new Pony Music Complex construction photos..

[OzDrum]

Well it's finally underway.. after losing the last building due to the landlord going broke we finally found a building, a construction team and building is finally happening!

Click here for details and photos from the construction: (this will be updated regularly)

http://www.ausband.com.au/modules.php?n ... c&t=116788

We will be utilising some new concepts in the construction and materials as developed by the project manager (Total Noise Control) as well as the tried and tested concepts that Rick O'Neill helped us with. We believe with these concepts (one being the tried and true method of studio construction for many years and the new concepts brought in by Total Noise Control - experts in mechanical vibration, acoustic control and products, we will get the best results for a modern complex. Rick will be involved with the final acoustics of the rooms also once raw construction is complete.

Obviously one of the concepts is to have a world class recording studio located in the same building as 6 rehearsal studios!!

Further details on the construction and materials used will be posted on the other link regularly.

very excited!!
Cheers
Geoff Mison

[TimS]

Geoff,
Looks good mate.. You should post this over at Gearslutz as well.. Lots of studio build interest there as well..
Saw you at ENTECH at the Mixmasters stand but wasn't 100% sure I was right it was you!!
I shoulda just said hi anyway.. We were there testing the Brauner Valvet and the AEA mics..
Tim..

[OzDrum]

Thanks Tim,
Yeah I've also posted it at Gearslutz:

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/photo-di ... ost1883234

I've just added some more photos of the plastering which started yesterday.

If you see anyone in a Pony Music shirt it's usually either Damien or myself or one of our staff so come say hi!!

Thought there may have been a bit more comment / interest from this forum though?

Cheers
Geoff

[Ausrock]

We're a quiet, tasteful little group here ;-).............anyways, people are just probably lost for words.

[heathen]

Good luck guys, looks like it's going to be bloody huge, well done, ummm yes I saw it the other day and was lost for words.

[NYMo]

Hi Geoff,

Yeah...it looks bloody huge !!
(hope you have a good lease !)

Cheers

N
Y
M
O

[Chris H]

Hi Geoff. Thats a huge project and i hope all goes well for you. No doubt you would have thought through all the issues but having the studio situated in the same vicinity as the rehearsal space is going to present some issues with noise. Have you ways of overcoming this or will you be reserving some times when only the recording studio will be used?

[astrovic]

Geoff - kudos for giving it a go when so many in the industry are swimming the other way. And it looks great :)

[OzDrum]

more photos have been added. Plastering continues this week as does insulation.

thanks for the comments all! and yes ChrisH we have worked long and hard on the design of the walls and materials etc and the issues of the rehearsal studios in the same complex and all the calculations are pointing to no issues as long as the doors are all closed! the noise from the rehearsal complex will be no more than the normal ambient level of natural airbourne noise, local traffic etc.

and yes it's a long lease!! 10x10x10yrs !! we've been in the current factory for 6+ years and 4yrs in the one before that and this time we are doing it right!!

[rick]

"the noise from the rehearsal complex will be no more than the normal ambient level of natural airbourne noise"


err... i bet your wrong about that !
case of coke ...? two cases of coke ...?

[JulienG]

"the noise from the rehearsal complex will be no more than the normal ambient level of natural airbourne noise"


err... i bet your wrong about that !
case of coke ...? two cases of coke ...?

I think he means this sort of airbourne. :-P

But seriously, I really should get over and have a sticky beak.

[kick'n'snare]

I'm definately going to give the new rooms a good workout when they're finished. The guy's and I just can't wait, quality rehearsal rooms Yeah!

[OzDrum]

updated photos posted today..

Have a great Easter weekend.. I'm busy with live gigs this weekend and next week (Butterfly Effect and Screaming Jets next week) mixing the support bands.

[rick]

must be an exciting time in the pony stables
hows that budget faring up ...?
Air con ...?

[OzDrum]

budget is ok at this stage, nothing has blown out (yet), the project manager has quoted fairly firm prices up to the stage where we take over (paint, floor coverings, finishing etc).

Air-Con is running piping this weekend - they can't do much else before plastering is finished other than running the run-off pipes etc. Quoted price for all air-cons was what we were expecting.

Electrical is also approx what we budgeted for - great to have my best mate as sales rep for one of the biggest electrical wholesalers so he's helped quite a bit with product and prices. All electrical will be surface mounted within the rooms so there's a bit of extra cost in running cable/conduit and mounting blocks etc.

we will start running multicores etc next week but most of that will wait until the floating floor framing is done.

