Beliefspace Studio

Paying It Forward. Part 2

2012-01-23T08:21:00.003Z

Paying it forward (again)...

This Dallas mixer, from the late 60s/early 70s was given to me in 1993/1994 by Billy Edwards as part payment for some work experience I did one summer helping to install audio playback systems in pubs, venues and holiday camps. It has been sat gathering dust since then.

On Saturday I decided to pay it forward. I donated it to Nath of Celestial Productions who made short work of fixing it and getting it up and running again.

It's good to see it all lit up and working again, I'm glad I donated it. Good work Nath!

What next?

2012-01-18T11:27:00.000Z

Phase One complete. We've moved in! What next?

This morning I spoke to Plymouth Glass Center about laminated glass for the Control Room/Recording Room window. I'm expecting a quote soon. Before that can be installed the remaining wood work needs fitting, staining and the material that covers the air gap needs to be installed.

The other major piece of building work that still need tackling is the doors. As these are non-standard door openings, these will have to be built from scratch. Four of them in total, double doors on each room.

Just speaking in the Control Room and Recording Room areas is enough to hear the difference. The Control Room with it's huge amount of bass trapping and Slats, is nicely controlled, with not too much reverberation. I need to add some treatment to the early reflection points on the walls and ceiling and a large broadband absorber behind the mix position, something like this...

The recording room need plenty more absorption and diffusion. The acoustic treatment in that space will be adjustable between 'live' and 'dead' to suit whatever instrument is being tracked.

Once that is complete, the amenities can be worked on. Outside the main studio door is two small sheds. These already have power running into them (outside light cable runs through) and plumbing (One used to be the toilet in 1930's when the house was built). The plan is to upgrade the doors to UPVC and install a toilet in one shed and a small, campervan-esque kitchenette in the other for clients and visiting engineers to make tea, coffee, etc. As it often rains in the UK, we also plan to install a covered wooden pergola to keep our clients, and us, dry!

In the mean time, I have a lot of soldering to do! Might rope in some help with that.

I am also spec'ing the studio equipment and furniture but I'll save that for another post.

Moving In Day!

2012-01-14T15:28:00.002Z

This project initially started when I bought the house back in 2006. After a few false starts. Ripping out some very shoddy workmanship (including my own!).

Starting again from scratch, in January 2010, with an excellent builder Kris. Getting help from my Cousin Charlie fitting f**kin'-Rock-b*****ding-Wool in the ceiling. Meeting and marrying Helen, my soul-mate. Roping her in to help fit f**kin'-Rock-b*****ding-Wool in the walls (all evidenced on this blog). Getting an excellent decorator Gregg to help out. Not to forget Lee who was generally helpful with painting undercoat, etc and extremely enthusiastic. We are finally at the stage where we can move gear in ... and that's exactly what we've been doing today.

Goodbye dusty basement, I can't say I'll miss you. Hello to the embryonic stage of the subterranean lair (Mwhu ha ha ha) that is the new space for Beliefspace Studio. All I need now is one of these...

We still have a journey ahead of us. The windows and doors need finishing. The acoustic treatment needs fitting. The two sheds outside need re-fitting as the studio toilet and mini-kitchenette. Despite this, we now have a space where music can be made, recorded and mixed which is already substantially better the the spare room! I am currently sat in the Control Room, typing this and listening to music.

Check it out...

Guerrilla set-up in the Control Room to check how the console and racks will fit.

These will be replaced by a 14U double width rack.

Every studio needs lava lamps ... it's in the Law of Recording book 1, page 1, sub-section 1, part 1a.

Stands & Cymbals in the Recording Room

Recording Room

Turned out alright in the end

2012-01-13T18:11:00.002Z

I can thank Mrs. Helen Welsh for pointing out that (if you disregard pile direction) turning the carpet 180 degrees means the crease is on the off-cut. So, I phoned Lee, the carpet fitter and he came right back and sorted it. Awesome. Carpet Diem!

Carpet Diem

2012-01-13T12:27:00.000Z

The glue was bought, the two main rooms are done. We have a proper floor now and no longer a dusty basement. I've been told to leave it for twelve hours before vacuuming or anything to let the glue stick. Here's the progress...

We couldn't get away with Fri 13th without having one small issue. The hall carpet has a small crease, so the guys have gone to do another job to let it settle out. Fingers crossed it will be okay.

Carpet Fitting

2012-01-13T09:41:00.002Z

The carpet has arrived. The fitters have just on to get some glue that's compatible with the Karma Floor (can be used with polyurethane), fingers crossed that they are successful. I'm sure they will be.

These crappy phone pics does the "chocolate" colour no justice at all but, believe me, it looks "mint" ... or should that be "chocolate"?!

To Do List - Revisted

2012-01-04T17:47:00.004Z

It's time for a further revisit of the 'to do' list...

