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Posts: 3618
Location: GATLINBURG TENNESSEE :) | Well after seeing some previous posts about some of you guys making or redesigning your "music rooms", I have finally taken the plunge into mine as a winter project. I am hoping to come through this and retain all my fingers in the process. I'll post pictures as soon as I finish it. The before and during pictures would be kinda' ugly, so I won't bore you with them. My wife is going to be a happy camper when I can finally get all my "stuff" into one location. The down side is that the gig will be up on all the equipment I've been accumulating since I moved here and joined the OFC. |
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October 2007
Posts: 2711
Location: Vernon CT | What I would give for a "Dedicated music room"
Good luck and enjoy!! |
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December 2006
Posts: 6268
Location: Florida Central Gulf Coast | Originally posted by bvince:
The down side is that the gig will be up on all the equipment I've been accumulating since I moved here and joined the OFC. Psssst... Vince... deep closets with false backs! :D |
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Posts: 5575
Location: big island | i'm confused, vince. so, you're going to build a room to store all the things you have to sell in order to build the room? |
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Posts: 12750
Location: Boise, Idaho | Put a lock on the door and don't ever let a cat in there, especially if you have cases laying around open. |
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June 2006
Posts: 7307
Location: South of most, North of few | Amen to that! Cats love guitar cases. My "room" is so packed full of stuff between the computer, drums, and guitars, that I would have a hard time re-arranging it. |
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Posts: 12750
Location: Boise, Idaho | I'm thinking about moving upstairs to a bedroom above the garage. It has its own walk in closet, but the basement has exercise equipment and a bathroom. |
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January 2009
Posts: 4535
Location: Flahdaw | Just for grins, go over to the Taylor guitar forum.....there are 3 pages of posts on this same subject and some pretty impressive pictures of music caves. |
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September 2005
Posts: 3618
Location: GATLINBURG TENNESSEE :) | I will check out that forum to check out other peoples ideas. While running electrical wire to a newly-made wall I discovered a few red squirrel nests in one wall. Last year I chased that thing all around the basement with a stick before killing it. Lanaki ... I haven't needed to sell anything yet to do this project. Just sacrificing a lot of time, but after all ... it's the middle of winter here and there's nothing else to do right now. |
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October 2005
Posts: 4028
Location: Utah | Originally posted by bvince:
it's the middle of winter here and there's nothing else to do right now. There's always ice fishing. ;) |
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January 2006
Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Don't forget some signs, banners and collectibles. A few lighted neon signs will give it the look of an old blues club. A lot more will make it look like the Vegas Strip. Good luck with your project, and please post some pics when you're finished. Of course, music rooms are rarely finished. They're living (and loving) works in progress. |
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September 2005
Posts: 3618
Location: GATLINBURG TENNESSEE :) | I'm actually looking at a more outdoor/rustic look, with the hangar wall made of board-on-board knotty white pine, alternating 12" and 10" boards. I have a good sawmill nearby. I'm still debating over what kind of seating to use, either guitar stools or some cozy armchairs. |
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January 2009
Posts: 4535
Location: Flahdaw | If you have the money, you should look toward sound absorbing wall panels, and avoid hard floors. If you will be playing amplified, you don't want unnecessary echo bouncing around the room. Concentrate on creating the perfect SOUND environment, then let the furnishings follow. |
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May 2008
Posts: 4996
Location: Phoenix AZ | Depends what you're going after. My old room was carpeted with a big stuffed couch and two of the walls were completely curtained and the othe rtwo were mostly soft tapestrys. It sounded like total shiite. Dead as tits on a 4th grader.
My new room is hard walled, one of them almost complete glass, and hard furnishings. Sounds way better. Still carpeted, but I'm thinking to pull that up and install wood floor.
By far the best sounded room is my guitar closet. Wood floor, hard walls covered with guitars that make it almost all wood and odd angles. Sounds amazing. I cut "neckties" that I can wrap around the guitars to shut the strings up and I just sit in there on a stool and play for hours. The sound is just amazing.
Like I said, depends what you're going after. I just think soundproofed walls and carpeted floor would not lead to a very good result for acoustic playing. |
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January 2009
Posts: 29
Location: Citizen of the Galaxy | Most people, myself included, if they want to sound better, are much better off investing in lessons and practice time, rather than expensive sound rooms. |
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January 2006
Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | bvince, are you looking for advice/information, or just sharing your project with us? When I built my bandroom, I knew I was going to have some interesting electrical requirements, so I ran 4 new circuits into the room, two for the amps and another two for the lights (easy to do since the electrical box was in the next room over). Since then, I've diverted one of the two amp circuits over to lights as well since I'm never overloading the circuit with multiple amps on at the same time. After electrical requirements were laid out, I soundproofed the entire room using the 1/2" sound insulation boards available from any of the warehouse building material distributors. This insulation keeps most of the sound from traveling through the walls and ceiling up to the first floor. On top of the insulation, I laid out sound absorption carpeting. I considered the foam sound wedges, but they were pricey in the quantity I needed. I also sought some advice from a sound studio engineer and he said to leave some hard surface, so I left the upper half of a wall of mirrors previously installed. The room initially was very dead sounding, almost too dead. However, as I began hanging more hard stuff on the walls (signs, guitars, etc.), some liveliness came back. Keeping the room's humidity at proper levels is also a must. Incidently, there is one other benefit of hanging all the guitars in the band room and amping your sound. As you play one guitar, the others will vibrate a little. If you place your ear next to the top of a hanging guitar, you'll hear it. As a result, the guitars on the walls are, to a slight extent, being played all the time which I understand is good for their upkeep. Please keep us posted on the progress of your project. |
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Posts: 4535
Location: Flahdaw | Okay, well maybe I'm wrong. I based my opinion on the fact that the best small performing arts halls, in this area at least, all use sound quieting technology to enhance the acoustics. The same is with the home theatre rooms being designed in the multi million dollar homes in this area. That's why they make those panels and insulation boards after all.
