Jam Room/Studio Brainstorming Help

[Isidore]

All - we just closed on a house and i've been given a bedroom to convert to a jam room. I want it to double as a studio as much as possible. I'm more worried about capturing moments vs trying to do anything professionally. I have lots of musical family and none of us are getting younger. This is mainly for family and friends to jam, to record practice, etc. That being said, I'd like to build it out as if I were a pro.

It has a weird "closet in closet" thing that I'm going to convert to a vocal & isolation booth. I plan on putting a small 5-7pc kit in there and perma-mic'ing it. Obv carpet on floors, sound-stuff on walls, traps in corners, etc.

Rig is a Mac Studio with Logic Pro. Currently only have the PreSonus Studio 68c (4 input).

What 8+ input interfaces operating off of thunderbolt/usb-c are good these days? I used to have a focusrite saffire pro 40 long ago, but it died after like 10-15 years heavy usage. Recommended mics? Other considerations not listed? I haven't had coffee yet, so i'm sure i'm forgetting a lot lol.

 

[Drew]

Setting up a pro-caliber studio is a massive undertaking. I don't think you realize how big a question you're asking.

But.... what sort of instruments are you looking to record, other than live drums? I assume electric guitars just because of where we are, but... mic'd amps, or DIs and VSTs? Acoustic guitars or bass guitars? Keys/pianos? Anything else? Do you need to be able to track vocals live while other instruments are playing? Do you need to be able to track multiple instruments at a time, while we're at it, and if so which and how many? What do you own for gear currently, aside from the Mac and Presonus? And, budget? And how handy are you with DIY?

If you want to track live drums, the bare minimum number of inputs you need is four - kick, snare, and overheads. You can get a pretty good "rock" sound in a good room working with just that, even by modern standards. If you're thinking more hard rock and metal, you'll probably want to add additional mics - spot mics on toms, probably a top/bottom pair on the snare with one phase reversed, that kind of thing. You could easily go through 8 mics on a kit alone, so if you want to do live recordings of drums, bass, and guitar, even just for a three piece your bare minimum is an 8-in interface, and you're probably going to want 12-16.

You can never have too many SM57s, if you don't already have a mic collection - they're cheap, indestructible, great at a few things (snare, guitar), and at least OK on pretty much everything else.

 

[Crungy]

How about outboard gear vs in the box?

 

[Isidore]

Setting up a pro-caliber studio is a massive undertaking. I don't think you realize how big a question you're asking.

But.... what sort of instruments are you looking to record, other than live drums? I assume electric guitars just because of where we are, but... mic'd amps, or DIs and VSTs? Acoustic guitars or bass guitars? Keys/pianos? Anything else? Do you need to be able to track vocals live while other instruments are playing? Do you need to be able to track multiple instruments at a time, while we're at it, and if so which and how many? What do you own for gear currently, aside from the Mac and Presonus? And, budget? And how handy are you with DIY?

If you want to track live drums, the bare minimum number of inputs you need is four - kick, snare, and overheads. You can get a pretty good "rock" sound in a good room working with just that, even by modern standards. If you're thinking more hard rock and metal, you'll probably want to add additional mics - spot mics on toms, probably a top/bottom pair on the snare with one phase reversed, that kind of thing. You could easily go through 8 mics on a kit alone, so if you want to do live recordings of drums, bass, and guitar, even just for a three piece your bare minimum is an 8-in interface, and you're probably going to want 12-16.

You can never have too many SM57s, if you don't already have a mic collection - they're cheap, indestructible, great at a few things (snare, guitar), and at least OK on pretty much everything else.

I’m planning on 8 input for drums. bass can di or amp, guitars probably a mix of di/vst/real, same with bass. Targeting 2 input units for 16. I run 3 just for my guitar (amp, cab clone di, room).

Love me some sm57s. Have e609 already too. Was thinking of getting the audix drum mic kit.

Keep in mind, it’s not to be a pro studio, but a jam room with as pro as feasible for recording jams/practice. I’ve no intent on asking people for money or anything. If someone wants to pump out a cheap $50 demo, cool… otherwise it’s more or less for ideas and memories.

 

[Isidore]

How about outboard gear vs in the box?

What’s that mean?

 

[Crungy]

Are you going to to have rack compressors/preamps/eq's or just do all of that stuff in Logic?

 

[Gudbrand]

Lots of factors to consider. I just renovated a house and did the same thing. I’m no sound pro, but I did a lot of research to try to get it right.

Concerning sound treatment, I also thought that carpet made sense, but I read that it is preferable to have a hard floor and sound treatment on the walls and ceilings.

Foam is popular, but it does not do anything for most frequencies. I’d recommend buying or building fiberglass bass traps for the corners and panels for the walls and ceilings.

In a bigger room there may be a reason to add diffusers, but in a smaller room it probably doesn’t make sense.

There’s a whole science to arranging the treatment that depends on the room geometry, whether you’re recording or mixing, the locations of speakers and mics, etc.

Sounds like a fun project. Good luck!

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Measure it, get the free Auralex room analyzation to determine best treatment Acoustically, then source similar absorption material on EBay for a fraction of the cost. From there, desk, monitor placement will have a big part to play in performance.

