2019 Studio Build - Back to the UK.

octatonic

This should be fun.
I'm heading back to the UK tomorrow and getting my house and studio space back and wanted to do a studio build thread.

The studio is a personal recording and working space, where I do work for other people and my own recording and video editing.
It isn't a place people come to and record- that work has largely dried up now everyone has a computer fast enough to do their own recording.

The room is something like 6mx5m- I'm probably keeping it as one room.





Acoustics will be compromised initially but eventually I will sort that out, probably early next year.
I will frame up internally, fill the cavity with rock wool and plasterboard, then put the bass trapping I already have in the right places, plus some diffusion with a hard floor.
I can also move one wall about 1m encroaching into the garage area, which I'll consider doing.

For the first few months though I am just going to get all the gear in and set it up as I had it before I left the UK.

I'm mixing in a hybrid way, a combination of plugins and analogue outboard gear, all on TT patchbays and the whole studio is using audio over IP, which I'll talk about more throughout the build.
Quite a few instruments going in- guitars/basses, drums, synths and a fairly big Eurorack modular.
Monitoring will be my Kii Three's plus a new set of ATC SCM45a Pro's that turn up next week.
I'll have 4 computers in there- a PC and 3 Macs, once Apple release the new Mac Pro that will probably go down to three computers- 1 PC's and 2 Macs.

For now, this is all I really have to show you- two suitcases, two guitars, my Axe FX III and a laptop bag.

Branshen

Will be following closely! Do post some photos showing the hardware routing via patchbays if you can! Interested in how you keep all your hardware routing organised. 

Musicwolf

That looks like a great sized room, I'm very envious.  Obviously I don't know your specific needs but, if it was me, I certainly wouldn't want to split it.

I see that there are doors on each of the short walls.  Do you need access to both or can you block one off?

I'll follow your thread with interest.  Good luck.

Musicwolf

Just had a closer look.  I see that it's the same door in both pics but from different angles.  What's the 'back wall' like?

octatonic

Branshen said:

Will be following closely! Do post some photos showing the hardware routing via patchbays if you can! Interested in how you keep all your hardware routing organised. 

Will do.

I have the hardware half normalled on the TT bays, meaning that by default each unit is patched to the IO on one of the interfaces.
I have 64 channels of IO in total, that is 64 ins and 64 outs and currently have 48 channels of this given over to analogue outboard.
I can break the connection by inserting a TT cable into the bottom of the connection, this means I can mult outputs from devices to multiple inputs.
Otherwise it is all about how it is laid out and labelled.

octatonic

Musicwolf said:

Just had a closer look.  I see that it's the same door in both pics but from different angles.  What's the 'back wall' like?

Back wall isn't ideal- it has two doors in the corners, one to the outside and one to a corridor.
I've got an acoustician friend designing the room treatment for me- when finished it will be pretty good, but it won' the perfect.
I've certainly worked (and mixed) with worse spaces.

Eventually, once I have the budget, I'll be able to knock through into what is currently an outbuilding/woodstore that has a 24ft ceiling that I can use as a separate live room.
It will take a lot of work and money though and isn't going to happen for at least 2-3 years.

Winny_Pooh

You planning to run cabling through the framing or will all the racks possibly be at the desk position to avoid that? 

octatonic

Winny_Pooh said:

You planning to run cabling through the framing or will all the racks possibly be at the desk position to avoid that? 

Initially it will trail, but everything is on 8 way looms so it isn’t too bad.
Eventually it will go through the wall cavity.

There is a lot of data cabling too as I’m running audio over IP.

Moominpapa

This will be cool to follow. That's a nice big space, too.

trolley

How dya like a 24 channel mixing desk?  Going cheap

BigMonka

I just know that this is going to be epic. Are you back at the same house as before you left the UK or is this somewhere new?

octatonic

Same house. 
We took possession of it last night.

The first of 4 days of deliveries of stuff is happening now.
I’m quite tired.

octatonic

This is 80% of the stuff going into the studio.
Yes... I know.

andy_k

I would love to be able to help out with this....

octatonic

andy_k said:

I would love to be able to help out with this....

I would gratefully accept that help at the moment.

gjonesy

octatonic said:

Same house. 
We took possession of it last night.

The first of 4 days of deliveries of stuff is happening now.
I’m quite tired.

is that the old workshop you had with all your woodwork stuff in before you left?

octatonic

gjonesy said:

octatonic said:

Same house. 
We took possession of it last night.

The first of 4 days of deliveries of stuff is happening now.
I’m quite tired.

is that the old workshop you had with all your woodwork stuff in before you left?

Yes, I still have some of that machinery but in another location.

gjonesy

Great space
Going to be good to see this develop
Welcome back btw

octatonic

Update:
I've had a pretty stressful few days.
Several items have been broken during shipping, including a very expensive sofa and dining table.

So far most of the studio gear seems fine but the screws needed to assemble the racks were put in the wrong box so I went on a merry chase for 11 hours to find them today. This meant not nearly as much of the studio got unpacked.

Located an hour ago- I hate to sound horrendously entitled and post-colonial but it is a real problem when the guys doing the packing are not native English speakers.
Clear instructions were given and either ignored or misunderstood.

This is a corporate move so it hasn't cost us anything but the insurance bill for this move is now going to be pretty high.

Good news: all the guitars have arrived in one piece, as has the piano.
Anything that was crated is fine too, an antique sideboard, studio desk, 

Some pics:

Dumping ground for most of the guitars.



Corridor to the studio- this needs to be unpacked tomorrow:

fastonebaz

Do you need a studio assistant? 

octatonic

fastonebaz said:

Do you need a studio assistant? 

I get asked this all the time but I usually have to decline.
I had one guy working with me in 2005 in Switzerland and it was more trouble than it was worth.
Unless someone can do component level soldering and anyone who can do that is going to be able to earn much more than I would be prepared to pay.

I learned how to do this by being an assistant though- I think I was the last generation to do so.
It largely doesn't exist as a job anymore, except in the really big studios.