[J-Moen]

As my wife and I are expanding our family, we have been house hunting, and in all of the houses we are looking at, we have we have the ability to afford to make one of our new rooms into a Sax/Music Room for me. I am very excited, and I was hoping to get some advice. I looked through some other music room posts and pictures shared on SOTW already but figured maybe It would be interesting to see what everyone would actually want in their personal music room.

First, some info on the room of a current house we are hoping to get, but all rooms have been similar. The current plan is to have the sax/music room in a basement bedroom. The room will be relatively small (approximately 12x16). There is one window with a well in the current room, but basement bedrooms will all have the window/well unless they are garden level.

So, I am hoping that maybe I can get some good ideas on how to set this up specifically, and your thoughts on some of these things:

Recording Workstation - Computer Desk, Microphone, Speaker system - Should I invest in a studio-style desk (Like this one: Studio Desk) or just use one of the normal desks I have (which is like this desk: Writing Desk)?
I have a custom built computer, and just use Audacity for my DAW. I also have fairly good 2.1 220w Klipsch Speaker system for my computer that have been my primary listening speakers for a few years, not planning to upgrade them. I also have a cheap record player to listen to some vinyls on. I may be able to hook this up to the speakers as well, but currently have it separate from my computer desk to conserve working space.

Mic Setup and Location - I currently have a blue yeti microphone which has a very short stand that only sits a flat surface (no mic stand possible that I know of). Should I look into a separate place to put my recording mic than the computer desk? I currently use it on the same desk as my computer, but in a larger room, I'll have the freedom to move it if that is recommended. I'd rather not go down this rabbit hole of buying 100s of dollars of microphones and other equipment, since I know the yeti works fine for me. However, since this mic only sits on a desk/table, I'm open to other options - what do you think is the best option for a full size room?

Sax Stands - Wall Mounts stands or Floor Stands? I like the idea of Wall mounts, but I also feel like its more for a permanent show fixture, versus something I take down and use daily. It also sucks to take up lots of floor space with Floor Stands. Whats your preference?

Furniture - One desk chair enough? Or should I think of adding a small couch or a couple upholstered chairs? Mostly the room is just for me, but my wife has tried learning guitar a few times, and one guitar we have is going to be displayed in the room. She also has some ideas to retry the violin as she did when she was younger. I also have a 66-key Keyboard FWIW. Shelving? Anything I should avoid in getting shelving, or is it basically just buy what you like or is affordable? Finally, I know I want to get one of the peg mouthpiece stands. Put on a shelf or on the desk?

Sound/audio - I have some acoustic paneling I could put up, but I honestly have never found it to be very useful except in very small rooms, like the 5x5 closet I use now. Would it be worth it to put up? I intend to put honeycomb blinds and/or heavy curtains over the window well in order to fight some of the sound waves bouncing off the glass (and going outside). What are your thoughts on acoustic paneling, or any sound dampening for a room of this size?

Decor - My favorite part of this music room and I was wondering what people liked the most for their music decor. This is a very personal one for many people, but I have a few ideas. I am planning to put up a one or two paintings of jazz related stuff. Also am thinking of trying to find some old Ellington, Miles, Coltrane, Parker, etc posters to hang up, or even some cool jazz club posters. I don't want to have any sax lamps or crushed saxes for wall art. What other decor do you guys think would look good? I have no color scheme yet either, so I'm open to recommendations on anything here.

Anything I'm forgetting? I'm sure you all have tons of ideas for what you would personally have, and I"d love to hear them. Obviously i'm not going to be dropping 10s of thousands of dollars into this room though. I'm just doing prep work on this now, and hoping to think of everything to have a great music room setup within reason.

 

[J-Moen]

I forgot to ask. Is there anything you should specifically avoid when building out a music room?

 

[Reet McVouty]

Jmoan, 12' X 16' really isn't a small space. That is, not until you pack it full of stuff. Sometimes less is more. I wouldn't get to carried away with furniture ect because how much of that does one person need. I would keep a couple folding chairs handy for the occasional guest(s) that come by. As far as computer desks go (mine is old school) if I had to change I would get one that can be raised to standing height when needed. As for your ideas they all seem to be on track. Personal decor is just that, what's personal to you, that's what you should go with. But, you should probably get some good, attractive acoustic panels. Jay has some nice one's in this video. As a retired cabinetmaker I would just make these myself.

