How to Build A Small Budget Recording Studio From Scratch : With 12 Tested Designs (TAB Mastering Electronics Series) [Paperback]

Michael Shea (Author)

Book Description

Series: TAB Mastering Electronics Series | Publication Date: May 29, 2002

Build your own recording studio at a cost lower than you ever thought possible! This book includes 12 tested and proven designs. Here's the perfect reference for anyone planning to build or remodel a recording studio on a shoe-string budget. Whether your interest is in radio, audio-visual, film, or television production, you can build an efficient, fully functional studio with no special training or knowledge of acoustics. Bypassing heavy-duty math and assuming you don't have an unlimited budget, this do-it-yourself guide provides 12 fully tested and proven designs that allow you to create truly outstanding recording settings. Basic acoustical principles are explained in the context of real-life project plans that detail construction materials, applied design elements, as well as cost. This Third Edition contains valuable information on acoustical materials, the latest in computer-controlled acoustical test equipment, new techniques and materials used to isolate and control vibration, and a new chapter on blueprint reading. You'll also find job-simplifying new information on materials and construction methods and a comprehensive listing of products and manufacturers. If you're an amateur audiophile or electronic hobbyist with a discerning musical ear and high hopes, but don't have cash to burn - here are plans that give you the best sound you can get for your money.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

MIKE SHEA has been involved with professional audio since the 1960s when he opened his own recording studio in Massachusetts. He relocated to New York in the 1970s and began a successful independent contracting career building rehearsal and recording studios. Throughout his career he has taught graduate courses at the Institute of Audio Research, served as the technical editor of RECORDING WORLD magazine, and written extensively about all aspects of professional audio.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill/TAB Electronics; 3 edition (May 29, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071387005
• ISBN-13: 978-0071387002
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #530,667 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

77 of 83 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not helpful at all., October 9, 2001

By 

David Nahmani (Valley Village, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Build a Small Budget Recording Studio from Scratch ... With 12 Tested Designs (Paperback)

For example, the only help this book give you as far as treating the acoustic of a project studio is to tell you to buy a certain particular brand, RPG, and get 4 of their bass traps, 4 of their absorbant panels and 2 diffusors, and where to place them. No different option is discussed, no alternative....

And when you find out that this option amounts to around $3,000.00, and the author concludes: "this option represents the very minimum defense against the effects of early reflections, the minimum of bass absorption and the minimum of rear-wall diffusion. Much potential improvements remains."....you start wondering about the "budget" he's talking about in the title.

I wish he'd mention the fact that a couch or a love seat make for a great bass trap, that pannels of 703 or 705 fiberglass covered in burlap fabric make much greater absorbants than foam for much cheaper, and that a cluttered shelve makes for a great diffusor....

The rest of the book is filled with mathematical equations and tables and graphs that lack some clear explanations. The book is discouraging at best, boring and not reflective of it's title.

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not very helpful, July 13, 2004

By 

Mike Oswald (Algonac, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Build A Small Budget Recording Studio From Scratch : With 12 Tested Designs (TAB Mastering Electronics Series) (Paperback)

This book was a big disappointment. I was hoping for detailed instructions for the construction of a studio, and what I got was a refresher course in Acoustics 101. The book has a lot of theory which could be helpful to someone that doesn't already know about diffusion, absorbtion and reflection of sound waves. What it doesn't have is room dimensions, angles of walls, or decent illustrations. The illustration for a garage multi-track studio was literally a line drawing of a square with a bisecting line across the corner signifying what would be a disfunctional control room. If you're not ready to build a studio and want some good information on room modes and acoustics, this is a good enough book. If you want to apply these principles and actually build a studio, there are better instructions on several free websites.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you for your help, July 7, 2004

By 

Mauricio Bussab (Sao Paulo, SP Brazil) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Build a Small Budget Recording Studio from Scratch ... With 12 Tested Designs (Paperback)

I used this book as a reference to build a private studio where I record the CDs for my label. It sounds great, reverberation is under control and low, over the whole spectrum. And it cost me HALF of what I'd expect. I used two regular doors instead of a professional grade studio door (I got this money saving idea in this book), I designed my air condinioning using his ideas (it is quiet and has no sound leakage), the cables go into the recording booth using ideas that I found here. The studio has been in operation for four years and everybody loves the sound. I can't praise it enough. My label's web site is outrosdiscos.com.br in case you want to know what was recorded here.