinadditiontoabsorptiontotamethesereflections.Such treatment is universally accepted as better that making the room completely dead by coveringallofthewallswithabsorptivematerial.Forme,theideallisteningroomhasamix of reflective and absorptive surfaces, with no one large area all live or all dead sounding. Understand that live and dead as described here concern only the mid and upper frequencies. Low frequency treatment is another matter entirely, and will be described separately. Thesimplesttypeofdiffuserisoneormoresheetsofplywoodattachedtoawallataslight angle, to prevent sound from bouncing repeatedly between the same two walls. alternatively,theplywoodcanbebentintoacurvedshape,thoughthatismoredifficultto install.Intruth,thisisreallyadeflector,notadiffuser,asdescribedinmoredetailbelow. However,adeflectorissufficienttoavoidflutterechoesbetweenparallelsurfaces. The photo below shows a curveddeflector afriend and I built for the control room in his home recording studio. It is placed opposite the control room window and is exactly the samesizeasthewindow(sixbythreefeet)tomaintainsymmetryintheroom.Ifyoubuilda deflectorlikethis,besuretopackfluffyfiberglassintheairspacebehindthewoodtokeep the cavity from resonating. Ideally, the amount of curve should be greater than shown here,withthecenterofthepanelfartherfromthewall.Myfriendalreadyhadsome3/8 inch plywood so we used that, but it was very difficult to bend. Had we used 1/4 inch plywooditwouldhavebentmoreeasily,lettingusincreasetheamountofcurving.

AnIntroductiontoRecordingStudioDesign WhatisarecordingStudios? MultitrackRecordingandStereo StudioTypes o Homestudio Semipro Pro o ProfessionalStudios Soundtopicture Radio,speech,anddrama Cutting Preproduction Sampling Mixdown CommercialConsiderations o Costings o Locations Howbigshoulditbe? Noise Parkingfacilities Planningordevelopmentpermissions o Whatdoyourecordon? Table1.SomepossibleRecordingFormats TechnicalConsiderations o ExternalnoiseBus/Horn o Buildingconstruction InternalnoiseAC/Tubelight/foodstep Floorloadings ExternalNoiseControl o TheElectricConnectionmetalconeuteNd;d l, hq;=hs ElectricalNoiseAudio/Eletricalwavetlg fh g Electricalsafety90A10maRCCB Audio20A Grounding(Earthing) Electricalload AC20A Plug20A

WhatisarecordingStudio? Beforewecantalkaboutthedesignprocess,itmightbeuseful(especiallyforthoseofyou who dont know anything about this) to have a more exact idea of what I mean by a RecordingStudio.WhatisaRecordingStudio?Heresponderousdefinition: A recoding studio is an assemblage of equipment, spaces and persons such that a performanceinsoundmaybecreatedandrecordedontoamediumforlaterreproduction. Itoldyouitwasponderous!Trythisone: Arecordingstudioiswheremostmusicisrecorded. Isthatanybetter?Itslessaccurate,though.Thewordstudiohastwodistinctusesinthis field,asinsomeothers:firsttherestheapproximatesenseofsomewherewhereworkand studyisdone,hencerecordingstudioandsecondly,therestheexactsenseofthestudio room, which (traditionally) was where control room, where the controls are operated. Nothing is as clearcut as this any more, so Ill describe some of the varying types of facilitiesandwhattheyareusedfor.First,though,wedbetterquicklydescribemultitrack recording. StudioTypes Various Sound Studio types exist. The traditional downmaker demo studio, which was usedforlowcostrecordingofdemonstrationmaterial,iseitherveryrapidlydisappearingor already gone. The cost of lowend professionalquality equipment has dropped, so the outputquality distinctions between studios are less clearcut nowadays. However, some fairly arbitrary classification into types can be made. The descriptive labels I use (other commentatorsmaywelldiffer)areusfollows: Homestudio Astudiobuiltinsomeoneshome!Thisisnotinanywayapejorativedescription.Alotof high performance but economical equipment is available now to enable the creation of releasequalitymaterialinhomestudios.Wecanmakeadistinction,basedonthegeneral qualityofoutputthus: Semipro A semipro studio will have the facilities to make demonstration material and experiment withproductionideaswithoutincurringthehighcostofusingaprofessionalstudio.

