Yes you can! But if you want to have the confidence that your studio/home theater meats industry standard specs, it needs to be designed by an acoustics engineer. If you wish to save money and build it yourself, having us design your studio or at least consult on its design will be a wise investment up front, minimizing complications and costs down the road.

Depends on a number of factors such as location, intent (personal or commercial), size, quality and design. (How elaborate the architecture) A good rule of thumb is to plan to spend an equal amount on gear and treatment. (Architecture)

Example: If you spend $5000 on your studio equipment, a $5000 investment in room treatment is a good start, otherwise, your $5000 gear could sound like $500 gear.

Projects range from a few days up to a year or longer depending on the scale, and the compliance of local municipalities. An average recording studio in an existing room can be soldered, wired and calibrated in a day or two, but building a studio from the ground up can take months.

If you plan to turn a few rooms in your house or office space into a recording studio, typically you want to start with the bare bones. Meaning a room will be striped down to the studs so it can be properly insulated and re-built so that it can meat acceptable levels of isolation.

However, a number of techniques can be utilized WITHOUT tearing out drywall/plaster to isolate your room. In all cases, plan on loosing at least a couple of inches in floor space to get adequate isolation. Don't worry, this usually translates to a few dozen square feet at most.

In reality, "soundproof" is just a term for "attenuation". Its near impossible to make a room truly immune to outside sound. Example: A brick wall might almost completely block the sound of people talking on the other side, but will it block the sound of a gunshot?

The real question is, "How much isolation do I need in a recording environment?

The answer? Depends. In an average recording situation all the musicians are playing the same tune at the same time, and a tiny amount of bleed (leakage of sound) from one room to the next is more than tolerable.

Example: You have two musicians playing together on either side of a wall. Each are recorded in a separate room, on a separate microphone. Lets say they are a drummer, and acoustic bassist. The drums, being very loud, bleed through the wall and are captured by the microphone recording the bass. However, the volume of the drums is so small at this point, it is completely drown out by the bass itself except for when the bass is silent.

Not to mention the volume of the drums captured by the bass mic in the other room might well be below the NOISE FLOOR of the mic, or equipment. Meaning even though the mic pics up the drums, it will likely not effect the quality of the recording.

The real trick is knowing what the acceptable level of isolation is depending on what is being recorded. Is it a violin, a trumpet, a drum kit, a gunshot? All have HUGE differences in their SPL (Sound Pressure Level) output. How much isolation you need will depend on these factors.

In a commercial setting, multiple control and live rooms may be utilized simultaneously, each with different content being recorded. This requires considerably more attenuation.

YES! Consultations are invaluable to a builder who wants to impress their clients with a true acoustical space. Desert Island can provide consultation for Studios, Theaters, Concert Halls, Gymnasiums etc. Advice includes room size/dimension requirements, isolation techniques including construction techniques, and acoustical consulting/measurements for construction sites.

Of course! A brand new studio is only as good as the engineer using it. Complete training on a new studio is included in the price! However, extended training may be required for a negotiated fee.

Yes. But we can also train you or a new engineer to use your studio. We design studios to be as user friendly as possible, ideally, a musician with minimal recording experience can be up and running in a day or so on their own.

Yup! Advise for a small decision is often free of charge. Give us a call.

If we have to alter the structure of your building or are building a new building then yes. If we are simply wiring your equipment and treating a room then no.