Getting Closer With My Big Plan.

[László]

At the end of the day (actually, all day long), it's your space. The only thing that matters is that you enjoy the aesthetic. Everyone here would probably do things slightly differently.

We all do things differently, but friends' suggestions are often very good ideas! As this one was. While I didn't have wall space to add more artwork, the room did (still does, actually) look a bit too blah. So the little splash of color helps.

In truth, the room needs so much of a redo that the idea of doing anything is daunting.

Everything associated with redecorating a studio is a gigantic pain in the ass. I did that once in my old studio. I had a lot more wiring, but I'm 20 years older now, so there's that.

Not only was the studio out of commission for nearly a month, I skinned my knees crawling around reinstalling the wiring, the bursa became infected, and I spent every morning for three weeks getting IV antibiotics for a couple of hours.

I also had a heart attack right after finishing it. That probably didn't have anything to do with the studio redo, but the memories of that time aren't so great!

I do miss the Roman Helmet, but I'll stop kibbitzing now!

I was reading a book on Roman military tactics, and for whatever reason took it up to my den for a bit of atmosphere a few months ago.

I think it's cool and interesting, she thinks it's goofy looking.

Well, I mean, of course it's goofy looking! That's the whole point of having a Roman helmet on display, isn't it?

 

[László]

Lamp

Ya know, the problem with the lamp is that it's really a desk lamp, it isn't made to be on a tall bookshelf. Looks much better on a desk.

But I like the lamp, and I need more lighting in that part of the room, especially at night or when I want to work behind the amps and see the wires and cables. So there it stays for a while.

 

[gush]

I’m pretty close to getting the old Craptastic studio ready for the orchestral instrument recording project to augment my electronic tracks, having acquired several new mics, adding another acoustic panel/bass trap to a side wall by the amps, and getting a little more diffusion happening by scattering some of the furnishings, like the shelving, a bit.

The walls are properly treated. All of the corners have proper bass traps (the non-matching black ASC trap is movable; that corner consists of the electrical box access and I can’t hang a panel there).

I did walk around the room listening to pink noise with an SPL meter, and it's pretty darn good. The panels I have are the type they offer that are both bass traps, and they diffuse the sound a bit. They also offer panels that only absorb sound, but I didn't want to have a room that sounds dead.

By the way, the guitar amps benefit from being placed in front of the RealTraps bass traps, so that’s a little bonus, even though I won’t be using them on this project.

I have the mic pre question solved, and will soon add headphone distribution amps so the musicians can set their own headphone levels.

Still on the list are a couple more sets of closed back cans. I have enough sets here, but a couple need to be replaced. And in the “stuff I didn’t think about dept.” I have to add some headphone extension cables. For the ad stuff, it’s usually one instrument at a time, so only a couple were needed. Not so now.

More stuff will be three additional music stands.

A few more weeks installing/testing the remaining gear, and I’ll start preparing scores, which is really the difficult and most time consuming part. I might have to bring in an orchestrator if I get stuck.

This is the current state of the room's live recording area. It's only half the space, the other side of the room has my workstation, keyboards, etc.

The plan is to record three or four instruments at a time. The ideal setup is the one used at Abbey Road for the quintet in the picture below. However, because my room only has an 8 foot ceiling, I won’t be adding the higher outriggers pictured. It’d be pointless.

I’ll have to add a bit of reverb instead.

As unappetizing as my studio looks, it’s a good sounding room, and it’s not much worse for wear in appearance than the old Abbey Road scoring stage (I would kill to record there, peeling paint notwithstanding)!

I figure the results count for more than the decor. Onward!

That sounds like a fun project.

 

[László]

That sounds like a fun project.

It's even fun to plan it!

 

[László]

I was reminded by an article I just read about kid safety that heavy lamps and vases sitting on top of a 4’ tall bookcase can be kind of hazardous. So for the safety of the two grandkids who are still little, I needed to make a couple of changes and tether the bookcases to the wall so they can’t be tipped over should an over-curious child try bookcase climbing before a parent or I can rush over and stop him (the littler ones are both boys).

The idea of a heavy cast brass lamp falling onto one of the little ones, or the heavy vase (25 pounds) freaked me out.

Therefore, I went back to a more predictable decor thing and moved the lamp and large vase. Had to, BP, sorry!

But turns out I must like predictable, because I feel more at ease with this look for some reason. The studio is still craptastic, but has a 'get down to business' feel, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

I also moved the desk a little farther out into the room, maybe a foot or so, because there are several points in the room where the bass is less accurate due to extremely low frequency standing waves, and one of the spots was where I was sitting. It wasn't a big deal, and there are standing waves in every room, even with acoustical panels, but I like this better, and it measures to be exactly where the acoustics handbooks say the mix position works best (a little more than a third of the way into the room).

