In home studio/jam room ideas

[Fingerer]

I've been out of that game for 20+ years and technology has changed!

I am turning my living room into a dedicated music room (jam/rehearsal/light recording, etc.) and collecting ideas on the best approach for optimal sound. I have bass and guitar rigs ready to go and I will be adding an elecronic drum kit, keyboard and mics.

Being that I know nothing about drums, keyboards and mics, or being a sound guy in general, I am hoping someone here does. What are my best budget & user friendly options to run those? PA system, studio monitors, interface? Pretend for a second I have never done any of this before.

This will be used for band practice and spontaneous jams in a typical living room. Occasional recording, but nothing that will go out to the masses. I prefer volume that fills a room without making everyone deaf (hence the use of electronic drums).

 

[Biggbass]

budget?

 

[two fingers]

In a living room, with a bass rig, I would get a standard analog mixer and one inexpensive powered PA top.

 

[EastCoastThump]

^ and....

• neighbors (or other limits on sound levels)?

• quality of the room's acoustics? (Gorgeous sounding large room with vaulted ceilings? 10' x 20' box with standing waves galore?)

• small stable roster of players, or wide-ranging?

• players' experience with slotting in tones for an overall group sound?

• players' comfort levels with digital modeling or other DI solutions?

In a good sounding room, experienced players can dial in small amps and sound killer w/ just vocals into a small PA. Other players want to hear themselves way above everything else, and to keep them from wrecking the overall sound can require a more modern approach. And some rooms are going to be a challenge that—even w/ experienced players—just gets harder when stage sources are also in the PA (either directly or through inevitable mic bleed). And if you're playing with a rotating cast (scooped metal guitarist on night, guitarist with jazzy flatwounds the next), one traditional amp might not be a good compromise.

In the best case, a good sounding room, tone-smart players, small tube amps, a well tuned quality drum kit, and a nice chain for vocals.

But a couple Helix Stomps, keys driving software on tablet or laptop, edrums, and vocals through a digital mixer and a couple good powered tops can also give you goosebumps, in the right hands.

 

[Fingerer]

budget?

Let's say $1000 for sound only. PA, interface, monitors, mixers, etc.
Drums & keyboard TBD.

 

[Fingerer]

• neighbors (or other limits on sound levels)? None, but I'm going with electronic drums to keep the volume tolerable/comfortable.

• quality of the room's acoustics? (Gorgeous sounding large room with vaulted ceilings? 10' x 20' box with standing waves galore?) Maybe 20x30, open floorplan. Typical TV family sitcom size living room.

• small stable roster of players, or wide-ranging? Both

• players' experience with slotting in tones for an overall group sound? Open to any home visitor who is decent enough to jump on an instrument and contribute

• players' comfort levels with digital modeling or other DI solutions? Don't care. As long as I am happy - it's my house.

I read that PA systems are not good for home use since they are designed to throw sound great distances, where monitors are designed for short distances. H

 

[Wiredforsoundmd]

Get an analog mixer with plenty of input channels.
24 channel. 4 to 6 aux channels, group outs also.
XLR splitter cables for mic channels, so you can set one channel with on-board compression and one without for stage monitors.
3-4 vocal mikes, and stands boom type
Electronic drums Roland TD-17 KVX
Drum output is stereo so 2 channels on mixer with on-board compressor.
Electronic keyboards are also usually stereo output, 2 channels used with on-board compression.
Stage monitors, use 3 acoustic guitar dual input wedge type amps.
ISO racks x3 for stage monitors.
External eq for feedback for stage monitors, or 2 channel feedback destroyer as this will monitor your system automatically.
Eq for FOH
FOH x2 Yorkville NX10C self powered, great punchy sound, small enough for your room.
Yorkville can be used as drum monitor also summed mono.
Standard speaker stands steel
DI boxes Radial active box pro48 for bass guitar, on stage bass amp, and Run into mixer for FOH blend
DI box Radial passive for acoustic electric guitar.
Use onstage monitor with DI send to mixer for FOH sound.
Get a dedicated 20amp circuit multi outlet box in there.