 

[Isidore]

Are you going to to have rack compressors/preamps/eq's or just do all of that stuff in Logic?

Probably start with logic/vst for a bulk of that, but also will have my pod pro hd rack in play, with that comes a power conditioner. Not mandatory, but there as needed.

 

[bigcupholder]

The easiest way to do this would be to use a Helix or Fractal for both the guitar and bass, electronic drums instead of micing acoustic drums, and then invest in some good studio monitors. The fewer mics you have to worry about, the easier this'll all be.

If you want minimal hassle to get something that's most of the way to a pro recording, that's the way to go.

 

[Isidore]

The easiest way to do this would be to use a Helix or Fractal for both the guitar and bass, electronic drums instead of micing acoustic drums, and then invest in some good studio monitors. The fewer mics you have to worry about, the easier this'll all be.

If you want minimal hassle to get something that's most of the way to a pro recording, that's the way to go.

Recording is secondary to live sound. It's a jam room first. It will be real amps with real drums, not going to compromise there. Would rather have the acoustic instruments jam and a crap recording than dealing with the e-kit that most of my drummer friends loathe (and i cannot afford the ones that are closer to acoustic drums or hybrid). I have PodHD & Sansamp Bass Driver DI for direct-in as needed/wanted. Note i keep saying "as good as possible" when it comes to recording. Live jam first and foremost.

Usually i just put a zoom h5 up in the front of the room... no matter what is mic'd/not mic'd, it'll still be better than that alone (will be keeping it in the mix... makes a great room mic IMO).

 

[bigcupholder]

Recording is secondary to live sound. It's a jam room first. It will be real amps with real drums, not going to compromise there. Would rather have the acoustic instruments jam and a crap recording than dealing with the e-kit that most of my drummer friends loathe (and i cannot afford the ones that are closer to acoustic drums or hybrid). I have PodHD & Sansamp Bass Driver DI for direct-in as needed/wanted. Note i keep saying "as good as possible" when it comes to recording. Live jam first and foremost.

Usually i just put a zoom h5 up in the front of the room... no matter what is mic'd/not mic'd, it'll still be better than that alone (will be keeping it in the mix... makes a great room mic IMO).

Personally I'd still go with a Helix for the guitars and bass because of the flexibility (amp types, effects, switching) and ease of mixing - i.e. put them through a PA along with vocals and everyone can hear everyone better than having a bunch of amps aimed at people's knees. I use my Helix LT and HX Stomp regularly to host jams, and after a few beers or other things it's a lot of fun to switch it up and play with different amp types or weird effects.

Having said that, I get that some people prefer both the simplicity of an amp and the "amp in the room" sound over the mic'ed sound of a modeler. If you're an amp person, invest in treating the room acoustically and use amp stands to angle them back and get them up off the floor.

 

[Isidore]

Personally I'd still go with a Helix for the guitars and bass because of the flexibility (amp types, effects, switching) and ease of mixing - i.e. put them through a PA along with vocals and everyone can hear everyone better than having a bunch of amps aimed at people's knees. I use my Helix LT and HX Stomp regularly to host jams, and after a few beers or other things it's a lot of fun to switch it up and play with different amp types or weird effects.

Having said that, I get that some people prefer both the simplicity of an amp and the "amp in the room" sound over the mic'ed sound of a modeler. If you're an amp person, invest in treating the room acoustically and use amp stands to angle them back and get them up off the floor.

I’m not getting rid of my pod hd pro. I have ownhammer ir and loaders… it’ll cover my helix needs. I also have a ton of neural dsp archetypes (went crazy during bf 50% off lol). Have hx effects too, but that’s part of my jp2c rig.

Def gonna treat. Amp stands are a good idea.

 

[Drew]

Recording is secondary to live sound. It's a jam room first. It will be real amps with real drums, not going to compromise there. Would rather have the acoustic instruments jam and a crap recording than dealing with the e-kit that most of my drummer friends loathe (and i cannot afford the ones that are closer to acoustic drums or hybrid). I have PodHD & Sansamp Bass Driver DI for direct-in as needed/wanted. Note i keep saying "as good as possible" when it comes to recording. Live jam first and foremost.

With this as a goal, I think I'd direct as much of your budget as you can to the room. Bass and broadband trapping, mostly, and then just grab a bunch of SM57s as spot mics for the kit, with maybe more of a dedicated kick mic and then a pair of something a little nicer as overhead mics.

Even the cables and stands to mic up a drum kit get expensive in a hurry, you know?

 

[Isidore]

With this as a goal, I think I'd direct as much of your budget as you can to the room. Bass and broadband trapping, mostly, and then just grab a bunch of SM57s as spot mics for the kit, with maybe more of a dedicated kick mic and then a pair of something a little nicer as overhead mics.

Even the cables and stands to mic up a drum kit get expensive in a hurry, you know?

I already have several, but ya they do.

A lot of folk don't know, but you can take a pic of your room, send it to Auralex and they'll CAD you recommendations. Granted, they're gonna max out the option, but does help get an idea. Even if i go with 75% of what they recommended, it'll sound better than any other room i've live recorded in lol.