Minor Changes To My Studio Craptastic.

[László]

I decided to rearrange the amps, bookshelves and some of the gear placement here in Studio Craptastic, my own little slice of Music Hell.

I like having a little more room between the amps to service them, and wanted some of the bookcase diffusion in an unfortunately-located nook in the front of the mix area behind the speakers. Also relocated some of the preamps.

Here goes:

Shot of workstation area:

Pic of placement of a coupla preamps:

And the recording setup:

The main furniture is home-made, 30 years ago by my brother and me in a fit of stupidity; the materials alone cost a fortune, and invoked crazy effort, but damn, sure has held up well.

Joints are mitred, we hand-welded the steel legs. The shelves are just IKEA Galant stuff. EZ-peezy.

And yes, I have a shameful Potteey Barn addiction!

 

[Simon Says]

I could live there! Where guitars?

 

[Bogner]

You Really Should Consider Tidying The Place Up A Bit. I Have No Idea How You Work In That Mess Of Clutter And Chaos.

 

[bodia]

Looks Unjust can’t leave well enough alone. The ever evolving perfectionist.

 

[WEDGE]

I love the pics you share of your studio, but I totally cannot relate to that immaculate pedal board. Mine is always a wreck.

 

[László]

I could live there! Where guitars?

I keep them upstairs. Studio Craptastsic's in my basement. There's that basement-y risk of leaks, burst pipes, etc. I've had both things happen in two basement studios in the past.

Granted, it's a pain to drag them up and down the stairs, but it's worth it to me.

Come to think about it...the basement is one of the things that puts the "crap" in Studio Craptastic!

I'm that guy who keeps his guitars cased when not being played, so it's not like anyone would see them anyway.

You Really Should Consider Tidying The Place Up A Bit. I Have No Idea How You Work In That Mess Of Clutter And Chaos.

I've mastered my Craptastic Environment! And I re-master it constantly.

I love the pics you share of your studio, but I totally cannot relate to that immaculate pedal board. Mine is always a wreck.

It's easy to have it stay pretty nice...oh wait...they're bringing my OCD medications...gotta go!

 

[Simon Says]

I'm that guy who keeps his guitars cased when not being played, so it's not like anyone would see them anyway.

You would probably have a heart attack, seeing how I have my PRSi right very now

 

[László]

You would probably have a heart attack, seeing how I have my PRSi right very now

Au contraire! I wish I was capable of letting up on the crazy-man throttle a bit.

But I can't seem to manage it.

I yam who I yam. And that's all that I yam. I'm Popeye the sailor man!

Toot toot!

 

[toothace]

Always tweaking! Looking good every time!!

 

[László]

I forgot to mention that I have some large mic stands, and they're in the recording area in the nook next to the Fillmore amp on the far left. So it actually does function as a working studio and not merely as a weird-looking subterranean den with gear.

Not that there's anything wrong with a weird-looking subterranean den with gear.

I'm working on some things besides decor, however, so don't get the wrong idea.

 

[Bogner]

Do You Ever Get The Bright Idea For Another Change And Then As You Are Doing It You Realize That Was How It Was 17 Changes Ago?

 

[László]

Do You Ever Get The Bright Idea For Another Change And Then As You Are Doing It You Realize That Was How It Was 17 Changes Ago?

Often! And sometimes I change things around, realize it was better the way I had it, and change it back.

The room and the acoustics do present some placement challenges. One intractable problem has been the fact that the nook behind the right monitor speaker causes an acoustical problem. It's about two feet deep, so the bounceback of bass frequencies is asymmetrical.

As you know, bass frequencies are omnidirectional, so they bounce off the wall behind the speakers. If they reach the ears even milliseconds apart, you get into comb filtering.

I have the walls and corners in the front of the room treated with some serious bass traps, so the problem is very minimal, but there has still been a very slight problem I've noticed at one particular low frequency: low Bb. It's driven me nuts since I put this studio together.

