Clean up the studio day...

[Armistice]

When I moved up here I bought two desks for one of the bedrooms, put all my studio stuff down one end and my "office" up the other - the house has another office but GF has that and it's no use to me anyway as it's on the main living floor.

It was a bit of a squeeze but it sort of worked. Then my job was made redundant and so I no longer needed the "office" section so I just moved things up a bit, but as I was sitting there the other day recording something via headphones I realised I just had wires running everywhere and it wasn't really laid out in the most efficient manner, so this morning I pulled it all apart and restacked it.

The main change is that the Kemper and the computer have swapped places - for any number of reasons that should work more effectively. And also, as I finally dug into my RME interface's Total Mix software and learnt how to use it, I realised that while I just recording myself, I really had no use for a headphone amp - especially one with a scratchy main pot, so I resolved to take that out of the loop - although it's still there and connected differently to the interface for future need.

So, messy before - I have the MIDI keyboard cable running across the front, the Kemper input jack (the RH one) is in the middle of everything, the headphones, now I'm using the RME output and not the headphone amp, are sort of in the way as well - and any mic cables are going to be running to the same point, and the smaller left hand monitor on the taller (Kemper) box is much higher than the larger main monitor on the computer ... a host of annoyances.

Capture1.PNG

Capture2.PNG

Now, after the re-org, the headphone output is in a better spot, the Kemper input isn't ideal but it's better than it was, and the MIDI keyboard cable is also not getting on my nerves any more, plus having the bases of the two monitors at about the same level just works better for me.

Capture3.PNG

Plus I took a class picture with all the electrics out, for insurance verification purposes - figured you guys might like to see them all in the one pic.

I realised that, obviously, I have photos of everything and receipts and whatnot, but it's probably not a bad idea to occasionally via a date stamped photo, show that you STILL have everything you're saying you had by putting lots of it in the same picture. I'll do the acoustics and other stuff during the week for the same reasons.

Capture4.PNG

Much happier with it all now - hopefully it'll all work a bit better.

[Greg_L]

Lol that Bison guitar thing is sick.

Looks tidy and efficient.

My room is an absolute complete fucking nightmare. It's never been this bad. I've got shit everywhere. I'm tucked in here like a fucking hoarder. It's so bad I don't even know where to begin, so I don't.

[rayc]

All sweet - but nothing quite as sweet as the ugly beauty of the Bison.

[JD01]

Looks like a tidy work space, didn't know you had a strat.

[Armistice]

Looks like a tidy work space, didn't know you had a strat.

Actually a Blade R1 "strat" - I bought it in the 90s and preferred it over real strats I played at the time.

There are a couple of differences - firstly only two knobs, secondly there's a little switch just above one of the knobs which allows you to cut or boost a particular EQ configuration which you can set via the back of the guitar - there's an additional panel there and you can poke a screwdriver through and adjust bass, mid and treble. It impressed me at the time.

I also recall it was every bit as expensive as a MIA strat (I think they may all have been MIA at that point...).

It was my main gigging guitar for years and years, having the advantage of being way lighter than the Burns which is a beast.

[JD01]

Ah, it didn't have the 3rd strat "mystery knob"

[Lance Manyon]

I love seeing pictures of other home recording setups. Really nice, Arm. Nice Les Paul, what year?

[vomitHatSteve]

This thread is a year and a half old and should probably be a reminder to us all to clean our studios. :guilty-emoji:

[Tadpui]

My studio is cleaner than it's been in years. Mainly because now it has no guitars, amps, microphones or cables in it. We just last night relocated it all to Kansas from Colorado. It's going to be a long couple of months without my emotional support gear next to me.

[CrowsofFritz]

I hate the cleaning itself, but once it’s done, it always feels really damn good. Right now my problem is too much junk with too little space.

[Mr Clean]

My OCD wouldn't be able to cope with the two monitors at different sizes. Just looking at the images makes me sweat.

I try to keep my space tidy but I'm the personification of a lazy bastard and it gets scruffy quickly. I know where everything is though.

[Armistice]

I love seeing pictures of other home recording setups. Really nice, Arm. Nice Les Paul, what year?

I think it's a 2017 - it was the year Gibson decided not to use the poker chip pickup switch thingy and I'm pretty sure they only did it for a year before reinstating it the following year as people didn't like it. Except I did...

Bought it with a 20 year bonus I got from work.

In terms of the studio, I seem to have swapped the Kemper and the PC around again - input on the Kemper being on the right, it was easier to keep guitar leads off the desk that way. Ditched the headphone amp, although I'm thinking of resurrecting it. Bought a MIDI keyboard up there on the left, and have recently moved everything a touch left so I can squeeze my laptop down on the right hand end when I'm using it at the same time.

