Furniture?

[pHaTaL_eRrOr]

Do any of you have groovy workstation furniture? Did anyone get a good deal somewhere, or am I going to have to pay $1000 for something descent?

[John]

This is just a guess. But I'm going to guess that if most people here had a $1,000 to spend, they would spend it towards new equipment. My workstation desk is a steel desk from like the 40s. That thing will last forever (or until my wife pitches it; she doesn't like it).

[Spacehog]

All my studio furniture was custom built by, er, me! Most of it from cheap kitchen units and worktops etc. At some point, if I ever start doing the studio thing as a commercial business with outside clients, I'll buy in (probably Omnirax) but for now I have what I need.

Martin

[Tigerfolly]

Do any of you have groovy workstation furniture? Did anyone get a good deal somewhere, or am I going to have to pay $1000 for something descent?

It's so much cheaper and works better in the long run if you just build things yourself. It's not too difficult to do, and you generally don't need too much int he way of tools to put together a nice solid workstation desk. Plus, watch some of those cheesy home improvement shows (I can't get enough of 'em) like Trading Spaces, While You Were Out, Monster House, etc for tips, tricks and ideas to make something sturdy and functional.

Or, if you're not carpentry inclined, sketch out the design for what you'd like and look for a carpenter or handyman to help you build it. Take them to music stores and show them what features some studio furniture has, and go nuts with it! There is no substitute for the perfect recording environment :)

[Curt]

I have an idea... why don't we post photos of our rigs? I'd start but I'm not sure how to do it!

[Kurzweilfreak]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v180/togakure/desk7.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v180/togakure/desk6.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v180/togakure/desk5.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v180/togakure/desk9.jpg

[Enigma™]

^^ NERD PORN ^^

Brett: Nice ass ;)

[Scrap]

WARNING: GEAR PORN AHEAD.

Not quite as extensive and organized as Brett, but it works.

I shall be adding a Kurzweil K2000 to the Apex stand in the next week or two. :)

http://www.reprehensible.net/albums/MusicRoom/overview.sized.jpg
http://www.reprehensible.net/albums/MusicRoom/sideview.sized.jpg
http://www.reprehensible.net/albums/MusicRoom/spyder_ii.sized.jpg
http://www.reprehensible.net/albums/MusicRoom/deskorama.sized.jpg

[Taurus]

Is that mIRC you got on that screen?

*nerd alert*
:lol:

[Scrap]

Yep, mIRC.

So where's the picture of your workstation, Taurus? ;)

[Everlasting_Rain]

I like the prism you have on the wall, Scrap. Even though I'd take the Karma if I had to steal something from that room.

Which guitars do you have there? The ovation is really good-looking.

[pHaTaL_eRrOr]

Your cat looks JUST like mine, scrap....

Whenever I'm playing he hops on top of my sub for a belly massage.

[Scrap]

The prism is actually a framed LP vinyl of the 25th anniversary edition of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of The Moon album. Next to it is the High Hopes / Keep Talking single (a laser coloured vinyl).

The guitars are the following:

Fender Pink Paisley Stratocaster (MIJ), Carvin 2004 Bolt Plus Custom (MIA), Fender Precision Bass Mark Hoppus Signature (MIM), Fender Pink Paisley Precision Bass (MIJ), Applause/Ovation AE28 Acoustic/Electric (MIK), Ibanez AEL20TBS Acoustic/Electric (MIC).

The Paisley Fenders cover that vintage 50s/60s sound, and the Carvin and Mark Hop bass gives me a more contemporary tone for stuff like prog - Tony MacAlpine plays a Carvin - I have the same pickups, different body style. I'd like to get rid of both acoustics and get one of the new Ibanez Vai acoustics sometime. That thing is a beauty.

My cat enjoys sitting on the bass amp in the corner from time to time, so he gets his massages as well. :)

[Fossil Records]

I'm with the "build it yourself" guys... I have no talent for wood-working, but managed to put together a nice desk and recessed wall system for my computers, monitor, and rack.

http://www.fossilrecords.net/images/office2.jpg
http://www.fossilrecords.net/images/office3a.jpg
http://www.fossilrecords.net/images/office4.jpg
http://www.fossilrecords.net/images/office4a.jpg

The wood was a $40 sheet of 3/4" oak ply that I got from Lowes - they cut it to the dimensions I wanted for free (there was no way I could fit a 4'x8' sheet of ply in my Tiburon). I bought four table legs (each one was $10, but that's 'cause I wanted the ornamentation). I bought 1-1/2" half-round (about $18 worth) and an 8' piece of 2"x2". Ran heavy bolts through the wall to hold the 2x2. Stained the oak ply, half-round, and legs with ebony stain; then coated it with polyurethane. Added 3/4" pine boards around the outside (6" thick) to further support the ply, prevent any warping, and help hold the half-round. Affixed the legs and screwed the desktop to the 2"x2"'s on the wall. Glued and nailed in the half-round. A similarly sized table made from the cheapest laminated top was going to cost me $400. I spent about $100.