Pro Aprohomestudioisessentiallyaprivateprofessionalrecordingstudio,withallthesame designcriteriaapplying.Materialcanberecordedtoreleasestandard. ProfessionalStudios Soundtopicture Thesestudiosprimarilydealwiththeadditionofsoundtrackmaterialtothefinishededited visualsformoviesandcommercials.Theywilloftenhavefacilitiesforrecordinglargescale orchestralperformanceswhilstsimultaneouslyprojectingthefilmthatisbeingworkedon. Equipmentwillincludethatnecessaryforsynchronizationofaudiotofilm,andprocessing filmsforDolbyormultichannelformats. Radio,speechanddrama Radiostudioshavetodealswithabroadrangeofmaterial.Smallstudiosareusedforvoice material such as interviews and drama; slightly larger ones can also deal with smallscale music recording. Speech and drama studio are optimized in terms of acoustics and equipmentforspeechrecording.Thereareveryfewstudiosofthistypeoutsideradio. Cutting Cuttingstudiosspecificallydealwithtransferofmaterialformtapesourcetomasterdiscs, withappropriatefinaltuningforbestresults.Intheoriginal(1990)versionofthisarticle,I predicted that the number in this category will drop as more direct digital materials is released on CD, but I was wrong in that prediction. The expertise of the mastering engineers in getting the best possible result in the final processing is just as relevant to makingaCD,sonowtheycutCDpressingmastersinstead! Preproduction There were once two main categories of preproduction studio MIDI based and track laying studios, though they now are merging into an indistinguishable whole. A MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) studio is primarily computer based, with usually a softwarebased sequencer (theres still some dedicated ones available) controlling various soundsources,keyboards,drumunitsandeffectsunits.Theadventoflowcostfullydigital mixers has meant that a high level of automation can be applied, though (speaking from personalexperience!)thiscantakemoretimetosetupthanitsaves.Thewholelotwillbe lockedtoatimingmechanismeitherrecordedononetrackofananalogmultitrackrecorder orgeneratedbyadigitalone,whichisthenusedforsynchronizedvocals,guitarandother realsoundsourcesthatareatpresentnotequippedwithdigitalI/O. A tracklaying studio concentrates more on providing excellent quality acoustic recording (usuallyofferingonlylimitedmixdownfacilities),sothatthebuiltofrecordinghourscanbe doneatrelativelylowcost.Theoutputwillnormallybetakentoanother(expensive)studio forfinalpolishingandmixdown.

Sampling Samplingoriented studio are now commonplace, in fact almost all chartoriented work includes some sampling. What youve got is a MIDI studio, but instead of the sequencer playingbackrawinstrumentsfromtheMIDIsources,wholesectionsofmusicareplayed backfromasamplewhichisjustadigitalsoundrecorderspecializedformanipulatingshort sections(fromtenthsofsecondsuptoafewminutes)ofdigitalrecordings.Inthiswayitis possible to take the feel from a track that you like and thus not have to learn to play it properlyyourself. You may gather from this remark that I started out not being overkeen on the sampling approach, which proves I suppose that Im getting to be an old****. You lot dont know whenyourewelloff;backinmyday,youdhavetoliveforaweekonthepriceofacupof coffeenow,andnamusicianwasamusyeahallrightIllshutup.afewyearsagothere wasagreatdealoffussaboutsampling,butitallseemstohavesettleddownnow,andthe musicbusinessseemstocontinuetomakeaprofit,somehow(poorthings).Ofcourse,asis always the case, some artistic have taken the sampling technology and come up with somethingreallyspecialthatcannotberegardedasderivativeofanyoneoranything. In sampling you are sometimes working with complete tracks of (say) bass, drums, percussion, rhythm instruments. For this reason, its not always necessary to have a huge number of recording tracks on the main recorder (whatever youre using). We could paraphrasearemarkhere:Itsneverpossibletobetoorich,tooyoungorhavetoomany recording tracks (thank you, Mrs. Simpson) but in a sampling environment you can get awaywithlesstracksthaninsomeothercircumstanceandstillproduceprofessionalresults. Mixdown TheoldtypeofMixdownorRemixstudiospecificallydealtwiththereductionofmultirack materialtofinishedmasters,usuallystereo.Aremixstudiowillconcentratemoreonmaking new versions from existing multitrack masters. They will have heavy investment in sound processors and modifiers, and whole racks of samplers. Theyll often have the ability to synchronizeseveralmultitrackrecorderstoallownewmaterialtobeaddedtotheoriginal butonaseparatetape,tomaintaintheoriginalrecording. Allofthesestudioscanbeconstructedonasmallorlargescale,dependingontheintended marketandbudget.Itiscommonforaparticularstudiotobeabletocovermorethanone oftheseapplications,andlargecomplexesmayofferallofthesefacilitiesinhouse. Costings Whatsthedifferencebetweenbudgetandcost?Thebudgetistheamountyouarewilling topaytogetthestudiogoing.Thecostistheamountyouenduppaying.Youllperhapsnot

besurprisedtohearthatthetworarelycoincide,andIbetyoucanguesswhichoneusually isthelarger. BuildingConstruction Internalnoise Thelikelynoisesourceswithinthefinishedstudioneedtobeevaluatedandprovisionmade toisolatethemacoustically.Acondensermicrophonecanpickupthenoisefromasoilpipe from quite remarkable distances! In one place I worked this gave an entirely new complexion to the phrase flushed with success, which did not in any way speed up the recordingprocess:). Floorloadings Studiofloorshavetotakeaconsiderableweight.Alotdepends,asusual,ontheexactuseof thestudio,butthinkgrandpiano,twotonsofmusicians,drums,gearandhangerson,plus themultitrackmachines(ifany),mixer,largestudiomonitorspeakersandon(andon) to get the idea. With an existing building, allowance has to be made for sound treatment being laid on top of the existing floor, as well as loading to go on top of that. Often the answerisanewfloor,floatingontopoftheexistingfloororindependentlysupportedfrom thewalls. ExternalNoiseControl Thereisaverysimplewayofreducingnoisetransmission,andthatistousenonresonant mass,lotsofit,inthewayofthenoisesource.Reallythereisntanyotherwaytodoit,and noinnovationsonthehorizon(tomyknowledge).Theproblemisthatmassiveconstruction isheavy,puttingstressonexistingstructures.Itiscostlyandtakesupspace,sotheabsolute minimumofmasswillbeusedcommensuratewiththerequirednoisereduction. Aslongasawallisnonresonant(itdoesntring),itwillblockincidentsoundtoaprecise degree,whichisknownasitsSoundReductionIndex(SRI).Thisisdirectlyproportionalto itsmass,anddirectlyproportionaltothefrequencyoftheimpingingenergy.Thetheoretical SRI will increase by 6 dB (this is soundspeak for doubles) at a fixed frequency for the doublingofmass,andforafixedmassby6dB(same)peroctaveincreaseinfrequency.In thisdiagramthemasslawisshownasthesolidline. The amount of external noise will have been established from the site survey, and the required internal levels will normally be established by reference to Noise Rating (NR) curves general, levels between NR 0 and NR 35 will be needed, depending on the application. To give you some ideaof what this means, the levels in typically living rooms arealsoshownforcomparison.Toattainandmaintaintheselevelsrequiressomeeffort(!).

