Hello all, The only place I will be able to record/jam is the garage. It's 20x20 standard garage with the AC unit and hot water heater there. I have a corner type desk setup by the main garage door on the right, Away from the door going into the living room. the big garage door is insulated.
Any ideas on how to set this up to jam and also record without building seperate rooms?
Own and its 8 feet high. Walking up to it from the driveway you open the garage door and 20 feet in theres the normal door that goes to the house/kitchen.
on the right side by the door is the air handler and on the far left is the water heater. I currently have my corner desk in the left driveway corner.
If I were in your position, I think I'd build some absorption "gobo" panels, panels for ceiling absorption and hang some curtains and blankets to control reflections in the area I was recording. I would recommend a lot of research on room acoustics before doing any permanent construction. I have a 12x20 room with an 8 foot ceiling. That limited ceiling height is my worst enemy. I have to use absorption on my ceiling, or I get some really unattractive reflections on my tracks. If your ceiling isn't finished, it might not be as bad.
are you looking for isolation as well? because isolation can be necessary depending on your family and neighbors. if you do need isolation, you may have to consider some construction to add mass to existing walls and ceilings, possible changing the garage door to a single door to block more sound. the acoustic treatments will not isolate the space, and to add some complexity, the isolation will also mean more acoustic treatments are needed because the sound can't escape... ;-)
as far as a single room though, you can use the entire space as a single room. you can add or construct some treatments which will reduce room modes, diffuse the highs, and balance the general frequency distribution so it sounds good.
attached is an example room where they have a water heater and replaced the garage door with a single door.
I was wrong it's a 10ft ceiling. I wouldn't mind partitioning it off with something like office partitioning that I could move around. Can you make them and put acoustic foam on them?
you're thinking "gobo". you can make them - generally you put them on rollers because they're pretty heavy by design. usually one side is reflective and another is absorbant. some can be low - like for amps, others taller - like with a window for vox. but you can definitely use gobos to help isolate instruments and still have a live feel to the room.
