The Recording Studio is UNDER CONSTRUCTION NOW!
Studio shell before construction began on the WSDG-designed rooms, with a drum set-up. Area to left is where CR A and Iso-A are now. This is one of June's favorite shots as it serves as a reminder of how great that room sounded as a reverb chamber. The concrete slab was laid down as part of the original barn renovation (installing radiant heat) in 2004, with this shell and the bunkhouse for our Rock Camps as a "build-out" from the back side of the barn. As we fundraised, slowly walls were put up and finally big cross beams added - this photo was taken in December of 2007.
Beams for shell as viewed from above, attic area Feb 29 2008 ~ finally, we have begun work preparing for the attic floor. Control Room A is now to the far left, and the attic is for storage and the HVAC system.
June Millington and Jaylin Stahl, head framer, standing in front of Iso-A in the hallway, viewed from above what is now iso-booth B. Feb 29, 2008. Note roof to the left, which marked the original back end of the barn, and which we preserved (it's now the back of the attic area).
Looking to the right in the studio shell, Jan 13 2008 ~ the unfinished bathroom is directly ahead, in the corner. Walls went up for that Fall of 2007, in preparation for the attic floor, for which construction is just about to begin. Door opening to the right is the old door to the bunkhouse; it has been covered and is now the machine room (CMR). To the right of that is Control Room B, and to the right of CR B is isobooth B, where the door to the bunkhouse is now permanently situated with an STC 51 door with half window.
Kete Devi-Brown and Joy Conz, Camp alumni, enjoy a moment on the landing with Ann Hackler, executive Director of IMA. Ann is standing directly above the bathroom seen in previous picture; to her right is where heater for bathroom was installed, and to Joy's left is where a guitar closet was ultimately built. We managed to make good use of this landing! March 3, 2008 - the stairs now continue up to the left and to the attic space.
Jaylin Stahl and Todd Pease building the control room floor.
The beginnings of the "floating floor" for the big control room.
Another wood delivery. Time to start framing in the walls.
Control Room A, window treatment.
Isolation booth B
Jaylin Stahl, whose reputation as being one of the best framers in the Valley is well deserved, building one of the control room wall frames.
Young rocker Isabella Maloney sits in the window of Control Room A with her teacher June Millington. They are holding signed photos of three members of Fanny, June's rock band with her sister Jean (pictured left in frame, June in center; drummer Alice de Buhr, right).
This is the shot June calls "joyfully cleaning the window":
Cleaning the outer pane of glass for window to Control Room A while installing on May 15, 2009. This is the biggest set of windows and is double-paned with a layer of air inbetween for acoustical integrity (sound separation from other rooms). The inside pane tips slightly inward, and each pane is framed with special neoprene; the frames were caulked to firmly seal at the very end. This window faces into the hallway and directly into CR B. From left: TODD Pease, on crew for all the studio construction; Jaylin Stahl, head framer extrodinaire; and Daniel, on crew for the last month or so. Daniel also worked on the first phase in 2004 when the barn floor was removed, foundation shored
up and radiant heat installed.
Control Room A, March 2009
Control Room A to iso-booth A, March '09
Control Room A looking out to hallway, March '09
Control Room A, May '09
Looking out to big room, which has high ceilings where it is possible to “push air”, and is also large enough to accommodate an orchestra. May '09
Looking toward Control Room A from the big room, May '09
Looking into Isobooth B through two STC 51 studio doors. These both have half windows because the bunkhouse is directly ahead and we just knew the girls would be hurrying through these doors in the summer, with the possibility of kicking into the bottom half in their joyful haste. No chance they'll poke a hole through the bottom, steel half! Barn proper is directly to the right. June 1, 2009
View into Iso-A (left) and CR A, 6/2/09. Daniel and Jaylin are putting special Guileford of Maine fabric over the soffits and side panels, which cover conduits that route all wire connecting microphones and studio gear to the machine room - CMR - and various rooms where sound will be "gathered". Those rooms include CRs A and B, isobooths A and B, the bunkhouse, the barn proper, the hallway, the attic, and the "classroom" at one end of the barn ~ where the studio gear has been for a few years. We call that the classroom because it's excellent for smaller groups of students and has very warm, antique wood walls. It's separated from the barn proper by sliding barn doors, and was an add-on to the original barn at some point in time. One of the STC 54 doors (there are two) connects the classroom to Isobooth A and is the only one with a full window for viewing all the way from CR A. We take this room as a potential recording chamber very seriously as it has such a wonderful sound - every room where sound can be "captured" in the barn has different characteristics. In short, there are choices for rooms where one can "push air" to varying degrees along with two excellent isolation booths, a feature not found in many studios these days.
From hallway, looking directly to CR A window (left) which looks across to window of CR B. Note window to Iso-A to the far left which also can be viewed from CR B. Lines of sight were one of the things that were focused on during the design process. Stairway to attic is complete, and a "skylight" was left - simply, absence of attic floor - to preserve ambient characteristics of this chamber, which terminates in a high ceiling (the original studio shell). June 1, 2009.
January 14, 2008 ~ just about to close up this doorway with plastic to protect studio gear in classroom area before framing begins in earnest in the "shell". View from Isobooth A where an STC 54 doors is now installed, the only one with full glass window.
Opposite view, classroom area looking towards Iso-booth A. Note door with full-glass window (STC 54) directly ahead, fully installed. We are .... so happy to finally have the plastic barrier down and the rooms accessible. This was after studio gear was removed for detail cleaning, as drywall and sawdust was everywhere and coated everything, notwithstanding the plastic. Now the beauty of this natural wood is revealed; this room has great vibes. May 27th, 2009.
Open door to Iso-B on left, barn directly ahead, with "stuff" piled for the final cleanup which included cement floors being sealed. Taken from hallway leading to studios, facing glass-paned garage door which is fully open at far end on this beautiful day June 1, 2009. Note door to the right, which leads into the "classroom" area.
Control Room A June 6, 2009: fabric covers conduit in corner panels and rug is installed on platform [under which the electrical that provides both clean and "dirty" power for studio gear comes in literally from within the walls]. "Clean" power comes from a special isolation transformer and is completely separate from the rest of the circuitry in barn, and all the electrical was installed before the walls were closed up in May of 2008. This photo brings us great joy as it means: we're practically done!
An example of conduit (for studio wiring) and electrical before walls were closed up in May of 2008; fabric now covers the side panels, which conceal all conduit in CRs A and B and Isobooths A & B. The studio wiring has yet to be done and will be completed by the beginning of August ~ Recording Camp begins on August 7th.
An example of acoustical sealant between wood panels, Control Room B.
Duct is for HVAC and leads to attic where the machinery will be. That will be the last to be installed simply because we don't yet have the money for it - however, the ductwork is already in place in every room, a necessity before all the walls were closed up, the soffits covered, and all the finishing touches in each room completed. We will simply use fans and open windows when the studios are in use this summer.
An example of "room within a room" construction. Iso A to the left, CR A to right. Both are "floating" on special Kinetics material (on bottom right, between concrete and wood floor, which is itself multi-layered), and the perimeter of each room is lined with special neoprene to further deaden and seal off the floors from each other. Hence, a room within a room: one floating within another, acoustically independent. Fall of 2007.
Access panel to CR B from attic ~ conduit comes up and across in runs, down to the CMR (machine room).
All four rooms were built primarily by Jaylin and Todd Pease, with other people coming in and out for specialty work (electrical, ducts, finishing stairs and balustrade protecting
"skylight", installing plumbing, framing the studio doors and windows ...). Here Todd is shown working on continuing work for framing, April 7 2008.