I had to move the 'first reflection' panels on either side of the desk by a corresponding amount to prevent comb filtering.

You can determine placement mathematically, but in my room I discovered that both the formula and the old 'mirror test' put the panels in the same spot, so I just used the mirror because I didn't feel like going through the measurement gyrations, and it works fine. [Edit: I did some testing today and some serious listening, and the audio is noticeably clearer, so that's a big win for dear old Laz!]

Generally when I'm working I dim the lights a bit. I only do this bright lighting to get pics.

Workstation area:

Amp nook; the bass traps really help, especially the ones in the corners, where low frequencies build up due to the acoustical boundary effect. The amps are far enough away from the wall that I can get behind them to change cables, bias the PRS amps, etc. The thicker bass traps are about 3-4" from the wall to maximize their absorption. That doesn't need to happen with traps in the corners, since there's air space behind them created by the corners.

Also, I like a little space separating the amps, both for ease of servicing, and because when they're all bunched up, reflections off the back wall into the adjacent amps if they're very close tend to create a sound that's a little 'boxy'. Having a little more spread out amp placement seems to work better (I don't put mics directly up on speaker cones - the sound is more natural at least 1-2' from the speakers, and I also use room mics for a bit of natural ambience, so getting a less boxy tone is important to me).

General recording area; the basket is light weight, and the small vase on the other shelf is, too. But for added safety they can quickly be moved if the kiddies come over for a visit.

It’s less colorful to be sure, and a bit severe. But it works!

 

[László]

One further note: Because I'm still working on where to put things with the new computer and adding drives, I haven't tidied up the cables that can be seen under the desk. I don't want to wrap 'em up with cable wraps or zip ties yet. I don't want to have to redo it, and am waiting until I get everything sorted out.

I may wind up putting the computer and drives on top of the rack to the left of the desk, and put the headphone amp on the desk.

It's a work in progress. Hell, it's been a work in progress for ten years! Why should this year be any different?

"Laz, if you keep moving heavy sh!t around, you may not make it to 2025."

"Yeah, but moving studio furniture around...I mean, what a great way to go!"

"Um...not really."

"Well, it beats the way an old friend died - he had a heart attack sitting on the can and didn't make it out of the bathroom. That's embarrassing, even to a dead person."

 

[Black Plaid]

Love the updates and hearing your thought process.

I got tired of the cable mess at my desk as well, but didn't want to mess around with putting on, and then having to cut off cable ties. I found these adhesive channel things you can use where you just kinda jam the cables into a space that contains them pretty well, and you can still pull one out as necessary.

Looks like they are called "J Channel Cable Raceway" if you are interested.

Also, 2 demerits, on your permanent record, for moving the vase.

 

[Prina]

Looking good. Also, looks like you kept the Phillips monitor.

 

[László]

Love the updates and hearing your thought process.

I got tired of the cable mess at my desk as well, but didn't want to mess around with putting on, and then having to cut off cable ties. I found these adhesive channel things you can use where you just kinda jam the cables into a space that contains them pretty well, and you can still pull one out as necessary.

Looks like they are called "J Channel Cable Raceway" if you are interested.

Thanks, that looks cool and simple! I was thinking along the lines of one of these, it's similar in concept. Might work as well, especially since I change the gear back there fairly often.

https://www.amazon.com/Under-Cable-Management-Litwaro-Organizer/dp/B0CC89NV7Y/ref=asc_df_B0CC89NV7Y?mcid=cb6c565789f03651b48a13440d9e0fd8&hvocijid=12627925342020612093-B0CC89NV7Y-&hvexpln=73&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=692875362841&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12627925342020612093&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=21142&hvtargid=pla-2281435183178&th=1

Also, 2 demerits, on your permanent record, for moving the vase.

I got bonus points for safety, so it all cancels out!

 

[László]

Looking good. Also, looks like you kept the Phillips monitor.

Yup, I decided to keep it.

Once I got the monitors set up to accommodate its width, tweaked its placement on the desk, and adjusted the controls thanks to your advice, I realized it's actually a nice monitor - for the type of work I do (looking at a gray colored DAW with white lettering and simple, colored stripes for the tracks, and nothing else of visual interest).

 

[andy474x]

Yup, I decided to keep it.

Once I got the monitors set up to accommodate its width, tweaked its placement on the desk, and adjusted the controls thanks to your advice, I realized it's actually a nice monitor - for the type of work I do (looking at a gray colored DAW with white lettering and simple, colored stripes for the tracks, and nothing else of visual interest).

