The Ideal Music Room

[Mandobart]

I'm converting a small bedroom to my music room for storing, practicing, recording, minor repair etc. What tips have worked, problems, great ideas, etc. can you all share? I'm planning on monitoring/controlling temperature and relative humidity, good lighting, etc. thanks!

[Astro]

I did this- sort of. I mean I got the room but never finished it the way I wanted. Its great having the instruments at hand. I keep one guitar and one mando out and on the stand at all times. I have a music stand and mic set up by the desk with the laptop and my apogee duet recorder.

I have a relative humidity meter going and its always between 45 and 55 % here without any need for humidifier as long as central heat/air is on. Thermostat stays 78 in summer and 68 in winter. My only worry is spring and fall with windows open, the in door humidity can climb over 60%. Thats when I'll close up the house and turn on AC.

I have bought wall hangers for several guitars and one mando but they are not installed yet. I need to get a matching trim board painted and installed first to do that.

My biggest hassle is all the cases. I have another friend whose converted bedroom has a huge closet and he installed shelves for all the cases. Works great if you have that luxury. My closet is tiny. So my room is junked up with piles of instruments in cases. Wall hangers all the way around could be helpful if you have room for cases elsewhere.

[garryireland]

I know humidity etc is a big issue for instruments but how do you guys know what to keep the temp at?

[Folkmusician.com]

Hi Bart,

A couple of things come to mind.

The average smaller room does not lend itself well to recording/mixing. Having acoustic instruments hanging on the walls or out on stands will exaggerate the problem. It may help to put some acoustic panels up on the wall. Fiberglass panels work really well.

A small shop vac with a HEPA filter would be great to have near the workbench. Setting up a way to collect the dust while fitting bridges, shaping nuts, etc.. will make a difference in the dust in the room. On the subject, installing a wire grid over the end of the vac intake, will prevent small parts from getting inhaled. :)

StringSwing hangers are great quality.


I am excited for you, just thinking about it!

[mandroid]

My Friend in Eugene built a room within the room* so as to be sound proof .

the Concert Piano Dynamics could be practiced any Hour ,

and no street nouse was then going to be heard in a recording.

Rebuilt the un attached *2 car Garage into a Studio..

[Mandobart]

I have bought wall hangers for several guitars and one mando but they are not installed yet. I need to get a matching trim board painted and installed first to do that....

My biggest hassle is all the cases. I have another friend whose converted bedroom has a huge closet and he installed shelves for all the cases. Works great if you have that luxury. My closet is tiny. So my room is junked up with piles of instruments in cases. Wall hangers all the way around could be helpful if you have room for cases elsewhere.

Astro - The cases will be an issue for me, too. This is a small (~10' x 12') room with a small closet. I'll also be using a bunch of wall hangars, which I will mount on a solid trim piece screwed into the studs. I'm not going to paint it; either satin varethane or maybe just oil some nice hem-fir. Paint is kind of a bad idea; I found out when I used to keep my motorcycle helmet in a closet on the shelf it would somehow pick up white marks from the latex paint. I'd hate to have that happen on my instruments.

Any recording I do will just be for practicing/backing tracks, not actual CD's for distribution. My initial search shows temperature should be ~ 70F - 75F. Again, large swings in either temp or RH causes the damage, not being a few degrees or % off of optimal.

[mandroid]

Im 10 miles from the Ocean and a Block from the river so nothing gets too Dry .

and it only hits freezing for a week, when theres snow. on the ground

last winter 2 weeks but not in a row.


any one have a room where the walls are not at right angles
so the slap back is more a bounce around?

[Joey Anchors]

I will be using out spare room as a studio using all vintage analog gear.

I just scored a 1951 Brush Soundmirror 443P tube reel to reel deck and saving for a vintage ribbon mic and preamp. I'll actually have the mic setup in our living room (which has great reverb).

[TonyP]

I guess we all have different ideas about the perfect music room. My idea of the perfect music room is a room where we can have band practice. So over the years and different rooms have made the criteria large enough to accommodate 5 acoustic musicians, high ceilings with the right amount of stuff in the room and only throw rugs on the floor so you can regulate how live it sounds. Luckily our bass player had such a room built in her house specifically as her music room and it's wonderful. We've also done some recording in there and they came out wonderful. And being a music room there is no couch or tv in there. That's what makes a living room less than optimal as a lot of time we'd have to share and even a tv with no sound is distracting IMHO.