 

[mmichel]

A few thoughts:

- I would suggest getting a real audio interface (e.g., something like the Focusrite Scarlett series, which are quite affordable and have decent preamps and built-in phantom power), and a stand-mounted mic. The mic doesn't have to be an expensive one. A cheap workhorse like a Sure SM57 or an AT2020 would be fine. For starters, you want to be able to place the stand where you need it.

- You will definitely want some sound absorption, especially if you're using a basement room with (I assume) concrete or cinderblock walls. For this, you don't want to use thin foam panels, but panels made of rockwool or heavy cotton that are at least 2" thick. If your existing paneling is something like Auralex foam, that could explain why it doesn't seem to make much of a difference.

- If you're open to it, I would suggest switching to Reaper as your DAW. It's much easier to use than Audacity (IMO), much less buggy, and much more capable. It's also very inexpensive (<$100) and free to try, so you can test it out first to see if you like it.

- Re stands: I'd recommend getting floor stands. They don't really take up that much room (I have floor stands for alto, tenor, soprano, clarinet, and flute set up permanently in my small 4'X6' Whisperroom), plus you can take them with you to use for rehearsals and/or gigs.

 

[Pete Thomas]

I would seriously work out a way to get your yeti on a mic stand. Sitting on a desk they tend to get a bit boomy if the desk has any resonance, plus on a stand you can easily move around the room, it's surprising how different places can improve things.

I'd also try to move on from Audacity.


i could really go off on one now having built three studios, but I won't, as I think in this case your decor and furniture, basic room ergonomics is going to be the most important thing for creativity. Especially as you haven't even got the house yet. Just look at the houses and think: "nice room for me, nice room for my wife, nice rooms for the 8 or 9 kids..."

Good luck!

 

[J-Moen]

Jmoan, 12' X 16' really isn't a small space. That is, not until you pack it full of stuff. Sometimes less is more. I wouldn't get to carried away with furniture ect because how much of that does one person need. I would keep a couple folding chairs handy for the occasional guest(s) that come by. As far as computer desks go (mine is old school) if I had to change I would get one that can be raised to standing height when needed. As for your ideas they all seem to be on track. Personal decor is just that, what's personal to you, that's what you should go with. But, you should probably get some good, attractive acoustic panels. Jay has some nice one's in this video. As a retired cabinetmaker I would just make these myself.

Thanks Reet. Sadly youtube is blocked at work, So I'll have to check that out when I get home later. Glad to know I'm on the right track though. I saw your room (or 'wall' as you put it ) in the post from earlier this year and it looked well done! I have also considered building some of what I'm looking for, but I'm no expert. The folding chairs is a great plan, and The room does have a rather large closet so I can store extra stuff when needed.

You bring up a great point on the desk though. I have seen quite a few that allow you to stand or sit, which would be ideal for on the fly setting changes while I have the sax strapped on. I will look into that!

 

[mmichel]

Finally, I know I want to get one of the peg mouthpiece stands. Put on a shelf or on the desk?

A recent thread on these inspired me to build one of these for myself out of 1/2 inch oak board and a 1/2 inch oak dowel. It was very easy to build. I don't have any fancy woodworking tools, I built this using a hand saw, an electric drill, and sandpaper.

Here are some pictures of the result.

The advantage of doing it yourself (besides the cost savings) is that you can make it whatever size or configuration you want.

I keep it on a small tray mounted to the mic stand inside my WhisperRoom.

 

[mi000ke]

If you plan to jam with friends, try to leave enough floor space for a small drum kit and room for a few musicians and maybe amps - I keep a small mixing board, powered speaker and direct box (for my guitarist friends) already set up which I also use for for playing backing tracks and playing around with effects when I'm playing alone. I have about the same size music room (plus my wife made me put my weight machine in there as well) and it's doable.

 

[J-Moen]

A few thoughts:

- I would suggest getting a real audio interface (e.g., something like the Focusrite Scarlett series, which are quite affordable and have decent preamps and built-in phantom power), and a stand-mounted mic. The mic doesn't have to be an expensive one. A cheap workhorse like a Sure SM57 or an AT2020 would be fine. For starters, you want to be able to place the stand where you need it.

