Moving recording spaces from downstairs to upstairs with trepidation.......

[bottlenecker]

That's one of the more unique muses I've come across, but I support it. I recommend either getting yourself a webcam to focus on the light, or actually getting a surplus stoplight (or novelty equivalent) to put in the basement with you. I don't know if you've named your practice, but I recommend "Stoplight Studios."

Also, I remembered this. I wish all of our homes could be this cool:


And then the accompanying film with more of the house in it:


I would kill to stand in that space and just listen to it. I love spaces.

The view around the light also puts two music venues in view, traffic shenanigans, an ugly new building, and neighbors' fire escapes. It's a good spot. But I think I'd rather have a real window with a view of a gopher hole than another screen. I've thought about building a periscope window with mirrors.

 

[bottlenecker]

That's one of the more unique muses I've come across, but I support it. I recommend either getting yourself a webcam to focus on the light, or actually getting a surplus stoplight (or novelty equivalent) to put in the basement with you. I don't know if you've named your practice, but I recommend "Stoplight Studios."

Also, I remembered this. I wish all of our homes could be this cool:


And then the accompanying film with more of the house in it:


I would kill to stand in that space and just listen to it. I love spaces.

Cool videos! Thanks for posting them.

 

[FortyEight]

I'm in the middle of moving my studio from Los Angeles, CA to Buckinghamshire, UK.

Nothing to do with Radon in my case.

The big deal (aside from getting studio construction finished on schedule) will be having to learn where all the new sweet spots are In the room for mic/amp/singer/drum placement.

Exciting times!

Wow, that's quite a move!!!! Are you taking a c-130 with all your stuff or a slow boat or what? Seems daunting. God be with you and good luck.

But yeah, that's my concern about moving upstairs. Like how long will it take me figure it out. lol. last two songs are shaping up to have the best sounds yet for me, i think. and then i gotta relearn the upstairs sounds. i guess i should welcome the challenge but i'm not very confident i will learn quick. hehehe.

 

[matman14]

Wow, that's quite a move!!!! Are you taking a c-130 with all your stuff or a slow boat or what? Seems daunting. God be with you and good luck.

But yeah, that's my concern about moving upstairs. Like how long will it take me figure it out. lol. last two songs are shaping up to have the best sounds yet for me, i think. and then i gotta relearn the upstairs sounds. i guess i should welcome the challenge but i'm not very confident i will learn quick. hehehe.

I sold anything that can't easily be switched to run at UK voltages, and anything I couldn't see myself using much anymore. The rest is boxed and crated ready to be shipped via ocean freight.

I'm downsizing the studio to be mainly for vocals and spoken word (like audio books and voiceover), as well as a maybe a few one instrument at a time recordings. No more full bands on the floor.
I'll only be a 30 minute tube ride fom central London and big studios for my more involved and complex production jobs.

Started purpose building a new studio on my property in the UK back in August. It's a lot of moving pieces. Getting the tenants out of the UK house, remodeling the house for us to move into, having the new studio built, getting out of my leases and contracts in L.A., selling the US house, getting the permits for businesses and for my wife to be able to work in the UK, etc, etc, etc.

We're targeting end of Feb to be in the UK house and getting started, but weather and supply chain issues have put things behind so we may end up having to rent a house for a few weeks while the construction finishes up.

 

[chulaivet1966]

Started purpose building a new studio on my property in the UK back in August. It's a lot of moving pieces. Getting the tenants out of the UK house, remodeling the house for us to move into, having the new studio built, getting out of my leases and contracts in L.A., selling the US house, getting the permits for businesses and for my wife to be able to work in the UK, etc, etc, etc.

Howdy matman....

Wow....that's a lot of logistical chaos to get behind you.
I'd guess about (3) weeks by boat freight. (?)
I hope all goes well with the move and getting the family settled.

Carry on....

 

[matman14]

Howdy matman....

Wow....that's a lot of logistical chaos to get behind you.
I'd guess about (3) weeks by boat freight. (?)
I hope all goes well with the move and getting the family settled.

Carry on....

