# Tell me about your work environment



## lehmannmusic (Nov 14, 2009)

Hi - I recently picked up an 88 key controller and I'm going to rebuild my entire studio around it. I'm thinking about making a desk cut from plywood that's shaped according to what I need where.

Until now I had a regular computer desk with a (typing) keyboard tray and the controller (61 key) was up on the desk. This, obviously, isn't a very good way to play piano style music (or anything really as I'm a piano player first) and I've been looking at other peoples' setups and I'm noticing that most people have the controller lower (piano height) and the typing keyboard either on the desk or up somewhere within their setup.

What's your ideal setup? What have you tried that worked or that didn't work? Anyone make their own desk?

I picked up the Yamaha KX8 and it's quite deep - I think I can live with the Mac keyboard and wireless mouse sitting on the Yamaha.

If anyone has any pictures, I'd love to see them. I'm starting from scratch on this rebuild and I want it to be great!


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## gsilbers (Nov 14, 2009)

http://www.cinesamples.com/2009/03/orch ... le-and-dp/


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## JohnG (Nov 14, 2009)

this still looks smart to me:

http://virtualinstrumentsmag.com/composersdesk/


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## RiffWraith (Nov 14, 2009)

lehmannmusic @ Sun Nov 15 said:


> Hi - I recently picked up an 88 key controller and I'm going to rebuild my entire studio around it.



You are building your entire studio around a keyboard? Serious?


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## lehmannmusic (Nov 14, 2009)

RiffWraith @ Sat Nov 14 said:


> lehmannmusic @ Sun Nov 15 said:
> 
> 
> > Hi - I recently picked up an 88 key controller and I'm going to rebuild my entire studio around it.
> ...



Maybe that wasn't worded properly. I have a room in my house that is my music studio, and I've removed everything from it, including the old computer desk that wasn't meeting my needs and certainly wouldn't fit my new controller on it.

I plan to place the controller in the room where I want to sit and begin putting things back in the room so that everything is within reach.


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## Hal (Nov 14, 2009)

RiffWraith @ Sat Nov 14 said:


> lehmannmusic @ Sun Nov 15 said:
> 
> 
> > Hi - I recently picked up an 88 key controller and I'm going to rebuild my entire studio around it.
> ...



i was about to ask the same question now i beleive that what he wants is building a new disk and where should he put his mouse and keyboard !

in this case the title is misleading,cause this isnt work environment.


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## lehmannmusic (Nov 14, 2009)

Well, I work there... it's an environment...


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## germancomponist (Nov 14, 2009)

I have built me a nice one. I will do a photo and post it here.


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## JMDNYC (Nov 15, 2009)

Here's some pictures and diagrams of a desk my wife built for me:

http://web.me.com/belseydavis/Site/Wood/Pages/Mixing_desk.html (http://web.me.com/belseydavis/Site/Wood ... _desk.html)

It's neither cheap nor easy -- she designed it in Google Sketchup, then we had to hire a professional carpenter to cut the wood. The assembly she did herself. 

One of the difficult parts is finding heavy hardware to slide the keyboard. That's probably why the Composer desk at VI Magazine slides the top surface instead of sliding the keyboard. I find sliding the keyboard so natural now that I can't imagine working without it.


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## Hannes_F (Nov 15, 2009)

My keyboard is sitting on this stand:

http://www.thomann.de/de/km_18953.htm

and the desk over it is basically a wood core plywood sheet (I dislike chipboard) sitting on two stands and just high enough that I can push the keyboard under it.

Had an X-shaped keyboard stand before but that does not make too much sense.

BTW be aware that the bigger the free space on your desk is the more you will have reflections from the monitors. So either keep that small or cluttered  (just saying)


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## MaraschinoMusic (Nov 15, 2009)

NYC Composer @ Mon Nov 16 said:


> My wife bought me an Aeron chair - that was enough sticker-shock to
> last me for a while.



My lady just bought me a $1200 chair too - I was thinking "LASS... LASS... LASS..."


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## MaraschinoMusic (Nov 15, 2009)

I've just moved house, so my studio is temporarily set up in a spare bedroom. I've got an old dining table as a desk, with a custom built shelf thingy that stands on the rear half of the table, on supports that clear the mixing desk, and that is where the monitors and computer screens stand. I use an Ultimate Support keyboard stand to my right, at right angles to the table for my main keyboards, and the rest are leaning up against the wall. My FX/MIDI rack is to the left of the table, against the rear wall and everything is within easy reach thanks to the wheels on my new chair! That's the bad news...

The good news is that my new home is on ten acres in the Queensland countryside, (in the Narangba Valley for any Aussies who may know the area...) and work commences on the new studio in January 2010. This will be built from scratch, floating floors, ducted aircon, a real Grand Piano... Naturally, I'm more than a bit excited by this and I may be a trifle ebullient for a few months! Meanwhile, back to the spare bedroom...

I'm going to try and set up a website when work commences, to document the progress if anyone is interested - I'll post details when the time comes.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Nov 15, 2009)

Thanks for the recommendation, JohnG (for http://virtualinstrumentsmag.com/composersdesk/). This thread is making me think we should do a group buy or maybe a group discount. We'd only need to do three or four at once to bring down the cost dramatically (because setting up for each step is what takes the most time, and if you only have to do it once...).

