# Workstations



## Mattayus (Jun 5, 2009)

What you got?
I'm about to buy the Studio RTA Creation Station. It's pretty perfect what what I've got.







There's enough space on the top shelf for my monitors and maybe 2 screens.. but if not i'll just put the two screens on top and buy speaker stands for the monitors.

Can slide my podxt and other rack gear into the 4U racks, pretty slick! Been thinking about getting my PC loaded into a rack-mounted chassis too.. it's completely pointless, but would look SO slick and would save some space


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## Mattayus (Jun 5, 2009)

There are quite a few on the market with unit racks. I'm in the UK don't forget so I can't really give you the same link as where I'm getting it from.

Just trying searching for Studio RTA stuff  They do one called the producer station too which is quite nice, just gone one 4U rack in the middle


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## caughtinamosh (Jun 5, 2009)

My Ikea Jerker (leave it JJ, and similar tossers ) is superb for a recording studio setup. MASSIVE quantity of space, and two huge shelves.


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## Konnector (Jun 5, 2009)

That creation station doesn't have a place for a keyboard and mouse. I was thinking about getting it, but theres no way I would buy a desk that dosen't have a pullout for my keyboard.


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## synrgy (Jun 5, 2009)

'Galant' desk from Ikea.


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## caughtinamosh (Jun 5, 2009)

That is another classic. Ikea, though not known for its music orientated gear, does make some great, spacious desks.

Oh, and I've got an incredible NSFW link that is basically "Ikea - You're doing it right." PM me.


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## Slampop (Jun 5, 2009)

how much would the creation station end up running you in the end?
we've actually done the workstation thread i think, but f' it man, i'll post again hahaha!
this desk i got for $150 on sale at Office Max. Beuwm!!!


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## Mattayus (Jun 5, 2009)

Konnector said:


> That creation station doesn't have a place for a keyboard and mouse. I was thinking about getting it, but theres no way I would buy a desk that dosen't have a pullout for my keyboard.



Ah i couldn't care less about a keyboard drawer. I've only ever had one once and tbh it annoyed the fuck out of me 



Slampop said:


> how much would the creation station end up running you in the end?
> we've actually done the workstation thread i think, but f' it man, i'll post again hahaha!



Nice desk dude!

The creation station is about £150 (bout $240)

On a completely unrelated topic - I just spotted a fly on the curtain across the room, cocked my bb gun and shot it's wing off  I feel like a cunt now but it was a sweet shot!


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## caughtinamosh (Jun 5, 2009)

Konnector said:


> That creation station doesn't have a place for a keyboard and mouse. I was thinking about getting it, but theres no way I would buy a desk that dosen't have a pullout for my keyboard.



It's very easy to fit your own. I did.


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## Scar Symmetry (Jun 7, 2009)

I approve of this thread highly!

I've been wanting to buy a Workstation for ages and this thread has given me lots of ideas


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## DIOBOLIC5150 (Jun 9, 2009)

Here's mine.


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## TonyFlyingSquirrel (Jun 9, 2009)

Call it "Studio NDN" or "The Squirrel''s Nest", but it's humble and effective.

I've yanked the Boss BR1180-CD & put it up on _Craig's List_ as I am now running exclusively on Sonor 6 with some VST's. I have POD FARM on the UX1, but mostly for everything that isn't guitar. I have the Metal Shop pak in my XT Live, so I prefer to record it via USB. I just recently acquired a bass player who is an I.T. guy by day and we're gonna work on building a _Studio Only PC_ that will stay dis-connected from the internet. Now after every session, I back up all the recordings to a portable 20gb hard-drive, then I can take the whole record to a nearby Sonor equipped studio to mix down. I prefer to have an outside person do my mixing for fresh ears and an objective mix. I'll mix someone else's stuff, but not my own, just for accountability sake.


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## Methilde (Jun 9, 2009)

My workstation is pretty much selfengineered (the small table on my desk eg)











YES there is clutter 
Yes I like it that way


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## leandroab (Jun 9, 2009)

I need a workstation 
I need a lot of shit actually


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## Triple7 (Jun 9, 2009)

Me too, but it is helpful to see other peoples setups to see what I need. You guys have some awesome shit there.



www.qualitycomputerdesks.com 

I was looking on there and they seem to have some good shit for good prices.


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## iceythe (Jun 9, 2009)

Good thread!!

I am looking for a decent desk to hold my "studio" also without blowing a hole in my thin wallet. So far I've been using the same desk I bought off a cheap store while living at a condo. 