Yes that's about right plus then customs clearance/any inspections plus delivery and unloading

Then, once the studio build is done, there's gear installation and the running hundreds of meters of cables and snakes to connect everything and testing all of that, and stting up the room treatments before recording anything

my first few projects are going to be producing bands in other studios.

 

[String Tree]

I'm not sure if there is a question here but, I'm kind of curious if anybody has any feedback that could be helpful. At some point in 2021 I started cleaning and organizing our neglected basement (still need to keep at that) to get rid of junk and also make a spot for recording. i love that room. But, in Racine Wisconsin we have this gas in the ground called radon. which i guess is basically like radiation. or something. and when we moved in 15 years ago or whatever (yeah it was 15), we knew we had it from testing. at levels that arent ideal. So we had a mitigation system put in, which is basically an air pump that pumps the air out of underneath the concrete basement slab. Well that motor went out about a year ago and i gotta get it fixed. among other things around the house.

ANYWAYS. That was just explaining of part of my motivation to move things. It's not the only reason. I like the basement cuz its like a space i have total control over. a man cave type thing. my wife never goes in there. and no one can make a mess or clean but me. However, it is a bit like, i spend a lot of time mixing in there and u kinda get like gollum or something. like, wheres the sun? u emerge and your eyes are like oh no the sun!!!! anyways......

I moved part of my drum kit up today to hear how it sounds. i love the feel of playing the kit in the sun but OH MY GOODNESS it sounds different. I mean i knew it would. and when i started recording in 2020 I did start upstairs. But Ive been using a desktop parked downstairs for a while after my laptop was choking from recording. I feel like I've learned a bunch about sounds down there and now I might have to relearn what works up here. especially for drums. but the flipside is that i like getting different sounds and it will be interesting.

Maybe I will do a song or two and be like , no way. I will just take my chances with radon and continue to miss the sun. or maybe i will be pleased. but playing the kit in here, wow. its like culture shock. the ceilings are higher. but theres less stuff on the walls. but then there are two couches up here. I feel like its a warmer but fuller sound upstairs. but brighter and maybe a bit thinner downstairs. Im sort of like yowza, im not sure how this is gonna go. i have enough headphone chord that i can record in my living room, my little dining room that will be basically the control room and my kitchen. the sound is more dead in my basement when i say "check" real loud or clap. but the living room is almost as dead. im assuming cuz the ceilings are so much higher. the control room is a bit more reverberant than living room and the kitchen is as much as a bathroom. Meaning much more reverb of course. but sometimes when im practicing guitar and singing in the kitchen, i love how it sounds.

So that's my story for today......... If u got any advice or tips. ranging from "good luck youre gonna need it" to "oooo this could be good" or any tech tips, im all ears.

Pics of the basement room then the upstairs....

Best of Luck with the "New" Room for Recording.

 

[chulaivet1966]

Yes that's about right plus then customs clearance/any inspections plus delivery and unloading

Then, once the studio build is done, there's gear installation and the running hundreds of meters of cables and snakes to connect everything and testing all of that, and stting up the room treatments before recording anything

my first few projects are going to be producing bands in other studios.

Yeah....getting what you need done can't happen quick enough.
You're starting over and that is a true time vampire considering what's on your plate.

That option (Bold) should, hopefully, reduce some stress and not force you to rush through the rebuild process.

Look forward to some pics of the newly designed studio digs.
My setup (avatar pic) is much more manageable now since I sold the bulk of my analog gear over a decade ago.
Which included to R/R decks....a Teac 3440S and the Fostex Model 80.
I had 24 R/R tapes of completed original songs that took me many weekends to get them archived into the digital realm.....it was hell.
I employed some Cuervo to assist in my quest to get it done.

Back to it....

 

[Leonardocoate]

I'm not sure if there is a question here but, I'm kind of curious if anybody has any feedback that could be helpful. At some point in 2021 I started cleaning and organizing our neglected basement (still need to keep at that) to get rid of junk and also make a spot for recording. i love that room. But, in Racine Wisconsin we have this gas in the ground called radon. which i guess is basically like radiation. or something. and when we moved in 15 years ago or whatever (yeah it was 15), we knew we had it from testing. at levels that arent ideal. So we had a mitigation system put in, which is basically an air pump that pumps the air out of underneath the concrete basement slab. Well that motor went out about a year ago and i gotta get it fixed. among other things around the house.