Theadditionofmassivestructuresisfairlystraightforward,butkeepingthemnonresonant is much harder. Getting light and air to the workspace is important, which also means removing the stale air, usually by ducting. Any gap at all in the massive structure will completelynegatethepurposeoftheexercise,tokeepthenoiseout,sodoorsmusthavea verygoodseal.Thereareusuallytwodoorsinasoundlock(abitlikeanairlocknormally onlyonedooropenatanytime),solthatnoisedoesnotgetintothestudioareaaspeople enter and leave. There are specialist suppliers of doors, and having tried building custom ones,Iwouldgoforthespecialistitemeverytime! Windowsareanotherdifficultissue.People(evenmusicians!)quitenaturallyprefertowork with daylight. Many studios have given up at this point; just imagine the window construction needed to give the same sound loss as two double brick thickness plastered walls.Wellyoudonthavetoimagineit,takelookatwhichisroughlyequivalenttoasingle brickwallandabitinsoundloss,soyoumightneedtwoofthemtogether. TheElectricConnection ElectricalNoise Itisusualtoprovideacleanfeedofelectricitytopowerallthecontrolroomequipment, andthissupplywilloftenbetakenfromadifferentphasefromthatusedtosupplypower andlightingforgeneralusewithinthebuilding.Thestudioitselfalsorequiresacleanfeed andcautionmustbeexercisedhere,asitisnotunknownformusicianstomixphaseswhen playingtheirguitarinthecontrolroomwiththeampinthestudio.Embarrassingresultscan transpire(themusicians,ofcourse,canexpirenotgoodforreturnbookings).Soitisbetter tokeepcontrolroomandstudioonthesameelectricalphase. The cable runs have to be carefully planned, usually with dirty power and lighting runs placed up high, and clean power down low. Audio cable often is run in the middle of the wall at a convenient height for connection boxes. It gets complex when there are two or threestudioallneedingseparateisolatedclanfeeds.Standardtriac(volumeknob)dimmers aregenerally doubtfulassetsinastudio,asthey canbroadcastradioand linenoise ifnot very carefully suppressed. You can still get variac transformers, though, which make no electricalnoiseandlittleheat. ElectricalSafety Inastudiotherearealotofpeoplehandlingalotofmainspoweredequipment,soRCBs (ResidualCurrentcontactBreakerssometimescalledELCBorECB)areanecessity.Some countrieshavethemasstandardfittingtoinstallationstodealwiththevagaries(orvague aries)ofthelocalelectricians.Butthestandardtypehasarelativelyhighbreakcurrentof30 mAorsoThatsnotmuchunlessyoureguitaristholdingontoitwithyourtwob.are(and rathersweaty)hands,soIdrecommendthe10mAbreaktypesforthisjob(ifyoucanget holdofthem).

Grounding(Earthing) Earthing(grounding)problemscanbeanightmare,withground(earth!)loopsoftenbeing setupattheinterfaceofprofessionalandsemiprofessionalequipment.Doubleinsulation ofmuchmusicianaddongearandgizmos(sotheresnoground/earthconnectionneeded) has helped somewhat with this. But the proper, safe, and certain solution is the isolating transformer. Thesearenowunfashionableduetotheallegedeffectonthesoundfidelity.Idpointout thatmostofthebestsellingrecordsofalltimeweremadewithequipmentthatwasstuffed full of transformers and many other things to give a hifi geek (me?) the horrors, all of thembeingthen(asnow!)thecheapestavailablepartsthatwoulddothejob!Personally,I stillusetransformers.If,however,theyaretobeavoided,thenlotsoftimewillberequired togetthesystemquiet,andmuchcareneededtokeepitso.Whynotjustfittransformers toallinputsthatamusoisliabletopluginto,andjustlieaboutitifanyoneasks?:) Electricalload Studio recording equipment doesnt itself use a great deal of power, but the associated lighting,heatingandairconditioninghavetobeconsideredwithinalargecomplex,andso therecanoverallbeaprettyheavyconsumption.Thisinitselfisunlikelytobeaproblem, but the voltage droop on the main feeder from the fused supply box when 50 kW of air conditioningcutsinandouteveryfiveminutesorsocanbe.Itmaybenecessarytoarrange specialfeedsfromthenearestsubstationtransformer,orfitalocaltransformer. Larger(orsubterranean)studioswillneedattheveryleastbackuplightingtoconformwith safety regulations, and almost all large (or country) studios will have a backup generator capableofsupplyingthefullbaseloadofthecomplex.thenecessityofthisisobvious;ifnot, thenyoucanconsiderthescenarioofastudiofulloforchestralmusicians(sayonehundred orso),allquiterightlyonMusiciansUnionrates,waitingforeighthoursforpower(not!)to bereestablished.ItshappenedItisjustasbadatthelowerendhavingeventwopeople justsittingaroundwaitingforpowerforthewholeday,becauseyoucantreallybillthem foryoudoingnothing!

