How to DIY a Home Studio

[strumbringer]

The corners and walls right there are going to make your life a bit difficult. I'd recommend getting some good eggshell foam and mounting it on all three sides, and possibly a wedge in the corner behind the speakers. You may still need some EQ afterwards, depending on your room, but right now those reflections are going to really mess with your acoustics.

 

[Tucson Thump]

The PS came with 10s, but with a wound G. I'm used to that on my acoustics, but not my electrics. I use PRS strings, but I guess the kind called "classic". Are the new "signature" strings the ones with the wound G?

Wound G for the guitars with the piezo bridge, otherwise a plain G in the .011 sets

 

[DougUSMC]

The corners and walls right there are going to make your life a bit difficult. I'd recommend getting some good eggshell foam and mounting it on all three sides, and possibly a wedge in the corner behind the speakers. You may still need some EQ afterwards, depending on your room, but right now those reflections are going to really mess with your acoustics.

Are you talking about better recording acoustics, or monitor playback?

Wound G for the guitars with the piezo bridge, otherwise a plain G in the .011 sets

Cool, thanks. Do you know which sets come that way?

 

[Tucson Thump]

Are you talking about better recording acoustics, or monitor playback?


Cool, thanks. Do you know which sets come that way?

I know the PRS Signature medium .011 set comes with a wound G (NOT the DGT strings, which are unwound G)
D'Addario has the XL Chromes Jazz Light and the EXL 115W sets.
These days many .011 sets are heavier gauges as players tune down to D, but look for a normal set with a 'w' after the third string.

 

[Callan]

Are you talking about better recording acoustics, or monitor playback?

I'm sure he means monitoring in this case.

It's not the most optimum position to have your monitors in that little corner, but with some smart choices I'm sure you'll make it work fine.

 

[DougUSMC]

I'm sure he means monitoring in this case.

It's not the most optimum position to have your monitors in that little corner, but with some smart choices I'm sure you'll make it work fine.

Hmmm, interesting. I'm sitting about 5' from the monitors, so I never considered the fact that anything behind me would be messing w/what I'm hearing? Maybe not make them sound their best, but not usually make them sound worse?

 

[strumbringer]

Yes, monitoring more so than recording - in general, surfaces close to the speakers and to the listener cause reflections that can really muddy up the sound, lead to harsh frequency emphasis etc. By putting acoustic foam around the speakers and possibly even on the ceiling, you will significantly improve sound quality.

http://arqen.com/acoustics-101/room-setup-acoustic-treatment/ has a decent overview of the principles, but basic studio foam in the right places will be a huge improvement.

 

[DougUSMC]

Yes, monitoring more so than recording - in general, surfaces close to the speakers and to the listener cause reflections that can really muddy up the sound, lead to harsh frequency emphasis etc. By putting acoustic foam around the speakers and possibly even on the ceiling, you will significantly improve sound quality.

http://arqen.com/acoustics-101/room-setup-acoustic-treatment/ has a decent overview of the principles, but basic studio foam in the right places will be a huge improvement.

I understand that, at least in theory, from my work soundproofing/acoustically treating our movie room that I built. I've just never seen as much focus on treating for effects generated within the initial sound field.
Reflection points? Sure. Bass traps to manage throughout the room? Sure. Room modes and nulls? Yup. Putting something to improve performance in the MLP, directly between the listener and speakers? I haven't done that before.

 

[strumbringer]

I was only talking about reflection points and room modes / nulls. After that you're well into the territory of stuff I am not sure I would be able to hear I only mentioned this because you said the speakers sounded bad and I noticed there were a ton of walls right next to and above the speakers that would cause all kinds of reflections and mess with your sound.

 

[DougUSMC]

I was only talking about reflection points and room modes / nulls. After that you're well into the territory of stuff I am not sure I would be able to hear

Lol, I dig it. I can hear "I like it or not", but after that I let the measuring equipment tell me what I should/shouldn't need to fix.

 

[DougUSMC]

Thanks for all the help on this folks, I've gotten some good info, and some really interesting PMs that have me checking things out.

All of that was on pause for a bit though, because I had another challenge that I was working on. The original design of the room was cool, but it focused more on "show" than "go", specifically, I noticed very quickly that I didn't have enough storage space for all the things needed in a music room: strings, capos, maintenance stuff (string winders, clips, cleaners, polishes, fretboard treatment, etc), cables, misc parts (bridge pins, strap locks, pickups), straps, and on and on. What ended up happening is that the shelving over the safes (originally intended for heads, etc) was overflowing. Also, the coffee table (which was supposed to be temporary) wasn't going anywhere b/c it has storage inside).

