How to DIY a Home Studio

[DougUSMC]

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!

Yup, I'm in the same boat. We do dinner, then play time, then bed time. I'm lucky to finish that process by 8:15, and get to play until about 9. That's why it's hard for me to skip "play time" in favor of "watch another video to learn how to record". TBH, I really want to skip the "learning curve", but it's no fun to spend my minutes on that part when they're so limited. If I had a free day to do nothing but play w/the gear, that would be AWESOME!

Oh, *I* would order online too, but the wife? Not so much. That's the "you spent so much time on the guitar room, when are we going to do the furniture shopping I want??", tradeoff...

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

Yeah, the pictures have a bunch of LEGO dudes in them.
Those Craftsman are old, so they're "full warranty Sears Craftsman", not "no warranty" or Lowes. Definitely down w/the Dillon tho, it was tough to put it in storage when the workbench came down in favor of the new desk.

 

[Nurk2]

Yup, I'm in the same boat. We do dinner, then play time, then bed time. I'm lucky to finish that process by 8:15, and get to play until about 9. ... If I had a free day to do nothing but play w/the gear, that would be AWESOME!.

#life. I hear ya'.

That's why it's hard for me to skip "play time" in favor of "watch another video to learn how to record". TBH, I really want to skip the "learning curve"...

Just a thought--because I'm totally speaking out my butt from a place of ignorance--perhaps the quickest way to jump start is to start recording things, and solve problems one at a time as they arise. Once you've got some basic stuff down, then start going into the deep menus and extra functionality?

 

[DougUSMC]

#life. I hear ya'.

Just a thought--because I'm totally speaking out my butt from a place of ignorance--perhaps the quickest way to jump start is to start recording things, and solve problems one at a time as they arise. Once you've got some basic stuff down, then start going into the deep menus and extra functionality?

Oh, I tried that. The problem was that 10 seconds of playing turned into an hour of videos, demos, tutorials, etc. These DAWs have so many cool buttons, its a rabbit hole. Maybe if I hadn't bought so many cool toys to play with all at once?

Seriously though, my goal was to play, record, play more, record more, etc. I had a grand vision of The Next Phase of the DIY Studio: A Beginner's Tutorial, which MAYHAP have been another case of me biting off more than I could chew...

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Doug you brought us a lot of fun watching your build. Thanks

 

[bodia]

Doug you brought us a lot of fun watching your build. Thanks

Yeah, he did. Thanks for including us on the ride, Doug!

 

[DougUSMC]

I would paint your studio black. I just don't know if you know anything about construction or not. For example, can you install sound insulation yourself?

Thanks for the response, but why black?

I do know a bit about construction. For example: darn near everything you see in all 19 of the previous pages were done by my own hands.

I have installed both insulation and acoustic treatments in another room, we have a dedicated home theater in the house. That room was "moderately" isolated (insulated): I only have single layers of sheetrock, but R-19 throughout most of the walls. I considered clips and channels, but it was more than I wanted to spend. There is a solid core door, but not double communicating doors. So, it gives me a reasonable noise floor (~35dB last time I checked), but nothing crazy impressive.
For acoustic treatments, it's mostly absorption (OC704) behind DIY acoustic treatments (GOM), the riser built as a giant bass trap, uber-dense stage (double-reinforced, filled w/~ 500lbs of playground sand). I have pre and post treatment and EQ readings, if any would care to see them.

 

[aphantomvaper]

Black makes the room feel bigger in low light. That said, I didn't watch the build yet, doh! Next mission...

 

[DougUSMC]

Black makes the room feel bigger in low light. That said, I didn't watch the build yet, doh! Next mission...

That's cool, thanks for the info. It's pretty much a RULE that all home theater (HT) ceilings are black, but that's for a completely different reason. In a HT, the projector is usually shining across the room at (or near) ceiling level. Anything less than the darkest ceiling you can manage only causes reflection, which is distracting (or more) while trying to watch a movie. I'd never heard that it makes the room feel bigger, but it makes sense now that I think of it. I wonder if part of the reason in HTs is because it also has the added benefit of making the ceiling feel further away, and the room grander as a result?

I'd also never heard of it in a studio, but I guess that makes sense for a similar reason as well.