General
Electrics - final fix - DONE
Carpet - Being fitted on 13th Jan 2012

Control Room
Slate Resonators - DONE
Decorating - DONE
Bass trap - DONE
Acoustic Floor - DONE
Install glass in window - to do
Acoustic Doors - to do
Further Acoustic treatment - to do

Recording Room
Bass Traps - DONE
Decorating - DONE
Acoustic Floor - DONE
Broadband & Foam Absorbers - to do
Ceiling diffusers - to do
Install glass in window - see above
Acoustic Doors - see above

Corridor
Decorating - DONE
Install stairs - DONE
Acoustic Floor - DONE

Equipment installation
Prepare Wallboxes for fitting - DONE
Order rack unit
Order patchbays
Install wallboxes & patchbays - after carpet is fitted
Install other equipment - after carpet is fitted

Exterior
Strip out sheds and convert into WC and Kitchenette
Build Pergola with roof over the back door and sheds
Sort out garden wall and gates

Half-Cardioid

2012-01-04T17:21:00.000Z

This arrived today. A cheap Boundary Mic to replace the even cheaper one I had before. This will mainly serve talk back duties between the Recording Room and the Control Room.

CLM Dynamics and Apogee Rosetta

2012-01-03T18:06:00.002Z

Just received these on extended loan from Mr. Nick Good. 2 Channel Apogee Rosetta and CLM Dynamics DB200s Pre-Amp. Thank you very much.

Now to find some leads to test these out...

48v, Pad, Phase, Lo-Cut, Limiter Fast, Mid-Side, Mute.

Gain (70dB), Limiter Threshold and Fader

Karma Floor Finished

2012-01-01T18:18:00.002Z

Third post today! I have just finished the Karma Floor in the entire studio and am now totally knackered. That's one more thing to tick off the checklist and it's only Jan 1st! :D

Start the New Year as you mean to go on.

2012-01-01T15:50:00.002Z

Finished the bulk of the floor today. Just two cupboards to go and then we're ready for carpet fitting on 13th Jan. The bit around the stairs was a total pain, I made a template from an old vinyl mailer in the end.

Where It's At

2012-01-01T15:47:00.000Z

A special report from the Deputy Studio Inspector...

"This is what the humans have been up to in 2011. If you ask me, it still smells wrong at the moment, I'm looking forward to carpet going in so I can find a nice corner to curl up and sleep in." - Tia

Progress in 2011

2011-12-31T19:42:00.002Z

Made lots of progress to the Studio build in 2011. This picture illustrates it nicely, on the left is what we started with, the middle is where we were early this year and the right is where we are now.

It's exciting to think that I will be able to update this picture again in a little under two weeks when the carpet has been fitted and we start on the final bits and pieces of building (doors and window), start the soldering (4 wall boxes) and start getting some equipment installed.

What I'm looking forward to most this year, is starting to invest in equipment that will further enhance the studio with some great pieces of gear. I have a massive wish list for the studio but it's totally achievable, one piece at a time. Watch this space.

As it's the end of the year, some thank you's are in order. Firstly to my lovely wife who's enthusiasm and support for the studio has been awesome. To Kris and Gregg, if it wasn't for those guys I'd still be sat in an empty concrete basement. To Lee, who helped with some painting and is always more than excited about all things studio related. If there was an Order of the Most Excellent Beliefspace Empire, you would all be on the 2011 honours list!

Plymouth Recording Studio Service

2011-12-23T18:09:00.000Z

Today I inherited the original 78 recordings of my late Nana and Poppo's wedding. These metal plates from September 1948 were recorded by Albert E. Ford's company Plymouth Recording Studio Service.

Back in the late 90s, after my Poppo passed away, I transferred and cleaned up these recording for my Nana. I'm glad she enjoyed listening to them in the last few years of her life. Myself and Helen listened to the digital transfers recently. A great piece of family history and an amazing little window into 1948.

In with the plates was the original invoice and receipt, totaling £4 19s 0d (four Pounds, nineteen Shillings and zero pence). The average weekly wage (people were paid weekly in those days, usually in cash), in 1948, was £3 18s 0.

I would be very interested to learn more about Albert E. Ford and his studio, if anyone has any info.

More Floor

2011-12-21T17:05:00.003Z

Spent today measuring and cutting more Karma Floor. Almost done. One more day and might need one more panel before I'm done, depending on offcuts fitting into weird spaces!

Booked the carpet fitters to come and measure on the 27th Dec. Then carpet will be fitted in the New Year and then we can start putting installing some gear whilst we finish the doors, window and acoustic treatment.

Recording Room Floor

2011-12-19T11:57:00.003Z

The Karma Floor is currently going down in the Recording Room, watch this space. We might even start the corridor this week! Probably going to need a few more bits of Karma Floor before we're finished.

Paying it Forward

2011-12-15T20:02:00.004Z

Paying it forward...

This Apple G5 has served Beliefspace Studio well over the years, running Pro Tools 7.x and 8.x with the minimum of fuss, has been completely stable and a real work horse. It's recorded all sorts including Kat Marsh, Josie & the Lovecats and, more recently, Lena Smith.

With it being the season of giving, we thought we would donate it to a good cause, another creative, small business. So here it is, all packed up and ready to go to it's new life in specialist book publishing at the Golden Hare Press in St.Germans...

"Goodbye old friend."

Bass Traps & Floor

2011-12-15T17:17:00.004Z

Mr.Gregg Andre did some sterling work today, running to Totem Timber, grabbing some materials and making a great start on the remaining bass trap frames.

The rest of the Karma Floor was ordered yesterday and should be delivered early next week. So we firmed up the carpet choice (Rugby Twist - Chocolate) and booked Carpet Right to come and measure up.

