Best floor for hobby home studio?

[tbarnaby]

I'm in the process of converting a basement office into a small music room. It will be used for tracking and mixing - although the only mic'd instruments would mostly be acoustic guitar and vocals. Everything else is pretty much all recorded direct in. There will also be some live practice on electric guitars (with amps) and an edrum kit (with a drum speaker).

The room is 125sq ft. Concrete floor (currently covered in carpet). Drywall walls. 8ft drop ceiling.

I've decided to rip out the old carpeting because its old and gross. Should I replace it with new carpeting or something more reflective? Hardwood is too expensive for me but there are some interesting laminate and engineered wood options that are reasonably priced. I know the usual answer here is "not carpet", but with the room being so small, I'm wondering if that still holds true.

[egbert]

If you want a live sound - eg for playing acoustic instruments, then the wood floor options sound good. If you are playing loud electric sounds you might want to get more sound absorbing surfaces happening - curtains, carpets, bass traps etc.