ANYWAYS. That was just explaining of part of my motivation to move things. It's not the only reason. I like the basement cuz its like a space i have total control over. a man cave type thing. my wife never goes in there. and no one can make a mess or clean but me. However, it is a bit like, i spend a lot of time mixing in there and u kinda get like gollum or something. like, wheres the sun? u emerge and your eyes are like oh no the sun!!!! anyways......

I moved part of my drum kit up today to hear how it sounds. i love the feel of playing the kit in the sun but OH MY GOODNESS it sounds different. I mean i knew it would. and when i started recording in 2020 I did start upstairs. But Ive been using a desktop parked downstairs for a while after my laptop was choking from recording. I feel like I've learned a bunch about sounds down there and now I might have to relearn what works up here. especially for drums. but the flipside is that i like getting different sounds and it will be interesting.

Maybe I will do a song or two and be like , no way. I will just take my chances with radon and continue to miss the sun. or maybe i will be pleased. but playing the kit in here, wow. its like culture shock. the ceilings are higher. but theres less stuff on the walls. but then there are two couches up here. I feel like its a warmer but fuller sound upstairs. but brighter and maybe a bit thinner downstairs. Im sort of like yowza, im not sure how this is gonna go. i have enough headphone chord that i can record in my living room, my little dining room that will be basically the control room and my kitchen. the sound is more dead in my basement when i say "check" real loud or clap. but the living room is almost as dead. im assuming cuz the ceilings are so much higher. the control room is a bit more reverberant than living room and the kitchen is as much as a bathroom. Meaning much more reverb of course. but sometimes when im practicing guitar and singing in the kitchen, i love how it sounds.

So that's my story for today......... If u got any advice or tips. ranging from "good luck youre gonna need it" to "oooo this could be good" or any tech tips, im all ears.

Pics of the basement room then the upstairs....

My main studio/man cave/engine room is in the basement and I am very comfortable there. To mix it up I use portable devices and go to other parts of the house or outside. It makes me play different for some unexplainable reason. The spin cycle on my washing machine has an interesting rhythm pattern. My top floor has no echo or reverb and is probably the best for using a mic because of no external noise. My advice is to try sampling in other areas before moving. I can't answer to the radon situation except that if it is as bad as they say it is then a little exhaust fan isn't gonna do much. You could also go to your doc and get a complete workup and see if there is any evidence of radon poisoning.

 

[FortyEight]

im up and running. still got some odds and ends to get up here. but did my first drum test today. gonna do the next song all in this room then try the bigger living room next. i was skeptical about doing drums in there but they sound comparable to the basement. possibly a bit warmer.

 

[FortyEight]

oooops forgot the pic. lol.

 

[Ben Harmless]

I'm glad all this hasn't stopped you. Those rooms look (yeah yeah, don't hear with your eyes...) totally workable to me.

It also occurs to me that you could still make use of the space in your basement if you wanted - stick some amps down there and mic 'em up. Get one of those ethernet-to-XLR thingies and run a line down there through some existing hole. I'm sure just setting that stuff up a making some adjustments once in awhile won't kill you. I mean, heck, if you're within normal limits, you can hold your breath long enough to get down there to switch on an amp. I you use a stack configuration and run a speaker cable down, you don't even have to go down there to turn the thing on. If you really like the sound of the room, you could set up a chamber echo/verb situation down there with a speaker and a mic or two. I've seen that work in some weird spaces.

You could even market your music that way. "This recording contains potentially toxic reverb and guitar tones - listen at your own risk." I mean, it's not like there's no precedent for toxins influencing music recordings...

 

[chulaivet1966]

oooops forgot the pic. lol.

Howdy 48....
Great, you've made some good progress.

Looks like it would be a somewhat 'live' sounding recording area?
Does that curtain on the RIGHT wall diffuse the sound enough for your tracking desires?
Subjectively speaking, I don't like recording in a very live room.

Back to it....