That Belsey desk looks really nice, but I still believe strongly that having the desktop slide and the keyboard stay put is the way to do it. The reason is that you stay in the perfect position between the speakers and from your computer monitor all the time, and it takes no time to slide the desktop wherever you want it. And putting the computer monitor(s) on a stand that floats it is the way to do it.

I've tried many configurations and can honestly say that this is the one that works the best. There are a lot of details too - measurements, the actual slides to use, etc. We have quite a few very satisfied customers at this point - myself included.


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## nikolas (Nov 15, 2009)

http://www.nikolas-sideris.com/studio/7.jpg
and
http://www.nikolas-sideris.com/studio/6.jpg

I built a stand on top of a regular (big) desk, and I'm swell. It's very ergonomic, the loss of space is non existant (since it's high enough to fit keyboard and mouse underneath, as well as a wealth of other stuff I'm constantly trying to find).

Problems include:
a. The keyboard is slightly high
and
b. I have the suspicion that because the screens are also high (above the keyboard stand) I'm loosing some frequencies.

Solving the problem would simply include raising the chair 3 inches or so! (which I would do in a few days, if only I wasn't so numb right now from things in my mind!)

John: +1 vote for seeing more of the keyboard (better pics, and even selling the design? )


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## JMDNYC (Nov 16, 2009)

nikolas @ Mon Nov 16 said:


> John: +1 vote for seeing more of the keyboard (better pics, and even selling the design? )



There are some more pictures on my website here:

http://www.johnmdavis.com/studiophotos/Site/Studio_Photos.html (http://www.johnmdavis.com/studiophotos/ ... hotos.html)

I'm in the middle of updating my website, so this link may not last for long. I'll have a few more pictures on the new website.

I really have no argument about whether Nick's desk is better than mine. It's a bit of apples and oranges. Mine is very specific -- we measured the distance from base of monitor to bottom of screen, the length of the Mackie control, the height of my speakers in relation to my ears, etc., etc. I even made a few mistakes, so we had to build boxes to raise the speakers and I have to sit on a cushion to put me at the perfect position. However, the piano keys are exactly in the right spot, and sliding is not a problem.

In terms of selling the plans, my wife is currently writing a book with lots of different types of projects, and this may be included. But even then I don't know if this desk is right for everyone. For example, I would love to replace the Mackie Control with a C24, but that's not going to happen with this design. I'll definitely post if she decides to release them.


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## zareone (Nov 16, 2009)

Here's my desk:

http://daniel-blanco.net/images/daw01.jpg
http://daniel-blanco.net/images/daw02.jpg
http://daniel-blanco.net/images/daw03.jpg
http://daniel-blanco.net/images/daw04.jpg

It was designed by me (if it makes sense for such a simple thing) and built by my father. It's rock solid. Both lateral modules are 19" wide, so I can add some rack stuff if I ever need to (which I doubt, but who knows...)

I want to add a keyboard tray (maybe something like humanscale http://www.humanscale.com/products/keyb ... =mechanism)

Cheers


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## bryla (Nov 16, 2009)

With jack smalley right by your side!


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## zareone (Nov 16, 2009)

bryla @ Mon Nov 16 said:


> With jack smalley right by your side!



:shock: wow! you definitely have good visual faculties.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Nov 16, 2009)

No. Keyboard trays are all wrong. Sorry! You need an anchor for your forearms when you're typing. It can be the arms of a chair or the front of your desktop, but you're going to get carpal tunnel problems if you have to create the pivot point for your forearms by tensing up your muscles.

There are extenuating circumstances, for example if you don't tyòZô   ·{Zô   ·|Zô   ·}Zô   ·~Zô   ·Zô   ·€Zô   ·Zô   ·‚Zô   ·ƒZô   ·„Zô   ·…Zô   ·†Zô   ·‡Zô   ·ˆZô   ·‰Zô   ·ŠZô   ·‹Zô   ·ŒZô   ·Zô   ·ŽZô   ·Zõ   ·Zõ


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## synthetic (Nov 16, 2009)

RiffWraith @ Sat Nov 14 said:


> lehmannmusic @ Sun Nov 15 said:
> 
> 
> > Hi - I recently picked up an 88 key controller and I'm going to rebuild my entire studio around it.
> ...



I did: 

http://www.jefflaity.com/gallery/desk

Plans are there (sorta) if you're interested. Typing for a long time is a bit of a pain (should have put a rounder edge on the desk), but it makes me take a break/get back to writing.  No regrets, I think it looks and works great. 

The VI desk looks really cool though, if I had waited a year I probably would have just bought that and saved months of pain and sawdust.


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## synthetic (Nov 16, 2009)

A tip: Be sure you REALLY like the keyboard if you're custom designing a desk around it! I like my Fatar but I spilled a mai tai inside and almost killed it, and you can't buy them anymore. I left a bit of space around so I can put something else in there, but it's close. I was looking at a Kawai MP8 but it won't fit. 

