New Desk Studio Furniture is expensive!!!

[EasyWorkflow]

I never realized how important desk furniture becomes into you buy a piece of gear and realize you cannot find an ergonomic way for overthinking to be hooked up together. Unfortunately, I find my myself in that position know due to some incorrect measurements on my part so I HAVE to buy a new piece of furniture. I am going to be living my my mom for a another year and have to invest in a piece of gear that can have a sliding shelf underneath desk for a 61 key controller, and also have room for two 27 inch monitors on top, which are only 25 inches long, two speakers which are are 8 inches wide, Push, APC-40MMK2, apple key board and USB mic, mouse and not much more at the moment. That really is all there is. I have two KMI MIDI floor controllers and 2 MIDI guitars but hey have their own home. I was looking at this piece of furniture from Sweetwater but it was very pricey and I do not like have a second level above the main surface area.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/ProRak61B

I saw this piece of furniture which was about $500 less and happen to like it.

http://poe-music.com/product/zaor-miza-z/ Clean lines, sliding tray underneath for 61 kontriol plus other gear I may buy in future,

Just wondering if anyone owns anything else that can meet my basic criteria and maybe be save another couple of hundred. Really appreciate the help. Thanks

BobbyD

[login]

Look for a local woodworker, can be cheaper.

[yur2die4]

I kinda like not having everything all in one place all at once. It is a little overwhelming, and I don't always have habits developed yet for everything at once.

It is natural to want to organize it as such because we are taught that all kitchen stuff goes in kitchen, bathroom in bathroom, and studio in studio.

But for some of the gear you have, you might want to try not to be looking at the monitor, so you can write music from more feeling than from sterile monitor-glow.

Then, you switch gears. You want to clean tracks up, balance stuff, maybe arrange snippets. When you're doing that, you don't want a keyboard and Push in your way, but you will want as comfortable as possible of a situation for your mouse, seat, monitor, and qwerty. Maybe a couple faders/knobs to the side.

[jestermgee]

Yeah it's way overpriced!

I try and make all my furniture or modify what is available. Really doesn't require much more than a circular saw, drill and basic hand tools in most cases.

If you have any office furniture outlets or clearance warehouses look for receptionist desks or just a big desk and build a pelmet. The desk I have had for 10 years came from my old office (crappy 80s furniture) but was free and I have modded it over the years with shelves and extra stands for monitors:



I also made the stand for my keyboards out of off cuts and a few cans of spray. Was a little impatient and should have actually painted it instead of spray paint but paint doesn't affect its operation as a stand.





Even the bookcases in the background are all hand made but that was my grandfathers doing before he passed away. Nothing beats the feeling of getting it done yourself and for the money you would save you can buy the tools you need. I made do when I first started using an old door and milk crates as my desk before I had a proper job.

[kitekrazy]

Have you ever seen prices of quality ergonomic chairs? Easily over a grand.

I guess if you really need to go budget make your own with PVC tubing and shelves.

[EasyWorkflow]

Yeah it's way overpriced!

I try and make all my furniture or modify what is available. Really doesn't require much more than a circular saw, drill and basic hand tools in most cases.

If you have any office furniture outlets or clearance warehouses look for receptionist desks or just a big desk and build a pelmet. The desk I have had for 10 years came from my old office (crappy 80s furniture) but was free and I have modded it over the years with shelves and extra stands for monitors:



I also made the stand for my keyboards out of off cuts and a few cans of spray. Was a little impatient and should have actually painted it instead of spray paint but paint doesn't affect its operation as a stand.





Even the bookcases in the background are all hand made but that was my grandfathers doing before he passed away. Nothing beats the feeling of getting it done yourself and for the money you would save you can buy the tools you need. I made do when I first started using an old door and milk crates as my desk before I had a proper job.

Right on bro. Currently I am using and old folding round bridge table that my mom had and got a 2 x 4 about 5 ft long and using clamps attached to bridge table and covered with a $2.00 green sheet I found in bargain bin at Bed, Bath & beyond. The thing is I have a 61 key controller, and thought I needed to have that in front of me, not to the left like you have your keyboards. You don't find it a problem recording keyboard parts and not being able to look at your monitors? If not, I am going to just get a 7 ft 2x4 and I will be able to have my two 27 inch monitors in front of me with the speakers on each side, and will just get a small table for the controller and my keys will sit like yours. My 2009 Imac is on it's last leg and that money can go to a better computer and second monitor.

THanks to you and everyone else for the common sense.

[jestermgee]

Nope, don't have an issue if I cannot see my monitors.

The reason I have 3 monitors (apart from it being very convenient) is so I can use my keyboards without cranking my neck. Also, just to the right of the keyboards on the desk is a launchpad that I use basically to record clips as I go and I also have a footswitch I can assign to any tasks I need.

In front of my main monitor is Push so if I really need to see the screen and play I use that. Keyboards are mainly for compiling and recording ideas and Push/MCU is for editing and sketching once I have the bulk done.

[H20nly]

@ jestermgee, are those purple jellyfish a screensaver or wallpaper?

