John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum

If you put as much of your heart and soul into your music as you do your workmanship on the studio, I really want to hear your music!

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"Converting a garage into living space requires a city permit . . . homeowners insurance won't cover a structure that's been changed without a building permit . . ." --Sacramento Bee, May 27, 2006

Not sure if it isolates from the control room at all. My main concern was floor noise around the kit. The stage consists of a grid of 2 x 6's with a covering of 3/4" void free ply. It was then double coated with "silent step" padding and finally industrial type carpeting. The edging was done with aluminum step guard molding. The sides were covered with the laminate flooring and 1/4 round used around the base to trim it off. The 2 x 6's were 12" on center an R13 was stuffed in the air space. I did not have the option of using sand because of the way the floor was put in. It would not have handled the weight or it would have been questionable that it would so I opted out. The floor is very quiet and stable. Stands dont wobble when you are double kicking or really laying into your kit. Overall I am very happy with the platform...as is my drummer. He always likes the ability to look down on the rest of us mere mortals..

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Andy Wheeler - Engineer/Owner
Dragon Note Recording Studios
Official Website

Thanks bro. You can actually.

Http://MySpace.HauntedByAngels.com
Http://CDBaby.HauntedByAngels.com

Our CD is available on every major Digital distributor on the net. iTunes, Rhapsody, MSNMusic, Napster, etc. Tower Records as well as www.SonicCathedral.com (Autographed Copies only)

My solo work:

Http://www.MySpace.com/AndyWheeler

Hopefully the new stuff recorded in the new studio will be even better. Shameless plugs OFF.

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Andy Wheeler - Engineer/Owner
Dragon Note Recording Studios
Official Website

Cool!! Hey, I see your band has Lacuna Coil and Dream Theater as influences... Then you'll probably recognize two of the people in this photo! (Well, three, as you'll recognize me!) And I'm seeing alll three California Dream Theater shows next month! Can you say "Road Trip?!"

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"Converting a garage into living space requires a city permit . . . homeowners insurance won't cover a structure that's been changed without a building permit . . ." --Sacramento Bee, May 27, 2006

Hi Andy,

I've been stopping into your thread and am amazed at your progress.

Also, just had to comment on your gorgeous drumkit. You've got it goin' on with the cymbals, man!

Your place is looking great. So rich, full of deep color, very inviting. It's got a great feel and giving me ideas for my own.

Nice job!

Kathy

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KathyLaBonte.com

Catch me live on AIM!
Screen name = KathyLaBonte

Thanks Kathy, looking great over on your thread as well! Can't wait to get to work.

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Andy Wheeler - Engineer/Owner
Dragon Note Recording Studios
Official Website

The studio is done!! Tomorrow we open. YAY!!! Andy dances the happy dance!!! Promo pics soon!

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Andy Wheeler - Engineer/Owner
Dragon Note Recording Studios
Official Website

Hi Andy.
Studio looks fantastic, congrats on getting it all finished!
I have a few questions on your speakers/soffits.
You have active monitors, so do you turn them on at the wall, or have you got some kind of power breaker installed for them?
I am going to be soffit mounting my Event ASP8s, but just wondered about how you turn them on/off without the dreaded "thump"!
Also, I am not going to put them in at an verical angle, like yourself, and have read that the best hight to have them is 40" at the point between the tweeter and woofer. What do you rekon? wha hight are yours set at?

Thanks, and congratulations again!
oZ

Congratulations, man! Too bad you're on the other side of the country, else I'd be there.

--Keith

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"Converting a garage into living space requires a city permit . . . homeowners insurance won't cover a structure that's been changed without a building permit . . ." --Sacramento Bee, May 27, 2006

Thanks OZ, well the monitors are on all the time..no off switch.. I can turn off the breaker at the box if I really had to. This studio will be occupied nearly 24-7 so I really wasn't concerned with shutting them off.

I was waaay more technical when it cam time to set the height for the speakers... I sat in the chair I was going to use for the studio..at mid adjust, slid over to the wall... drew a line at ear height and went with that. Funny, I think the bottom of my speaker cabs are about 40" on the nose... and I didnt even try. YAY!!

Here is a QUICKTIME VR MOVIE of the contol room. You need Apple's Quicktime to view the VR film.

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Andy Wheeler - Engineer/Owner
Dragon Note Recording Studios
Official Website

Oh, no off switch!!
Would you recomend this option for my ASP8's? I think they will be used daily, but probably not 247.

How do the events sound after being soffit mounted? They certainly look fantastic in your control room!

Thanks for your help.
oZ

Hey Andy nice thread, great pics of good looking studio and congrats on opening.

Been currious for a while from your pics, which Event monitors did you soffit mount? I've got TR8's.

Oz, I've seen a few threads with studios mentioning soffit mounting powered monitors and leaving them on 24/7. If I soffit mount mine I plan on installing a seperate switch just for monitors with a 12v mini fan to circulate air from bottom trap through hole to soffit inclosure with another hole at front top soffit inclosure. But I am still in thinking of "to soffit or not" based on potential upgrade of monitors down the road. There are also some good threads on here about to soffit mount or not.

Marc

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As of Jun 2011, have not finished studio. But working as The One Man Band Marc Dobson which hopefully will continue up my career to a point where I can afford to finish my build.

Im not good with too many recomendations unless I am extremely familiar with you and your situation. My advice would be to look ahead to what your wants and needs are from your studio.

For me, yes I leave my equipment running all the time. Computers are like florescent lights, the more you switch them on and off, the shorter their lifespan. Mainly you should be concerned with heat and serviceability. If you put 12v fans in there to cool, how will you service them when they go bad? Where will they get supply air from? (keep in mind I have not read the threads on this here so you should do so before discarding the idea). Do your speakers even emit enough heat to worry about? I used industrial grade outlets behind my speakers and made sure my cable runs where un-obstructed so when things go wrong (and they will) I can get in there to fix.

I am very happy with the sound of my Event TR6n's and they emit NO heat when under load. You should also take note that I am a firm believer that part of my art or craft is to be able to utilize the tools I have, not just go out and buy the latest/greatest toy to get the job done. To me, where is the skill in that? Although I am sure I have the same G.A.S as the rest of the folks on here, I tend to purchase more on the ZEN side of equipment. So while this stuff may work for me, it may not for others. It should also be noted that I plan on purchasing another set of monitors (not tr6's) that will actually be on the desktop so that I can do comparitive mixes.




Hey Marc, thanks bro! I use the TR6N's. I also have a 400w sub under the desk that is footswitchable. I can easily switch it on and off during the mix to keep everything in check.

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Andy Wheeler - Engineer/Owner
Dragon Note Recording Studios
Official Website

Hi Andy, thanks for sharing your studio build. Looks great!

I was wondering, how did your grand opening go?

Hey Jrl, didn't do a "Grand Opening", just an open house sort of thing. It was by invite only. Basically I invited a bunch of bands over that had recorded with me before and some new bands and artists that hadn't. Throughout the night people stopped buy and to my happiness, not only left with their jaws hanging but scheduled recording times with me. So I guess you could say it went pretty well.

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Andy Wheeler - Engineer/Owner
Dragon Note Recording Studios
Official Website