 

[FinialBassist]

I just set up a low-volume practice/recording space for my band. (Our regular rehearsal room is at our drummer's house, but he just had a kid and I wanted to offer an alternative venue just in case.)

If you're interested in recording, I would definitely recommend a fairly inexpensive digital mixer that doubles as a multi-input computer interface. I have the Behringer XR18, which I think is wonderful, but there are plenty of other options. You should be able to find a new one for under $600; used would be even cheaper. The XR18 gives me more than enough inputs for vocal mics, guitar, bass, drums, and whatever else our trio can through at it. (Note that the smaller versions, the XR16 and XR12, can only output a stereo mix through USB, not the discrete channels.)

Volume is an issue in my space so I use Zoom B1 Four and Zoom G1 Four multi-effects pedals ($80 each) as amp sims for bass and guitar. Vocals go through a few off-brand dynamic mics ($10-15 each, on used $5 stands). I also picked up a used set of Roland TD-1K vDrums (about $300) since I don't have a ton of space for a larger kit.

Monitoring is either through a pair of powered PA speakers or headphones. I have Alto TS310s but any budget speaker would probably do the trick. Without a subwoofer they're a little weak on bass but are fine for rehearsals, and serve double duty as an actual PA for our occasional gig or house party. If you already have a bass and guitar amp you probably won't even need to run those through the monitors. For the headphones (used mostly when recording), I have a couple compact headphone amps ($40 Behringer P2s) so everyone can control their own volume. Band members provide their own cans.

TL/DR: For a double-duty rehearsal/recording setup, start with a digital mixer with discrete USB outputs for each channel. Add a powered speaker or two to monitor vocals and vDrums. Off-brand dynamic mics, with used stands and cables, can save money in the beginning (and will serve as backups if you upgrade later on).

 

[Wiredforsoundmd]

Shure SM58's so common, industry standard. Prices kept down by Shure, practically indestructible.
Yamaha XU mixers are analog, but come with USB (input) output, for sending 2 channels for computer recording, they have, on board 1 knob compression for almost every channel.
On-board effects many useful for live sound.
Aux sends and group sends also, but for some reason no injection points.

 

[Ethereal Thorn]

I opted for the behringer x 18 instead of the xr18 as you can get them abit cheaper I scored mine for about $250 I also recommend getting the alto powered speakers ts315 if you can swing them are perfect for both rehearsal and small to smaller mid size gigs you can use them as monitors or mains as needed. As for getting most of this setup under 1k may be abit tough unless you are buying analog gear used and in bulk the electric drums are where it gets really pricey fast I haven't seen too many kits under $1500 that I'd even consider to be honest as the sounds on more affordable kits are not very good cymbals are flimsy and break easy and they use rubber pads often times that are not very dynamic both loud and hurt a drummers wrist you may get lucky and find a older used v drum kit for abit less but be aware they may need triggers replaced the internal memory battery on the drum module and/or display may need to be replaced just be careful. I've built up my jam space over time buying things to improve it as money becomes available as such I don't reccomend cheaping out too much on the pa get something you can grow with so you dont need to try to sell it within a year or two

 

[Wiredforsoundmd]

Alto tweeter issue?
Blown Tweeters TS315 ALTO
The Yorkville NX10C are quite a marvel for there physical size.
Coax driver configuration class A/B amp for midtweeter (2500hz crossover) and class H for the woofer.
I think personally these are more suitable for a living room.
They can also be used as stage monitors, built so they can be tilted.
No matter how you place them, the driver configuration doesn't change.
By multiples as required, they have a through hole for mounting several on one speaker stand.
Even giving you more flexibility for dispersion, pointing each speaker at different areas of the room, or as FOH side stage fill.

 

[hbarcat]

Room acoustics are very important and you need to know the exact measurements of length, width, and height.

From those dimensions, we can calculate where in the room you'll have frequency and volume problems and use that information to fix any problens with placement of speakers and adding room treatment.

It's really easy to ignore this but most people are amazed at how much you can improve your sound by taking room acoustics into account.