Attic Room Studio Build

[Folderol]

Very nice work. Like those faders

[Luke W]

Bravo Luke!

I spent some time updating/cleaning/ my power cable contacts & mains distribution boards on the floor behind my desk some weeks back, and also took the opportunity to carefully lift all the audio cables away from them and clip them together a couple of feet off the floor, just below the surface of my desk.

I couldn't hear any background hum before these tweaks, but just for laughs I also did a couple of quick spectrum analyser checks on before/after hum levels, and you could see an improvement.

Martin

Cheers. I always think it's worth it for the looks and ease of fault finding/replacing anything, but a measurable difference as well is reassuring!

It's really easy to overlook I think, especially in a rack when it's hidden away behind kit. I set it up thinking I'd be replacing the machine before too long, so it didn't seem worth fiddling around and bolting everything down to pull it all back out again. Also by the time the build was at the point where I was able to get the computer in I was so keen on just getting everything fired up and actually using the place that it seemed to matter a little less.

Very nice work. Like those faders

Thank you. They were an interesting project, and a frustrating way to learn how many Micro USB cables have no data pins connected...

[Luke W]

Another little update... I recently fitted some LED strips along the back wall for a bit of ambient lighting, I took some pictures intending to put them up here and then forgot. Reading through Eddy's build yesterday jogged my memory so here they are...




The ceiling spots are great for working in the centre of the room, but one of them shines straight at my screens so I usually have them off while doing any work at the desk. I've got some spots in the panels above the mix position which light up the desk area nicely, but I was finding that with the rest of the room completely dark it just felt rather strange.

It's worked really well and I think it creates a nice atmosphere to work in, I'm certainly finding it much more comfortable than before. I've also managed to keep the place tidy after working around piles of cable/kit for far too long.

[Eddy Deegan]

Ooh that does look lovely I'm very much looking forward to getting mine set up though my short term future looks very plasterboardy!

[Luke W]

I've been doing a few bits here and there over the course of the year, a couple of updates:

I added a Scan 3XS PC a few months ago and finally got around to tidying up the right hand rack and wiring which is now looking nice and neat:



A more recent addition is an Elgato Stream Deck, which sits quite nicely on top of my controller keyboard and is proving to be a brilliant bit of kit. I've only just started getting it set up and trying things out but I think I'm going to find lots of uses for it.



There's always something left to do, but I think it's safe to say I'm running out of excuses to get involved in the next forum album project.

[Eddy Deegan]

Looking very smart Luke, it is a lovely space you have there. I'm looking forward to your participation in the next forum album; I find a good environment feeds the muse significantly and hopefully that'll end up being true for you also

[Drew Stephenson]

What Eddy said ^^^.
Plus, when it comes to physical controllers, our minds tend to leap to faders and knobs first, but when it comes to actual productivity, a set of buttons is often the most powerful tool.

[Luke W]

Looking very smart Luke, it is a lovely space you have there. I'm looking forward to your participation in the next forum album; I find a good environment feeds the muse significantly and hopefully that'll end up being true for you also

Cheers Eddy, I'm hoping that to be the case. It's been a very busy year but all being well I should have some more dedicated regular studio time soon. It's already feeling like a great place to be, so that's half the battle won...

What Eddy said ^^^.
Plus, when it comes to physical controllers, our minds tend to leap to faders and knobs first, but when it comes to actual productivity, a set of buttons is often the most powerful tool.

Definitely. I initially got the Stream Deck to switch articulations/patches in sample libraries and VIs, but I'm already finding more uses for it and get a feeling that it'll end up doing lots more.

On the same topic, I find the dock to be an incredibly powerful bit of kit, especially considering the tiny amount of space it takes up. I've been fortunate enough to spend a good amount of time on some serious surfaces and I have to say that with this, the difference in features and usability isn't nearly as significant as the difference in price.

[Music Wolf]

I'm lead to believe that Santa will be bringing me a Stream Deck mini tomorrow

The plan is to use it in a live application in conjunction with Cantabile software. No doubt I'll be bombarding The Elf with questions in the New Year.

