Studio Furniture

[public_brick]

Can anyone recommend a laptop floor stand? Realizing that my ergos would really benefit from having my computer adjacent to my main work desk. Looking for something compact and sturdy.

[ahmohb]

I’ve been eyeing the Möbel by The Standing Desk.

[G4B3]

I use this one plopped in front of my drum set and it works great.

[public_brick]

That Möbel looks really nice but a bit more than what I wanted to spend, I picked one up off of Amazon, will report back.

[eblomquist]

Is it sturdy enough to securely hold a laptop?

[G4B3]

I have a 2015 13" Macbook Pro on it so it isn’t the heaviest laptop but it holds it stable. Not worried at all about it falling off while I’m drumming. If you’ve ever used an On-Stage mic stand the base is pretty similar to that. Maybe a bit heavier? The pad on top of it has plastic you can peel off and then it is sticky. I didn’t do that because I’m worried my laptop would stay sticky when taken off but it feels like it would definitely hold whatever you put on it in place. So if you have a shell of some sort on your laptop that might be an option.

[2197]

i’m soon to move my home studio to a dedicated studio space, and have been looking at different solutions. i was happy to find stackable these tabletop synth stands that are surprisingly cheap. they’re by a company called roadworx which i’ve never heard of and don’t seem to have a website, so i’m thinking maybe they’re owned by thomann…

i’m also looking to buy a new computer monitor, but have no idea what to look for. it doesn’t have to be super big, but bigger than my 15" laptop and with good image quality from all angles. anyone have any recommendations of brands models? are curved screens a fad or are they genuinely better/easier on the eyes?

[delmerdarion]

For image quality and viewing angles I would recomend looking for an IPS display. Most cheaper monitors are VA or TN which usually have pretty bad viewing angles and less accurate colours.

Personally I think curved screens are a bit of a gimmick for anything smaller than an ultrawide monitor. Even then I use a flat ultrawide monitor and have never noticed any kind of distortion or experienced any eye strain that would warrant needing a curved screen.

[kbra]

I think I’m going to try to build something inspired by this Audio Housing one for my home studio, minus the classic Danish mid century type vibe, plus the classic “when you do it yourself, you usually get something that looks like you did it yourself” style. Already made some preliminary measurements and drawings, and looks like if I do something similar but just a little wider, it’ll fit everything I want to use at once.

Currently have a beautiful, big and deep old oak desk, with things scattered around and half of it difficult to reach / cluttering up - basically only the front center sector feels natural to use gear / play instruments on. So I end up keeping some of the gear and instruments elsewhere and never using them together.

This kind of design feels sort of like it allows for the exact opposite kind of organization - packing a reasonable amount of things in a small space and easy reach with moderate depth and several levels, but not a huge amount of stuff nor anything really large.

I do have a height-adjustable ergo chair so the two level system doesn’t sound like a huge nuisance. Let’s see how it goes, I’ll post pictures if I ever get it finished…

[tnelson]

For laptop floor stands, look at https://www.laptoptripods.com
I use one of the mini versions with 13 x 19" top to hold Macbook Air, MOTU Microbook interface and USB hub at gigs. Many sizes available, very stable and sturdy, designed for remote field use, but look good in studio.

[Zeke_B]

I’m not sure where to post this question, but this thread seems appropriate since it involves studio furniture and organizing. I’m looking for some shelves to put into my bookshelves but cannot figure out what they’re called and searches are just returning bookshelves.

Basically I want some shelves I can put on on of my bookshelves so I vertically stack things and not have so much unused space. Like my norns and grid at the bottom, with a shelf above that my Tetrax can sit on, and another above that for my 16n. Basically like a larger version of what some people keep on their desk to organize papers.

Any ideas or pointers? Thanks!

[wardores]

You could try searching for “stackable desk trays”. Another option might be to get a small server rack (4u or so) and get some 2u sliding drawers for a more fun solution depending on your bookshelf depth.

[Zeke_B]

Thank you! I appreciate that help. I should be able to find something searching along those lines.

[rstn]

Also look for “shelf risers”

[soysos]

My good friend built me this console at least 10 years ago with 3 racks.
Originally it sat not so steadily on 2 rolling rack cases. On Saturday we took apart an old table and he created a really stable leg and locking base system. The center section holds a Schertler mixer that is just a fantastic studio tool

[kbra]

Still needs some little cable management tricks and setting up the actual gear, but in principle it’s ready now.

The one thing I realized towards the end of the work is that adjustable sit-stand type legs make complete sense for something like this - you have 2 (potentially 3) different levels, and you may want to use any of them either sitting comfortably or standing upright, after all. So, seeing that the material budget for this one was ridiculously low otherwise (about 100 euros with fancier premium birch plywood and the kind of furniture wax I like most), I could afford to spend some extra and installed a height-adjustable electronic frame. It should be easily able to lift the whole load of the 30kg+ table frame and all the gear - even if I end up getting a hefty keyboard controller again at some point.

Just got it finished yesterday so I haven’t used it with the actual gear yet, but at least the idea and general ergonomics feel good with a little testing.

One more with “unplugged” almost complete studio setup to get an idea of the scale (still missing a compact mixer on top, and some little stuff in front, plus one more stand for an acoustic instrument):

[Voltmeister]

Here’s my budget home office setup. I thought to post it here, as it might be useful as studio setup for someone. All Ikea. Desk is a 200x60cm Linnmon surface with 5 Olov legs. On top of that a 190x26cm Lack wall-mountable shelve, with six Capita legs (8cm, but they come in 15cm too).

[kr0n]

Nice build and great idea with the height-adjustable frame. I’ve been eyeing this design for DIY as well, but I wasn’t quite sure about the ergonomics of the two desk trays (was planning to use it for work/production).

Please, do share more impressions once you have more hours in and more pictures with the setup finished!

[Oldanalogger]

I like the speakers - what make are they please?

[kbra]

@kr0n

Thanks! I’ll definitely post some experiences once I get to use the desk a bit more. My initial hunch is that for long hours on the desk I’d just opt for a more “traditional” type of studio desk (perhaps still modified with height adjustable frame if you want to stand at some point?) if space allowd, and the main benefit for this type of design is a decent compromise between compactness and ergonomics. But let’s see if I’m wrong (as usual)…

@Oldanalogger

Those are Gradient 5.0, from a local (Finnish) hi-fi manufacturer. Single coaxial element, sealed / passive radiator on the back. They’re sort of designed for flexible positioning and difficult spaces and work really well on my small & difficult home studio room. Passive, I run them with a pair of Hypex amplifiers. The current version of the model is called “Five”, with a bit different design - I bought my pair used for a very nice price.

I suppose they aren’t very widely known or available worldwide unlike, say, Amphion who make great sealed + passive radiator studio monitors (One series) around here that some audio engineer friends in the US of A seem to like a lot as well.