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Re: OT: Ideal small studio specs for Loopers?
Stephen,
Thanks for the input. I viewed the pics. Looks like a pretty sharp setup. Too bad it couldn't have been a little bigger than 120 square feet. Here, for my 200' I'm planning on using a standard garage/shed kit that I can buy (pre-cut and complete) for for less than a couple of grand -- and then modify it
enough to make it work for me. That's all I can afford. I'm on the tightest of budgets to begin with.
So, cutting off the outside corners of the structure probably wouldn't work -- I don't think. I
could make triangular corner cabinets (or insulating panels or something, eventually) to cut off the corners on the inside though . . . possibly. Like you, I've also planned to leave the ceiling open-beam. I wish you luck on your project. Let me know how it goes when it's done. Bamboo floors? Sweet!
Part of what I was looking for was also some advice of how to arrange out those 200 square feet. What sorts of "standing wave" or other problematical sonic tendencies would a 16'x12.5' room have? What if the room was 10'x20'? Or 8'x25"? Or r even 6'x33.3' What different sorts of frequencies would be emphasized in such spaces? How (by changing the dimensions) could I "tune the room" per se?
Essentially these kits can be had in almost any RECTANGULAR configuration. Part of the problem is those doggone PARALLEL WALLS of a rectangle. Acoustically it would be best to avoid all symmetry and/or parallel surfaces to avoid any problem frequencies. Unfortunately I gotta use a rectangle of some sort. What's gonna work best and suit as a studio with that as a given?
In answer to Kevin Cheli-Colando,
Ahhh, then there are those yurts, (igloos, domes and teepees, whatever). Let's first get practical and then a little bit philosophical.
Regarding those ALTERNATIVES, there are are a few other practical things to consider -- firstly I probably won't live here forever. Will it be a "normal" enough space that might add to my home's value (or at least not detract from it) in the eyes of some future potential buyer/user.
A circular "Yurt" as was suggested (or a geodesic dome or other shape could substitute for that matter), is only gonna have a rather narrow market appeal when I'm gone. Plus, it'd probably drive my neighbors nuts -- and I'm a genuinely considerate and "nice" guy (or try to be).
I've camped in places in and around Oregon where they have Yurts though. They really are quite nice spaces. I get one whenever I can at a campground. And, if I lived waaaay out in the woods -- or wished to be more extrovert and "in-your-face" in my inner, spiritual, intellectual, political non-conformity . . . sure, damn the neighbors and let the "freak flag" fly. But that's not me.
Let them get to know me -- and
then think I'm a total "kook" for my ideas, music and/or art. Let them hear me voice an opinion -- and
then think I'm a "crank" for my values and beliefs. But, I am NOT my house. I don't want them to think I'm an idiot because I've created a notorious eyesore in the middle of the neighborhood. There's an old Middleastern proverb: "
Eat whatever you want. But dress as others do." I believe there is a certain kind of genuine practical wisdom contained in that little epigram.
Sometimes it's handy to simply have a safe place that mostly looks like all the other ones on the street -- no shiny 4-wheeled "bling" in the driveway, sattelite dish, or fancy landscaping outside (ostentatiously advertising of rampant materialist/consumerist tendencies within) -- nor flying Tibetian flags, rainbow "shroom" banners and peace sign stickers on an old Volvo or VW bus out front (readable as a pretty good indication of hippies, ex-hippies, pseudo-hippies or hippie wannabes within) -- no giant-wheeled truck/SUV, with confederate flag and fully-loaded gun-rack equipped window and stickers saying "Charlton Heston is MY President" parked in the front yard (as I saw locally just the other day) shouting to all the world that the true backbone of America (morons) lives here.
Personaly, I'd rather be a little more anonymous. Everyone is someone else's "moron." I'd rather they get to know me before they "dis" me. I have a wife and kids to consider -- and I enjoy a quiet life at home (among
mostly friendly neighbors) too. Life has enough stress as it is.
Best regards,
Ted Killian
On Oct 8, 2006, at 10:37 AM, S V G wrote:
Ted writes:
I am contemplating building a small, detatched studio room/structure beside
my home here in Oregon. ...
Ted, funny you should mention that... I'm building a studio right now in my backyard, though
Seattle only allows 120 square feet, not 200. My 18 year old daughter arrives from South Africa
in December, she'll be here for a year, after which the room becomes my music studio. I am
getting around the boxiness of the room by cutting off the front corners, making it more hexagonal
in shape (kinda). Another non-boxy treatment I'm doing is leaving the ceiling cathedral-shaped as
opposed to flat. I put some photos up on a Flickr site to keep my daughter posted on the
progression. If you're at all inclined to view them, the site is located at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vsyevolod/
The photos show the first 2 1/2 weeks of work, though I've got another week or two in since
that time and have just finished the roof, sheathing, and window installation. If all goes well,
I'll have it done in another month or so. Let me know if you have any questions, probably best to
do this offlist. The best part is that all this has been quite doable as a one-man project.
I was considering doing an electrical heating element under the floor, as I've done for
clients in the past. One of my worries was of creating a massive electrical noise field for my
audio cables to pick up. Another was the distrust of having so much electrical current running
underfoot all the time, the same distrust that keeps me from using things like an electric
blanket. So it will be an oil-filled radiator for this room. Bamboo floors, drywall for the
walls, and cedar T&G for the sloped ceiling. Should be sweet...
Stephen
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