 

[FortyEight]

well, the thing is, my goal is to introduce a bit more ambiance. naturally i know the typically suggested way is make it dead and add reverb delay. but about 4 months ago i starter to try and add more room sound in for ambiance. using a distant mic more. and what not.

strangely enough the basement is pretty dead. when i clap and belt out its barely there. i guess t shirts on part of the ceiling and all the bookcases i put up worked. but im wanting more ambiance. the trick is how much. cuz when i listen to certain stuff i think is a good recording, i hear it many times it seems subtle. but then when i concentrate on it im like oh yeah, it sounds big in there. likely there is some stuff being produced in studios with big rooms and great big sounds. everyone actually sounds smaller but very good. like its a bigger sound but the source seems smaller than my, in your face no reverb small studio "lo-fi" recordings, with not much plugin use. the trick to me is telling myself: u know, its never gonna sound like a big ole live room. and i either try to emulate it or i do my own thing. or something in between. im trying to do the something in between by adding a bit more room with a bit more subtle delay and reverb. so hit it from both sides with the emphasis on subtle with the plug ins cuz i just dont love that sound of a lot of it digitally. well not when i do it.

but my personal goal is for it to sound natural. embrace the space. not try and be abbey road or where ever red hot chilli peppers recorded "can't stop". (for some reason i listen to that one a lot). some stuff i listen to that i like is definitely manufactured ambiance.

dua lipa sounds very digital. but i love her stuff. i listen to a lot of pop music. and i can tell a lot is digital ambiance. but they ALL have much smarter engineers than me. with likely a knowledge and catalog of stuff. my thing when things get complicated is always KISS. So if i can make a few things work how i want it to sound, to me its better than trying to buy a bunch of reverb plug ins to find the one that sounds best to me. plus my budget is like nil for this stuff.

 

[FortyEight]

i realized i didnt really answer your direct question. the basement was a bit deader. but im hoping it plays into what im trying to do. when i play drums my ears say they sound better up here. in my LR and that little office control room. but its a "fuller" sound. more highs and lows. i dont know if thatll be a good thing or not. or even that my ears are correct. lol.

 

[woodman]

I like the basement cuz its like a space i have total control over.

Man, right there is where it's at. As long as you got that, you got the space to swing the hammer!

 

[FortyEight]

well i have it with the new space too. but it smaller and might require a bit more figuring out as to when to track. we will see if thats a problem. i can always go back.

 

[Ben Harmless]

So if i can make a few things work how i want it to sound, to me its better than trying to buy a bunch of reverb plug ins to find the one that sounds best to me. plus my budget is like nil for this stuff.

Not to sound fixated on your basement-of-possible-death, the near-nil budget may still suggest possible use of something like a hose-type reverb-ey thing. Still real, physical stuff in a real space, but using it differently.

I realize that part of my being entertained by your transition is that I'm about to do a pretty massive move into a new rehearsal space in a building that's going to be managed by my co-guitarist, and I'm hoping to do some interesting things in the spaces there - including recording. Carry on!

 

[FortyEight]

well im part way through tracking a new song. vocals, acoustic guitar, and drums in. and im pleasantly surprised and hopeful. but the downside is the differences seem subtle so far. apparent to me but im not sure how much they will be in the end result. it feels like bigger changes come with what way im micing something and what mics possibly.

the one thing ive been really focused on last few songs is how much ambiance is necessary? how much of it is what were used to hearing in hit songs and think everything else has to sound like that? can smaller room, more intimate recordings be legitimate? what exactly is lo-fi and are there popular songs that sound compelling that are?

i listened to this buddy holly song the other night and i thought, i freaking love how it sounded. but it sounded like it was done low key, likely one mic in a room. the drummer wasnt playing a kit but some kind of percussion. buddy was playing his strat and u could hear it great but it sounds like a radio interview recording. hang on i will see if i can find it.....

 

[FortyEight]

this one:

like u can hear some room cuz it sounds like a very simple mic set up. but its also not a studio highly produced (not sure if thats the right word) sound.

i think my point is i like how it sounds. and i think im drawn to that sound. but it is starkly contrasted to like "when the levee breaks" or countless other highly polished hit songs and the type of ambiance used, that im not sure it would ever compete in a popular sense.