Office furnitures is a solution, but it's really expensive if it's not bought second hand. Maybe I can get a friend to bring a "Galant" from IKEA down south. I've been interested in one of those which extends the surface 90 degrees. Like a corner table. But they are hard to fit in any normal car..

I could make something myself by going to the local hardware and materials store, but that would be something of an too epic project haha.


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## CynicEidolon (Jun 9, 2009)

Craigslist... Then, get a mobile ATA Case for the price you got your desk for.


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## damigu (Jun 10, 2009)

Methilde said:


>



that's hardly clutter!
...and i want your desk chair.

i'd post a pic of my work area and rack but it's such a disgusting mess that i'm ashamed to!
i have a multi-tiered desk with my nearfield monitors and 2 computer monitors on the top tier, a music keyboard in front, and a pull-out drawer for my computer keyboard/mouse.
and right next to the desk is my 28U rack (top have is 12U slanted, bottom is 16U perpendicular to the floor).


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## Lozek (Jun 10, 2009)

Mattayus said:


> What you got?
> I'm about to buy the Studio RTA Creation Station. It's pretty perfect what what I've got.
> 
> 
> ...



Did you order one of these yet? Mine turned up last week.....with NO FUCKING ASSEMBLY SCREWS!!!!! Four e-mails to Thomann later and I still have a studio room that's full of bulky desk that can 't be assembled!!!!


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## Scar Symmetry (Jun 10, 2009)

^ Thomann are usually quite good with that kind of thing...


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## Lozek (Jun 10, 2009)

That was my experience as well, up to this point. They missed my first e-mail, responded to my second asking what the problem was (it was copied in the text further down the e-mail), no response to my reply itemising what's missing, and so far no response to a chase-up e-mail asking if they're planning to send me the missing parts any time soon.


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## Mattayus (Jun 10, 2009)

Lozek said:


> Did you order one of these yet? Mine turned up last week.....with NO FUCKING ASSEMBLY SCREWS!!!!! Four e-mails to Thomann later and I still have a studio room that's full of bulky desk that can 't be assembled!!!!



Ah man no I haven't bought mine yet, will do in a week or so... unless your fiasco turns out to be a standard thing, in which case it can fuck off and I'll look elsewhere!


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## Scar Symmetry (Jun 10, 2009)

I'd give Thomann the benefit of the doubt, they've always been really good to me


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## Mattayus (Jun 10, 2009)

Cool man I'll give it a shot then. At least it's a company and not an individual off of eBay or something.

Speaking of which, got my Dell 17" monitor through the post two days ago, but the silly cow forgot the power cable and VGA cable so I can't fuckin use it yet! Wanted to buy another one exactly the same when I have the money too, dual screens ftw


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## Triple7 (Jun 10, 2009)

I have seen a lot of setups with 2 screens, what is the advantage of this type of setup?


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## TomAwesome (Jun 10, 2009)

There are a lot of nice, clean looking workstations here. I really need a new desk. I rather like that Ikea Jerker. I need a new computer first, though.



Triple7 said:


> I have seen a lot of setups with 2 screens, what is the advantage of this type of setup?



More desktop space at once. What I normally do in Sonar is something like having the main window on my main monitor and the routing and effects over on another one. I can see a lot more at a glance and don't have to dig through windows to get to something.


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## damigu (Jun 10, 2009)

Triple7 said:


> I have seen a lot of setups with 2 screens, what is the advantage of this type of setup?



*TONS* of desktop space to arrange windows in. i have a dual 19" setup.

sometimes i use it to put the mixing/recording program in one window and FX/plug-ings in the other window. any number of arranging windows/programs on two monitors works so that you can see as much of your settings and recording simultaneously as possible.

even for non-audio use it's great. for example, i can write a paper in one monitor while doing research for it on the web in the other. or i can have a bunch of IM conversations on one monitor without it cluttering up my web browser on monitor #2.


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## CynicEidolon (Jun 10, 2009)

Also, known as... Mix window and edit windows.


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## Triple7 (Jun 10, 2009)

My computer has ports for 2 monitors, if I hook a second up do I have to change any settings or anything like that?


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## DIOBOLIC5150 (Jun 10, 2009)

I could never live without 2 monitors. I typically have multi track view on my main monitor and my mixer/plugins on the 2nd. That's just one of the million reasons why I love having 2x 22" screens! So much screen real estate to work with.


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## Triple7 (Jun 10, 2009)

DIOBOLIC5150 said:


> I could never live without 2 monitors. I typically have multi track view on my main monitor and my mixer/plugins on the 2nd. That's just one of the million reasons why I love having 2x 22" screens! So much screen real estate to work with.