[Luke W]

I'm lead to believe that Santa will be bringing me a Stream Deck mini tomorrow

The plan is to use it in a live application in conjunction with Cantabile software. No doubt I'll be bombarding The Elf with questions in the New Year.

I can imagine it'll do a great job. I had a similar thought about setting one up as a QLab controller.

[Sam Spoons]

I have a Stream Deck Mini, it's great but the wedge form factor is more awkward than it could be. When I eventually build my monitor controller I might build a 'dock' for it leaving the control surface flush.

[AndyN]

Hi Luke, the studio looks amazing. I see you have your keyboard in front of and below your qwerty keyboard. This seems to be really common, but I always wonder if leaning over to the qwerty keyboard and mouse will give backache, particularly as the NI keyboard has the knobs and display making it quite deep. The obvious thing for me would be to try it but I have one of those L shaped desks and my keyboard doesn’t fit under. How are you finding it?

[Luke W]

Hi Luke, the studio looks amazing. I see you have your keyboard in front of and below your qwerty keyboard. This seems to be really common, but I always wonder if leaning over to the qwerty keyboard and mouse will give backache, particularly as the NI keyboard has the knobs and display making it quite deep. The obvious thing for me would be to try it but I have one of those L shaped desks and my keyboard doesn’t fit under. How are you finding it?

Thanks Andy

It's actually on a sliding shelf, so it tucks away leaving the keyboard/mouse at the front of the desk when I'm not using it. It's certainly still possible to lean over it when it's out, but I think having it like that permanently would be uncomfortable.

Before I built that desk I was working on a standard office type one, and I also had a bit of a problem with height so I cut a few blocks to stand under the feet and gain some extra legroom.

[Luke W]

Well, it's been a while... Although I've been doing the unthinkable by simply using the studio rather than messing around building things, a long-awaited upgrade arrived at my door this week:

So before too long I'll be back to my favourite pastime of pulling things to pieces. I'll also be taking the opportunity to refresh some of the power wiring as it's largely been adapted from an old build, and whilst the soldering iron is out I'll be making up some new looms between the upper racks and patchbays so I can slowly add bits of kit as needed*.

Nobody can say I don't know how to have fun.

*Wanted, if I'm being completely honest.

[Folderol]

*using* the studio?
Sorry I don't understand. Is this something people do between stages of studio creation/improvement

[Drew Stephenson]

*using* the studio?
Sorry I don't understand. Is this something people do between stages of studio creation/improvement

Not round here...

[Sam Spoons]

Nor around here, I haven't used the studio since 1845...*

*that's a lie, obviously, but to say I haven't used the studio since 6:45 on Tuesday July 19th didn't sound as snappy...

[Luke W]

I know it sounds like madness, and I've still not finished anything of my own, but some work has been done.

Not to worry though, everything will be in pieces again before long.

[Arpangel]

Not to worry though, everything will be in pieces again before long.

That’s how I used to be, until, and it’s pretty obvious, and easy to achieve for most people, monitor positioning.
For various reasons I’ve never been happy with the sound, in my space, and it’s like an itch that I was always scratching, moving things around.
Owing to major changes here, I decided to just empty my room, and reinstall everything giving monitoring top priority, I’ve also got the whole space to myself now, so more options are available.
I made sure the monitors are well away from walls, corners, that alone was a major improvement, no nasty resonances or standing waves owing to the irregular nature of adjacent walls, I also installed a couple of bass traps.
Just shifting things around like this has improved the sound so much, as they say, the most important links in the chain are monitors and microphones, and where you put them, I can listen now and not be distracted by bad resonances.

[Luke W]

Well, I've managed to spend a couple of evenings getting started on the studio upgrades, and as expected have made a bit of a mess.

The current state of things:

The old MacBook Pro and HDD storage shelf are out, and the shiny new Mac Studio and SSDs are in, along with the majority of the cable runs:


I've also taken the opportunity to tidy up the power cabling whilst the racks were nearly empty, so that's all a little bit neater. None of it is quite as tidy as I'd like yet, and I've yet to do anything to the network side of things, which is currently still a bit of a bird's nest, but it's certainly getting there.

Next up is to get the new interface up and running, and then it'll be time to start the dreaded install of software and transfer of licences.