BUILDINGYOURHOEMRECORDINGSTUDIO Asystemofproductionwhereworkersmakeorworkonproducts(suchasclothes),usually athome,foramerchantordistributioncompanywhopaysthemfortheirwork. HOMERecordingIndustry: A system of recording a music production where much of the recording is done in a well equipped home studio and a larger, betterequipped studio is only used for recording or mixingfunctionsthatarebeyondthecapabilitiesofthehomestudio. The HOME recording studio began appearing in the 1970s where major record producers and recording artists began to install home studios to tryout or start a production withoutthecost orpressureofaprofessional recordingstudio.Originally thiswas arich mans activity with cheep 24 track recorders costing Rs 300000 and decent recording consolescostingRs500000,Today,however,8track20bitmasterrecordercanbehadfor lessthanRs200000andafullfunctionalldigitalconsolecanbepurchasedforaslittleasRs 400000.ThustheHomeRecordingIndustryisbooming. Thecottagerecordingstudioisthepremiumhomerecordingstudio.Foranyoneinterestedin homerecording,itisultimate.Weunderstandthatyoumaynotwanttomakeyourhome recording studio as good as the plans laid out in this article. You will, however, find ideas aboutstudiodesignthatyoucanapplytoanybudget. TheProblem: Many people have put home recording studios in their basement. The basement home recordingstudioisfun,buthasinherentdifficultieswhentryingtouseitasacottagestudio, asfollows: 1. The ceilings are usually to low to provide the best sound and isolation form the living areaofthehouse. 2. Itisdifficulttoisolatethefamilyactivitiesof(forexample)usingthekitchenorlaundry area,frominterferingwiththestudiooperation. 3. Itisdifficulttoisolatetrafficfromthelivingareaofthehouse.Manyspousewillobjectto clientswanderingthroughthehouse. TheSolution: ManyhouseshaveanassociatedbuildingcalledaGarage.Thegarageusuallyhousesthe car, the lawn mower, and a bunch of junk. The lawn mower and garden tools/equipment cangointoaninexpensiveshednexttothegarage.Thecarcanbeparkedinthedriveway andthejunkcangointhebasement.Thecottagestudiocangointhegarage.

Withitshigherceilings(usually8feet)andlargearea(usually24feetby20feet),itspeaked roof,anditsisolationfromthehouse,itisamuchmoresuitableareaforastudiothanthe basement.Famousprofessionalstudioshavestartedinthegarage. This plan is a guide that the author feels will provide acceptable results. Before actually startingconstruction,onemustcheckwithlocalauthoritiestomakesuretheconstruction willmeetlocalbuildingandzoningcodes.Permitsandlicensesmaybenecessarytolegally startconstructionorusethefacilityonceitisbuilt. Local,legallybinding,codesvaryagreatdealfromoneareatoanother.Urbanareastendto bemorerestrictivethanruralareas.Becauseofthis,itisalsosuggestedthatyougetsome legaladvicefromalocalattorney.Aclerkinacityofficemaywanttoputyouthroughmore redtapethanyoulegallyhavetoendure.anattorneymayhelpyoufilloutapplicationswith theleasthasslefromauthorities. Assumptions&BasicFloorPlan: We are assuming that you have a standalone or attached garage that measures 20X22 with a peaked rood and on a concreteslab. Sizes of garages vary from 20X20 to 22X24 which meansthebasicfloorplan mayhaveto bemodifiedslightlytofityourgaragesize. Surveyinga nationalbuildingsupplychain,wefoundthe20X22tobethemostcommon size. Room1: The Studio area that measure approximately 16X10 that would be used for the drumsandmusiciansforrecording. Room2: TheControlRoomarea,measuring114X7. Room3: Amainisolationboothofapproximately56X4thatcanbeusedforguitaror vocalsduringthesession. Room4: A3X4closetareaforstorageofstudioequipmentandthatcanbeusedasa secondguitarbooth. Room5: A86X8Entranceareathatcanbeusedasanofficeordividedupintostorage lockersfortapesandcontrolroomsupplies.Thisareacanalsobeanemergency isolationroom. Thisplanassumesyouwanttobeabletorecordbandswithlivedrums.Ifyouexpectyour studio to specialize is MIDI work with synthesizers and drum machines, the larger room couldbethecontrolroomandRoom2couldfunctionasasmallstudio/largeisolationroom.

