Ableton Forum

i am moving in oct and i will finally be able to get a desk big enough for my gear.

i have looked for a few weeks and it seems like workstatin desks are either REALLY expensive (omnirax, argosy etc.) or too generic to suit my needs.

so, i want tohave a desk built. i have a good idea of what i want, and i will work out most of the design issues myself, but how much am i looking at spending?

the base desk dimensions are 28" x 60" have any of you had desks about this size built, and if you don't mind supplying a pic or a description of what you had, i would be much obliged.

Its not a custom built desk, but the jerker from Ikea is a pretty good desk, and with all the extras like speaker mounts etc you cant really go wrong!!

Surreal wrote:the base desk dimensions are 28" x 60"

In metric, please?

I am right now getting ready to move as well, and I will be getting two K&M Spider Pro's and some kind of rack, possibly from Jaspers Alu (love those guys!)
http://www.jaspers-alu.de/

This'll allow me to stay flexible, reconfiguring as I go.

Machinate wrote:In metric, please?

http://www.worldwidemetric.com/metcal.htm

I custom-built my desk to also being my live rig so I can use the same setup in the studio as I do when gigging. I like being able to leave everything permanently wired up. I mocked everything up in Cinema 4d, figured out wiring, ergonomics, how best to use 8' x 4' sheets of ply, and then laid the components out in Illustrator. Because it ended up 1.8 meters wide, I decided to do it in two sections. There's an umbilical that carries all wiring between the two sides, and locking covers for security.

I put heavy-duty castors and handles on them. I can wheel them right up a ramp into my van for gigging, then right back into the studio afterwards. All components are shock-mounted and Velcroed or screwed in place, and the shelves rest on rubber shock-mounts.

After living with them for a while and making improvements I'll rebuild them with proper flightcase material instead of plywood, which weighs a ton! Also, the black paint is starting to look tattered. It's basically a working prototype at this stage.

Cost is going to depend on who does the work, and how elaborate it is.

Do you just want it to be functional but not fancy, or do you want it fully finished with trim and custom mouldings?

There is a professional woodworking shop near my home and I recently spoke to them about building a custom DJ console/booth. I wanted it to be made from cherry, and completely finished with mouldings and stained to match some other furnitiure I own. The turntables and mixer were going to be flushed, along with my CDJ-1000s, and a sliding drawer for my laptop computer to keep out of the way... then I was going to flush a 24" flat panel monitor at an angle so it could be easily seen from the DJ side, but not from the opposite side. There were going to be shelves for storing vinyl in the bottom section. It was going to be finished on all sides, so that the piece could sit in the middle of a room, and look good from all sides.

I have a lot of parties at my house, and have always wanted a nice DJ booth which looked like a real peice of furniture rather than a bunch of gear on a breakfast table.

The estimate was about $5000.


Certainly you can get the work done cheaper.... but I just thought I would mention that, because it sounds like you want something similar.

frisbeedisk wrote:Its not a custom built desk, but the jerker from Ikea is a pretty good desk, and with all the extras like speaker mounts etc you cant really go wrong!!

+1 on the jerker. you could costomize it your self in a snap .. and all the add-ons are sweet, plus ez on the wallet

Just spent many hours looking at desks online over the past few days and decided what is out there sucks, or is too pricey. My solution is the quick and easy one I've seen in many architects offices--buy a solid core door at Lowes (I just got a nice looking one that is 32" x 80" for $44), then buy some table legs (Ikea has some for $5 a piece--$20 total). If you want some drawers and stuff, get a file cabinet to tuck under the desk (target has some with a file sized drawer and two other drawers on wheels for under $100). The result is a plenty large and very solid desk. I'm just finishing the wood with paste wax so that it isn't all sealed up with polyurethane, and thus should be less reflective and more absorbtive of sound waves. If you want the desk shorter, just cut it down yourself or at Lowes. This is a great and solid solution. I looked at many other desks, but I feel like the laminate shit from ikea and other places is crappy looking, and not nearly as solid as the door solution. The last thing you want is for your desk to be shakey, or for the pieces to resonate with the music--the door solution is much more solid, and doesn't have that chincy laminate look.

Ikea has a closet system that looks a lot like those Jaspers racks:

http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/s ... erId=15869

it's what I use. Lotsa clamps, hooks, aluminum tubing, different shelves, almost no footprint.

i don't need it to be pretty...

but apperently i am too poor right now anyway. the door seems like an alright idea...(i wanted a shelf, i REALLY wanted a slanted shelf.)

i looked at the jerker for a long time. but i have the keystation pro 88... a bit wide. and i want to be able to access my drum machine comfortably while sitting... but that is one of my backup plans ... definitely.

If you need a wide space and slanted drum machine holder things then an A-Frame keyboard stand /keyboard "desk" is the way to go, imo.

Going with the door.

that and this the possibility of VESA mounting all make up for the lack of a slanted shelf. heh

the jerker is really easy to modify -

if you need a wider platform for your keyboard, then think about getting the jerker and just having a cabinet shop (etc) cut you a new shelf which is notched around the vertical supports of the desk. or just screw on an auxiliary plywood piece to the existing desk surface.

you can do things like: angle the main desk, by using only one of the two bolt attachments to the main vertical, and moving the angle brace down one hole...

the magazine/paper racks they sell for it fit a 12" record perfectly. i also cut a couple apart and re-welded them to hold speakers.

i even modified the width of the desk, but i am a furniture maker so have access to a great shop, welding equip etc.

Oh, ya'll mentioning my favorite workspace for years.....

BAMm!....Jerker....Again and again;

I love this desk....swivel shelves and all......check the mounting holes, this thing is CUSTOMIZABLE!!!

frisbeedisk wrote:Its not a custom built desk, but the jerker from Ikea is a pretty good desk, and with all the extras like speaker mounts etc you cant really go wrong!!

100% agree -- all the bolt holes on the two big legs are prime for adding all sorts of stuff...

ive got a jerker and think theyre hideous... i got this desk custom built out of particleboard with a pine frame for less than the cost of a jerker.