- You will definitely want some sound absorption, especially if you're using a basement room with (I assume) concrete or cinderblock walls. For this, you don't want to use thin foam panels, but panels made of rockwool or heavy cotton that are at least 2" thick. If your existing paneling is something like Auralex foam, that could explain why it doesn't seem to make much of a difference.

- If you're open to it, I would suggest switching to Reaper as your DAW. It's much easier to use than Audacity (IMO), much less buggy, and much more capable. It's also very inexpensive (<$100) and free to try, so you can test it out first to see if you like it.

- Re stands: I'd recommend getting floor stands. They don't really take up that much room (I have floor stands for alto, tenor, soprano, clarinet, and flute set up permanently in my small 4'X6' Whisperroom), plus you can take them with you to use for rehearsals and/or gigs.

Thank you chiming in on this! I've read through some of the 1000000+ mic threads on here, and i gotta tell you - It bores me to death lol. But I do want a practical solution that is good for this size of room so I think I can see how I could get a really good benefit from getting an audio interface and a standing mic. The USB Yeti Mic feeding into Audacity has worked well though, but I believe maybe I've outgrown it? I'm not sure the cost I'm looking at with those mics, but I'll begin some more research on it if I can stay awake through all the audio engineering noise .

My current acoustic panels are 1/2 inch cheap cardboard/foam panels, with a 1" foam wedge panels glued to the top of it. I currently have enough to do probably cover an 8'x 8' surface, and I also have a 4'x4' piece of mass layered vinyl. The room is finished, so there are layers in front of the cement walls. I'll have to check out some of the acoustic stuff you mentioned, but from what I've seen, almost everything in adding acoustic dampening adds up really fast.

Additionally, I had heard good things of Reaper, and I'll be fully happy to make that transition - seems like that will be rather painless.

As to the floor stands, I'm also currently using them. I have 3 - Curvy S/A/T. So I suppose its more cost effective to stick with those as well. Although I have 3 other saxes in their cases currently, So maybe more stands OTW. I'm leaning towards floor stands in the new house too, as it seems like the more obvious solution.

 

[J-Moen]

I would seriously work out a way to get your yeti on a mic stand. Sitting on a desk they tend to get a bit boomy if the desk has any resonance, plus on a stand you can easily move around the room, it's surprising how different places can improve things.

I'd also try to move on from Audacity.

i could really go off on one now having built three studios, but I won't, as I think in this case your decor and furniture, basic room ergonomics is going to be the most important thing for creativity. Especially as you haven't even got the house yet. Just look at the houses and think: "nice room for me, nice room for my wife, nice rooms for the 8 or 9 kids..."

Good luck!

Thanks a bunch Pete. I know you've got plenty of resources on these topics! Which is also the reason I bought a blue yeti and use audacity in the first place . I'll continue to look into this upgraded mic! I'm probably going to find the most reasonably priced mic w/ stand that I can have the freedom to move as you say. I also would be very happy to hear an increase in the quality of my recordings (you know, so people can hear all my horrible songs and mistakes better )

 

[J-Moen]

A recent thread on these inspired me to build one of these for myself out of 1/2 inch oak board and a 1/2 inch oak dowel. It was very easy to build. I don't have any fancy woodworking tools, I built this using a hand saw, an electric drill, and sandpaper.

Here are some pictures of the result.

View attachment 264950 View attachment 264952

The advantage of doing it yourself (besides the cost savings) is that you can make it whatever size or configuration you want.

I keep it on a small tray mounted to the mic stand inside my WhisperRoom.

I didn't realize it was that simple! I'll have to look into this, as I have all the tools necessary that you listed. Thanks for the pics, that looks really awesome! I like the look of a mic stand even more now

 

[J-Moen]

If you plan to jam with friends, try to leave enough floor space for a small drum kit and room for a few musicians and maybe amps - I keep a small mixing board, powered speaker and direct box (for my guitarist friends) already set up which I also use for for playing backing tracks and playing around with effects when I'm playing alone. I have about the same size music room (plus my wife made me put my weight machine in there as well) and it's doable.