I think if anything it will blow out in finishing but hopefully we have budgeted well enough to get us through to opening.

and Yes, it's very exciting - so far we have been fairly hands off with the construction while the builders do their thing but will be spending a lot more time in the coming weeks down there finishing everything off.. going to be a struggle running the rest of the business at the same time though! glad it's finally underway though!! It's been a long time planning but I'm glad we've taken so much time to plan it right!
cheers
Geoff

[rick]

ok the reason i am flagging the air con at this stage , is VERY few aircon guys understand the idea of acoustic / mechanical isolation, if i am not seeing air chambers at this stage of the build then i am a little concerned that in the air con install the true isolation factor will be overlooked or not quite understood and some poor air con apprentence will be up on the top of the boxes doing the dirty work and just run the air flow through both walls with out understanding that this is very different to any job they have ever done and by mistake or neglect void your hard won acoustic/mechanical isolation , leaving you with problems that you will never find the cure for

worry about this stuff ALOT its worth it :)

[Damien]

the acoustics guy is making a baffle system for the ac in the live room.
we are actually having 2 x systems in the large room, 1 is un baffled so you can blast away and get the temp to where you want it quicker, and the second with the baffle system that you use while tracking (after the first has the temp under control.
the control room will have (at this stage) an un-baffled system, but is being installed with the option of adding it if the noise is to much. these are all split system with "silent" (yeah right) heads in the rooms and the main units on the roof.

all rehearsal rooms will have unbafffled split systems...and loud bands..

[OzDrum]

After the few days we spent with you plus the hours of meetings we've had with the Noise Control / Acoustician etc we came up with the following. In the Rehearsal Studios they are just large inverter split systems surface mounted with piping through the wall with gaskets etc, paying extra special attention to the entry point of the air hose/condensation run off isolation, as internal "noise/air" is not a problem in rehearsals these will be more than sufficient. In the Live Room we have 2 x split systems, 1 will just be run internally in the room which we can blast to get the temperature down/up as we need during non-crucial times (ie: not recording) and another will be inside an enclosed box/baffle system within the room to keep a constant temp. The only intrusion into any of the walls (except for the door) is One entry point for Electrical/Data and ONE entry point for Air Con hose/run off - both of these will be approx 2.5" wide only with rubber gasketing and a switchboard type box with baffling built around the Electrical inputs whilst the pipe will be filled with insulation after wires are run. The Air-Con units are only surface mounted other than the 2.5" hose. The units we are getting are also "ultra" quiet compared to normal units so this should also help. We've gone through a bunch of different options/designs for electrical and aircon getting into and out of the rooms and the option we all decided was one of the best for the budget are the minimal entry points to the rooms - surface mounted electrical/data and split systems rather than ducted aircon.
cheers
Geoff

[OzDrum]

:) I was on the phone as I typed last response.. maybe Damien and I should get back to work!!!

[rick]

ok i understand split systems ( much cheaper) , but fresh air exchange ..? where is the air that has not been turned into co2 by all that rock n roll coming from for the rehearsal rooms ?, ( now that you are going to have airtight doors for the first time .?)

i dont think anybody will die from the lack of oxygen in rooms that size , but they WILL smell awful in pretty short order if you recycle the old air - day in day out

perhaps the deal will be you open ALL THE DOORS and the door to the street EVERYDAY in the morning for 1/2 hour and turn on some industrial fans ( which your going to have to budget for in each room to exchange the air in all those noise boxes your are making look so nice )

OLD air is a great way to make everybody sick.
FRESH air is a great way to make everybody feel like they want to stay longer in your studios .

and hell yeah put the that air con air flow baffles in the control room thats the MOST important place :)

[heathen]

ok i understand split systems ( much cheaper) , but fresh air exchange ..? where is the air that has not been turned into co2 by all that rock n roll coming from for the rehearsal rooms ?, ( now that you are going to have airtight doors for the first time .?)

i dont think anybody will die from the lack of oxygen in rooms that size , but they WILL smell awful in pretty short order if you recycle the old air - day in day out
:)

Excess co2 is probably livable but any excess methane and it's all over.

I don't like the smell of ozone generators but they do get rid of most odours, when you walk into the poker machine rooms at some pubs (before the smoking ban), you could'nt even smell smoke just ozone, maybe a small 1 would work well.

I don't think I could handle the ozone smell 10 hours a day though.

Was just a thought.

[wez]

of all the threads we've had here on this forum, this is the one people are going to keep referring to for years to come... good stuff, keep it up, this is an excellent project undertaken by people who obviously care. there are a lot of so-called serious studio guys who could learn a hell of a lot from all this.

when it's all done i'll definitely be going to hallam and back for a good look (and trust me, driving out there is not something i undertake lightly).

kudos ponies,

wez

[OzDrum]

sorry, been a bit busy to update.. I'm waiting on absorption figures on the Noiseblok so once I get the data I'll add that also for those interested!

