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Author Topic: How should I approach a mezzanine level studio?  (Read 2849 times)

jetbase

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How should I approach a mezzanine level studio?
« on: August 19, 2008, 01:36:20 AM »

I’m going to be building a new studio for myself in the very near future in a new space offered to me by my current landlord, which also happens to be a church. I learnt a lot during the build of my current studio (which I’ll be gutting & salvaging as much as possible), but the new location presents a couple of issues which I haven’t dealt with before.

The main issue is that the studio is to be built on a mezzanine level, which is timber flooring on wooden joists. I doubt I would be able to afford looking into fully isolating the studio, specifically the floor, so I was hoping for some advice on what level of isolation I would need & how to approach it.

The main uses of my studio are mixing, editing & overdubs. I do record entire projects from time to time, including drums, although ideally I use another studio for tracking when the project is a loud rock band or similar. My current studio has a control room of approx. 3.5m x 5.25m & a booth of approx. 3m x 2.5m.

The new site is approx. 4.5m x 8.5m in total (I don’t have exact measurements yet) & I was thinking of dividing this in a similar way to my current studio, but with a wide entrance to the booth which could be opened up to create a larger recording area incorporating the control room (the booth would be at the rear of the CR). Directly below the mezzanine level is a space which will likely either become amenities or a storage area. This area is off to the side of what will become the stage of a large auditorium (yes, I’ll be putting in tie-lines).

Here’s a photo looking towards what (at this stage) will be the back half of the control room & booth. You can see that the sloping ceiling (only the back half slopes) & roof ties will present their own problems, but at this stage I’m just looking for ideas on how to approach the floor, considering I will be mixing, recording mainly vocals & guitar amps, but also the occasional drum kit.


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jetbase

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Re: How should I approach a mezzanine level studio?
« Reply #1 on: August 19, 2008, 01:38:38 AM »

Here's a photo looking towards the front half of the room:

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brett

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Re: How should I approach a mezzanine level studio?
« Reply #2 on: August 22, 2008, 07:06:59 PM »

about 14'x25' is that correct. and ceiling height? You want to do a booth for what?  

I would actually setup my speakers and find where they sound best, and where it sounds best for you to sit. then build around that. You know where you need to put treatment. Placing it in all the corners first and then nailing down a mix position and speaker position that works best. The rear sloping should not be an issue if you use the front half of the room for your listening position. But treating the corners first will help you get an idea of where you need to be sitting and where the speakers should go. There are some good starting points that help. The 38% rule front to back. do not sit to close to the front but inside the half way mark maybe 8.5-9.5' from the front.

Being long I would think toward the front would be best considering the sloping ceiling in the rear. I would not want to be near that. There will be a big build up of bass under that. And rear wall absorbstion is going to be a must have.

If you have to have a booth I would put it in the back under the sloped wall. Is this in a theatre? A mezaneen is the lowwest balcony of a theatre. Or are you jsut refering to the sloped wall?  

Why do you need to isolate the room, unless sound transmission is going to affect neighbors adversely?

Brick and concrete walls transmit less energy than drywall and will require thicker absorbstion than a drywalled room.
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jetbase

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Re: How should I approach a mezzanine level studio?
« Reply #3 on: August 24, 2008, 10:55:31 PM »

Hi Brett, thanks for the advice. It's more like 13.5' x 27.5'. Height is 12' at the front part of the room but drops to just over 6' at the rear wall. I have already considered the things you mention & have come to similar conclusions as you in regards to how to approach the general layout of the studio. In fact, it will not be disimilar to the approach I used in my current studio.

What I am a little stumped on is how to control noise transmission through the floor. The building it's in, whilst owned by a church, could effectively be considered a community centre, so they may be a few different activities going on in the building at the same time, e.g. meetings, childrens playgroups, cafe, etc, hence the need for isolation.

Mezzanine here usually refers to a first floor which only partially covers the floorspace of the ground floor, which is the case for this particular room.
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johnR

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Re: How should I approach a mezzanine level studio?
« Reply #4 on: August 25, 2008, 06:27:31 AM »

And "first floor" in Australia and UK is the same as second floor in USA.
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brett

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Re: How should I approach a mezzanine level studio?
« Reply #5 on: August 26, 2008, 11:55:32 PM »

johnR wrote on Mon, 25 August 2008 11:27

And "first floor" in Australia and UK is the same as second floor in USA.


so level zero is ground.... to keep sound in the room, it needs to be air tight. sealing the floor and using mass loaded vinyl might help. but bulding a room within the room is the only quiet solution. sealing it will cut a lot of transmision of the upper mids to highs. it might turn a loud roar into a low freq rumble.

you can seal the floor then lay rbber screeds and a layer of sand, then 2x4 joists, plywood, seal it, etc. seal all the wall joints and openings as well...light sockets light fixtures etc.

adding mass, sealing air tight, and having an air gap between layers should be things acheive this. but if you do the floor and not the walls it may leak around anyway depending on the design and materials used.
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