Even more portable rig

2011-12-13T18:47:00.005Z

I'm in the process of updating some of my equipment in preparation for installing new gear into the studio. One of the things that I've been meaning to update for a while is my Digidesign 002 Rack. In the New Year, I'm going to replace this with a better interface, probably an Apogee Ensemble.

In the meantime, however, I've been doing a lot of demo recording for my lovely, talented wife, using the stereo output from her stage piano and overdubbing vocals via the 002R. It's always a mission to move the rig or Stage Piano so I wanted something I could very quickly throw together with the MacBook and get a decent recording.

After hearing the pres in the M-Audio ProFire, that both fellow musicians/sound engineers, Marcin and Nathan have, I decided to drop a bit of cash on an M-Audio Fast Track Ultra 8in/8out (6 analogue, 2 digital), USB interface, with 2 independent headphone outputs. I can now thrown this in the backpack with my laptop, cans and a few mics/leads and get some decent "field" recordings without the need to take out the rack-based system.

I received the interface today and, so far, so good. Extremely easy to set-up and use. Pre-amps sound good (better than the 002 anyway!) and, although it's plastic, it feels solid enough.

Looking forward to putting it through it's paces with a Lena Smith demo track soon.

P.S. I now have a Digidesign 002R for sale!

P.P.S. Check out my laptop stand...

EV635A

2011-12-08T20:00:00.001Z

The EV635As arrived from the United States this morning, only one week after I ordered them. I had to order them from the USA as I couldn't find a reasonably priced 635A in the UK. 635N/D no problem, but that version has a different magnet and, therefore, a different output. I was after the "classic" A version. This pair, with shipping, was only £20 more than I would have paid for one mic in the UK! Go figure.

So, after reading so much about them, I finally get to put them to the test on a guitar cab.

The, ever expanding, mic collection. Dec 2011

Carpet Samples

2011-08-30T15:52:00.004+01:00

The carpet samples arrived today. We've decided to go with the one on the right (the darkest). The crap lighting on these pics doesn't show the true colour of the carpet samples unfortunately but they look good against the wood stain. Just got the rest of the Karma Floor to buy and lay and then we can order the carpets. ...Almost there :-)

Karma Floor in the Control Room

2011-08-25T17:45:00.004+01:00

Just finished cutting and fitting the bulk of the sound treated Karma Flooring in the Control Room. I rigged up some iPod speakers for some music whilst I cut lines and strange angles out of the flooring material using the trusty Stanley Knife. It's hard stuff to work with, I have the blisters to prove it!

Even with the mini iPod speakers/sub and the lack of carpet, ceiling or final wall treatments, the room is starting to sound good.

I also ordered some carpet samples today, but that will be a future Blog post! :-)

Wall, Floor, Bass Trap Frames

2011-08-24T16:35:00.004+01:00

Kris came back today and finished the Slats in the Control Room. That's all the walls sorted! He also adjusted the doors to make space for the carpets and framed up one of the bass traps.

We (Helen, Sam and myself) made a start on laying the Karma Flooring in the Control Room. A lot of interesting (awkward) shapes to be cut ... My mission ... should I choose to accept it ...

Control Room Front Wall

2011-08-16T14:11:00.005+01:00

We've made progress on the front of the Control Room today with help from Kris, for the building work, and my lovely wife, who helped with the nasty Rockwool and did an awesome job upholstering the acoustic cloth onto the frames. We almost have finished Control Room walls ready for flooring.

First Sections of Floor Arrive

2011-08-12T11:49:00.003+01:00

The first sections of the floor arrived this morning, together with the RS60 Earthwool to finish the Slat Resonator in the Control Room and start building the sound treatment for the walls.

Today's Bargains

2011-08-07T18:43:00.003+01:00

Went to the Vintage and Classic Car Rally at Mt.Edgecumbe today. Despite a small mishap with an exploding bottle of sun lotion, losing the car and getting soaked through to the skin (good, old British weather). I found an Amstrad Synth and an Alesis Drum Machine for the bargain price of just ten of your English pounds. Yep, that's right, £2 for the Amstrad and £8 for the Alesis.

Alesis HR-16

Amstrad CKX100

Both machines have multiple input/output ports and both have MIDI! More importantly both of them work! The Alesis is missing the plastic slider for it's volume control but, it's set at about 3/4 of the way up, so not an issue.

I had to find a 9V AC adaptor for the Alesis, fortunately I kept the wall-wart PSU from an Lexicon reverb rack unit which does the job fine. The Amstrad has a PSU input but no indication of the voltage, looking at the battery compartment, I deduced it was 9 volts (takes 6 x A batteries). I quickly wired up a 9v PP3 battery to croc'-clips and wired it to the battery compartment to test it. Some further investigation should reveal the correct polarity for the PSU, I'm guessing centre positive (opposite of guitar pedals).

Already found a whole host of circuit bends for both machines, here's a couple...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vi-YFeV99-8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLdy4gdb_tE

Lena Smith Sessions

2011-07-24T17:20:00.002+01:00

Did some more demo recordings for Lena Smith yesterday. Here's a couple of pics from the session. Switch cleaner saving the day, yet again on the dodgy jacks on the Roland stage piano which was a DI'd. The vocal was tracked using the Brauner Phantom AE --> RME Octamic II --> Pro Tools.

