# VI Composer's Desk



## Nick Batzdorf (Jan 14, 2008)

Well, I won't be joining Bruce and Mike at NAMM - or I should say that Virtual Instruments magazine doesn't have a booth there, just our latest issue in the pub bins and probably Chicken Garth's booth - but we have launched a new division. It's called....VI Products.

The concept is simple: cool products you can't find anywhere else. It's just another way of supporting the magazine. We have a couple more things in development, but the first product is the VI Composer's Desk. Frankly, I'm very proud of it. 

www.VirtualInstrumentsMag.com/composersdesk

We also have the racks alluded to in the ad, but I haven't posted a photo yet (because it was just finished and we haven't had a chance to set up the lights, break out the tripod, etc.). The rack is just gorgeous. Gawjus.


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## Sean Beeson (Jan 14, 2008)

Nice! I am actually in the market for a new desk. When is the ETA? Also, what kind, if any, warranty does the desk come with?

Looks hawt. Any other wood options?


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## Nick Batzdorf (Jan 14, 2008)

Thanks Sean. The ETA is now. I don't see any reason we couldn't make it out of other wood. Maple would work well, for instance.

There's a link to a FAQ on that page with a lot of bumph.


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## madbulk (Jan 14, 2008)

It's a great idea, Nick. A few months back I was asking around here, "why doesn't anybody make a desk for us?" The omnirax stuff has been around for a long time and isn't really vi-centric.
Only question mark for me, based only on this pic, is what about dual monitors? Can that be done, and if so how big? Or is it semi custom, such that it can just be made a little wider if need be?
And above all, best of luck with it.


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## madbulk (Jan 14, 2008)

What's that ya say? Read the damn F.A.Q.?


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## ComposerDude (Jan 14, 2008)

This looks simply wonderful. Congratulations, Nick.

-Peter


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## Nick Batzdorf (Jan 14, 2008)

Half-finished post deleted in effigy...


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## Nick Batzdorf (Jan 14, 2008)

Thanks dudes.

Brian, you can either use a dual-monitor LCD arm or just use two LCD arms. Not only can it be made wider, the next one will. The unit in the ad is a prototype, and that was one of the small tweaks we'd already planned. But they're just small adjustments - the overall design works really well.

However, if you mean can we make the bridge shelf wider...well, we can, but I wouldn't recommend it, because your speakers will be too wide apart and you'll end up with narrow mixes. Composerdude and I were just discussing that very thing. There's plenty of room for two monitors as it is - the one in the ad is a 30" Apple Cinema Display.

And you're right: Omnirax, KK Audio, Argosy - none of those companies make anything like this. That's the reason for its existence.


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## Colin O'Malley (Jan 15, 2008)

Nick, 

I'm inclined to think you are going to sell ALOT of these. I just went through a lot of searching around at various companies for a new desk. I came to the conclusion that a custom build was the only solution for me (until now). 

Thanks, 

Colin


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## madbulk (Jan 15, 2008)

careyford @ Tue Jan 15 said:


> Hey Nick,
> This looks great. I've been struggling with desk ideas and considering a chair that costs about as much as this desk. I'll have to start saving up!
> Richard



I want to see this chair immediately.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Jan 15, 2008)

Thanks Colin. And Carey, I want to see that chair too!


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## synthetic (Jan 15, 2008)

Wow, that desk looks amazing. Great job.


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## Mike Greene (Jan 15, 2008)

That _does_ look very cool! The whole design makes a lot of sense to me. I think you've really hit on something here. 8)


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## StrangeCat (Jan 15, 2008)

that is one nice desk!! I love the varnish look. will you have different colors?
Just looks like a great desk I am jealous!


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## Nick Batzdorf (Jan 15, 2008)

More thanks.

Yeah, we can do different wood, and it can be finished pretty much any way. Colored stain, whatever.

Canadian maple would be the same price.


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## Hans Adamson (Jan 15, 2008)

Nick,

I sent you an email at your old 'recording' address. Did you get it?


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## Nick Batzdorf (Jan 15, 2008)

Yes, I just got back in and replied. Thanks!


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## Bruce Richardson (Jan 15, 2008)

Nick Batzdorf @ Tue Jan 15 said:


> Canadian maple would be the same price.



How about canadian bacon? /\~O 

congrats...see you at the show?

B.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Jan 15, 2008)

I'll be there, eh.

No bacon for me, though.


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## JohnnyMarks (Jan 16, 2008)

I absolutlely love this sort of smart design. And visually so nice especially compared to all that bloated MDF stuff. Hope you sell a gillion.


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## Craig Sharmat (Feb 2, 2008)

went and saw the desk yesterday...quite simply I want one. 
The keyboard stays put and the mousing area moves smoothly pretty much anywhere you want it. 

you can comfortably place scores on the desk with nary a head turn when you need to. 

In fact the desk/mousing area is so large I can store todays breakfast dishes, yesterdays dinner dishes, yesterdays lunch dishes etc. If nick could attach a urinal to it I might not need to move for close to 24 hours.

anyway

It looks great and feels very solid!