Youcouldstilldodrumsinapinch,butmusicianeyecontactwouldbehardertoachieve. KeepingRoom1astheStudiowillyieldabetterdrumsound. RoomDimensions: The first two rooms (Studio and Control Room) are carefully modified from the ancient GoldenSectiondimensions.AGoldenSectionisanareathathasaspecificratioofheightto widthtodepth.Theratioisapproximately1(high)by1.6(deep)by2.6(wide).Whenaroom conformstothesedimensions,itwillevenlyreflectallfrequenciessothatanyareasounds substantiallythesame.Theambienceintheroomwillreinforcethetoneoftheinstruments ratherthatsoundingmuddyorthin. Insmallerstudios,itbecomesimpossibletostrictlymaintaintheGoldenSectiondimensions. Often the ceiling would be too low to be practical. If you take one of the surfaces of the room and increase the dimensions (like ceiling height) and you can maintain much of the GoldenSectionacousticsifyoumakethesurfaceevenlyreflectthefrequenciesandthe6th surfacewillnotreflectsound.Ifyouneedtomodifytheroomdimensionstofityourspecific garage, keep the room 1.6 times wider that the depth to maintain the Golden Section acoustics. GeneralConstructionTechniques: Wewillgetasspecificasroomallowsforthisarticle.Unfortunately,wedonthavetheroom togettoeveryspecificdetail. ShellPreparation The garage will need some modifications to prevent as much sound leakage into the neighborhoodaspossible. Thesidedoorofthegaragemayhavetobemovedintotherightarea,althoughitshouldbe approximatelycorrectwithoutmovingit.Youwillprobablywanttoreplacethedoorwitha wellfitting,solidcore door withproperweatherstrippingtomakean airtightseal. Often thedoorisonly30incheswide,andyoumaywanttomodifytheopeningtoaccepta36 widedoor. Garage often have small windows. Any window should be removed and the open area framed in and covered to match the normal garage wall. The garage door should be fastened shut and get an airtight seal around the entire opening. The opening for the shouldbeframedinsothattheareahasstuds,justliketheotherwalls.

In the area where the roof meets the walls, there is usually an air gap of 1/2 to 1. This allows the garage to breathe. These areas should be wellstuffed with highquality fiberglassisolation. Theentirewallandroofsurfaceshouldbecloselyinspectedandsealedwithcaulksothat thereisanairtightsealtotheoutsideworldinallareasexpectwheretheroofmeetsthe walls.Payparticularattentiontohowthewallmeetstheslabandwherethereareseamsin thesiding. Finally, all of the shell surface area gets 6 layer highquality fiberglass insulation. This includesthewallareasandtheentireinsideoftheroofarea.Cracksandgapsbetweenthe studsandthedoorjamoftheoutsidedoorgetstuffedwithfiberglass. DryWallingtheShellWalls: Before the dry wall is installed, any electrical boxes needed for switches and outlets are installed.Thesebacksandsidesoftheseboxesshouldbewrappedinfiberglassinsulationto preventsoundleakage.Ducttapecanbeusedtokeepthefiberglassinplace.Thefiberglass should lapout a halfinch in front of the box so that the installation of the drywall compacts the fiberglass, making a good sound seal. The openings in the drywall for the electricalboxesshouldbecloselyandaccuratecut. Alloftheshellwallswillbetrywalled.Alldrywallingwillbeappliedintwolayersof8X4 half inch dry wall sheets. The first layer will have the seams running vertically. This layer needstobesealedwithtapeandjointcompound,togetagoodsealbetweensheetsand between the sheets and slab. The second layer is applied with the seams running horizontally.Thefinallayerissealedwithtapeandjointcompound. MainIsolationWall: Next,weinstallthemainwallthatisolatestheStudiofromtheControlRoom.Thiswallisa doublestudwallwithaninnerandoutersetofstudsplacedtwoinchesapart.Asperthe figure,thestudsarearrangedinastaggeredmannersothattheverticalstudsoftheouter wallareplacedbetweentheverticalstudsoftheinnerwall.Anyopeningforelectricalboxes (etc.)intheinnerwallshouldbe4feetawayfromanyopeningputintotheouterwall. This main isolation wall goes from the floor to the roof. The inner and outer set of studs eachget6fiberglassinsulation.Drywallingisdonetotheinnersurfaceoftheinnerwall andtheoutersurfaceoftheouterwall.Eachsurfacewillbetwolayersofhalfinchdrywall installed in the same way as the drywall sheets were installed for the shell walls. The isolationwalliswellsealedtoboththeroof,andtheslabfloor.

ControlRoomWindows: The window between the Control Room and the Studio is actually two separate windows thatdonotphysicallytouch.Eachwindowisinstalledinitsownframeandsetinafeltor corkfilledchannel.Afeltrunnercanbeplacedbetweenthewindowstodressupthegap betweenthepanes. For proper isolation, it is important that the windows are each thick and of different thickness.Werecommend(asaminimum)thatonepanebe3/8thickandtheotherpane be 1/4 inch thick. The different thickness means that the two windows tend to vibrate at differentfrequencies. Thewindowonthestudiosideshouldslantdownsothatthebottomofthewindowis3to4 inchesintotheopeningcomparestothetop.Thisslanthelpswithsoundisolationandhelps controlreflectionsofinstrumentssoundoffofthestudiosideofthewindow. InnerWalls: AdoubleinnerstudwallisplacedwheneveraControlRoom,StudioorIsolationRoomwall isanoutsidewalloftheshellgarage.Thesewallsareplacestwoinchesfromtheouterwall, have 6 inches of fiberglass and are covered with two layers of sheet drywall. Single stud wallswillseparatetheControlfromtheEntranceRoomandtheIsolationRoomsfromthe Studio and each other. The single stud walls are packed with fiberglass and covered with two drywall layers on both sides. All of these walls use similar construction techniques to theotherwallsmakingsurethateachlayerofdrywalliswellsealed.Thesewallsare8high. Doors should be solid core with weather stripping for an airtight seal. Gaps and cracks betweenthestudsanddoorjamsshouldbefiberglassstuffed. Ceilings: Alloftheceilingsaresuspendedceilingconstructionwithporous(absorbent)acoustictiles. Itissuggestedthat2fiberglasssheetingbeplacedabovethesuspendedacousticpanels. Any lighting fixtures that extend into the ceiling should be wrapped with fiberglass. Any accessholesforfixturesandcablescutintotheceilingtilesshouldhavecracks/gapsstuffed withfiberglass. Electrical: Youwillwanttoprovidea90amp(minimum)servicepanelforyourcottagestudio.Offof thisservice,youwillwanttorunaminimumoffour20ampcircuits.Circuitsshouldberun in metal conduit. Non metallic electrical cabling often doesnt meet electrical codes and,

