I now have an attic to use for studio space. We've spent some time taping down noisy windows and sweeping and vacuuming, putting some pieces of carpet down, and we did some sound checks today. While this isn't a perfect space, it's acoustically better than my small studio room. There's only one problem: It's winter, and this space has no heat.
A space heater will help during tracking sessions, and we plan to put one in. However, the temperature at night will dip below freezing, and leaving a space heater on all night isn't an option, for safety reasons.
We're planning to remove all instruments and equipment except for cables each night, assuming that this will be a problem. (Fortunately, the drum kit has been kept in an outdoor shed for many years, so there's very likely little that additional exposure to cold can do to it.)
Here's our plan for what stays in the cold and what gets brought down:
Bring down each night:
- Macbook with MOTU interface
- Dynamic mics
- 3 condensor mics
- Guitars, bass, mandolins
- Delicate hand percussion
- Studio monitors
Leave in the attic, can be exposed to cold:
- Sturdy hand percussion (plastic tambourine, shakers, etc)
- Mic stands (leave in position)
- Cables (taped in position to desk)
- Power conditioner
- Instrument stands
- Full drum kit (for reasons above)
My question:
Does this plan make sense? Should we be worried about the cold on studio electronics? Or is this even an issue--are we worrying for no reason?
I've always assumed that cold is a problem for electronics, but I'm not certain why.