Birthday Headphones

2011-07-18T12:42:00.004+01:00

It's my thirty *cough*th birthday today and, amongst the lovely gifts, my lovely wife bought me a set of Sennheiser HD380 Pro headphones, or "Cans" as we call 'em...

The bass response from these headphones is phenomenal, it's not over-hyped, but really clear and full. And, as if that wasn't awesome enough, she also cleverly bought some replacement ear pads for our DT-150s, making them as good as new, so our clients can now monitor in comfort again...

I am a very lucky boy! :-)

Updated 3D Plans

2011-07-16T11:54:00.003+01:00

I've updated the plans based on the decorating and building work that has happened over the last few weeks. Here's the new 3D plans...

Wall Boxes

2011-07-07T21:06:00.002+01:00

The hardware came for the Wall Boxes today. I spent the last couple of hours screwing the sockets into the panels, ready for soldering to the multi-core at some point over the next few weeks.16 x XLRs (female), 4 x XLR (male), 4 x Stereo Jack

8 x XLR (female), 4 x Stereo Jack

On the Wall Boxes in the corridor and the Lounge I wanted to place the Neutrik Combi XLR/Jack sockets. However, as you can see from the picture below they are too deep for the shallow 4 socket Wall Boxes. Although they physically fit in the box, the terminals touch the back which leaves not room for cables. So, it's back to the drawing board for those, probably go 2 x XLR (female) and 2 x Stereo Jacks on each 4 way box.

Wood Staining - Part II

2011-07-07T13:38:00.003+01:00

Gregg is still hard at work completing the wood staining. Here's the latest photos showing the contrast between the wallpaper and the dark stained wood. The Slat Resonator at the front of the Control Room and the Machine Room door.

Wood Staining - Part I

2011-07-04T17:57:00.002+01:00

Gregg's been back today. After quite a few hours of sanding, filling and preparation, the wood staining has begun. This is the first coat only, but you can see the difference in the doors...

The chief studio inspector Mia (aka "Lady", Tabby cat number one) was unavailable today to inspect the work (she was sleeping), so she sent her side-kick, Tia (aka "Floof", our other tabby) to inspect the work. Tia was satisfied by progress but was not impressed by the lack of soft furnishings to curl up on and wanted to know when the studio sofa was being installed.

Wallpapering II

2011-07-02T15:14:00.002+01:00

Gregg's been doing more wallpapering today. All the walls in the studio are now painted or papered, another milestone achieved. Next-up ... wood staining.

Wallpapering

2011-06-29T18:49:00.002+01:00

Gregg's been hard at work in the studio today preparing the wood for staining and hanging the wallpaper in the recording room, check it out...

Vocal signal chains for under £1000

2011-06-28T20:45:00.005+01:00

Us Sound Engineers know that quality and fidelity costs money. Or does it?

This week I challenged my Sound Engineering students to post some vocal chains for under £1000. Some very interesting results emerged.

Rock/Metal Vocals:
Shure SM7 B - £355
Black Lion B12A (based on the API 312) - approx. £250
FMR PBC6A Mono Compressor - £379
TOTAL £984

Soft/Intimate Vocals:
Neumann KMS 104 - £425
Golden Age Pre 73 (based on the Neve 1073) - £249
FMR Really Nice Levelling Amp - £209
TOTAL £883

Ribbon Mic:
Golden Age R1 active MK 3 Ribbon - £185
DAV Electronics BG1 Dual Channel Mic Pre - £510
FMR Audio RNC1773 - Really Nice Compressor - £152
TOTAL £847

Stereo set-up for group vocals:
Oktava MK012 Matched Pair with 3 capsules - £499
Black Lion Auteur - £310
FMR Audio RNC1773 - Really Nice Compressor - £152
TOTAL £961

Discrete class A mic & pre with a diode bridge compressor:
BLUE Bluebird - £249
Audient Micro (same pres as in the ASP8024) - £398
Golden Age Comp54 (based on the Neve 2254) - £339
TOTAL £986

Which just goes to show that you don't actually need a massive amount of cash to get an extremely high quality signal path.

Lena Smith Sessions - Vocals

2011-05-30T18:00:00.003+01:00

Screenshots from today's session working on vocals for 'Fly' and 'Autumn Song' by Lena Smith.

All the Lena Sessions recorded by us and by Nathan and Sam of Celestial Productions (celestialproductiongroup.tumblr.com) are available here: soundcloud.com/lena-smith

Lena Smith Sessions

2011-05-29T17:30:00.002+01:00

Screenshot from the Lena Smith session today. Demo'ing tracks for the other members of The Lena Smith Band to assimilate.

Boss RC-30 Loop Station

2011-04-18T15:09:00.006+01:00

Last week we sold our Boss RC-50 Loop Station and ordered the new RC-30. Great pedal. I plugged in my guitar and had it sussed in two minutes (the manual is still in it's bag untouched). It's impressive that Boss have, once again, managed to squeeze loads of functions from 2 pedals!

Play/Overbub Pedal - Press once to record, press again to loop & overdub, press again to loop but not overdub. Press and hold for 2 seconds to Undo the last thing. Double press to turn effects on and off.

Stop Pedal - Press once to stop. Press and hold for 2 seconds changes from track 1 > 2 and vice-versa. Double press to stop all.

Both pedals together clear the track memory, as expected.