I just need to convince my wife as it is not inexpensive.


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## Rob Elliott (Feb 2, 2008)

Awesome Nick - looks like a great design. Don't have enough miles on my 'only' one year old desk or I'd pick one up - but best of luck on this venture - I am sure you will be successful.

Rob


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## ComposerDude (Feb 2, 2008)

Before building my studio desk I raytraced the design in profile to determine optimal speaker height -- as low as reasonable without getting desk reflectance. The laminate wraparound desktop is flat and 3' off the ground, fixed in position with a _sliding keyboard shelf_ underneath and racks to the side. In this configuration the monitors had to be elevated about 15 degrees yet the imaging is superb.

Can't comment on your monitors far back and up near the ceiling, but a reasonably-close 15 degree elevation doesn't seem to cause difficulties here.

I will say that if I hadn't already built my own desk, would certainly be a customer for your desk which appears marvelously well designed.

-Peter


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## Nick Batzdorf (Feb 2, 2008)

Hm. 15˚ is probably about the height we're talking about, right? I've forgotten all my 10th grade geometry, but at about 5' away the bottom is going to be a couple of feet above the desk surface, right?


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## ComposerDude (Feb 2, 2008)

For you, Nick, I went and measured the speaker geometry.

Cutting to the chase, the centerpoint-front of the coaxial speaker driver is about 11.4 inches higher than my ears, and the front of the speaker is 53.5 inches away from the nearest typical listening position. The speakers are about 55 inches apart, center-front-of-cone to center-front-of-cone, and therefore are in range of the ideal equilateral triangle in the listening zone of 53.5 to 62 inches distance.

Arcsin(11.4/53.5) is 12.3° elevation.

Speaker base height above desktop depends on seated height of person in chair, height of desktop, and distance from side of speaker to speaker cone(s), so that calculation is left as an exercise to the reader. 

I have custom-built wood angle wedges under the speakers so the speakers are pointing almost directly at me at the mix position.

-Peter


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## Peter Alexander (Feb 2, 2008)

ComposerDude @ Sat Feb 02 said:


> Arcsin(11.4/53.5) is 12.3° elevation.



_Fire on my command!_


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## artsoundz (Feb 2, 2008)

Peter Alexander @ Sat Feb 02 said:


> ComposerDude @ Sat Feb 02 said:
> 
> 
> > Arcsin(11.4/53.5) is 12.3° elevation.
> ...




hilarious!


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## ComposerDude (Feb 2, 2008)




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## Nick Batzdorf (Feb 2, 2008)

"I have custom-built wood angle wedges under the speakers so the speakers are pointing almost directly at me at the mix position."

An alternative is Auralex MoPads, although they're not 15˚.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Feb 2, 2008)

"Cutting to the chase, the centerpoint-front of the coaxial speaker driver is about 11.4 inches higher than my ears"

That sounds like your speakers are almost high enough to go over a couple of wide-ish computer monitors, ja?




By the way, this is a rough picture of the racks that either go with the desk or can work equally well stand-alone. Unless specified otherwise, they come with no screw holes pre-drilled in the wooden rack rails. That lets you put less than 1U of air space between units if you want to break the official rack standard. The wood rails mean no shorts between equipment chassis and therefore no ground loops caused by the rack.

http://homepage.mac.com/virtualinstruments/.Pictures/Photo%20Album%20Pictures/IMG_0006.JPG (http://homepage.mac.com/virtualinstrume ... G_0006.JPG)

This one is 8U (plus a little extra left over for space) and about 18" deep, but they come in all shapes and sizes.


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## Peter Alexander (Feb 4, 2008)

On a serious note - how heavy an audio monitor can the shelves sustain. For example, Fostex NF1As and KRK VXT8's are nearly 37lbs each. THey stand vertically, not horizontally.

Peter


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## Nick Batzdorf (Feb 4, 2008)

Ah, an automatic monitor top cleaner! Great feature!

I wondered about the decoupling aspect of the MoPads, since you'd think that could muddy the bass, but at least with my Blue Sky monitors the manufacturer said it didn't matter either way (I asked their designer that question a few months ago). These are sats, though - they cross over to the sub at about 80Hz. However, with full-range speakers they may not be the right thing. I think you just have to listen.

By the way, I have them level, not pointing down. The only reason I'm using them is that they're convenient.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Feb 4, 2008)

Peter, those monitors would be no problem at all. The bridge shelf on the prototype in the photo is 1-1/2" thick solid red oak. Vibration is no problem either.

Also, the rest of the desk will be 6" wider than the prototype, so the bridge shelf will have 3" less overhang on either side. There are two reasons for the extra width: 1. it will accommodate all controller keyboards; and 2. by making it wider we can lose at least 1/2" of distance between the bottom of the keyboard shelf and the top of the desktop, since the drawer slides - which are 3/4" thick (pretty gnarly) - won't have to clear the keyboard.