Awesome I will have to do this, by the way your setup looked sick and I love your EP


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## DIOBOLIC5150 (Jun 10, 2009)

Triple7 said:


> Awesome I will have to do this, by the way your setup looked sick and I love your EP



Thanks bro!


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## Mattayus (Jun 10, 2009)

Yeah Keith, your workspace has really inspired me to maybe look into an angled desk to shove in the corner. It seems like a really wise use of space


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## Scar Symmetry (Jun 10, 2009)

Triple7 said:


> by the way your setup looked sick and I love your EP



+1, just listening to the EP now, very groovy


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## DIOBOLIC5150 (Jun 10, 2009)

Mattayus said:


> Yeah Keith, your workspace has really inspired me to maybe look into an angled desk to shove in the corner. It seems like a really wise use of space



A corner desk definitely a good idea if you have limited space. That room in the pics is half of my garage that I converted into a music/studio room. It's not very big, so I have to use the space wisely. The closet is a vocal booth (which I never use), and if I want to record drums I have to set them up in the middle of the room.. pain in the ass! I'm fortunate to have somewhere to play, though.


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## Mattayus (Jun 11, 2009)

Well I'm actually thinking of getting something more like this now -







Something that's not specifically geared towards "studio furniture", because everything that has "studio" in front of it is immediately 4 times the price of what it should be. I mean, do I _really_ need those 4U racks? I've hardly got any rack gear! And even when i do build my outboard gear collection I can just buy rack units to plonk on the desk


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## Leec (Jun 11, 2009)

I plan on doing what my mate Greg did: buy a large piece of laminated wood and four desk legs from Ikea. Simple, elegant and cheap.


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## damigu (Jun 11, 2009)

this is the desk i have.
except i made a shelf to put in the open area where they have the computer (my computer is behind the desk so i don't get as much noise from it).
due to the asymmetry of the top tier, i actually had to make a small stand (about 6" high) for my left monitor. i have the monitors on isolation foam so the different surfaces don't affect the sound noticeably.

again, i have an actual rack next to my desk with all of the music gear in it.

it didn't cost an arm and a leg because it isn't marketed to the music community. but i think it's been discontinued, unfortunately.


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## moshwitz (Jun 12, 2009)

If you are kinda handy with a saw, you could make a great desk suited to your need for a small amount of money. At one time I was looking at allot of similar units myself, but most of them I would have to do something to to tailor it for my needs, and the real desks were waaaaaayyyyy out of my price range,The one that suited me best at the time was an Omnirax mixstation. Their price was 1175.00 + 200 shipping. so I decided to just build one.



















It Is really just two side cars(racks) and shelves to link them together with a computer tower platform on the bottom and a little more rack space, and I built it for $114.00 total (and Yes, I corrected the ugly ass wiring hole on the right)

Just another alternative

MOSHON
DAVE


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## Mattayus (Jun 14, 2009)

Mattayus said:


>



I just won this for £50   I can't believe it, the fuckin size of it! I may regret this as I don't actually think it will fit in my house


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## caughtinamosh (Jun 14, 2009)

50 SQUID?!?!? Bloody Hell, that's a bargain! 

Plenty space on that thing. Nice find/buy.


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## phantom911 (Jun 14, 2009)

moshwitz said:


> If you are kinda handy with a saw, you could make a great desk suited to your need for a small amount of money. At one time I was looking at allot of similar units myself, but most of them I would have to do something to to tailor it for my needs, and the real desks were waaaaaayyyyy out of my price range,The one that suited me best at the time was an Omnirax mixstation. Their price was 1175.00 + 200 shipping. so I decided to just build one.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Damn, that is one badass setup


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## Mattayus (Jun 14, 2009)

caughtinamosh said:


> 50 SQUID?!?!? Bloody Hell, that's a bargain!
> 
> Plenty space on that thing. Nice find/buy.



I know man!



phantom911 said:


> Damn, that is one badass setup



Yeah man, looks like a studio on the first glance... but then the more you look at it, the more it looks like a cockpit from an 80's sci-fi movie


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## damigu (Jun 14, 2009)

Mattayus said:


> Yeah man, looks like a studio on the first glance... but then the more you look at it, the more it looks like a cockpit from an 80's sci-fi movie



i was thinking that it looks like the cockpit from "firefly"


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## moshwitz (Jun 14, 2009)

The wife calls it the mother ship

Nice score on the desk 

MOSHON
DAVE


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## Triple7 (Jun 14, 2009)

Yea, that's nasty dude, how long did it take you to build?