The build in effects are pretty cool but, like the rhythm machine, I'm not sure how usable they'll be but they're there to play with.

Right, where's my microphone...

Stereo Mic Techniques

2011-04-05T15:31:00.004+01:00

Some materials for my workshop on stereo mic techniques at dBs Music, atop the Neve V51 series console.

Stairwell

2011-03-20T13:12:00.000Z

Just finished the second coat of paint on the stairwell. Next job is wood filler and then staining the wood for a better match with the stairs.

Stairwell - Painting and Electrics

2011-03-19T14:08:00.001Z

Been painting the stairwell this morning. Whilst I was there I decided to fit the last light, so that's all the electrics for the entire studio complete (apart from the audio wiring of course).

Wallpaper

2011-03-18T20:23:00.000Z

So, building has been moving quite slowly this year so far. However, last weekend, we did manage to purchase the wallpaper for the corridor and recording room and the wood stain. Once this is done, the entire space will be decorated. Next up... sound treating the floor!

Microphones

2011-02-16T16:59:00.000Z

Nothing much to report of studio building at the moment. So here's a labelled up picture of our microphone collection.

Electro-Voice RE20

2011-02-12T13:24:00.000Z

Got a real bargain on an RE-20 this week to add to our mic cupboard. Thanks Rich. We're well equipped for recording low frequencies now with an RE-20, D112, D12 and AT4033.

First Post of 2011

2011-01-16T22:00:00.000Z

This is our first post of 2011 and we thought it would be a good idea to post some before and after photos to illustrate how much the studio build progressed during 2010. Thanks to everyone involved in the project thus far, your input has been invaluable.

Control Room - Front Wall

Recording Room

Stairs

Control Room Window looking into Recording Room

Stairwell Woodwork

2010-12-07T18:28:00.000Z

The woodwork around the new stairs has been finished today. Here's some before and after pics...

'To Do' list revisted ... again.

2010-11-28T17:27:00.001Z

It's time for another revisit of the 'to do' list...

General
Electrics - final fix - DONE
Carpet - MEASURED & CHOOSING CARPET

Control Room
Front and side wall Slat Resonators - FRONT ONE DONE
Install glass in window - this will be done before doors

Acoustic Doors - this will be done last

Bass trap fronts - DONE
Ceiling cloud and further diffusers - 2 x CLOUDS DONE
Test/measure acoustics of the room - TESTED SOUND PROOFING
Install further acoustic treatment, e.g. Quadratic Residue and Space-array Diffusers
Decorating - MIST COAT, UNDERCOAT, WALLS and CEILING DONE

Recording Room
Install glass in window - see above
Acoustic Doors - see above
Bass Trap - DONE
Broadband & Foam Absorbers
Ceiling diffusers
Decorating - MIST COAT AND UNDERCOAT DONE
Acoustic underlay - ACOUSTIC UNDERLAY SPECIFIED & TEST PIECE ORDERED

Corridor
Finish the Stairwell - DONE
Plaster the Stairwell - DONE
Install stairs - DONE

Equipment installation
Install wallboxes, solder XLR, jacks, etc.
Solder patchbays
Install all the equipment

...and, after all that...

Exterior
Strip out sheds and convert into WC and Kitchenette
Build Pergola with roof over the back door and sheds
Sort out garden wall and gates

Painting - Second Coat

2010-11-01T23:00:00.000Z

Finished the second coat of paint on Sunday. Some touching up to do, then onto the wall paper and woodwork.

Painting - First Coat

2010-10-26T18:54:00.000+01:00

Did the first coat of paint for the studio today: Contemporary & Moroccan Red. The pics were taken as the paint was drying hence the 'patchiness', second coat should sort it.

Painting & Wallpaper

2010-10-18T21:41:00.000+01:00

We've just tried the tester pots & test piece of wallpaper in the recording space. The paint is all from Homebase. Morrocan Red and the lighters shades are Classic Cream, Putty and Contemporary. We've decided on the lighter Contemporary for the lighter walls which works well with the red of the acoustic cloth. Check out the wallpaper - which is going on the window wall facing the main entrance. The photos don't do any of these colours any justice.

Isolating the floor

2010-10-17T11:43:00.000+01:00

After our soundproofing tests back in the summer,we've decided to isolate the floor in the recording area to reduce impact/structure borne noise. This is the product we've been considering, Absorbalay which gives:

Typical airborne uplift: 7dB
Typical impact uplift: 29dB

Stairs - Part 2

2010-10-06T20:58:00.000+01:00

Here's the finished install of the stairs.

Stairs - Part 1

2010-10-05T22:16:00.000+01:00

Here's the first pics of the stairs. Kris is coming back to finish them off tomorrow. Looking great.

Stairwell Mist Coat

2010-09-26T16:54:00.000+01:00

Today we did the mist coat on the stairwell in preparation for painting before the modular stairs are fitted next week.

Stairwell plastering

2010-09-18T18:33:00.000+01:00

The last bit of plastering in the studio is now complete (and also some bits of our house that needed plastering). Next painting and stair assembly.

Stairs

2010-09-14T17:35:00.000+01:00

The stairs arrived today in a big wooden crate. The driver had to palette truck them all the way up the back lane and into the garden. We then had loads of "fun" getting them inside! They're here and they look awesome.