As far as the dead sound you get as a result, I suspect it's the "pure" sound you get from just a guitar. Amplified with effects, I would think you'd be able to create the fullness you desire, but as I said, maybe I'm wrong. |
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April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | I think a dead room is more important if you plan on using the space for recording.
If it's a play and have fun room then I would think you would want it to be more lively. |
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January 2006
Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Agreed, Stephen. My point was that the foam wedges are expensive and short of a small recording studio, relatively cost-prohibitive for use in a medium sized band room (mine is 252 sq. ft. with 90" high walls). Carpet serves as a much more cost-effective alternative. I was looking right at two grand for the foam whereas the carpet was something like $150. |
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September 2005
Posts: 3618
Location: GATLINBURG TENNESSEE :) | Well a lot of good ideas and insight as usual. I'm not planning on doing any serious recording, and the room is primarily an escape and have fun room. I have already started laying a raised subfloor and have thin commercial carpet ready to install once I finish the walls. I have finish insulating the walls with sound dampening insulation behind the drywall(to keep the wife happy upstairs when I crank it up). I just picked up my 12" and 10" pine boards for one wall. The outside wall has a window looking out into the woods, so I plan on installing a large woodland photo mural on the adjacent wall to balance it out and create the illusion of more space. That leaves one more interior wall behind me as I enter the room, which is currenly painted construction block. I haven't decided what to do there yet, but I'm sure all the many cases will end up there. Perhaps i'll build some kind of rack system for them and cover it with a curtain. I'm also looking at track lighting to highlight the guitar wall. |
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January 2009
Posts: 4535
Location: Flahdaw | I guess the flip side of my previous argument is that electronic reverbs, delays,and such were created to give the player the effect of their sound being bounced around a large concert hall. So maybe that's what people want. When I play through an amp I always add chorus and reverb/ delay, so what does that tell ya.
Still, I think my guitar always sounds best on my front porch or around a campfire .....certainly nothing "lively" about the woods, but it sure sounds sweet and pure. |
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May 2008
Posts: 4996
Location: Phoenix AZ | I should clarify what I posted previously ... yes by all means insulate the walls so as to deaden the room from the rest of the house so you don't get evicted. But keep the interior walls hard. Secondly, my comments were related to playing unamplified acoustic guitars. When A/C power is involved my knowledge (and opinions) fall off at a rapid rate. |
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April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Knowledge...maybe
Opinions....NEVER! |
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January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | As far as seating, make sure it's comfortable but armless and not too big. You want the room for guitars, not chairs. |
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September 2005
Posts: 3618
Location: GATLINBURG TENNESSEE :) | Padded barstools? (: |
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April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | I just bought one of these in black. Kinda expensive but serves a dual purpose very well! You can store all your cables, strings, tools, etc inside.
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March 2006
Posts: 1634
Location: Chehalis, Washington | Padded stools, or low-backed armless soft chairs work great. Think IKEA...I'm sure they have something random and odd like that.
Something with some back support is great, but you definitely don't want to try to play sitting back INTO an armchair. On the other hand, I've always loved vintage bar stools and kind of an 'eclectic' look.
Having just moved, and with much of the house utilized for children's amusement/containment, my immediate plans for a guitar room are out the window. We at least have a multi-purpose media room with the big-screen tv that serves as my retreat or practice area. The cool part is that it's a longer, narrow room (about 24' x 10') and the upper half of the walls on the long sides slope in towards the center (following the roof peak). The acoustics are pretty cool, and the room is on the other side of the bathroom and over the garage, so it's pretty sound-proof already. |
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January 2006
Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Stephen, where did you find that? |
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March 2005
Posts: 2791
Location: Atlanta, GA. | Brad,
Musician\'s Friend carries them. |
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January 2006
Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Thanks. This is the kind of stuff I just can't seem to live without. |
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April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Brad, I got mine from Guitars, Etc in Longmont.
Since the price was the same (as all the online estores) I decided to support my local store. If you have never been there it is worth the drive. |
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August 2002
Posts: 8307
Location: Tennessee | Those Fender boxes look like it's got one of those cushions people with hemmoroids buy to sit on. :rolleyes: Funny they should call it a Hot Seat ... but I guess using the word stool was out.
I've been putting my guitar loft together for a while now. Lucky in that I have a space 16x26 to play with. I have picked up a variety of different stools and seating. Different heights (24" vs. 30") and styles when it comes to the stools and everyone can always find one they like ... and like Beal said, be careful with the chairs and don't let 'em take over the room, but if you've got the space, they can make for a nice little area for two or three people to kick back and jam in comfort. I stay on the lookout for seating and sometimes find the most interesting things in unusual places. Also, don't forget to use a cajon as one of your seats!
I do some recording, but haven't tried to make the room into a studio per se. One thing I did on a lark but it really helped dampen the sound (and induced a flashback!) was to pick up an Indian (east) cotton bedspread (Ikea or Pier 1 maybe?) and staple gun it with a bit of patterning to the ceiling above the spot where I normally record. I also picked up up a Reflexion Filter that mounts to the mic stand instead of trying to treat the whole room.
But mostly my space is set up for just playing. And I keep changing things around in the loft as moods change and new things come in and other things go out. It's a toy store, a lounge, a party place, and a refuge all in one. |
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April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Originally posted by stonebobbo:
It's a toy store, a lounge, a party place, and a refuge all in one. My kinda place! :cool: |
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Music Room