So I figured putting one of the bookshelves in that nook behind the right speaker level with the rest of the wall on the left might help diffuse that problem, and it does help. Isn't perfect, but it's better. For a perfect solution the laws of physics say there'd have to be construction work.

I don't want to live through construction mess right now, and don't have the energy to pull everything out of the room and put it into my storage room while the work's being done. That's also the reason I haven't put wood flooring in yet.

I did that 20 years ago at my previous studio and was physically a zombie for weeks afterward, skinned my knees crawling around behind the gear disconnecting and reconnecting everything; the bursa of the knees became infected somehow, and I wound up with two weeks of IV antibiotics. And all I had done was paint and carpeting. Of course that studio was fully hardware, so there was a lot more to move, but I'm 20 years down the road at this point, and certainly ain't any healthier!

Assuming I stay with this configuration, I'll reorient the bass trap behind the bookshelf to a horizontal placement, so the full panel can work instead of just the top half. Easy job, but I haven't done that yet - I haven't lived with the setup long enough to know if I'll like the visuals. So...work in progress.

 

[Bogner]

Often! And sometimes I change things around, realize it was better the way I had it, and change it back.

The room and the acoustics do present some placement challenges. One intractable problem has been the fact that the nook behind the right monitor speaker causes an acoustical problem. It's about two feet deep, so the bounceback of bass frequencies is asymmetrical.

As you know, bass frequencies are omnidirectional, so they bounce off the wall behind the speakers. If they reach the ears even milliseconds apart, you get into comb filtering.

I have the walls and corners in the front of the room treated with some serious bass traps, so the problem is very minimal, but there has still been a very slight problem I've noticed at one particular low frequency: low Bb. It's driven me nuts since I put this studio together.

So I figured putting one of the bookshelves in that nook behind the right speaker level with the rest of the wall on the left might help diffuse that problem, and it does help. Isn't perfect, but it's better. For a perfect solution the laws of physics say there'd have to be construction work.

I don't want to live through construction mess right now, and don't have the energy to pull everything out of the room and put it into my storage room while the work's being done. That's also the reason I haven't put wood flooring in yet.

I did that 20 years ago at my previous studio and was physically a zombie for weeks afterward, skinned my knees crawling around behind the gear disconnecting and reconnecting everything; the bursa of the knees became infected somehow, and I wound up with two weeks of IV antibiotics. And all I had done was paint and carpeting. Of course that studio was fully hardware, so there was a lot more to move, but I'm 20 years down the road at this point, and certainly ain't any healthier!

Assuming I stay with this configuration, I'll reorient the bass trap behind the bookshelf to a horizontal placement, so the full panel can work instead of just the top half. Easy job, but I haven't done that yet - I haven't lived with the setup long enough to know if I'll like the visuals. So...work in progress.

You Could Always Try Velcro And Hang Everything Upside Down Or Make The Wall The Ceiling Or Something Cool Like That If You Ever Want To Get Really Out There.

On A Serious Note...I Commend You For What You Do And How Clean And Organized Your Many Room Variations Are. You Will Get It All Worked Out When You Are Ready.

 

[DISTORT6]

Can’t pass up the opportunity to praise those lamps.
I don’t care. I’m going to say something every time I see them.

 

[Bogner]

Can’t pass up the opportunity to praise those lamps.
I don’t care. I’m going to say something every time I see them.

 

[László]

Can’t pass up the opportunity to praise those lamps.
I don’t care. I’m going to say something every time I see them.

I guess I should explain my need for "lamp".

Before I moved into this place a little over a decade ago, the basement was in bad shape; it was poorly finished (still is) and the previous owner had installed cheap 2'x4' ceiling tiles that were made of a soft material. The tiles were falling down. The carpet was destroyed. I had to make repairs quickly for move-in, and didn't really think it through very well, such was the hurry.

