Help me plan a (basic) home studio?

[QuestionAsker]

My workspace up until now has been putting my laptop on my dresser drawer, an SM57 w/ boom arm, and a MCA SP1 condenser mic balanced within one of the dressers.

My aim is to set something up something cheap and basic, yet that can provide professional results.

I only really need to record voice, acoustic guitar, and plugged guitars (bass, electric guitar).

Looking for tips on how to best utilize my space to create professional recordings. Please let me know if you recommend a specific setup for my space, or specific gear.

My plan currently is to:

1. Build a desk, to go right next to the closet. There's about 73 inches (185cm) from the closet to the bed, so I was thinking of using most of that space for a desk (~70 inch desk).

2. Rig up some sort of vocal booth in the closet. Use hanging clothes as sound insulation, and perhaps put egg cartons on the walls all around the hanging clothes. Open to suggestions if there is a better solution.

3. Not sure what else to do in the room to ensure good results. Any suggestions?

Here are pics of the space:

1.jpg

3.jpg

An alternate setup with the bed on the other side:

4.jpg

5.jpg

6.jpg

Thank you in advance for any help / suggestions.

[FranklyFlawless]

My workspace up until now has been putting my laptop on my dresser drawer, an SM57 w/ boom arm, and a MCA SP1 condenser mic balanced within one of the dressers.

My aim is to set something up something cheap and basic, yet that can provide professional results.

I only really need to record voice, acoustic guitar, and plugged guitars (bass, electric guitar).

Looking for tips on how to best utilize my space to create professional recordings. Please let me know if you recommend a specific setup for my space, or specific gear.

My plan currently is to:

1. Build a desk, to go right next to the closet. There's about 73 inches (185cm) from the closet to the bed, so I was thinking of using most of that space for a desk (~70 inch desk).

2. Rig up some sort of vocal booth in the closet. Use hanging clothes as sound insulation, and perhaps put egg cartons on the walls all around the hanging clothes. Open to suggestions if there is a better solution.

3. Not sure what else to do in the room to ensure good results. Any suggestions?

Thank you in advance for any help / suggestions.

I know I would personally move the dressers into the closet, and use the reclaimed space to put the desk opposing the bed. Then you can actually have the bed against the headrest like every other bed.

I need photos of the other sides of the room and every corner. I cannot tell if it is a rectangle, or a trapezoid due to the perspective. After that, I can help plan out the space properly and provide detailed advice for equipment acquisition.

If you want a cheap vocal booth solution, get the sE Electronics Reflexion Filter X. This particular one in white is currently on sale for $69.99 USD. Want to go pro? Here is the pro version.

For a cheap desk, get the On-Stage WS7500 Workstation Desk. It is compact and uitilizes vertical space well, as it has multiple tiers. It comes in black or rosewood finish, and has accessories to scale up when necessary. Want something nicer? The RAB Audio ProRak LS840 Studio Workstation comes in black or almond trim, and has upgrades for a larger keyboard tray and deck for studio monitors whenever your projects demand them.

Feel free to DIY your own desk if the total cost and effort is cheaper. Just be specific on the dimensions if you like my suggestions so that they can be taken into account for future equipment.

[QuestionAsker]

I know I would personally move the dressers into the closet, and use the reclaimed space to put the desk opposing the bed. Then you can actually have the bed against the headrest like every other bed.

Thanks FF, I was thinking of making my desk 35" in depth, so if I put it in front of the bed (to keep the bed in the same position) it would only have about 18" of room between the desk and bed, not enough to fit a chair in. That would be the ideal location though.

With the way I was thinking, I'll still have about half of the bed that can use the headrest, enough for me.

I need photos of the other sides of the room and every corner. I cannot tell if it is a rectangle, or a trapezoid due to the perspective. After that, I can help plan out the space properly and provide detailed advice for equipment acquisition.

I don't have measuring tape to give exact dimensions, however the room looks almost square to me. About 12' x 13' I would say.

Here are some more pictures to give a better idea:

https://imgur.com/a/AChR8jo
https://imgur.com/a/QSvuQPg
https://imgur.com/a/j1XRUlv

If you want a cheap vocal booth solution, get the sE Electronics Reflexion Filter X. This particular one in white is currently on sale for $69.99 USD. Want to go pro? Here is the pro version.

Would the $30 version of that item work as well? Or one of those Isolation Balls? Here are 2 products I was looking at in the $30 range, not sure if they'd work as well though:

Monoprice Isolation Shield

Pop Filter Isolation Ball

For a cheap desk, get the On-Stage WS7500 Workstation Desk. It is compact and uitilizes vertical space well, as it has multiple tiers. It comes in black or rosewood finish, and has accessories to scale up when necessary. Want something nicer? The RAB Audio ProRak LS840 Studio Workstation comes in black or almond trim, and has upgrades for a larger keyboard tray and deck for studio monitors whenever your projects demand them.