moreimportantly,radiatesastrongmagneticfieldthatcanbepickedbyaudioequipment andwiring.Aseasytouseflexibleconduitcanbepurchasedthatalreadyhaswiresinstalled intheconduit;Thegraterexpenseofthistypeofcablingsiswellworthit. Circuits1&2:ThesecircuitsareusedforlightingandforanyofficeplugsintheEntrance Room that are used for office equipment. It is especially important that a copier be on a circuit that doesnt have any studio/control room equipment plugs. Keeping the audio equipmentelectricallyseparatefromthelighting&officeequipmentwillallowdimmersto be used with the lighting. Lighting is probably best accomplished with track lighting. Alternatively, inceiling fixtures may be used. In any case, the lighting should be incandescent,notflorescent. Circuits3:Thiscircuitisforyourcoolingandheating.Youcaneasilyverifythatonecircuitis sufficientiftheheatingisagasforcedairfurnace.Ifelectricalheatisinstalled,moreheating circuitsandalargercentralservicepanelwillberequired. Circuit 4: This circuit is for your audio equipment. Studio plugs that will be used for synthesizers and guitar amplifiers are hooked into this circuit. It is important that the ground wire of every plug be separately run back to the service panel and there is a separategroundwireineachrun.Donotcountontheconduitproperlygroundingtheplug. Youcangetawaywithaslittleas2to3plugs,usingheavydutyextensioncordsandpower stripstobranchthepoweroutwhereitisneeded. Cooling: CoolingisprobablybestaccomplishedbyasmallforcedcentralairinstalledintheEntrance room. Because of the large amount of insulation, a relatively small capacity until can be used. To determine the exact size, consult with a cooling contractor or building material supplier. Linedductsshouldbranchoutclosetotheunitandbeseparatelyruntoeachroomthathas a set of registers. Using lined ducts and separately running them, greatly reduces sound transmissionthroughtheductwork.Generally,trytouseaductsizesomewhatlargerthata contactorwouldrecommend;theairflowoutoflargeductsisslowerandthereforequieter. Anyopeningsinwallsorceilingsforductsandregistersmustbepackagedwithfiberglassto helpmaintainasoundbarrier.Thisarticlehasreacheditssizelimit. Asstated,youshouldbeabletoobtainaprofessional,usablestudioconvertedfromyour underused garage area. The result may not be good enough to record metal bands at midnightinacrowdedurban area,butyoushouldbeabletomixatareasonablemonitor volumeslateintothenight.

Iamexperiencedenoughtoknowthatpeoplewillwanttouseshortcutstosavemoney.If youaretemptedtodothis,trytogettheinstallationascloseaspossibletotheplain.Thisis a relatively inexpensive proposition, especially if you are doing the labor yourself. If you havetosavemoney,trycuttingdownoncoolingandlightingthatdonteffectsoundquality. Rememberthatitismoreexpensivetotryandbringapoorjobuptosnuffthanitistodoit rightthefirsttime.

R oom 3 (Is o la tio n R o o m ) 5 '6 " x 4 ' R o o m 1 (S tu d io ) 16' x 10'

R o o m 4 (C lo s e t) 3' x 4'

R o o m 2 (C o n tro l R o o m ) 1 1 '4 " x 7 '

R oom 5 (E n tra n c e / O ffice ) 8 '6 " x 8 '

HowtoConstructaSoundproofHomeRecordingStudio BuildingInstructions The best method for creating a practice studio which will let you do live rehearsals and recordings is to follow the instructions in the free brochure. Acoustics 101 which you can downloadfromwww.auralex.com.Youlllearnthatmaximumsoundproofingforyourmusic studiorequiresconstructionofaroomwithinaroom. The ideas in this brochure can be used, however, for any sort of room soundproofing project, because the concept it describes takes advantage of the sealed air space which youllcreatedbetweenthenewwallsofyoumusicstudioandtheoldwallsoftheoriginal room. If space allows, you can dampen the noise youll be making even further by constructingaseparateceilingforyourroomwithinaroom,butthatsnotalwayspractical. Whatwillbepracticalisforyoutoframethewallsforyournewroomflatonthefloorand thenliftthemintoposition. AddingSoundproofingMaterial Ifyoumustkeeptheoriginalceiling,soundproofiteitherwithmassloadedvinyl(MLV)ora blendofMLVandclosedcellfoam.Whenyouvefinishedframingthewalls,andmeasured fordeadairspace,youcanbeginsoundproofingthenewroom. I recommend lining the pockets between the new and old walls with American Mat or a similarfoamofclosedcellvinylnitrile,whichisusually1/4thickandwillbegluedtothe studs,joists,andinteriorcavitywallswithcontactcement.Youwontbefillingthecavities withtheAmericanMat:youllonlybeliningthem. AddingInsulationandDecoupling If your room within a room is being constructed in an unheatedgarage or basement, you mightdecidethatthermalinsulationisagoodidea.Ifso,IsuggestyouuseRoxul,aterrific battinsulationofthermalrockwoolwhichalsohasgreatSoundproofingproperties. If most of the noise your band makes is low frequency noise coming from either acoustic drums or a bass amplifier, you should now decouple the walls. Well discuss decoupling methodsinfurtherarticles,butifyouareusinghighpoweredamplifiers(4X12cabinetswith fiftywattamps,forexample)alongwithanAmpegbasssystemandmikedacousticdrums, thenyoucangetbywithoutdecoupling.

