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Show me your desk

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I finally picked up an 88-key controller (M-Audio Hammer 88) which I had to remove from the enclosure so that it would fit on a stand under my $45 LINNMON / ADILS desk from IKEA. I also had to jack the table up on some weird bricks that I found around the property (this being the one and only time I was happy my landlord never cleans up after himself) so that the desk would clear the keyboard.

It's pretty janky, but it was cheap and has charm and I'm hoping it will do until I set up more of a proper studio somewhere else. The Neutron is a new addition too — I love having something analog right there at my fingertips. I'm not much of a pianist but I'm pleased with the M-Audio keyboard, it's a huge improvement over the tiny 24 key controller I was using before. Now that I have 88 weighted keys I've started relearning some of the Josh Groban songs I used to play in high school, so that's fun!



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57412048532__AEA5E298-6A9F-499A-9AE9-9DAC82E1D4FB.jpg
I finally picked up an 88-key controller (M-Audio Hammer 88) which I had to remove from the enclosure so that it would fit on a stand under my $45 LINNMON / ADILS desk from IKEA. I also had to jack the table up on some weird bricks that I found around the property (this being the one and only time I was happy my landlord never cleans up after himself) so that the desk would clear the keyboard.

It's pretty janky, but it was cheap and has charm and I'm hoping it will do until I set up more of a proper studio somewhere else. The Neutron is a new addition too — I love having something analog right there at my fingertips. I'm not much of a pianist but I'm pleased with the M-Audio keyboard, it's a huge improvement over the tiny 24 key controller I was using before. Now that I have 88 weighted keys I've started relearning some of the Josh Groban songs I used to play in high school, so that's fun!



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Be careful with jacking the table up on bricks etc. I tried that and at one point I noticed one of the legs on the pieces of 4x4 holding up the 150 lb table was falling off the edge which would have resulted in 150lb of desk coming down on my $2000 Roland RD-2000. Just saying.
 
Be careful with jacking the table up on bricks etc. I tried that and at one point I noticed one of the legs on the pieces of 4x4 holding up the 150 lb table was falling off the edge which would have resulted in 150lb of desk coming down on my $2000 Roland RD-2000. Just saying.
Thanks. I intend to monitor the situation closely :)
 
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The big tables (like the one supporting the monitors) are door panels covered in cork (to tame reflections) and supported by heavy-duty trestles. Everything else (the racks, the mixer, the smaller tables) is custom mounted on wheels, and moves around according the each work's needs. It's not perfect, but it's all right. Everything comes from home depot: less spent in furniture is more spent in gear :)
 
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The big tables (like the one supporting the monitors) are door panels covered in cork (to tame reflections) and supported by heavy-duty trestles. Everything else (the racks, the mixer, etc.) is custom mounted on wheels, and moves around according the each work's needs. It's not perfect but it's all right. Everything comes from department stores: less spent in furniture means more spent in gear :)

I like the cork idea. Last time I tried hollow door panels a few years ago, it was a disaster reflection wise. Good idea!
 
I like the cork idea. Last time I tried hollow door panels a few years ago, it was a disaster reflection wise. Good idea!
I suppose there's a limit to how low they are effective, but I picked the thickest sheets I could find, which are 6mm (about 1/4'') thick. Also, the panels can vibrate if you don't put enough weight on them, which as you can see is not a problem here.
 
curious for those who implemented a sliding piano drawer in a standing desk implementation - was the sit/stand feature worth it? Or do you mostly just sit?
 
curious for those who implemented a sliding piano drawer in a standing desk implementation - was the sit/stand feature worth it? Or do you mostly just sit?


A lot of people seem to like sit/stand desks, and we've all read reports that they're good for you. So they're probably a good idea.

However, we all have different bodies. My back hurts like hell if I stand still for a long time. I can hike for hours, but a standing desk would be terrible for me - and I don't have a bad back, it's just how my body is built. So I sit.