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## moshwitz (Jun 14, 2009)

Triple7 said:


> Yea, that's nasty dude, how long did it take you to build?



Sup? 

The desk took 4 nights after I'd come home from work,, from layout to putting it in the room.

The room took 2 months or so of every free minute i had I've been in it for a year now and I still have to put in the stained wood slats that go on all the units(sans speaker units of course)......yeah,,, I'm slackin

MOSHON
DAVE


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## Triple7 (Jun 15, 2009)

Dude I hardly call that slacking, you got that done pretty quick and it looks nasty. I need to get motivated to do something like that!


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## Lozek (Jun 17, 2009)

Lozek said:


> That was my experience as well, up to this point. They missed my first e-mail, responded to my second asking what the problem was (it was copied in the text further down the e-mail), no response to my reply itemising what's missing, and so far no response to a chase-up e-mail asking if they're planning to send me the missing parts any time soon.



Finally, had a response on this. An e-mail saying they've passed it on to their customer 'service', and a phone number. I am VERY VERY VERY not impressed by this at all!!!!!!!


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## Mattayus (Jun 17, 2009)

Mate that's utter bullshit.

My enormous mothership of a desk gets delivered tomorrow.  I can't wait!


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## MF_Kitten (Jun 17, 2009)

i'd love to have a nice and spacious workstation, but i'm a cheapass in a small apartment at the moment 

i have just enough space to fit my things in there, without it being crowded, so i'm happy. in the future, i'll make a more "proper" studio space, with a nice huge desk and lots of space. i'd recommend you CRT monitor guys to get some lcd monitors, btw. they don't cost much these days, and they are so much better in a studio setting! they are easier to fit in places, they're light, and most importnantly, they don't induce a nasty-ass buzz in your gear


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## 7 Dying Trees (Jun 22, 2009)

I got a new desk after Mattayus showed me it the other day, one from Thomann, the producer one, am well happy as it now contains everything i wanted to put in it, all neatly tidied, plus i have a bit more storage as well!

If you've got the space for it (it's retardedly huge, as in, it's bigger than it looks, it wouldn't fit through my front door and took 2 hours to put together (possibly longer), then i can really recommend it (unless you're good at woodworking, in which case make your own as it's probably cheaper!)


And, if all goes well, i should get myself some shelves and more storage soon, as the drawers i was susing are now gone to make room :/


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## Mattayus (Jun 22, 2009)

You could get rack drawers dude! If you don't need all that rack space you could always just get a couple of those 2U rack mounted draws for bits and bobs


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## 7 Dying Trees (Jun 22, 2009)

Mattayus said:


> You could get rack drawers dude! If you don't need all that rack space you could always just get a couple of those 2U rack mounted draws for bits and bobs


Good thinking batman! I was going to buy two sets of large shelves, but this may have just sorted out my problem entirely! Ace!


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## Lozek (Jun 23, 2009)

Lozek said:


> Finally, had a response on this. An e-mail saying they've passed it on to their customer 'service', and a phone number. I am VERY VERY VERY not impressed by this at all!!!!!!!



Final update (hopefully). After SIX e-mails and a final one where I basically screamed at them and called them all the names under the sun, I got an apology from them and apparently the bolts are on their way to me. Only took a month


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## Mattayus (Jun 23, 2009)

7 Dying Trees said:


> Good thinking batman! I was going to buy two sets of large shelves, but this may have just sorted out my problem entirely! Ace!



Yarr! I was going to get some myself but I dont think I'm going to need them anymore tbh. I'd still kill for a rack mounted PC though  They just look so slick



Lozek said:


> Final update (hopefully). After SIX e-mails and a final one where I basically screamed at them and called them all the names under the sun, I got an apology from them and apparently the bolts are on their way to me. Only took a month



Jesus Christ dude I think by this point I would have sent back covered it children's blood.


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## damigu (Jun 23, 2009)

Mattayus said:


> Yarr! I was going to get some myself but I dont think I'm going to need them anymore tbh. I'd still kill for a rack mounted PC though  They just look so slick



i was going to get a rack mount computer chassis for my setup, but i realized that the hum of my PC's power supply and CPU cooling fan is a *LOT* quieter when i put it behind my desk than when i have it in the rack or somewhere near where i actually do the music stuff.

it would look really cool and be extremely convenient--but ultimately it's the sound quality that makes the difference for my purposes.


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