Excellent choice… I grabbed an affordable large (and curved) monitor a few years ago and I couldn’t go back for DAW work. It certainly isn’t the grade one would want for high quality photo/video editing, but for DAW work, it doesn’t need to be.

I like having a dual monitor setup, so I can have the interface for a plugin, IR loader, whatever pulled up on the second screen. Or, having a screen for video to play on, if I’m scoring to video. Not that what I do is anything close to what you do!

 

[László]

Excellent choice… I grabbed an affordable large (and curved) monitor a few years ago and I couldn’t go back for DAW work. It certainly isn’t the grade one would want for high quality photo/video editing, but for DAW work, it doesn’t need to be.

I like having a dual monitor setup, so I can have the interface for a plugin, IR loader, whatever pulled up on the second screen. Or, having a screen for video to play on, if I’m scoring to video. Not that what I do is anything close to what you do!

What you do is every bit as creative as what I do, and the results you get are professional quality; that's all I try to accomplish. So I'd say, yeah, you're awfully good at it! I just do it more frequently.

I've used two monitors in the past - it was a necessity before DAWs had picture plus audio capability; one was a TV monitor, the other was the computer monitor. It worked, but wasn't physically comfortable - I got neck strain.

But I found I like having everything on one screen, in the main because I want the DAW, its timeline, and its controls front and center for editing, notation, tracking, video and the whole bit; that's where I spend the vast majority of my time. That way I don't have to turn one way or the other constantly and strain my neck to look at what I need to see. and I'm always looking in the direction of the center of the stereo field.

It also simplifies setting up the studio speakers so they aren't blocked by the computer monitors.

Here's how I handle the various windows I want to open or close in Logic with only one screen:

To get a plugin (or several plugins) out of the way or get it back, I hit the key command "v". That will instantly hide the plugin(s) I'm working with, as well as pull them back onto the screen when I need to see them again.

To toggle the movie open and closed with a single keystroke, I create a Screen Set with the movie open by hitting "1", and then create a screen set with the movie window closed by closing it and hitting "2".

Toggling between 1 and 2 on the computer keyboard instantly opens and closes the movie window wherever I want to put it.

Oh, I still get neck pain, but this way it's merely caused by my clients instead of my computer setup!

EDIT: Here's a good video on how easy it is to create Screensets.

 

[PRSWILL]

GREAT looking room!

 

[László]

GREAT looking room!

Thanks!

 

[deathworlder]

Out of curiosity...
Do you present such musicians with actual sheet music or do most prefer using iPads and tablets?

 

[László]

Out of curiosity...
Do you present such musicians with actual sheet music or do most prefer using iPads and tablets?

Creating sheet music for orchestra's out of my wheelhouse. I've botched things a few times doing it myself, and the musicians groused. So I plan to hire an orchestrator. I'll follow his or her advice.

I can do either, or both. The idea is to add the real instruments to my sampled tracks to add a bit of life and realism.

I'm only recording a couple of players at a time, so it won't be a problem.

I'm way behind schedule due to a recent illness, and there's hardware I still need to install that can't be done quite yet, as I'm not yet ready to install gear in racks and do the wiring. So plenty of time.

 

[deathworlder]

I remember you mentioning you were ill-prepared the last time...
In your defense, it sounds like you had some divas.

Have you purchased a conductor's baton, justi in case?

Your enthusiasm and attitude at a second go is exciting. I just find the whole proces fascinating

This project lacks the normal time constraints?

 

[Prina]

Here's a good video on how easy it is to create Screensets.

Great to learn that Screensets exist.

There's so much in Logic that it's almost impossible to RTFM, at least all of it.

 

[László]

I remember you mentioning you were ill-prepared the last time...

I wish I could say it was the only time!

I once showed up at a rock session with some famous-band UK touring pros and handed them sheet music.

In your defense, it sounds like you had some divas.

Appreciate the kind words, but that one was truly on me.

They were Detroit Symphony Orchestra players. That's a helluva good band! The players were all world class musicians or they wouldn't be playing with them.

They had reasonable expectations. What they got handed was akin to a novel written by someone who couldn't pass second grade reading.

Good thing it was only a 30 second spot!

Have you purchased a conductor's baton, justi in case?

I figure a Swiffer duster handle should work well enough...

Your enthusiasm and attitude at a second go is exciting. I just find the whole proces fascinating

Thanks!

This project lacks the normal time constraints?

Correct. I fully acknowledge that this is essentially a vanity project. If I finish before I'm dead I'll have met the deadline.