Also, I rest my arms on chair arms when I'm working on my computer (which is all day long). For me that takes away all the stress that people complain about from mousing and typing. But you could rest your forearms on the front of the desk too.

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Also, as I may have posted a few times :) I really recommend having the desktop slide over the keyboard rather than sliding the keyboard under the desk. That way you're always the right distance from your speakers and computer monitor, and your computer keyboard and mouse are always in the right position.
 
For us mortals, does anyone have recommendations on simpler (cheaper) desks from Wayfair, etc. that would put a desktop keyboard (or a keyboard on stand under it) at the right height without destroying knees?
 
A lot of people seem to like sit/stand desks, and we've all read reports that they're good for you. So they're probably a good idea.

However, we all have different bodies. My back hurts like hell if I stand still for a long time. I can hike for hours, but a standing desk would be terrible for me - and I don't have a bad back, it's just how my body is built. So I sit.
true, but in my day job I am sitting all the time, so I get really tired of sitting. I want to stand and/or walk around by the end of the day/ on the weekends (which is when i'm playing with music).

Also, I rest my arms on chair arms when I'm working on my computer (which is all day long). For me that takes away all the stress that people complain about from mousing and typing. But you could rest your forearms on the front of the desk too.
I do that as well.

Also, as I may have posted a few times :) I really recommend having the desktop slide over the keyboard rather than sliding the keyboard under the desk. That way you're always the right distance from your speakers and computer monitor, and your computer keyboard and mouse are always in the right position.
That implementation sounds smart - did you custom make one? Or did you buy one like that?
 
That implementation sounds smart - did you custom make one? Or did you buy one like that?

I now custom make them for other composers, a side business that I enjoy immensely. :) As a matter of fact I'm just starting on a new one today.

Mine is the prototype, built by a shop that used to make them from my drawings - before a forum member challenged me to make them more affordable. Of course the first one was harder than I expected, but now I actually know what I'm doing (and have a full shop). :)
 
For us mortals, does anyone have recommendations on simpler (cheaper) desks from Wayfair, etc. that would put a desktop keyboard (or a keyboard on stand under it) at the right height without destroying knees?

I'd suggest getting adjustable legs and a table top from Ikea. Their office furniture is made pretty well.

Then put the keyboard on a stand.

...assuming you don't want to make something yourself, in which case I have other ideas.
 
I'd suggest getting adjustable legs and a table top from Ikea. Their office furniture is made pretty well.

Then put the keyboard on a stand.

...assuming you don't want to make something yourself, in which case I have other ideas.
I've found that Ikea works fine, but the distance between the legs of the stand is not big enough to fit the size of a full 88 keyboard, furthermore the max weight isn't that high, all in all I went for a heavier stand.
 
I've found that Ikea works fine, but the distance between the legs of the stand is not big enough to fit the size of a full 88 keyboard, furthermore the max weight isn't that high, all in all I went for a heavier stand.

I was thinking of the inverted-T legs we used for my wife's desk a few years ago, which can be any distance apart (they screw into the bottom of the desktop). But they probably have different models now.
 
I just build a new adjustable desk, and have managed to place my master keyboard on a kind of drawer system. Really nice to be able to switch between sitting and standing. My master keyboard is a Yamaha S90es, a bit to the heavy side, but it works very well.
Take a look: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ljen6p1w9h4g6cf/IMG_0131.TRIM.MOV?dl=0
This looks fantastic, and it's just the kind of thing I was trying to imagine in my head. I wasn't sure whether it would be possible to have everything connected to the sit-stand desk, so that everything goes up and down together, but it looks like you have achieved that? Are your two secondary computer monitors on arms which are connected to the sit-stand desk? I would love to put together something like this - may I ask for some specs for what you have here? The frame, desk top, any other hardware (how did you put together the drawer system for the keyboard?).
Many thanks @stigc56
 
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