FinishingYourHomeRecordingStudio Ifyouwontbedecoupling,thengetsomemorehighqualityandstapleitdirectlyeitherto thejoistsorthestudsonyourassembledwalls.OverlaptheseamsandsealthemwithOSL acousticalcaulk,andthentapethemwitheitherheavyPVCorleadtape. When youve finished sealing, put in a final layer of 5/8 drywall, buttering itsedges with more of the acoustical caulk. Then tape, mud, and paint it, and youre finished! You have yourowninhomesoundproofrecordingstudio! RecordingStudioDesign

Small sound reproduction rooms pose particular problems in acoustic design. Go into a smalluntreatedbareroomandclapyourhands,andyouusuallygetadistortedsound.The sounddirectfromyourhandsisquicklyfollowedbyreflectionsfromthewalls,ceilingand floor. Figure 1 shows a plan view of a small rectangular room, highlighting a first order reflectionfromtherightsidewallinred.Insmallrooms,firstorderreflectionstendtobe loudandquicktoarrive.Thesereflectionscancausethesoundtobecoloured,ortoputit another way, the timbre of the sound will change. In extreme cases it can also cause the sound image to appear to come from the wrong directions. Consequently, to avoid colourationandimagingproblems,theacousticdesignofpostproductionstudioneedsto firstconcentrateonthetreatmentofthefirstarrivingreflections. There are two basic forms of acoustic treatment to deal with early reflections, namely absorptionanddiffusion.Figure2showsarearviewofaroomwithconsiderableacoustic treatment.Onesolutiontotheearlyreflectionsistoapplyabsorptiontothewall,whichwill removereflectionsasshownontheleftwallinFigure1.Thisabsorptioncanbeaspecialist productsuchasonesmadeofmineralwool,opencellfoam,orarecycledmaterial,butit can also be a more commonplace object such as curtains, a sofa or carpet. If there is too muchabsorption,however,theroomwillsounddead.Itwouldbelikelisteningoutdoors, where only the direct sound from the sound source is heard. While a few people favour

such acoustic nonenvironments for mixing, for most people these are rather oppressive spacestoofarremovedfromnormallisteningconditions. Diffusers are used to spatially disperse reflections, and are shown dealing with the first order rear wall reflection in Figure 1. Some dispersion can be caused by appropriately placingbookcasesandotherfurniture,butspecialistdiffusingsurfacesshouldbefavoured where possible, as they achieve greater dispersion in a more controlled manner. By using diffusers, first order reflections are dispersed to be heard latter by the listener, after reflection off other surfaces. Indeed, by removing and delaying early reflections, diffusion andabsorptioncanmakeasmallpostproductionstudiolikealargerroom.Consequently, design is about locating the reflection points for first order reflections, and applying appropriatetreatmentthere. Whileitispossibletotreatsurfacesseparatelywithdiffusersandabsorbers,itcanbemore efficient and cost effective to use a hybrid surface. a Binary amplitude Diffuser is such a surface. It offers partial absorption while dispersing and diffusing any reflections. It was developedbyJamieAnguswhoisnowProfessorofAudioTechnologyatSalfordUniversity. A curved version of this panel is used extensively in Figure 2, although they are hidden behind cloth wrapping. The BAD panel is a piece of absorbent covered by a perforated sheet.ThelocationsoftheperforationsformadistinctivepatternasshowninFigure3.The arrangement of the patches is determined by special number sequence. Indeed, it is a strange coincidence that this diffuser exploits number sequences similar to those used in digitalaudioerrorcodingsystems. While flat BAD panels produce good budget performance, much more dispersion can be achieved if the surface is also corrugated. Most forms of corrugation will create the dispersion,butthebestpossibleperformanceisusuallyachievedifanumericaloptimisation isusedinthedesignprocess.Inanumericaloptimisation,acomputeristaskedtosearchfor the best diffuser shape. The computer keeps altering the diffusers shape and testing the performanceofthedispersionproduced.Thisisaniterativeprocessandcontinuesuntilthe bestshapeisfound.Thisisalldonevirtuallyinthecomputersmemory;evenso,itcanbea ratherslowandtediousprocess.Figure2showedapostproductionstudiousingacurved optimised diffuser on the ceiling; this ceiling was designed by myself. Read more about diffuserdesign. Sofar,thetreatmentdiscussedhaveconcernedmidandtreblesounds.Thebasssoundsin small rooms are often also problematical. Any room has resonances. Resonances are frequenciesornotepitchesatwhichtheroomcreatesaloudsound.Goupordowninpitch fromthatnote,andthesoundwillgoquieter.Ifyouweretoplayaperfectglissandoona bassinstrumentinasmalluntreatedroom,youwouldhearthenotegolouderandquieter duetoroomresonances.Resonanceisthephenomenathatcausedthemillenniumbridgein