Trowelling begins on first layer of plaster:


Insulation cut for Live Room:


AIR CONDITIONERS arrive:


AIR CON Run Off/Drip lines are put in:


Control Room taking shape:

[tonymite]

[quote="OzDrum"]sorry, been a bit busy to update.. I'm waiting on absorption figures on the Noiseblok so once I get the data I'll add that also for those interested!

/quote]

That's the AusPoly stuff right ?

Is it 32kg/m3 or 48 kg/m3 and is it 50 mm?

I think polyester is polyester - I found that teh Autex Noise stop had slightly better figures than Tontine and was a fair bit cheaper - but the Auspoly you have is way cheaper.

I also found 32 k/m3 to hav ebetter coefficients at low freq.

Correct me if Im wrong....

[OzDrum]

I'm still waiting on a copy of the insulation specs/data to put up here for those interested - once I get it in a form I can add here it will go up. I've seen and discussed it and the insulation we are using has specs well ahead of all the other types/brands (rockwool, acoustisorb etc etc)..

Studios are sounding great already - nice natural reverb sound with no flutter etc.. once we get the absorption etc in the rooms we can shape it how we want.

Fri May 2
The New Complex is really starting to take shape.

Rehearsal Rooms 1-6 Roof Completed:




On top of Control Room






On top of Rehearsal Rooms 5 & 6 (Live Room to right):


Live Room taking shape:








Recording Room Lounge Area - not so Comfortable yet!!


Rehearsal Rooms Corridor




The Electricians get a start:
There is only ONE penetration into each studio for electrical wiring and then all wiring is run internally within the room via conduit and mounting blocks etc. This is to minimise holes in the walls and sound leakage. There will also be one penetration for data cabling and one for air conditioning only.







Lots of Electrical Supplies:


BARRIERBOARD Construction


Door Jambs started going in today on Rehearsal Studios
Electrician continuing wiring the rooms
Painting on the Rehearsal Studios starts early next week...

[OzDrum]

Flat out last week and this week painting - working around electrician and carpenters laying the flooring. moving steadily along!!

Rehearsal Studio flooring - acoustic underlay, one layer of chipboard, one layer of yellowtongue.. floor covering still to go on top..


Rehearsal Studio painting.. patching some dodgy plastering as we go! 2 plasterers were fired!!


First coat of paint on hallway, lighting goes in..


Last minute changes - we decided to move the entry door to the recording studio lounge due to the floating floor and ramp..


hmm is that a kitchen sink or a paint cleaning setup?


Flooring is laid throughout rehearsal hallway, each studio doesn't touch the hallway flooring, rubber strips added in between also.


Rehearsal Studio lighting... 2 switches, one with fluoros for working light and 4 x dimmable wall lights for more mood lighting in a creative environment.. final coat of paint goes on..


350+ litres of paint!! 3 coats (1 x undercoat, 2 x topcoats!) that's a lot of painting!!


Yesterday and today, undercoat and first coat went on the Recording Studio Live room, lounge and control room.. needs to be done by Monday as the floor is starting to be laid then in the recording area.

[Linear]

Looking good guys.

One thing however that I just don't get - why all the ugly conduit everywhere? Looks like some kind of 18th century cottage electrical retrofit.

There's absolutely no reason why cabling couldn't have been put in behind the walls. You can make a hole with a cable sticking through it 'airtight' with some tontine and liberal application of plaster and no-more-gaps.

Chris

[Roy]

That's what I was wondering! I'm a sparky myself... wouldn't have done that if it was my place!

Never the less... the place is looking awesome. Keep it up!

[Damien]

this was a really long discussion point.
we went this way as the complex is a rehearsal AND recording complex. with not a great deal of physical separation.
it was decided to put the least amount of holes in the walls for sound to leak out of. yes these can be plugged to some point, but not completely. and its totally up to someone to be on top of every hole and every patch.

we went the safer option of 1 entry point in every room on a wall that does not face the recording rooms and internal wiring.

this also makes later alterations easier as nothing is in the walls (the walls are completely sealed and not easily accessible)

damien

[OzDrum]

yeah as damien mentioned above. Also why compromise a fully sealed wall (16mm firechek + 32mm barrierboard) with approximately 20 x 2" holes knocked out of it x 6 rehearsal rooms and hallway before thinking about the studio.. that's approx 160+ holes knocked out of our sealed walls compromising the acoustic integrity of the rooms! Baffles and acoustic curtains etc will cover a fair bit of the conduits so I'm not really worried by the look - it's amazing how many buildings have conduit!