Re: OT: Ideal small studio specs for Loopers?

[tEd ® kiLLiAn <tedkillian@charter.net>]

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
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
> http://mail.yahoo.com