Progress and 'to do' list- revisited

2010-09-04T18:42:00.000+01:00

Back on August 17th I posted a 'to do' list. Time for a revisit...

General
Electrics - final fix - DONE

Control Room
Front and side wall Slat Resonators - FRONT ONE DONE
Flush Mounted speaker frames
Install glass in window
Acoustic Doors
Bass trap fronts - DONE
Ceiling cloud and further diffusers - 2 x CLOUDS DONE
Test/measure acoustics of the room - TESTED SOUND PROOFING
Install further acoustic treatment, e.g. Quadratic Residue and Space-array Diffusers
Clean the concrete floor
Carpet
Decorating - MIST COAT AND UNDERCOAT DONE

Recording Room
Install glass in window
Bass Trap - DONE
Broadband & Foam Absorbers
Varipanel wall
Ceiling diffusers
Acoustic Doors
Decorating - MIST COAT AND UNDERCOAT DONE
Clean the floor
Acoustic underlay and carpet

Corridor
Finish the Stairwell - DONE
Plaster the Stairwell
Install stairs
Decorate - MIST COAT AND UNDERCOAT DONE
Clean the concrete floor
Carpet

Exterior
Strip out sheds and convert into WC and Kitchenette
Build Pergola with roof over the back door and sheds
Sort out garden wall and gates

...and, after all that...

Install wallboxes, solder XLR, jacks, etc.
Solder patchbays
Install all the equipment

We have power!

2010-09-04T16:40:00.000+01:00

Phil's just left having wired up all the plug sockets in the studio, so we now have power. Two double sockets in the machine room, one in the corridor, two behind the rack unit, two on the Slat Resonator wall and four doubles in the recording room.

Bass Traps & Cloud Building

2010-09-03T17:42:00.000+01:00

As well as sorting out the Slat Resonator wall today we also built the bass trap fronts and some clouds to go above the listening position in the Control Room.

Visitor

2010-09-03T15:43:00.000+01:00

Mia (one of our two cats) decided to come in the back door and inspect her new studio space this morning. After inspection, she said she was happy with the progress but not happy with the current lack of soft furnishings to curl up on.

Slat Resonator

2010-09-03T15:38:00.001+01:00

Here's the Slat Resonator wall at the front of the Control Room, all sealed and rockwool'd (RS60 50mm). Cara acoustic fabric upholstery (courtesy of the lovely Helen) and PSE ripped to various widths and fixed (courtesy of Kris). Looking and, hopefully sounding, great! :)

Acoustic Fabric

2010-08-31T19:28:00.000+01:00

The Acoustic Fabric arrived today from Making Waves Audio. The Tummel (red stuff) is for the Slat Resonators and Bass Traps, the Glass (Grey stuff) is for the ceiling clouds.

Lights

2010-08-27T15:54:00.000+01:00

The studio now has lights! Spots in the Control Room and Recording Room and down-lighters in the machine room and corridor. The sockets are being wired next Saturday.

Where It's At

2010-08-26T13:10:00.000+01:00

I thought it was time to post a small update about the current state of things. We finished the boarding for the top of the stairwell last week. The electrics should be wired this week (although he's said that before! ... We'll see). I am just about to order the acoustic fabric from Steve at Making Waves Audio for the bass traps, slats, etc. The modular stairs should arrive at some point in early September, once those are installed and the Slat Resonators are built we're onto audio cabling and acoustic treatment.

A lot of people have been asking about equipment specs for the studio. Although I haven't pinned this down at this stage I'm planning to build something special. Something with an edge for mixing - great room acoustic, decent spec. equipment. We already have a bunch of microphones, etc. from the portable rig but for all those 'tech heads' amongst you, these are my thoughts on equipping the studio...

Console

This has to be a 'large format' console with the multitrack bus routing, as we're going to pair it with a reel to reel eventually. It's been a fight between a refurbished Audient ASP8024 and a Neotek Elan II. Currently the Elan is winning as it apparently has more character (Neotek is good enough for Steve Albini, so it's good enough for us!). The Audient is a very nice console, extremely transparent (good thing?), great routing and layout but also massive (about 1/3 of the size of our Control Room!). The secondhand Neotek's seem to hold their value a lot better than the Audients. I just need to find one in Europe or the UK now as I don't fancy import duty from Chicago.

Multitrack
Well Avid have just brought out a new Pro Tools interface in the HD I/O, so we'll invest in one of those and a HD|2 Accel system based around a Mac. If the converters are good ... bonus. Otherwise we'll try a Lynx Aurora.

Monitors

The plan is to flush mount some Quested VH3208s (with the amp/s nearby) for mid-field monitors. The nearfields will be Adam A7X's. As a lot of people like to work with NS-10M's for checking mixes, these will be available, on request, with some Auratone (aka Horrortone) A5 mix cubes thrown in for good measure.

Other equipment
The console, monitors and multitrack are the heart of the studio so the rest is really 'icing on the cake' but, over the next few years, we will be up-spec'ing the studio and will be including some, if not all, of the following gear:

Pre-Amps: (to complement the Neotek) API Lunchbox with API 521Cs, DAV 501s and Black Lion Auteur (500 series rumours about this). Also, eventually, a Neve 4081.