[login]

I asked a local woodworker to make me a desk, Not as fancy but pretty cheap

[dtomaloff]

hey jestermgee,

what do you have push sitting on up there? that's a nice tilt. nice setup overall too!


on topic, studio furniture is indeed ridiculously expensive. I'm lucky enough to have picked up a super solid old office table with a metal frame and metal legs. it's heavy, sturdy, and best of all it was free. no nifty rack spaces or shelves or anything are the downsides, but I'm happy with it. good luck!

[jestermgee]

@ jestermgee, are those purple jellyfish a screensaver or wallpaper?

Just wallpaper. I use display fusion as a monitor manager and it allows for individual wallpapers for each screen. Just a bunch of abstract images. Don't have a screensaver

[jestermgee]

hey jestermgee,

what do you have push sitting on up there? that's a nice tilt. nice setup overall too!


on topic, studio furniture is indeed ridiculously expensive. I'm lucky enough to have picked up a super solid old office table with a metal frame and metal legs. it's heavy, sturdy, and best of all it was free. no nifty rack spaces or shelves or anything are the downsides, but I'm happy with it. good luck!

Ha, nice eye. It's another home made job. Just an angled stand made again from scrap wood... I spend all my spare cash on toys I have to build the rest from junk... Oh and kids take a lot of it too.

[EasyWorkflow]

I asked a local woodworker to make me a desk, Not as fancy but pretty cheap

I have 3 table top pieces of MIDI gear, Push, APC-40MK2 and Kontrol 61. My other MIDI gear are Godin MIDI guitars and two KMI foot controllers. So these are not an issue. I just can't figure out where the 61 key controller should go. You have two keys. Do you play both of them in the exact location they located are do you move them around? I always had PUSH directly in front of me plus I ordered a second 27 inch monitor to go with my IMac. They are 25 inches wide. I also have 8 inch wide JBL monitors. So I would need to have 66 Inches of desk space just for the monitors and speakers. That is why I was looking at studio furniture where the 61 inch controller slides out from under the desk. My only concern is what is the correct height for playing keys? I am a newbie so I want to make learning as easy as possible?

Thanks

[EasyWorkflow]

Yeah it's way overpriced!

I try and make all my furniture or modify what is available. Really doesn't require much more than a circular saw, drill and basic hand tools in most cases.

If you have any office furniture outlets or clearance warehouses look for receptionist desks or just a big desk and build a pelmet. The desk I have had for 10 years came from my old office (crappy 80s furniture) but was free and I have modded it over the years with shelves and extra stands for monitors:



I also made the stand for my keyboards out of off cuts and a few cans of spray. Was a little impatient and should have actually painted it instead of spray paint but paint doesn't affect its operation as a stand.






Even the bookcases in the background are all hand made but that was my grandfathers doing before he passed away. Nothing beats the feeling of getting it done yourself and for the money you would save you can buy the tools you need. I made do when I first started using an old door and milk crates as my desk before I had a proper job.

I just noticed that sub on the floor. Must be nice not having neighbors. I live in an apt building with my mom at the moment so basically I use my headphones 99% of time. Luckily I have a pair of Beyer Dynamic 770 pro 80ohm. . Can where them for hours they are so comfortable.

[login]

I have 3 table top pieces of MIDI gear, Push, APC-40MK2 and Kontrol 61. My other MIDI gear are Godin MIDI guitars and two KMI foot controllers. So these are not an issue. I just can't figure out where the 61 key controller should go. You have two keys. Do you play both of them in the exact location they located are do you move them around? I always had PUSH directly in front of me plus I ordered a second 27 inch monitor to go with my IMac. They are 25 inches wide. I also have 8 inch wide JBL monitors. So I would need to have 66 Inches of desk space just for the monitors and speakers. That is why I was looking at studio furniture where the 61 inch controller slides out from under the desk. My only concern is what is the correct height for playing keys? I am a newbie so I want to make learning as easy as possible?

Thanks

Yes, there is a correct height for keyboard if you wanna have correct posture, it is around 71-76 cm, also you can use an adjustable seat as those for piano. That desk has the correct height for having the top of the keys around 72cm.

WHile researching for furniture and designing this desk I came across a common problem: if you wanna have the keybaord at the correct height it is going to conflict with the computer keyboard. Sliding the keys under the kb IMHO is not that ergonomical because if you place it low enought so that what ever is on top is also comfortable to use then the kb will end way too low, and if you place it at the correct height then whatever is on tops will be too high. As you can see my solution was to left enough space infront of the digital piano to place a computer kb and the mouse.

For example check out this desk http://www.zaorstudiofurniture.com/idesign/idesk-key/ and it's PDF where they have the dimmensions, the keyboard tray is at 59.8 cm from the floor so a digital piano will add another 11 cm and the keys top will be around 71 cm. The upper desk ends way too high at 77cm for the computer kb. It's a nice design but I would make the keyoard tray deeper so I could have my computer keyboard in front of the digital piano.

The second keyboard isn't in a good position to play it sitting, but I didn't want to have it by the side, and it's nice heoght for playing it standing up which I do a lot, stand up breaks from sitting are healthy.

I am getting a laptop so I wil get rid of the computer monitor and the monitor speakers are going to be place in columns.