# Spitfire presents - - How to build a recording studio!



## Synesthesia (May 31, 2013)

Hi everyone, 

We thought it would be fun to show the process of building a studio from scratch.

http://www.spitfireaudio.com/category/blog

We'll post back here every time we update, but here are the first few videos.

WEEKS 1 & 2 video



Hope some find it interesting to follow!

The hard work is all being done by Munro

All the best,

Paul


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## germancomponist (May 31, 2013)

What a good idea, Paul, to show this via videos!


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## Synesthesia (May 31, 2013)

On to week 3!

http://www.spitfireaudio.com/category/blog


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## Synesthesia (May 31, 2013)

And week 4 brings us up to date.

http://www.spitfireaudio.com/category/blog

More fun coming in about a weeks time!

Paul :D


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## RobertPeetersPiano (May 31, 2013)

a room within a room :o

Very nice!

But I don't really get why you are floating your studio, and why you use sand, an not just some kind of isolating material


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## Greg (May 31, 2013)

Wooo! I can't wait to see your fully functional composer workstation.


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## Synesthesia (May 31, 2013)

Thanks guys! Robert -- have a look at the blog section of our website - Chris from Munro talks about the sand thing.
:D


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## david robinson (May 31, 2013)

excellent. j.


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## Tanuj Tiku (Jun 2, 2013)

Is Andy Munro doing the room? Wow! Sitting in one right now. Perhaps one of his best in India.

He has been doing lots and lots of studios in India, specially Mumbai. Great stuff.

But I am also inclined very much to be in a non-Environment room one day.....!


Best,

Tanuj.


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## wst3 (Jun 2, 2013)

just in case the blog wasn't quite detailed enough... sand is almost the ideal medium for acoustical isolation. The ideal medium would be a limp mass, but since we haven't figured out how to build a limp mass that is also rigid enough to build walls<G>, we use sand. As Chris from Munro explains, sand creates a very high impedance to the transfer of energy. The little grains are remarkably inefficient, which is exactly the property you want. It still offers some transmission at very low frequencies, but the cut off where it starts to allow energy transfer is a couple octaves below other methods.

Sand filled block walls used to be a very common construction technique. These days a two-leaf construction featuring either "Z-channel" or metal studs has become quite popular because it is easier, cheaper, and comes close, except for very low frequencies, to the performance of sand filled block.

One thing I'd like to know is which 'philosophy' they will be applying to the control room space. As library developers I'd think non-environment would be quite cool, but if you are doing other work (film post, album projects, etc) I'm not so sold. Also, are you installing custom monitors, and if so will they also be Munro designed?

Can't wait to see the continuing progress of this space!!!!


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## Rob Elliott (Jun 2, 2013)

Wonderful and thanks for sharing.


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## Walid F. (Jun 2, 2013)

this is fantastic.


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## Ryan (Jun 3, 2013)

hmm. One day...


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## Mike Marino (Jun 3, 2013)

Really cool!


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## Synesthesia (Jun 7, 2013)

Week 5!

http://www.spitfireaudio.com/category/blog


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## Synesthesia (Jun 7, 2013)

Week 6!

http://www.spitfireaudio.com/category/blog


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## dfhagai (Jun 9, 2013)

This looks amazing, I envy you.........
o-[][]-o


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## Synesthesia (Jun 13, 2013)

Week 7!

http://www.spitfireaudio.com/category/blog


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## Synesthesia (Jun 28, 2013)

Week 8!

http://www.spitfireaudio.com/category/blog


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## Synesthesia (Jun 28, 2013)

Week 9!

http://www.spitfireaudio.com/category/blog


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## Mike Marino (Jun 28, 2013)

This has been fun to follow. Thanks for taking the time to do this, Paul.


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## Synesthesia (Jun 28, 2013)

You are welcome Mike!

I have to say - I'm doing the easy bit, Christian is doing all the filming and editing!

Cheers!
:D
Paul


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## jamwerks (Jun 28, 2013)

You caught the mistake in the wiring going to the beer fridge. Now THAT is attention to detail !!


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## Synesthesia (Jul 9, 2013)

Week 10!

http://www.spitfireaudio.com/category/blog


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## stevetwist (Jul 12, 2013)

Just wanted to pop into this thread and say "Thanks" for posting this! :D 

I can only ever dream of such acoustic-centric engineering in my home studio, but it's fantastic to see how those with the resources approach building their workspace.

Very enlightening.

All the best,
Steve


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## IgnasiVelasco (Jul 12, 2013)

I've been following this series since week 1, but I've got a question about the studio.

How are you going to keep a good temperature there? in my studio it tends to be quite hot due to hardware heating and so on... and it's very easy to turn on air conditioning but it can be noisy.

