CLASSICAL MUSIC RECORDING STUDIO
Finding a recording studio suitable for classical music is not an easy task. You need to find a room that is large enough to accommodate chamber music and choral groups, as well as ensuring that the correct acoustics are installed for maximum performance. This article will cover the necessary size studio, the all important reverberation time required and the studio design.

In terms of studio size, you need to know precisely what it is that you are trying to achieve. If you are on a strict budget, you do not need a room that will hold twenty musicians if you only ever intend to have ten in the room at once. This is the major difficulty in dealing with classical music groups however, they are usually of a much larger size than a normal band. With this in mind, you have to be strict, and only allow musicians who are directly involved with the recording in the studio. This means no hangers-on are to be catered for. You should keep the floor area to a minimum, so the distance that reflected rays must travel to microphone remains as small as possible.

Reverberation time is simply the time required for sound in a particular space to decay 60 decibels. Surfaces that are absorptive will lead to short reverberation time, whilst reflective surfaces will have the opposite effect. Reverberation time is still considered to be one of the most important factors in a classical music recording studio and should be calculated accordingly. Organ music needs a longer reverberation time, whilst chamber music benefits from a shorter period. For a recording studio with a volume of 100,000 ft³, the time should be about 1.6 seconds for classical music.

A normal room in your house will not be sufficient for a classical music recording studio, so if your intention is to convert a spare room into a recording space, then forget about it. You will need to have doors big enough to allow the rather large classical music equipment to fit through. The studio should ideally be a building of concrete-block structure with reinforced walls to protect the studio from outside noise.

Finding a suitable location for a classical music recording studio is not easy, nor is financing it. Such a project is only for one who is independently wealthy, or has aspirations of hosting professional musicians. You should check online for information regarding other factors, such as cost of equipment, cost of soundproofing and acquiring planning permission if necessary.