PXL_20240111_214432064.jpg

You probably won't notice them but see the three orange dots on the PC, and the two on the interface and the Kemper? They're part of the GF and my emergency bushfire evacuation plan. We live in a very leafy suburb, opposite a bush park but the entire suburb is surrounded by national park / bush, and this year was supposed to be very hot and dry in summer. It's certainly hot, but not dry.

Anyway, we figured we'd better take it seriously and one scenario was "What if only one of us is home and we have to grab stuff and go within a short space of time?" In only one car. Hence the dots. If I'm here, then obviously I know what's important - but if I'm not here and GF is, how does she know what I want her to take? 3 dots is essentials. Only the PC, as everything is on that. 2 dots is "grab if you can if you have time/room" - Kemper, interface and a couple of guitars. Most stuff, including the Les Paul, is one dot. "If there's room". Guitars are easily replaced. The entire record of everything I've ever recorded, not so much.

The back up drives sitting on top of the PC under the left monitor are also 3 dots.

[Armistice]

Dweezil the Ostrich is still there too. Providing sage mix advice...

[rayc]

Fire plan...we don't have one yet...been thinking about it and we've removed trees n shrubs close to the house.

[CrowsofFritz]

@Armistice how do you like having those monitors so far apart but not pointed at you?

I generally use my monitors as my second reference and headphones as my first. For most, it’s the other way around, but I just don’t really like mixing on monitors as much as the headphones. Im considering some open backs now, too.

[Armistice]

@Armistice how do you like having those monitors so far apart but not pointed at you?

I generally use my monitors as my second reference and headphones as my first. For most, it’s the other way around, but I just don’t really like mixing on monitors as much as the headphones. Im considering some open backs now, too.

If I'm actually mixing seriously, I roll the chair back to get the equilateral triangle happening... problem with these monitors - and they were very expensive but Dynaudio ditched the concept and I can see why - is that they have a slanted front face, so the sound is going up and not straight ahead. So pointing them in just makes it even more difficult to have your head in exactly the right spot and if you don't, then sounds, particularly in the high mids, can vary a lot.

[WhiskeyJack]

My studio is cleaner than it's been in years. Mainly because now it has no guitars, amps, microphones or cables in it. We just last night relocated it all to Kansas from Colorado. It's going to be a long couple of months without my emotional support gear next to me.

How is that all going for you Tad?!! The home build? How far off are you on it? Do you have a thread about it on here somewhere that i am neglecting?

[CrowsofFritz]

@Armistice how do you like having those monitors so far apart but not pointed at you?

I generally use my monitors as my second reference and headphones as my first. For most, it’s the other way around, but I just don’t really like mixing on monitors as much as the headphones. Im considering some open backs now, too.

If I'm actually mixing seriously, I roll the chair back to get the equilateral triangle happening... problem with these monitors - and they were very expensive but Dynaudio ditched the concept and I can see why - is that they have a slanted front face, so the sound is going up and not straight ahead. So pointing them in just makes it even more difficult to have your head in exactly the right spot and if you don't, then sounds, particularly in the high mids, can vary a lot.

Gotcha gotcha. Yeah, I can see why, too! Lol

Okay, another question! Why a big phat physical Dictionary book? I actually want one myself, but I have to kept telling myself no.

[Armistice]

If I'm actually mixing seriously, I roll the chair back to get the equilateral triangle happening... problem with these monitors - and they were very expensive but Dynaudio ditched the concept and I can see why - is that they have a slanted front face, so the sound is going up and not straight ahead. So pointing them in just makes it even more difficult to have your head in exactly the right spot and if you don't, then sounds, particularly in the high mids, can vary a lot.

Gotcha gotcha. Yeah, I can see why, too! Lol

Okay, another question! Why a big phat physical Dictionary book? I actually want one myself, but I have to kept telling myself no.

Because it's probably 30+ years old and the perfect size for a monitor stand.

We older folk often have big books, because, back in the day, that's where knowledge was... I have lots of others.

[CrowsofFritz]

Gotcha gotcha. Yeah, I can see why, too! Lol

Okay, another question! Why a big phat physical Dictionary book? I actually want one myself, but I have to kept telling myself no.

Because it's probably 30+ years old and the perfect size for a monitor stand.

We older folk often have big books, because, back in the day, that's where knowledge was... I have lots of others.

Pretty much all of my physical books are with my dad. I don’t feel like taking them back, either. Unlike something like records (where I can spin it as soon as it finishes), when I’m done with a book, I’m done with it for a loooong time, and maybe for good.

The only exceptions to this would be my Norton Shakespeare collection, which I reference quite frequently, and potentially a dictionary. But the online OED is fantastic. Can’t really circumvent it’s paywall anymore. I don’t think I’ll dish out the $100 annual fee for it, so I’m looking for alternatives.