The KX8 is OK but I'm not sure I'd want to mate for life with it. Keep your options open.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Nov 16, 2009)

Yes, you want to make sure there's enough room for a different model keyboard. We designed ours so that you can raise or lower the desktop by removing or adding pieces of wood underneath the drawer slides - not exactly adjustable in a hurry, but not forever so that you're stuck.


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## nikolas (Nov 16, 2009)

Oh yes, definately. I've left plenty of room for most digital pianos I could think off and quite a few midi keyboards in my case!  

Some very nice solutions there guys! ^_^


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## Hal (Nov 16, 2009)

synthetic @ Mon Nov 16 said:


> RiffWraith @ Sat Nov 14 said:
> 
> 
> > lehmannmusic @ Sun Nov 15 said:
> ...



Hey jeff which monitors are these ?
P 22?
i might buy 2 this week and would like to know how do they perform and if you like them ?


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## synthetic (Nov 17, 2009)

I have ADAM S2As. I bought a third since those pics were taken so I have L/C/R. I didn't like the P-series very much, I prefer their A7 monitors to those.


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## synthetic (Nov 17, 2009)

Hans as in Zimmer? He has big-ass soffit mount Quested mains for LCR and stereo Quested midfields, last time I visited. 

Right now I have audio and video monitors set up thusly:
[small display] [big display] 

My big 30" display is for Logic, the other is for email, iTunes, and remote desktop to my Giga machines. 

The center monitor is right in my face, way too close. I would love to have another 3 feet behind my desk to set the monitors up there, but space is limited by my little apartment. I don't use the center much, 90% of the time I monitor in stereo. But the S2A got replaced by the S2X, so I felt I had to buy one while I could if I wanted a matching set. 

I use the TASCAM DM-3200 as my console, Firewire interface and surround monitor controller. That part works well for me, though I'm thinking about getting the SPL monitor controller to have an analog control/switcher.​


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## madbulk (Nov 17, 2009)

synthetic @ Tue Nov 17 said:


> Hans as in Zimmer? He has big-ass soffit mount Quested mains for LCR and stereo Quested midfields, last time I visited.



yes, they're stunning. but he apparently sits behind five ear level screens that block line of sight to those speakers.

And I've never visited, so I'll defer certainly. And also I was kinda kidding.


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## JMDNYC (Nov 17, 2009)

[quote:bcbc2b1419="Nick Batzdorf @ Tue Nov 17, 2009 2:06 pm"]Just curious - how are you and other people dealing with the center speaker wanting to be in theò[t   ·!T[t   ·!U[t   ·!V[t   ·!W[t   ·!X[t   ·!Y[t   ·!Z[t   ·![[t   ·!\[t   ·!][t   ·!^[t   ·!_[t   ·!`[t   ·!a[t   ·!b[t   ·!c[t   ·!d[t   ·!e[t   ·!f[t   ·!g[t   ·!h[t   ·!i[t   ·!j[t   ·!k[t   ·!l[t   ·!m[t   ·!n[t   ·!o[t   ·!p[t   ·!q[t   ·!r[t   ·!s[t   ·!t[t   ·!u[t   ·!v[t   ·!w[t   ·!x[t   ·!y[t   ·!z[t   ·!{[t   ·!|[t   ·!}[t   ·!~[t   ·![t   ·!€[t   ·![t   ·!‚[t   ·!ƒ[t   ·!„[t   ·!…[t   ·!†[t   ·!‡[t   ·!


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## synthetic (Nov 17, 2009)

Nick Batzdorf @ Tue Nov 17 said:


> The good news about the center speaker is that the best way to use it is to get the phantom center right and then put just a little of that in the middle speaker to cement the image. I learned that from a friend of mine who remixed his original Talking Heads mixes in surround; it was the first surround I liked, precisely because the phantom center didn't sound like it was coming from a speaker.



That only works if the listener has their speakers set up correctly. I guess the five people who listen to SACDs in surround do this anyway. 

In film music mixing, from what I understand, the center speaker isn't really used much anyway. The center channel is for dialog and foley on the dub stage. You can mix music to the center if you want, but they'll kill it on the stage. My friend at RCP said that if they want to put something in the center they have a conversation with the supervising sound editor first, and then it's usually only a bit of kick and snare or something that won't step on dialog. 

Now we're way off topic, sorry.


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## Nick Batzdorf (Nov 17, 2009)

Feh, conversations evolve. Yes, having people set their speakers up properly has been a problem all along. I remember dealing with that when I was selling stereo equipment, my first jobs out of high school in 1974-75.


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## synthetic (Nov 17, 2009)

They had stereo in 1974?


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## Nick Batzdorf (Nov 17, 2009)

More than that, they had the Teac 3340s- quad! 

Before I was a salesman I was the driver for a chain - Now Sound Stereo - and one of my regular stops was this company right at the intersection of Commerce, Industry, Pico Rivera, and Montebello...

It was a short-lived career that taught me what I didn't want to do with my life.


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## synthetic (Nov 17, 2009)

Work in audio?

Don't blame you, no money in it. I suggest finance.


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