London to wobble. To cure the millennium bridge they added damping, similarly room resonances must be treated with damping. This means adding specially tuned resonant acousticabsorbers,oftenreferredtoasbassbinsortraps.Ifyoublowoverthetopofabeer bottle you get a resonant note because the bottle is acting as a Helmholtz resonator. If a cloth is placed in the neck of the bottle, a Helmholtz absorber is formed which removes soundatthepitchoftheresonantnote.ThisistheprincipleofaHelmholtzabsorber,which isoneofthemosteffectivebasstrapdesigns. Anothersolutiontobassresonancesistocorrectlyproportiontheroomandtofindthebest placesfortherecordingengineerandtheloudspeakers.Bysettingtheroominthecorrect proportions, for example by not having the length, width and height all the same, the audible effect of resonances can be reduced. There are various methods for determining thecorrectratiobetweentheroomdimensions.Readmoreaboutthishere.Forinstance, Salford University and RPG Diffuser Systems Inc. pioneered the use of a computer based optimisation, where a computer is tasked to search for the best dimensions. It is also possibletouseacomputertofindthebestpositionsfortheloudspeakersandlistenersas well.Alternatively,goodpositioncanbefoundusinglisteningtestsandtrialanderror.Itis vitaltogothroughthisprocess,aspoorpositioningcanhaveaseriousdetrimentaleffecton soundquality. Recordingstudio Arecordingstudioisafacilityforsoundrecording.Ideally,thespaceisspeciallydesignedby an acoustician to achieve the desired acoustic properties (sound diffusion, low level of reflections,adequatereverberationtimeforthesizeoftheambient,etc.).Differenttypesof studios record bands and artists, voiceovers and music for television shows, movies, cartoons,andcommercials,and/orevenrecordafullorchestra.Thetypicalrecordingstudio consists of a room called the studio, where instrumentalists and vocalists perform; and the control room, which houses the equipment for recording, routing and manipulating the sound. Often, there will be smaller rooms called isolation booths present to accommodateloudinstrumentssuchasdrumsorelectricguitar,tokeepthesesoundsfrom beingaudibletothemicrophonesthatarecapturingthesoundsfromotherinstrumentsor vocalists.

Avocalistinsidethestudio,orliveroomareaofarecordingstudio.

Watchingatrumpetplayerfromthecontrolroom,duringarecording. Designandequipment Recording studios generally consist of three rooms: the studio itself, where the sound for therecordingiscreated(oftenreferredtoastheliveroom),thecontrolroom,wherethe soundfromthestudioisrecordedandmanipulated,andthemachineroom,wherenoisier equipment that may interfere with the recording process is kept. Recording studios are carefully designed around the principles of room acoustics to create a set of spaces with acoustical properties required for recording sound with precision and accuracy. This will consistofbothroomtreatment(throughtheuseofabsorptionanddiffusionmaterialson the surfaces of the room and also consideration of the physical dimensions of the room itselfinordertomaketheroomrespondtosoundinadesiredway)andsoundproofing(to providesonicisolationbetweentherooms).Arecordingstudiomayalsoincludeadditional rooms,suchasavocalboothasmallroomdesignedforvoicerecording,aswellasoneor moreextracontrolrooms.

Equipmentfoundinarecordingstudiocommonlyincludes: Mixingconsole Multitackrecorder Microphones Referencemonitors,whichareloudspeakerswithaflatfrequencyresponse Equipmentmayalsoinclude: Therearevariationofthesameconcept,includingaportablestandaloneisolationbooth,a compactguitarspeakerisolationcabinet,oralargerguitarspeakercabinetisolationbox. A gobo panel achieves the same idea to a much more moderate extent; for example, a drumkitthatistooloudintheliveroomoronstagecanhaveacrylicglassseethroughgobo

panels placed around it to deflect the sound and keep it from bleeding in to the other microphones,allowingmoreindependentcontrolofeachinstrumentchannelatthemixing board. All rooms in a recording studio may have a reconfigurable combination of reflective and nonreflectivesurfaces,tocontroltheamountofreverberation. History1940sto1970s In the era of acoustical recordings (prior to the introduction of microphones, electrical recording and amplification), the earliest recording studio were very basic facilities, being essentiallysoundproofroomsthatisolatedtheperformersfromoutsidenoise.Duringthis eraitwasnotuncommonforrecordingstobemadeinanyavailablelocation,suchasalocal ballroom,usingportableacousticrecordingequipment. In this period, master recordings were made using a direct to disc cutting process. Performersweretypicallygroupedaroundalargeacoustichorn(anenlargedversionofthe familiar photograph horn). The acoustic energy from the voices and/or instruments was channeled through the horns diaphragm to a mechanical cutting lath located in the next room, which inscribed the signal as a modulated groove directly on to the surface of the mastercylinderordisc. Following the invention and commercial introduction of the microphone, the electronic amplifier,themixingdeskandtheloudspeaker,therecordingindustrygraduallyconverted to electric recording, and by 1925 this technology had replaced mechanical acoustic recordingmethodsforsuchmajorlabelsasRCAVictorandColumbia,andby1933acoustic recordingwascompletelydisused. SiemensSoundStudio1956 Electrical recording was common by the early 1930s, and mastering lathes were now electricallypowered,butmasterrecordingstillhadtobecutdirecttodisc.Inlinewith the prevailing musical trends, studios in this period were primarily designed for the live recordingofsymphonyorchestrasandotherlargeinstrumentalensembles.Engineerssoon foundthatlarge,reverberantspaceslikeconcerthallscreatedavibrantacousticsignature thatgreatlyenhancedthesoundoftherecording,andinthisperiodlarge,acousticallylive halls were favored, rather than the acoustically dead booths and studio rooms that becamecommonafterthe1960s.