Maybe the weather in the UK is enough to cool down the room ? :D


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## Tanuj Tiku (Jul 14, 2013)

I am sure Paul and Christian will respond to that question but the machine room is where all the computers and heat generating or noisy stuff goes. That is sealed and cooled the whole time at a constant cool temperature. 

HVAC is an important part of the design. The AC ducting is done inside the walls and its all sealed and sound proof. 

There are companies that specialize in this. The duct itself is sound proofed. 

There is also a vent for ventilation in the room - it pulls fresh air from outside and pumps into the room - this is very important. And all of this is a very subtle art depending on room size and the air flow is adjusted according the specific studio needs. 

Because sound proof materials are also good at insulation, the air conditioning runs on relatively low fan speed and makes little noise - the units are in dedicated areas where there is a provision in the building. 

This depends on the local laws and the building design. You will generally pull the copper pipe ducts etc into the studio from a different (but close) part of the building into the studio. 

The machine room usually has a separate A/C which is smaller in capacity and cools all the computers and drives nicely. 

The ventilation also controls humidity in the studio because otherwise the studios become stuffy and you get tired very easily. 

Most semi-pro studios put only an ac and forget about fresh air through a dedicated unit but in a studio like this - they are doing everything correctly. 

Andy Munro has a lot of experience and has built hundreds of studios around the world. 

They are used to designing studios in a variety of conditions upto 95% humidity and very cold places like Russia. 

Its all well though out and these are some of the best guys in the business.


Tanuj.


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## Tanuj Tiku (Jul 14, 2013)

Apart from all this the design itself is very interesting. 

I believe Munro uses what is called a LEDE design primarily. I could be wrong.

In any case, part of this design means one end of the studio is Live (excited) and the other dead (more sound proofing in a way) and its the balance between the two that gives a natural sound to the room. 

Of course, its much more than that.

One of the other interesting method is one used by Philip Newell. He uses a Non-Environment approach where in the room is as tight as possible to work where nothing is excited except I believe the front wall is made of heavy or slate stone. 

But the entire back wall is a huge trap in a way.

The front wall and the floor is reflective but because everything else is almost dead, it means that a spoken word or walking around will sound natural but anything coming from the speakers will be extremely tight and precise.

A lot of people do not like such rooms and there are rumors that it sounds too uncomfortable. 

Of course, if done correctly as Philip does, it sounds quite good I am told by some trusted people and the genius of the design is that except anything coming from the speakers, everything does seem normal and its not in fact uncomfortable to work in.

LEDE is a nice approach as well. I have worked in about 4 Andy Munro rooms in Mumbai and they all sound good. 

The best one is for composers Salim-Sulaiman I feel. They really did a great job over there and the room sounds fantastic!

Thanks Spitfire for posting this - its always so amazing to see proper studios being built - love it!


Tanuj.


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## andy_i (Jul 17, 2013)

Great Thread! Wishing you all the best with the new facility. It looks super.


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## wst3 (Jul 17, 2013)

a couple minor corrections...

LEDE(tm), RFZ(tm), and several similar designs work to control when reflected energy reaches the ear. They do this with absorption, reflection, diffusion, and geometry - each approach focusing more on one aspect than the other. But the goals are similar, and try to take advantage of some things we know about human perception.

Dave Moulton and Philip Newell take a very different approach - usually referred to as non-environment. Instead of worrying about specific reflections they aim for a pleasing environment that behaves more like a "typical" listening environment.

The most common complaints about LEDE(tm) and RFZ(tm) is that the rooms sound funny when you are just sitting there chatting. They sound great when you are listening to the monitors, but since they do not represent a typical listening environment they can lead to problems with translation... until you learn how to use them, and then they are very repeatable.

Here's the kicker - a properly designed critical listening environment works regardless of the design approach.

There are proponents of each design philosophy, and they can be as rabid as, well, let's not go there<G>! But, it really depends on how you want to work, and anyone with some listening skills and an open mind can mix in any well designed room.

Personally - and this is just one person's opinion - I like LEDE(tm) not because I think it sounds better than any of the other approaches but because:
1) it takes up less total space - you still need about 12 feet behind the listener, but you do not need any specific distance in front or to the side, and you don't need to use a lot of space behind the walls or above the ceiling for traps.
2) it is far easier to design - the methodology is well understood and well documented. It still requires talent and experience, but of the bunch I find it the easiet to understand.
3) it is (generally) less expensive, and easier to implement. Construction is still critical, but there aren't a lot of requirements for exotic geometry.
4) there exist some very rigorous guidelines that can be measured, and that makes fixing problems so much easier.