Gain/Dynamics: LA-2A (clone), Purple Audio MC77, Empirical Labs Distressor (stereo), couple of dbx 160s and a couple of FMR RNCs

Effects: We already have a vintage Dyncord TAM21 double tracking/flanger unit but we also want to complement this with a Korg Stage Echo and some more analogue effects togther with a couple of digital multi-fx units.

Recorders: At some point in the future I would like to complement all this with a 24 track tape machine, probably an Otari. Plus, to give us more flexibility in services offered, we are also going to invest in a 2 track mastering machine, possibly a Studer A80 or similar.

Stairwell

2010-08-20T20:51:00.000+01:00

The stairwell is now boarded, ready for plastering and installation of the new staircase which should arrive at some point during September.

Acoustic Fabric Samples

2010-08-18T14:57:00.000+01:00

Got the Acoustic Fabric samples through from Steve at Making Waves Audio Ltd. this morning. I was right about the 'Pitlochry' being too red. Even the 'Tartan' looks a bit too red, so it's the 'Tummel' colour (the darkest one in the picture) that we're going for. Testing the colours against an Auralex foam wedge, this seems to work the best overall (my iPhone photos don't do any of these colours justice). Time to order enough for 3 Slat Resonators, 3 Bass Traps, 3 Broadband Absorbers a ceiling Cloud or two.

More materials

2010-08-18T14:00:00.000+01:00

More materials arrived today. Loads of P.S.E. for the Slat Resonators, some plywood sheets for the flush mounted monitor surrounds and quite a bit of 2" x 4" (or 47mm x 100mm in metric) for the frames and some 2" x 1" to finish the stair well.

Progress and 'to do' list

2010-08-17T13:33:00.000+01:00

With all the progress made recently a lot of people have been asking us when we are going to be open for business. It's hard to say exactly but we're guessing around November.

Here's a list of what's left to do before we start wiring and installing the gear...

General
Electrics - final fix

Control Room
Front and side wall Slat Resonators
Flush Mounted speaker frames
Install glass in window
Acoustic Doors
Bass trap fronts
Ceiling cloud and further diffusers
Test/measure acoustics of the room
Install further acoustic treatment, e.g. Quadratic Residue and Space-array Diffusers
Clean the concrete floor
Carpet
Decorating

Recording Room
Install glass in window
Bass Traps
Broadband & Foam Absorbers
Varipanel wall
Ceiling diffusers
Acoustic Doors
Decorating
Clean and paint the concrete floor

Corridor
Finish the Stairwell
Install stairs
Decorate
Clean the concrete floor
Carpet
Exterior
Strip out sheds and convert into WC and Kitchenette
Build Pergola with roof over the back door and sheds
Sort out garden wall and gates

...and, after all that...

Install wallboxes, solder XLR, jacks, etc.
Solder patchbays
Install all the equipment

PHEW!

...better get on with it :-)

Studio Animation

2010-08-14T20:04:00.000+01:00

Here's a small animation we threw together in Google Sketch-up to give a rough idea of what the studio will be like when it's finished.

Bass Traps

2010-08-14T18:27:00.000+01:00

Today the electrician was a no-show, so we used the time to adjust the bass trap on the back wall of the Control Room. This left us with a small mountain of off-cuts.

We have doors

2010-08-13T19:27:00.000+01:00

The skirting boards around the main doors are now sorted. The skirtings in the Control Room and finished. The cupboard doors are fitted and all the doors have door jams, handles and door furniture.

Control Room Model

2010-08-13T15:52:00.000+01:00

Scale cardboard model of the Control Room to show how the front wall will be installed with flush mount speakers and slot resonator sides and front.

Updated the Plans

2010-08-12T17:34:00.000+01:00

These are the latest plans for the studio (made using Google Sketchup). I've had started to add some of the acoustic elements into these, although these aren't set, and will depend on the results of frequency analysis of each space, it gives a rough idea of what we are working towards.

Modular Stairs - ordered

2010-08-10T14:39:00.000+01:00

We have just ordered the modular stairs for the studio. These are mainly access stairs to allow us to get between the house and studio. Clients will mainly use the main doors into the recording room. The stairs are Karina by Arke and look like this. However ours are black metalwork with dark treads.

Mist Coat

2010-08-05T20:53:00.000+01:00

We mist coated the entire studio today with the help of Lee ... thanks Lee :) That's one 10 litre tub of Wickes brilliant white matt emulsion down ... quite a few more to go.

Machine Room

2010-08-04T14:39:00.000+01:00

Here's the machine room with freshly fitted doors and architrave.

Main Doors, Skirting boards and architraves - part 1

2010-08-03T20:33:00.000+01:00

Kris fitted the main doors and started on the skirting boards and architraves today. More tomorrow.

Skirtings & Architraves

2010-08-02T09:31:00.000+01:00

The skirting boards and architraves arrived from Totem this morning. All ready for fitting tomorrow.

Plastering - Day 3

2010-07-25T16:06:00.000+01:00

The studio is now plastered. Just got to wait for it to dry now and we can start the next phase.

Plastering - Day 2

2010-07-23T18:18:00.000+01:00

Day 2: Corridor ceiling - done, Control Room ceiling - done, Control Room walls - almost done. Work continues on Sunday.