I hadn't thought of this at all. I have one person who I can jam with, and he is of course a drummer. I'll have to think of this when arranging this room out. I also was thinking maybe I would invest in an electric drum kit. Glad to know I'll have space for everything though! Thanks!

 

[59Martin]

I am just putting the final touches on mine which I asked about here recently and got some great advice.

https://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread.php?372546-Help-me-design-a-small-practice-room

I built a wall in a small finished alcove in the basement with two layers of 5/8 drywall on each side of the wall with acoustic glue between them. The wall is framed with staggered 2x4s and Roxul safe and sound (2x6s top and bottom). I sealed all the cracks with acoustic sealant and repurposed an exterior door I had laying around.

I'm now just building the acoustic panels to deaden the room a bit.

A good piece of advice I got was to start with just the drum kit and a stool for my sax and work on the room ergos once I start using it and can then figure out optimal placement for things like mic stands, shelves and equipment. For the time being, I'm leaving a bari and a tenor on their stands and I'll figure out if and where I need to build more permanent installations after I've appropriated the room. As anxious as I am to do all the deco and room arrangements, I'm a firm believer in designing for optimal usage and I want to be sure things are where they need to be.

I second Pete's reccomendation about letting the room dictate the ergonomics and placement.

Good luck to you, it's been a really fun project for me.

 

[J-Moen]

I am just putting the final touches on mine which I asked about here recently and got some great advice.

https://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread.php?372546-Help-me-design-a-small-practice-room

I built a wall in a small finished alcove in the basement with two layers of 5/8 drywall on each side of the wall with acoustic glue between them. The wall is framed with staggered 2x4s and Roxul safe and sound (2x6s top and bottom). I sealed all the cracks with acoustic sealant and repurposed an exterior door I had laying around.

I'm now just building the acoustic panels to deaden the room a bit.

A good piece of advice I got was to start with just the drum kit and a stool for my sax and work on the room ergos once I start using it and can then figure out optimal placement for things like mic stands, shelves and equipment. For the time being, I'm leaving a bari and a tenor on their stands and I'll figure out if and where I need to build more permanent installations after I've appropriated the room. As anxious as I am to do all the deco and room arrangements, I'm a firm believer in designing for optimal usage and I want to be sure things are where they need to be.

I second Pete's reccomendation about letting the room dictate the ergonomics and placement.

Good luck to you, it's been a really fun project for me.

That is some great stuff! I'll definitely not be going this in depth though. My biggest concern is the look of the room (as my wife would hate if the room was all business, it still has to be presentable). Usability is next, but I've made due with multiple closets for recording over the years, and I'll just be happy to have an open area. This home (if we get this one specifically) has this room positioned away from the rest of the living area of the house. Soundproofing it isn't as much a concern for either of us, except the one window. The internal acoustics are definitely of concern though, so dampening will be another priority, once I have a usable space. So once the Workstation/Desk, Saxes, and Mic area is decided (this is my minimum playing equipment, as I record every practice to try to improve), then I'll focus on the shelving and furniture. That makes perfect sense, as you and Pete both said.

Although hopefully not 8-9 kids... as Pete said lol.

 

[Always_Learning]

I would seriously work out a way to get your yeti on a mic stand. Sitting on a desk they tend to get a bit boomy if the desk has any resonance, plus on a stand you can easily move around the room, it's surprising how different places can improve things.

I'd also try to move on from Audacity.

i could really go off on one now having built three studios, but I won't, as I think in this case your decor and furniture, basic room ergonomics is going to be the most important thing for creativity. Especially as you haven't even got the house yet. Just look at the houses and think: "nice room for me, nice room for my wife, nice rooms for the 8 or 9 kids..."

Good luck!

Pete,
is their any benefit to going with a mike attached to the bell vs a traditional mike set up?

 

[J-Moen]

Pete,
is their any benefit to going with a mike attached to the bell vs a traditional mike set up?

Great question, I am interested as well.

I would suggest getting a real audio interface (e.g., something like the Focusrite Scarlett series, which are quite affordable and have decent preamps and built-in phantom power), and a stand-mounted mic. The mic doesn't have to be an expensive one. A cheap workhorse like a Sure SM57 or an AT2020 would be fine. For starters, you want to be able to place the stand where you need it.

