Building a Small Studio in 8x8 Space

chuckebaby


isnt this a little over kill here??   lol..i mean seriously??..how bout a room to sit and record your music and do mixing and mastering and enjoy yourself..if anyone is running a proffessional buisiness they wont be using a 8x8 room anyway..haaaa...this thread is great. i mean the guy is renting a house..and everyones like...dont forget to paint the walls in 24 karat gold and build a platnuim booth...haaaaa.i think theres some great ideas in here...and i do mean that...just needed the chuckle.

AVTechman


I have to admit however, I have seen some really neat studio setups in some of the older threads I looked though. So it would make my little studio pretty mediocre looking once I get it setup.

Some of the equipment I have seen (besides the mixer console) in the pics though I am not sure what they are or the purpose for them. Like for instance the small rack of gear that usually stands on the floor (i am guessing patchbays and such?)

I want to do video/audio production and editing as well as music composition, so I suppose I could build a PC that can do both, just separating them via a dual boot setup. It will take some time to invest whatever equipment will be needed to make this happen.......

chuckebaby

AVTechman


I have to admit however, I have seen some really neat studio setups in some of the older threads I looked though. So it would make my little studio pretty mediocre looking once I get it setup.

Some of the equipment I have seen (besides the mixer console) in the pics though I am not sure what they are or the purpose for them. Like for instance the small rack of gear that usually stands on the floor (i am guessing patchbays and such?)

I want to do video/audio production and editing as well as music composition, so I suppose I could build a PC that can do both, just separating them via a dual boot setup. It will take some time to invest whatever equipment will be needed to make this happen.......

remember to follow your dream man..cause thats what every single one of us are doing..somewhere inside these studios we are still alittle kids sitting in a big chair..playing with our toys..(omg..thats some of the best stuff ive ever written right there..)we started somewhere..we all started small..worked our way up..some of us still are small..like myself..good luck..i look forward to hearing your stuff someday..and remember..follow through..its gets tough sometimes..but always follow through.

craigb

Maybe we should start a new topic about how each of us uses our studios so others can get ideas?  Anyway, here's what I do (since I'm guessing you were referring to my picture above with your comments).  For newer pictures, there are a few at this link of the last studio I put together:
 
http://www.nwdreamer.com/Pics/StudiosAndGear/TroutdaleStudio/
 
My studio is primarily for my own use, but is setup for easy "live" use by multiple people.  There are five main areas:
 
- The PC console area where all recording and mixing takes place.  In this area, besides the PC, I have my Layla 24 (8 inputs and 8 outputs - explained below), a headphone amp where up to four people can have a mix of the recorded signal and the backing (main mix), plus a Korg N5 for use as both a normal synth and for easy input of notes.  The monitors I use for mixing are on either side of the PC screen (Alesis M1 Actives).
 
- A guitar rack.  Since this is my primary instrument, I have more than some might (but WAY less than I used to!).  I keep three pre-amps, a power-amp, two multi-effects units and a patchbay in the rack (the patchbay simply allows me to wire things easily nine-ways from Sunday).  The signal can go to multiple places as well (speakers, mixer or directly to the Layla).  I have a 2x12 and two 1x12 speakers that can all be mic'ed separately, plus I can divide things up for multiple guitarists to use.
 
- A live/vocals rack.  This rack contains all of the signal processors you'd expect for live use:  Compressors, EQ's, Feedback Destroyer, etc.  I have both a Sonic Maximizer and an Aural Exciter only to make the backing tracks I play through the system sound better - you really don't want to use these for recording.  Here you'll also find my main tuner and a couple of vocal processors like an AVP-1 (so you too can make $1 million dollar auto-tuned turds on YouTube) and a TC Helicon Voice One (so you can sound like Barry White or a 12-year old girl - great for backing vocals too).  I also have a patchbay here so I can put things in any order I need.  The mixer on top not only has a lot more effects (including delays, choruses, reverbs, phaser and flanger), but it's also my primary collection point for everything.  All of my areas connect to this mixer (including the sub-mixer described in the next areas) and I have tracks for vocalists and extra instruments.  In other words, I not only can play backing tracks and live, I can also record from this mixer.  The final parts of this area are the mic's and JBL EON bi-amped speakers (the large ones mentioned in an earlier reply).
 
- A set of V-Drums.  Far more than just a great stress-relief unit, I use these when entering MIDI drums to my tracks or playing with friends.  I'm certainly not that great of a drummer, but it's WAY easier to play a fill than to try and figure out how to enter the MIDI note data for it.  Plus I can always make slight corrections to my timing on the PC later (and play better, multi-layer, samples there as well).  The extra pads above the set can trigger just about anything, but usually handle things like a chime-tree, wood blocks, gongs and that every-required cowbell!
 
- A synth area.  This area consists of all my synths and ROMplers (other than the Korg by the PC - which can control the others if I want).  You'll also find my MIDIport 8x8 controller here.  The way that I organize this area is to take all the digital synths to a rack digital mixer and all the analog synths to a rack analog mixer.  Then each of those rack mixers go to tracks on the small mixer at the top of one rack.  The V-Drums, bass & drum machine and any "toys" I might be playing with (like the Roland sampler in my picture) take up other tracks on the sub-mixer.  The output of this sub-mixer goes to two tracks on my main mixer.
 
As mentioned above, my Layla 24 has 8 inputs and 8 outputs and here's how those are used:
 
Inputs:
 
1&2 - These connect to two of the sub-busses on my main mixer - These are the primary recording sources (so two mono tracks or one stereo track)
3&4 - These connect to the two other sub-busses on my main mixer - These create the "main mix" (and generally get routed back to the headphone amp)
5&6 - I use these when I want to record something at the highest quality (i.e., without going through patchbays or mixers)
7&8 - Unused except when I need to record more than two tracks at a time (only happens when others are playing with me)
 
Outputs:
 
1&2 - These connect to the Alesis M1 Active monitors (on each side of the PC monitor)
3&4 - These go to the main mixer to be heard with any other "live" sound (being carefull not to create feedback loops!)
5&6 - These go to the headphone amp "main mix" channel
7&8 - These go to the headphone amp "recording" channel (the headphone amp allows you to adjust how much of the main mix and recording you hear)
 
Basically, this setup allows me to just about anything I can think of without rewiring all the time.  There are MANY parts of this that you don't need when starting out.  I use patchbays and mixers so I don't have to keep reconnecting cables and also to balance the outputs of different instruments (the spreadsheets I use to keep track of everything would make you dizzy).  I'm guessing you wouldn't need either to get started.  If you don't have extra people coming over than most of the live gear is useless (though I do like to play backing tracks through mine and play guitar along with it even if I'm by myself).  Needless to say, I'm NOT a good example of what you "need," and even I have sold quite a few of the extras that I don't use much (like the sampler, extra guitars and a couple of the synths pictured).
 
Your best bet is to first really think about what you want to accomplish, however I will recommend that when you look for a sound unit to get one with a few extra inputs and outputs.  It doesn't take long until you wish you had a couple more.  In addition to a PC, you'll want a pair of nice monitors and some type of keyboard for entering notes (this doesn't have to be a synth, there are plenty of nice MIDI keyboards and controllers out there now).

BIABDude


+1 ---Pictures when you are finished moving in

AVTechman


I was wondering whether its possible to build a studio within an 8x8 space? I am now renting a house and have the spare bedroom with that space to work on building a studio to do my work in. 

I have a friend who works for a major furniture company that may be able to get some really good workstation pieces for good discounts. 

So has anyone been able to have a studio in that kind of space? I know that an 8x8 (about 64 sq. ft) isn't very large but should be enough to create in.