I'm not sure how easy the reasons for the change are to picture, but the bottom line is that you can put huge honking monitors on the bridge shelf even on the pictured desk and it'll support them just fine. And it won't vibrate, because it's solid as hell, in fact you can put a turntable on there and it won't have any issues.


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## Peter Alexander (Feb 4, 2008)

Do you have price, yet?


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## Nick Batzdorf (Feb 4, 2008)

Jawohl: $2495, batteries not included. Not a paltry sum, but it's handmade out of solid hardwood and really done well.

Here's the FAQ:

http://www.virtualinstrumentsmag.com/co ... k/faq.html


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## Synesthesia (Jul 15, 2008)

Nick - 

How much is shipping to the UK?

I may be in the market for a new desk shortly (moving studios) and want to work out if its feasible to ship iver the pond..

Cheers!

Paul


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## Nick Batzdorf (Jul 15, 2008)

We just had another request for shipping to NZ, so I'll find out at the same time.

In the meantime, if you couldòmh   5„mh   5…mh   5†mh   5‡mh   5ˆmh   5‰mh   5Šmh   5‹mh   5Œmh   5mh   5Žmh   5mh   5


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## Synesthesia (Jul 15, 2008)

OK will do.

Just thought it couldn't hurt to bump your fab desk! :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:


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## jonathanparham (Mar 9, 2017)

Reviving this thread. I was thinking of this desk but cannot find pictures of it. Anyone own it or have a screen shot of the original copy?


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## playz123 (Mar 9, 2017)

jonathanparham said:


> Reviving this thread. I was thinking of this desk but cannot find pictures of it. Anyone own it or have a screen shot of the original copy?











And no, the desk isn't warped...it's just lens distortion from the camera.


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## kurtvanzo (Mar 9, 2017)

Nice job Nick! Got excited about this before I realized the website is gone and the thread is almost 10 years old. Still, those skills will come in handy after the apocolyse. While my computer skills will mean squat.


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## jonathanparham (Mar 9, 2017)

playz123 said:


> And no, the desk isn't warped...it's just lens distortion from the camera.


Thanks for the quick response.


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## playz123 (Mar 9, 2017)

kurtvanzo said:


> Nice job Nick! Got excited about this before I realized the website is gone and the thread is almost 10 years old. Still, those skills will come in handy after the apocolyse. While my computer skills will mean squat.


Kurt et al., Nick still sells the desk...just doesn't have a link reestablished yet. But anyone who is interested can contact him directly or send a PM. They are solidly built, very versatile and well designed. 

_Nick wrote: "I've been working on a custom desk using that design all day long for over ten years, in fact I sell them. (I'd post the link but I got frustrated with the hosting company, let the site expire, and haven't set up a new one yet.)"_


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## jonathanparham (Mar 9, 2017)

Thanks again. I had the omnirax commander setup but sold it in a move. I'm writing again and having trouble getting comfortable. Does this still feature the sliding top portion that goes over the keyboard controller?


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## playz123 (Mar 9, 2017)

jonathanparham said:


> Thanks again. I had the omnirax commander setup but sold it in a move. I'm writing again and having trouble getting comfortable. Does this still feature the sliding top portion that goes over the keyboard controller?


Yes.....and it's SO handy. My shelf is moved back and forth on a regular basis.


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## agarner32 (Mar 10, 2017)

I bought this desk a couple of years ago and love it. I like that it gives me plenty of room to write. It's beautifully made too. He makes it according to your measurements. It's not cheap.

https://monkwoodstudio.com/blogs/from-the-studio/8086081-new-studio-table


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## playz123 (Mar 10, 2017)

agarner32 said:


> I bought this desk a couple of years ago and love it. I like that it gives me plenty of room to write. It's beautifully made too. He makes it according to your measurements. It's not cheap.
> 
> https://monkwoodstudio.com/blogs/from-the-studio/8086081-new-studio-table


Commercial announcement thread, so I assume we should avoid linking or discussing products from other suppliers??


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## Mystic (Mar 10, 2017)

agarner32 said:


> I bought this desk a couple of years ago and love it. I like that it gives me plenty of room to write. It's beautifully made too. He makes it according to your measurements. It's not cheap.


I've been looking at their Large Modern Wood Recording Studio Desk for Composer but I can't swallow the price tag. Plus, I'd be replacing the legs and making it a sit/stand but the desk itself would be way too heavy for it so I'm trying to redesign it as plywood. I can't seem to find a good way to do the slide out tray though nor can I seem to find heavy duty enough track sliders that can hold the weight of a fully weighted 88-Key keyboard.


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## agarner32 (Mar 10, 2017)

I had all those same issues which is why I decided to have an expert build it. He has gotten very popular since I bought mine which was around $700 cheaper. I agree it's pretty pricey, but it's custom built and made really well. I love having the sliding keyboard tray which is one of the main reasons why I got it - plus I specified the perfect dimensions for my space. And it holds a heavy 88-key controller. It's one of the best purchases I've made.


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