[Timbofood]

Mine would have to have enough space for ten to pick with wild abandon, two barrel kegerator, grill access within ten steps. Fireplace optional, and bathroom connecting. Pleasant view out some large patio doors (need to keep an eye on that grill too)!
C'mon, look at my name after all!

[stevedenver]

interesting issue

I have a small, windowed library where I work on practicing, alone, with a music stand, books, stereo, chairs and couch, soundproof French doors, and fireplace. I find it very conducive to concentration, listening, and solitude. Because it is a special place and I use it for practice and listening, I almost automatically change mindset when there.

I have another area, very dead acoustically, where I can stuff in about 10-15 folks and have jams, electric or acoustic. fridge, fireplace, amp area, bar and toilet.

I have a very messy work bench for 'stuff' of all kinds.

No recording area, although many recordings have been made in the jam area, and to my unsophisticated ear sound fine.

Im not sure I would /could have an all-in-one.

[Barry Wilson]

I put shelves up high on the walls to stack my cases on. every instrument is out with a stand or wall hanger (Mike Marshall advice hit home). My garage is my man cave...

[Mandobart]

Well here it is so far: space to hang 15 instruments on two inside walls. Case storage from GuitarStorage.com (http://www.guitarstorage.com/shop/guitar-case-rack-studio-deluxe/) and re-purposing some instrument stands to hold cases. A small room humidifier and radiant ceiling heat (installed in the plaster ceiling when the house was built in '61) keeps everything at 70 F and 45 - 55% RH.

129066 129067

The missing OM is on loan to a friend now. Too small to have more than a couple people playing in, but my wife is happy to have all the instruments and cases out of the living room and basement, and I like having everything out where I can grab and play whenever I want, yet still have climate control. Also having the cases more organized is nice, easy to grab a couple, put in their cases and head out to play.

[GreenMTBoy]

I am also working on putting together a music room/MandoCave this is what I have so far .I'm trying to keep things in it to a minimum
A 12' X 26' Room
Maple Hardwood floor
8' Drywall Ceiling
Baseboard Hot Water Heat set at 65
Humidifier for Fall Winter & De humidifier for rest of the year to keep Air at 45-50%
Walls are Drywall with Pine Waincotting up 3'
Guitars ,bass, Mandolins hanging on Hercules wall Hangers.
A good rugged stool and a Manhasset music stand .
60"Plasma Flatscreen hooked up to my Stereo for watching DVD lessons ,Football,one couch and a desk with computers .
Right now all the cases are stacked in one corner of the room but thinking about a rack for them ?
Now I just need some time to play

[JeffD]

The cool thing about a music room is that it motivates you to be musical. The down side is all the motivation and reminders are there in the room, you have to go to it to be musical, so unless you are headed there, the motivation to go there has to come from somewhere else.

I like having all my mandolins, tunebooks, music stands, and all the stuff, close together. It has turned out that my living room has turned into the music room. That's where the piano is, that's where we all gather when I have my monthly jam, so... that's where the music stands are and the shelves and shelves of tunebooks, and the old timey old armless wooden chairs painted in ridiculous colors for forming jam circle. And the cases, all stacked inside large whicker blanket trunks I got for that purpose.

I keep my instruments in their cases except when playing them, but I have some thoughts about decorating the walls with enlarged black and white pictures of old timey string bands and musicians.

[JeffD]

It is fitting that the living room is my music room, as that is what my living (outside of work and sleep) seems to be about.

[Astro]

Bart, you are off to a great start. My room is very much like yours. That is exactly what I intended to do, but I just never got around to it. Oh, the bother. But you have inspired me to get motivated and get er done !

[Finger Stylish]

20 years ago; a bedroom for my sons.
Now it's 250 sqft ft provide a office / music room for me, and a quick take-down and conversion back to a bedroom for any of my 7 Grandchildren.
129081129082129083

[mandroid]

New Years eve spent time with friends playing Music in their House ,
both have worked in the Hospital for a Long time,
so had the money to put into A Bigger house bought 30 years ago ..
and the gear to line it with ..

I have a small 1 bdrm House , now, 1/2 lot of empty space to the nearest Neighbor ,
so If I were a Loud Act , I'd have space to let my AC/DC muse Out.