I decided to add more storage, and this blank space on the wall behind the door became the victim. It was originally left intact b/c I didn't want the built-in that you can see to be completely or partially behind the door. It also had a variety of (non-load bearing) studs from the old corner angle of the room.

You can also see one other minor problem that I had: the built-in was originally designed to be in another room, against a wall - so it has no back. In this place you can see the old studs, so it looked terrible. Also, I have a bunch of pedal boxes that are being used to make multiple tiers for pedal display.

 

[DougUSMC]

Step one, make some simple boxes out of walnut, to raise up the pedals:

Step two: cut a hole in the wall, reframe the studs, build a new shelving unit, add a back and get some baskets:

Oh yeah, finally trim out the door while I was at it.

I'm a big fan of how this turned out. I'm actually in the music room now, writing this post during a break from sorting stuff into the baskets...

 

[Slowhands]

Just catching up with this thread, amazing space you made there! I was inspired to replicate some of your ideas but then I saw you designed it for left handed guitars and I'm a righty so it'll never work. Oh well, back to being lazy.

 

[bodia]

Step one, make some simple boxes out of walnut, to raise up the pedals:

Step two: cut a hole in the wall, reframe the studs, build a new shelving unit, add a back and get some baskets:

Oh yeah, finally trim out the door while I was at it.

I'm a big fan of how this turned out. I'm actually in the music room now, writing this post during a break from sorting stuff into the baskets...

Looks great!

 

[Bill SAS 513]

Lookin' awesome...and everyone be warned...you'll never realize how much crap you have...until you attempt to organize it...
take it from me!!!!

Man, that room really rocks!!!!

 

[Nurk2]

Good God, record something and post it. I'm dying here.

 

[HANGAR18]

It seems that you and I do a lot of shopping in the same places and buy a lot of the same stuff.

 

[DougUSMC]

Good God, record something and post it. I'm dying here.

Lol, sorry, things have been CRAZY at work lately. You'd think "working from home" would give me more time to play w/the new gear, but it's exactly the opposite! I swear I'm on at 7 every morning, and lucky if I can get off in time for dinner. I had a bit of time to add the shelving a few weeks ago, but it's been all I can do to get any practice/playing time lately. I spent a bit of time working thru UA tutorials, a couple of LUNA demos, and that's it. Things were so crazy that we FINALLY got to the store over the weekend and ordered the furniture I posted about over a month ago. Many of you may be thinking "who cares about ordering new furniture?!??", but remember: the main reason for it was that the wife was ordering new stuff for the kitchen, and this was being tacked on. If HER furniture didn't get ordered, b/c I didn't have any time, you KNOW I was booked up.

It seems that you and I do a lot of shopping in the same places and buy a lot of the same stuff.

Oh yeah? Are you talking about the LEGOs, Craftsman, or Cabelas??

 

[Nurk2]

Lol, sorry, things have been CRAZY at work lately. You'd think "working from home" would give me more time to play w/the new gear, but it's exactly the opposite! I swear I'm on at 7 every morning, and lucky if I can get off in time for dinner. I had a bit of time to add the shelving a few weeks ago, but it's been all I can do to get any practice/playing time lately. I spent a bit of time working thru UA tutorials, a couple of LUNA demos, and that's it. Things were so crazy that we FINALLY got to the store over the weekend and ordered the furniture I posted about over a month ago. Many of you may be thinking "who cares about ordering new furniture?!??", but remember: the main reason for it was that the wife was ordering new stuff for the kitchen, and this was being tacked on. If HER furniture didn't get ordered, b/c I didn't have any time, you KNOW I was booked up.

I hear you, and, of course, I'm just poking fun here.... That said, by the time I get done with dinner (including cleaning up), it's usually around 7:30, which gives me about 90 minutes a night to play. That's how I work it. I also usually have time on Saturdays from about 1 to 3.

Furniture? I order online!

 

[HANGAR18]

Lol, sorry, things have been CRAZY at work lately. You'd think "working from home" would give me more time to play w/the new gear, but it's exactly the opposite! I swear I'm on at 7 every morning, and lucky if I can get off in time for dinner. I had a bit of time to add the shelving a few weeks ago, but it's been all I can do to get any practice/playing time lately. I spent a bit of time working thru UA tutorials, a couple of LUNA demos, and that's it. Things were so crazy that we FINALLY got to the store over the weekend and ordered the furniture I posted about over a month ago. Many of you may be thinking "who cares about ordering new furniture?!??", but remember: the main reason for it was that the wife was ordering new stuff for the kitchen, and this was being tacked on. If HER furniture didn't get ordered, b/c I didn't have any time, you KNOW I was booked up.


Oh yeah? Are you talking about the LEGOs, Craftsman, or Cabelas??

Those are Legos? Wow!
Lowes/Craftsman, Cabellas, and Dillon.