Feel free to DIY your own desk if the total cost and effort is cheaper. Just be specific on the dimensions if you like my suggestions so that they can be taken into account for future equipment.

I was thinking of DIYing my own desk, I have a carpenter friend that would help me build one. Was thinking of making it 70" x 35" (I always dreamed of having a large, solid desk), and also 26" high (which is on the low side, but for ergonomics I hear lower desks are amazing for typing - and this will also be the desk I'll be working from, for my home office).

With that desk, I can put one of those desk shelves on it, to put things under, and monitors on, was thinking of building one to look like this one to go with the desk.

Then line the closet with a duvet, and use it as a vocal booth (with my back to the closet, and the mic isolation shield / isolation ball in front of me, with me facing the sliding glass doors).

What do you think? A decent potential setup? And I would mix with Sony 7506 headphones either way, as I don't have any studio monitors at the moment.

[FranklyFlawless]

I know I would personally move the dressers into the closet, and use the reclaimed space to put the desk opposing the bed. Then you can actually have the bed against the headrest like every other bed.

Thanks FF, I was thinking of making my desk 35" in depth, so if I put it in front of the bed (to keep the bed in the same position) it would only have about 18" of room between the desk and bed, not enough to fit a chair in. That would be the ideal location though.

With the way I was thinking, I'll still have about half of the bed that can use the headrest, enough for me.

Okay, move the bed to the headrest, then measure the space from the vertical blinds to the bedside. I assume that is more clearance than my suggestion, but is it enough for your needs?

If you want a cheap vocal booth solution, get the sE Electronics Reflexion Filter X. This particular one in white is currently on sale for $69.99 USD. Want to go pro? Here is the pro version.

Would the $30 version of that item work as well? Or one of those Isolation Balls? Here are 2 products I was looking at in the $30 range, not sure if they'd work as well though:

Monoprice Isolation Shield

Pop Filter Isolation Ball

The Monoprice Stage Right looks alright, but reviews say it is very heavy on a microphone stand and tightening the wings using the knobs is not enough. You can decide if those are dealbreakers or not. I know it would be for me. The desktop version is slightly cheaper and may be worth considering.

I would not trust or use an isolation ball, especially from an unknown manufacturer with limited or no warranty.

For a cheap desk, get the On-Stage WS7500 Workstation Desk. It is compact and uitilizes vertical space well, as it has multiple tiers. It comes in black or rosewood finish, and has accessories to scale up when necessary. Want something nicer? The RAB Audio ProRak LS840 Studio Workstation comes in black or almond trim, and has upgrades for a larger keyboard tray and deck for studio monitors whenever your projects demand them.

Feel free to DIY your own desk if the total cost and effort is cheaper. Just be specific on the dimensions if you like my suggestions so that they can be taken into account for future equipment.

I was thinking of DIYing my own desk, I have a carpenter friend that would help me build one. Was thinking of making it 70" x 35" (I always dreamed of having a large, solid desk), and also 26" high (which is on the low side, but for ergonomics I hear lower desks are amazing for typing - and this will also be the desk I'll be working from, for my home office).

With that desk, I can put one of those desk shelves on it, to put things under, and monitors on, was thinking of building one to look like this one to go with the desk.

Then line the closet with a duvet, and use it as a vocal booth (with my back to the closet, and the mic isolation shield / isolation ball in front of me, with me facing the sliding glass doors).

What do you think? A decent potential setup? And I would mix with Sony 7506 headphones either way, as I don't have any studio monitors at the moment.

Well my suggestion is to keep the clothes and dressers in the closet so you can have space in the bedroom for the desk. It may be possible to keep them in the bedroom, but they may make it more difficult to access your desk, or conversely, the desk may make it difficult to access the dressers. Perhaps they can simply be placed next to each bedside so they are out of the way, but I do not know if they will fit. It looks a little tight.

If the desk can be placed near the vertical blinds without restricting access to anything, you can bring the vocal booth next to either side of it instead of the closet. This way, your closet can be dedicated for storage. The vocal booth will be fine in your bedroom.

The bench needs to go. Unless it happens to be your "chair", I suggest either putting it in the closet or near entryways where shoes are normally put on. Everything on top and below it, including the laundry hamper, can go in the closet, unless you want to see them while you are working.

Test all of these configurations out, and if you can, experiment with something exactly 26 inches high so you know if it actually works for you or not. Let me know what layouts are possible, and whether you have decided on one, so that I can start suggesting upgrade paths for your music equipment, and in what priority. Also, tell me what audio interface you are using, if any.

[thecontrolcentre]

I think I would put the desk in the window space and move the bed to where the headrest(?) is.

Another option could be a computer desk with slide out draw (on castors so you can move it). I use one for my desk top stuff How much gear are you planning to put on the desk?

I like this one from Gear4music ...



https://www.gear4music.com/Recording-an ... DI5*_up*MQ..
A bit pricey but useful if you have/buy any rack gear.

Or maybe get a gaming desk like this one ...
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8155108 ... lsrc=3p.ds