Guitar room - Calling on your inner Martha Stewart...

[poodlesrule]

A section of the basement will be mine to set my music stuff in - play and tinker areas.
It is semi-finished, but surfaces need refreshing, and I want a translucent wall to get more natural light in a darker corner, so there is no "legacy" color/theme to worry about.
A tad humid, as it is in a coastal area, but a dehumidifier is in the works.

It will be man-cave, not the NLF-watching kind, though - I already have wall art, like 45's form the sixties (Chubby Checker, the Shirelles, The Drifters) I found at the dump...

What colors or textures would enhance the musical experience, given the limited amount of natural light?

[kiteman]

Gloss white.

[poodlesrule]

Gloss white.

We are not going in the right direction here...
Maybe mentioning Martha was not a god idea, after all. :thwap

[guitarhack]

Look at the label colors on your 45s. Is there a light color or colors used as lettering or in the background? Are you trying to evoke a 50s and 60s atmosphere? Then use colors like turquoise, or go to guitar finishes like seafoam green, shell pink, etc. Have fun!

[Spudman]

Lots of small wattage lamps. You'll get zonal lighting that will allow some great ambiance. You'll also keep the electrical bill down.

Since you are in a basement don't forget room treatment. You'll need to absorb some sound reflections. Couches, carpet, cloth wall hangings can all help with this.

[sunvalleylaw]

I am into earthy colors that provide a warm background. So if you need lighter colors, some color you might find in an Arizona canyon, or something like that. Then the memorabilia and guitars, etc., can all pop off the more natural background.

[kiteman]

We are not going in the right direction here...
Maybe mentioning Martha was not a god idea, after all. :thwap

I suggested it because it'll give you more ambient light.

[Justaguyin_nc]

All black walls trimed in high gloss white..a blacklight..
and ofcourse some things from this listing:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/navigation?N=100001+709685

umm...my teen years are showing..

[poodlesrule]

I suggested it because it'll give you more ambient light.

OK, that makes sense.

I agree on the gloss, and the white would help bounce the light around.
I was thinking more saturated yellows, or blues, as I had to agree to very light colors upstairs, under SWMBO (she who must be obeyed).

I wish I had the dough to have a basement window cut in the top part of the concrete foundation, like 30 x 20 or so. A long-term investment in comfort level?

[kiteman]

OK, that makes sense.

I agree on the gloss, and the white would help bounce the light around.
I was thinking more saturated yellows, or blues, as I had to agree to very light colors upstairs, under SWMBO (she who must be obeyed).

I wish I had the dough to have a basement window cut in the top part of the concrete foundation, like 30 x 20 or so. A long-term investment in comfort level?

Right and I just realized that sound might bounce around so that didn't come out right here. Back to the drawing board I guess. :thwap

[Jx2]

If you smoke Id watch really light colors. If you dont how about something like a sandstone, brown or tan?

Another idea for lighting is x-mas tree lights. Hang them along the top of the wall. My old roommate and I did that in the front/party room of our trailer years ago. It really set the mood. We only used white lights, but if you wanted to get really funky go with the old school red, blue, and other color bigger bulbs.

[sunvalleylaw]

I am into this earthy green in my guitar room, and in hang out rooms in general. Kind of a guacamole color. It is a nice place to hang out in. I did not not suggest it at first because of the light issue.

This shows the color of the room. But it is a light room.

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/sunvalleylaw/IMG_0046.jpg

It is among those earthy tones I was talking about. Like JX2 was saying, a sandstone sort of color was what I was suggesting when I mentioned AZ canyon type colors. Lighter, with maybe some burnt red or rust in it.

[Katastrophe]

I dunno, the last studio I decorated had white walls and black splatter paint all over. I'm probably the wrong person to ask! It was the early nineties, we were all single, and building a garage studio for our band.


Seriously, I wouldn't make any color you choose too bright or brash. Pick a wall color, and people at the paint store can help choose complementary colors. I tend to go for far more neutral beiges and off whites these days. Boring, maybe, but relaxing to be in.

EDIT: Steve, I bet you get some hellacious reverb in that room!

[sunvalleylaw]

LOL Kat!

It has a big sectional couch right across from my amph, maybe 6 feet away the way the room is set up now, and curtain thingies (not actual curtains, but the fabric that hides the blinds underneath) above the windows, some throw rugs on the floor and etc. So the echo chamber got toned down some.

It looks more like this now.

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/sunvalleylaw/IMG_0068.jpg

[Jx2]

One of these days I'll have myself a little jam room instead of a jam corner.

[R_of_G]

My music room is a nice deep dark green, but then again, I'm extremely photosensitive so light is not my friend.

[sunvalleylaw]

One of these days I'll have myself a little jam room instead of a jam corner. Mine is a corner of a good sized room. It is nice, but since it is the multi media room too, it is a well used room, and hard to get time in. Headphones are becoming my friend.

[poodlesrule]

If you smoke Id watch really light colors. If you dont how about something like a sandstone, brown or tan?
Another idea for lighting is x-mas tree lights

Good points Jx2 and others.

Don't smoke and don't plan too, unless I need to, and then wall color will be the least of my worries (I should write a PSA on men's health here, one of these days...).

Christmas lights: Good idea, but I am NOT ready to add that the the room, as I removed tons of it, and a bunch of other stuff hanging for the ceiling like fishnets, seashells when we moved in! Foreclosed PO was doing some partying down there..! For some odd reason there were also miles of speaker cables...

Maybe I should watch Wayne's World again... I already have a white strat, just like Wayne. "Schwing!"

[ZMAN]

One thing to try is some track lighting, especially where you amps are going to be. Nothing worse than trying in see your settings in a dark room. Lighter walls will make it look cleaner and brighter.

[Ch0jin]

....Don't smoke and don't plan too, unless I need to..

Need to? Why would you -need- to take up smoking? I mean I smoked for years so I'm not being smart, just seems like an odd thing to say :)

Oh and nothing says "Jam room" to me more that Persian rugs. In fact I've heard of big time touring musicians who travel with massive rugs so the stage under their feet feels consistent, and like a little bit of familiar territory. They also absorb sound (and beer and sweat and dirt and....)

I met several guys in Turkey who I'm sure would be delighted to hook you up ;)

(and and I realize "Persian" means Iranian or Afghan, so a rug from Turkey would be a Turkish carpet, I just refer to them all as Persian rugs out of habit)

[poodlesrule]

Need to? Why would you -need- to take up smoking? ... just seems like an odd thing to say :)

Oh and nothing says "Jam room" to me more that Persian rugs.

Refering to medicinal smoking, as allowed in California, for example. As in, I doubt that I will be around to post on The Fret, say, fifteen years from now, realistically.

Yes on Persian rugs.
And funky chairs and sofas, after I settle the slight humidity problem!