I decided to put in a new 2'x2' grid on the ceiling. I should have had it drywalled, as I did in my previous studio, but that turned out to be a PITA in a basement, so I figured, this time I'd do a grid ceiling. Bad plan to start with.

I HATE the drop ceiling with the heat of a billion suns, even though it has some heavy duty acoustical tiles that work, and even though it's been convenient for other repairs.

But I digress.

When I initially hired the company to do the move in repairs, put in carpeting and the wood-look insert by the desk, they hadn't included overhead lighting. So I told them, "I'm not a lamp guy, I need overhead lights." They asked how many I'd need.

Hoping I'd keep the price down if I concentrated the lighting budget on the workstation area, I ordered four overhead lights for the workstation area, and only two for the recording area. Penny wise, pound foolish!

Unfortunately, I soon discovered that being able to actually see things like...oh...amplifier controls, and pedals, and cables on the floor, required a modicum of light. Worse, I learned it after I'd already moved in and set up the room. Plus there are some areas where I couldn't install any lighting cans due to duct work. Most critically, the area where clients and musicians who come in and want to hear playback sit is one such area.

So, one day when my wife dragged me to Pottery Barn, I spotted the lamps. Lighting problem solved. I can put 'em where I need 'em without dicking around with more infrastructure modifications.

If I ever put in a drywall ceiling with the correct number of overhead lights, the lamps will be moved to another room. But if ya gotta have lamps, these are pretty decent!

 

[Tony M.]

I love the lamps.
They are the icing on the cake.

 

[Bogner]

I guess I should explain my need for "lamp".

Before I moved into this place a little over a decade ago, the basement was in bad shape; it was poorly finished (still is) and the previous owner had installed cheap 2'x4' ceiling tiles that were made of a soft material. The tiles were falling down. The carpet was destroyed. I had to make repairs quickly for move-in, and didn't really think it through very well, such was the hurry.

I decided to put in a new 2'x2' grid on the ceiling. I should have had it drywalled, as I did in my previous studio, but that turned out to be a PITA in a basement, so I figured, this time I'd do a grid ceiling. Bad plan to start with.

I HATE the drop ceiling with the heat of a billion suns, even though it has some heavy duty acoustical tiles that work, and even though it's been convenient for other repairs.

But I digress.

When I initially hired the company to do the move in repairs, put in carpeting and the wood-look insert by the desk, they hadn't included overhead lighting. So I told them, "I'm not a lamp guy, I need overhead lights." They asked how many I'd need.

Hoping I'd keep the price down if I concentrated the lighting budget on the workstation area, I ordered four overhead lights for the workstation area, and only two for the recording area. Penny wise, pound foolish!

Unfortunately, I soon discovered that being able to actually see things like...oh...amplifier controls, and pedals, and cables on the floor, required a modicum of light. Worse, I learned it after I'd already moved in and set up the room. Plus there are some areas where I couldn't install any lighting cans due to duct work. Most critically, the area where clients and musicians who come in and want to hear playback sit is one such area.

So, one day when my wife dragged me to Pottery Barn, I spotted the lamps. Lighting problem solved. I can put 'em where I need 'em without dicking around with more infrastructure modifications.

If I ever put in a drywall ceiling with the correct number of overhead lights, the lamps will be moved to another room. But if ya gotta have lamps, these are pretty decent!

From The 45 to 47 Seconds Mark.

 

[László]

From The 45 to 47 Seconds Mark.

Never put a lamp larger than a flashlight in your underpants, it's unseemly.

 

[László]

I love the lamps.
They are the icing on the cake.

Here in Studio Craptastic, the lamps are both the icing AND the cake.

The rest of the studio is more like the plastic fork you eat cake with at a kid's birthday party.

Sure, I have a modicum of pride in the studio. But in its own way, it's kind of like a guy I knew in high school who took great pride in his booger collection. For all I know, it may have been a great booger collection, as booger collections go. But I never wanted to see it.

The lamps and other nicknacks distract my eyes enough that I don't have to see the rest of the studio.