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## Tanuj Tiku (Jul 17, 2013)

Bill,


Thanks for jumping in providing more accurate information 




> Here's the kicker - a properly designed critical listening environment works regardless of the design approach.



Completely agree!

I have been in several LEDE rooms but I have never experienced a non-Environment room. Philip was going to design one for me but the space in question is not ready because it ran into some paperwork trouble with the local government a couple of years back. 

I read several papers, his book, AES articles and documented well the whole process including the speakers that he uses (Reflexion arts built to very high standards). The design it self is amazing with JBL LF and TAD-2001 HF drivers. They also make it to order with Neva Audio amps made in Russia to high quality. It is every bit worth the money because they do not spend on marketing or anything else. Even the back of the speakers are not painted because they will be flush mounted. I had a chat with Sergio in spain who owns Reflexion Arts and he was very nice and explained everything really nicely. 


Philip Newell is a genius and it was a pleasure meeting him in Brighton last year. Such a great guy and very humble. After reading up a lot on it and given the kind of precise control I like in audio, I thought it will be best to go for such a room. You are right, it does have complex requirements and my room will not be a world class studio because of height restrictions and general space availability in a city like Mumbai (much like New York in its real estate prices). Also the building floor strength is reduced because it is in a multi-story building and not on a ground floor. The weight of the floor has to be within limits of course.

Philip did pass on a long list of material to be used down to how many nails I will need including advice on workers and how to care for them and how to avoid common mistakes.

Things are looking up again for my studio space and it may be available to begin construction in a couple of months. But with my local government it is never a surety! 




Tanuj.


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## wst3 (Jul 17, 2013)

vibrato @ Wed Jul 17 said:


> Philip Newell is a genius and it was a pleasure meeting him in Brighton last year. Such a great guy and very humble.



He is quite the guy - in the tradition of many of the giants on whose shoulders he stands. People like Phil Giddings, Neil Muncy, Richard Heyser and Michael Rettinger who shared their hard won knowledge and experience freely, and happily. But I digress...



vibrato said:


> After reading up a lot on it and given the kind of precise control I like in audio, I thought it will be best to go for such a room. You are right, it does have complex requirements and my room will not be a world class studio because of height restrictions and general space availability in a city like Mumbai (much like New York in its real estate prices).



Ceiling height is your friend, but it is hardly a requirement for a good sounding critical listening space, and you can even argue that it isn't a requirement for a great recording space, but I think I'd at least try to argue that one<G>!

Ceiling height is critical for RFZ(tm) designs, and is a factor for Non-Environment designs, but probably not as big as you imagine. 

A lot of people seem to forget that there are a LOT of studios crammed into shoe-boxes all over Europe, where space was often at a premium, and even if you had the space you likely had walls that were made of stone many hundred years ago<G>!

One of the best sounding control rooms I ever worked in had a 7'-6" ceiling, and it was tiny, three people was getting cramped, and yet the designer made it work. Projects tracked and mixed there translated beautifully to the outside world. The owner even did a lot of voice-over work, and while he preferred to work in the studio, he got a great sound sitting at the board.

So don't let space - or a lack thereof, scare you away!



vibrato said:


> Also the building floor strength is reduced because it is in a multi-story building and not on a ground floor. The weight of the floor has to be within limits of course.



Yup - always a consideration... it would truly stink to have your studio fall through to the floor below. This is more a function of the isolation you require than the acoustical behavior of the space.

So many trade-offs... so little time and money<G>!


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## Tanuj Tiku (Jul 17, 2013)

Bill, 

I never wanted a space to record initially. It thought, I best leave that to a professional engineer and a studio which had really good gear for recording purposes.

But, I do need a second space for a guest producer(s) sometimes on movie projects. 

My space is roughly 540 square feet including everything. So, it may be a bit tight.

In the end, I thought well it does not hurt to have a small recording room where a guest producer can also station when we are not recording. I can always call an engineer in to help me record something critical. 


Philip also said that I could record inside the control room itself sometimes because the rear wall is a huge trap and it is indeed possible to record there. 

The isolation needs are not too high but it needs to be controlled very well. I will be in a commercial building with offices next door, above and below.

I am not going to record a drum kit so that kind of isolation may not be needed but I believe it was still a floating design at the time. I havn't gone back and may be a bit rusty on the whole thing. I think all of his designs are floated. I will not be able to use heavy stone for the front wall and it will most likely be slate stone. It does look nice 

As soon as my space gets available, time to dig in to those details and call Mr. Newell!


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## Synesthesia (Jul 17, 2013)

Week 11!

http://www.spitfireaudio.com/category/blog


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## Synesthesia (Aug 5, 2013)

Weeks 12 & 13!

http://www.spitfireaudio.com/category/blog


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