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Room acoustics in a former church sanctuary?

Hey all,
My wife and I have stumbled on an extremely cheap property that used to be a church which we might buy. We are both artists/musicians, so a Goth space like that seems like a fun challenge to turn into a home. I was wondering if a church sanctuary could be used for BOTH producing music in, and for my hi fi. I wouldn't want to spend a lot of money on room treatments, but it could be a work in progress over many years, in which case some long term investments wouldn't be out of the question. I do feel that a separate listening room takes the fun out of listening to music for me personally, though I respect others for using one (and I am aware of the acoustical advantages of them). The sanctuary is roughly 30 by 40 feet and has a fairly low, barreled ceiling with a rear upper loft. I was thinking of putting my very modest Vandersteen 3a's off from that rear wall below the loft which would project forward into the rest of the space. The rear upper loft would be used for a music room (instruments and the like). Maybe this is an impossibility, maybe the echoes could never be reigned in... I am curious what you folks think.
nickyt
wolf_garcia
6,694 posts
 
Balderdash! Living in an old church can obviously be great and clearly you understand that as you mentioned it's a "challenge." I think people are weirdly concerned with room ambience (I'm a long time musician/live sound tech) and unless you plan to sit 40 feet away from your "modest" 3As you should be in for loads of fun, and recording there might have some natural reverb most studios would kill for. Gigantic period correct fake wall tapestries...great Halloween parties...atheist gatherings...human (or maybe goat) sacrifices! FUN!
lenny_zwik
259 posts
 
Just check out both Cowboy Junkies "Trinity Sessions" sound / ambience. They purposefully went and then revisited a church to record these records and they're stunning!
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,152 posts
 
I'd get a feel for the room acoustics somehow beforehand if that is a major decision point for you. IT will not likely sound like a typical home listening room, but rather have its own unique charms that can be leveraged to unique effect if done right. For example, in a large lively space, a small flea powered tube amp might be all that's called for. Sometimes, a lively room calls for a "less is more" type approach, which opens up all kinds of possibilities that might not be practical or cost effective otherwise. A lot will depend. I'd have to believe the Vandys could be made to work if needed. Just do not expect a large likely acoustically distinctive room like that to be something it isn't....
mgattmch
569 posts
 
32 years ago my wife and I purchased our first home, a 200 year old converted Welsh chapel. Arguably the best looking home we have ever owned; complete with 2' thick stone walls, beautiful slate roof and many exposed beams. The acoustics in the main living room were very good. The only real problem we had were with the walls and windows, massive great heat sinks that was very difficult/expensive to heat (no need for AC in the UK!). Be careful about it being cheap, upgrading old properties to modern standards can be very expensive in the end; been there done that.
wolf_garcia
6,694 posts
 
If you're in the US you can pay for the entire thing by starting a religion...you only need to hold services once a week (or never), get an interesting hat for events (religions benefit from cool hats), make up whatever you need (religions are great for mythological improv) to comfort the patrons, and everything becomes property and income tax free.
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