Plastering

2010-07-22T19:01:00.001+01:00

Here's the pics from day one of plastering. Recording room is almost there; ceiling done, walls done, just a bit around the door to do. Control room has been started. Plastering continues tomorrow and Saturday.

Door & Window Frames

2010-07-09T16:54:00.002+01:00

The frames are going in. Green glue and double boards fitted. We're almost ready for plastering.

Frames, Gas & Green Glue

2010-07-02T16:48:00.000+01:00

The wood for the door frames arrived this morning. PSE in various sizes, all ready to go.

The dodgy gas pipes were removed yesterday, by a Gas Safe plumber, and replaced with a single pipe into the boiler.

And, here's my stash of Green Glue for the extra boarding next week...

Stairs ... Gone!

2010-06-27T10:06:00.000+01:00

We ripped out the old set of stairs yesterday which revealed two issues: 1) The old staircase was not very strongly secured, it was just resting on the lintel with a couple of nails preventing it from slipping! and 2) The pipes to the combi-boiler are a atrocious, a complete botch job, and need a gas registered plumber to sort it out before we frame and board.

Control Room & Corridor

2010-06-24T15:53:00.000+01:00

Work continues. The Control Room is now all boarded, the machine room has been boarded and framed. The hall cupboards that contain the meters have been framed up ready for doors. Next stage is ripping out the stairs and framing the hallway.

Latest Studio Plans

2010-06-13T18:13:00.005+01:00

These are my current thoughts on the studio.

The back corners in the Control Room are bass-traps. The back wall will also have quadratic diffusers and some form of trapping (plus a sofa). The front early reflection points are treated with Slat Resonators. The front wall will be wood panelling at the top to allow flush mounting of the main monitors and cloth at the bottom to allow air flow to a series of bass hangers. French doors lead to the Machine Room (actually a small cupboard).

In the Recording Room the main door opens through a set of double doors into the space. The piano sits easily on the chimney breast and the area to the right of it might become a small vocal booth. Behind the drum kit is a further bass trap.

In the following plan, the corridor is missing it's stairs, these will be custom made to fit the space after we have built the inner walls and cupboards for the meters, which will also be used for tools, stands, etc.

Sunday update

2010-06-13T18:03:00.000+01:00

Kris has started to board the front of the Control Room this week. Today I've added the remaining audio cabling and rockwool to the room. I've also sealed the live room walls with Speedline ready for the 12mm drywall and Green Glue.

Control Room - Rockwool

2010-06-09T22:37:00.000+01:00

Just finished installing the rockwool in the Control Room area all ready for resilient bar and plaster-boarding tomorrow. Managed to get all the audio cables to run away from the electricity, except the wall box from the lounge which had to cross one mains cable (at a right angle) hopefully there won't be any interference.

New Old Mics

2010-06-09T18:57:00.000+01:00

Couple of new (but vintage) additions to the microphone family. They don't make these (to the same spec) any more!

They sound great.

On the left we have a Sennheiser MD 409 U3 which sounds nice and warm, great for brass instruments and guitar cabs and to the right we have a Sennheiser MD 421 N which is very clear and has lots of air, which should be good for some vocals, guitars and acoustic instruments.

Recording room latest

2010-06-03T20:16:00.000+01:00

All the board is now up in the recording area and the frame for the entrance doors is in.

Recording Room Framed

2010-06-02T17:38:00.000+01:00

All the frames are up in the recording room thanks to Kris. The rockwool was installed by Helen and Mark. We almost have a recording room :) Here's the latest pics...

Recording Room Wall 1

2010-06-02T12:20:00.000+01:00

The first wall of the recording room is now done, ready for plastering.

Framing has started

2010-06-01T18:18:00.000+01:00

Kris framed the walls and Helen and myself added the rocksilk as he went. Go team! :)

Corridor ceiling & framing

2010-06-01T14:34:00.000+01:00

Kris has now finished all the ceilings in the studio and framing has started.

Wood for framing arrived

2010-06-01T09:36:00.000+01:00

The wood for framing the Control Room and Recording Room has arrived this morning via crane! Couldn't have been nicer weather for it ... torrential rain ... let's hope it dries up today.

Cementing the gaps

2010-06-01T09:34:00.002+01:00

Cemented the gaps in the external wall of the recording room. These previously had various plumbing pipework installed.

Recording Room Ceiling

2010-05-27T19:05:00.000+01:00

Both the recording room and control room ceilings are now in place. Thank you Kris. Corridor ceiling is going up on Monday and then the framing of the walls can start.

Control Room Ceiling

2010-05-25T18:38:00.000+01:00

In one day Kris has put up the resilient bars and sound shield for the entire Control Room. Very, very cool. Recording room ceiling goes up on Thursday. Then the corridor. Then the walls.

Ceiling Materials

2010-05-24T18:16:00.000+01:00

Materials for the ceiling arrived this morning from Sheffins. 30 pieces of 1200mm x 2400mm x 15mm Knauf Soundshield, very heavy plasterboards plus 40 lengths of Resilient Bar. Kris is going to start building the ceiling tomorrow. Alarm system is being sorted on Thursday morning. More updates as the ceiling goes up.

Multicore

2010-05-21T16:05:00.001+01:00

Started installing the multicore today.

Van Damme cable 12 pairs for the 12 i/o wall box on the far side of the live room. A 4 pair is also going up into the lounge for a smaller wall box in the main house.