As someone who literally only records himself playing sax or singing. Would the focusrite scarlett solo be enough? I doubt I'll ever be playing two instruments at once, and I've never even had the option to record with another person. Also, I noticed they had a bundle that includes a mic and the rest of the setup. That would be ideal to me, so long as the Mic is decent (CM25 MkIII condenser microphone)

 

[Guto]

I made a couple mouthpiece stands for myself as well, with a few enhancement suggestions:

1. used a thicker base, which I carved out from under it, and screwed in a couple large, heavy metal nuts to add weight to it, so it's not easily knocked out.
2. covered the bottom with a thick self-adhering anti-slip foam, again to prevent it from being knocked around.
3. used 1/2" diameter pegs which works perfectly for alto and soprano.
4. added removable transparent hose sections (1/2" ID) to a few to increase the peg diameter to best fit tenor pieces. being removable makes it easy to reconfigure their sizes.

All that said, if you are not very handy or do not want to spend the time making these, Rovner sells a nice stand for about a dozen mouthpieces made of plastic. I have one of those too.

 

[J-Moen]

I made a couple mouthpiece stands for myself as well, with a few enhancement suggestions:

1. used a thicker base, which I carved out from under it, and screwed in a couple large, heavy metal nuts to add weight to it, so it's not easily knocked out.
2. covered the bottom with a thick self-adhering anti-slip foam, again to prevent it from being knocked around.
3. used 1/2" diameter pegs which works perfectly for alto and soprano.
4. added removable transparent hose sections (1/2" ID) to a few to increase the peg diameter to best fit tenor pieces. being removable makes it easy to reconfigure their sizes.

All that said, if you are not very handy or do not want to spend the time making these, Rovner sells a nice stand for about a dozen mouthpieces made of plastic. I have one of those too.

That is some great thinking. I never would have thought to add extra weight and anti slip foam. I am handy enough that I could probably handle this project. I'll have to grab some Pegs and wood, and start from there! If I fail, then off to the rovner product I suppose

 

[lostcircuits]

Great question, I am interested as well.

As someone who literally only records himself playing sax or singing. Would the focusrite scarlett solo be enough? I doubt I'll ever be playing two instruments at once, and I've never even had the option to record with another person. Also, I noticed they had a bundle that includes a mic and the rest of the setup. That would be ideal to me, so long as the Mic is decent (CM25 MkIII condenser microphone)

It's just a matter what you want. Something like the Focusrite Scarlett or a Yamaha Steinberg UR22 will be way more than what you can even completely utilize. I don't know the software that's bundled with the Focusrite but the UR22 comes with CuBase, kind of the folks who invented this. A Shure SM57 is a great mic and having it on a stand allows you to change position relative to the mic while you are playing, which gives you one more degree of freedom. A clip-on can also be a great choice in combination with a wired (home only) or wireless connection. Since you are in COS, Guitar Center and ProSound often have stuff in the clearance bin, I got my Sterling Audio ST51 for $29.- IIRC a few years ago. Also, the staff at both stores is pretty knowledgeable and even if you pay $10.- more than online, you'll get the right stuff and if there is a problem, the exchange is easier than mailing things back and forth.

 

[mmichel]

As someone who literally only records himself playing sax or singing. Would the focusrite scarlett solo be enough? I doubt I'll ever be playing two instruments at once, and I've never even had the option to record with another person. Also, I noticed they had a bundle that includes a mic and the rest of the setup. That would be ideal to me, so long as the Mic is decent (CM25 MkIII condenser microphone)

That's up to you. Personally, I would recommend getting an audio interface with at least two inputs. FWIW, I started with a single-input interface (that I got from a friend) and quickly decided that it was insufficient.

It's not much more expensive and it "futureproofs" your setup by allowing you to do things you may want to do in the future like record with mics in two different positions (very useful for soprano or for comparing microphones), or to get input from another (mono) source (e.g., I often use my extra input to pipe in the output from the "sound back" feature of my tuner).

Additionally, in most DAWs, it's not straightforward to combine (synchronously) input from more than one audio interface (though ASIO4ALL can help with this), so simply getting a second "solo" interface in the future wouldn't really help you if you needed another input.