[Zaki]

:shock: Starwars Episode X..

[Kurzweilfreak]

Re: Fossil

Now THAT is pretty damn sweet. :shock: Definitely something I'll have to keep in mind. Ya know, if I ever build a house or something.

[Fossil Records]

:D Thanks! It's one of the most satisfying thing I've ever done. Rather exhausting and ended up costing about $2,000 to finish the whole room, but well worth it. :D

Those pictures are pretty old so they don't show the sound conditioning foam on the ceilings, the black leather couch, ebony stained oak "coffee" table, etc. :wink:

[Kurzweilfreak]

Sounds like it's about time to take some more current pictures then. ;)

[Cary]

Did you make the coffee table, too? Woodworking is a another hobby of mine and I would be interested in seeing it. Nice job on the room, by the way.
I've drawn up a plan for a desk, but I haven't built it yet, although I may get the lumber for it next paycheck. I was originally going to do it in maple, but for cost's sake I may end up using MDF for the support structure or the whole thing.

[Fossil Records]

Sounds like it's about time to take some more current pictures then.

Heh... first I have to unbury it... :oops: :)

Did you make the coffee table, too? Woodworking is a another hobby of mine and I would be interested in seeing it. Nice job on the room, by the way.

Thanks! Yes, I did the coffee table as well. Lowes sells pre-cut 3/4" oak ply in 2'x4' sheets for about $12. Along with four square (no ornamentation - I think they're called finestrels?) legs (~$16), two 2' x 4" precut 3/4" pine boards (~$2), two 4' x 4" precut 3/4" pine boards (~$3), and 18' of 1-1/2" half-round pine (~$18 ). I forgot to sand down the oak surface but it's not that big of a deal for me (when it comes to putting the polyurethane on you get tiny little lumps that you can feel, but only see if you look down the plane of the table). I used ebony stain (to match the rest of the studio) on the legs, surface, and half-round.

I attached the 3/4" pine boards along the edge of the oak ply on the bottom to strengthen the edges and to give me a total width of 1-1/2" (to support the half-round). I used the short drywall screws (I LOVE those) and wood glue. Inside the corners formed by the pine boards I affixed the metal anchors to hold the legs which came pre-tapped to fit them. I cut the half-round down to miter edges and glue/nailed them to the edges.
I then lacquered the whole thing with polyurethane, sanded with 320 grit, and repeated three more times. For $50 I now have a good sized table that "fits" my studio (in look, that is). For the same price I could have bought a veneer table of about the same size (but wrong color) from WalMart.

[Cary]

And you would have had a walmart piece of crap instead of a handcrafted masterpiece :lol:
You can see the hope chest I built for my oldest daughter here http://home.nycap.rr.com/cjvaeth/ under woodworking.

[Fossil Records]

That's beautiful!! Far better than I could accomplish. Alot more detail and finesse in that piece than I would attempt. :)

A couple of guys I work with do woodworking as a hobby. One of them brought a small box in the other day and it's incredible - I can't even pronounce the woods he used in it. Some are Australian, some African, some home-grown. When I get updated studio pics I'll try to get a pic of this box he built - it's really sweet. :)

[Fossil Records]

Okay, got some quick shots with the digital camera tonight. The first is the table and the second is a 1/2x shot of the studio. The flash on the camera really washed out the studio, but if you can imagine the can-lights causing the grey ceilings to look much darker. Even though they're the same color as the walls, the lighting makes it seem as though there might not be a ceiling (the corners of the walls just seem to fade away unless you're standing right at the wall).

I still haven't finished the baseboards or installed the doors (they're gonna run me about $200 each). And I haven't finished all of the sound conditioning - I can't find corner pieces that don't cost $150+ each. The angle I took the pic at shields the fretless bass that's hanging over the couch and you can't see my CD collection. Other than that and cleaning up quite a bit, it's home. :D

http://members.empowering.com/gwfran/table.jpg
http://members.empowering.com/gwfran/studio.jpg

[Cary]

Looks nice! Studio and table. Table joints look straight and tight. Gotta love that bold wood grain.
I'm beginning to toy with the idea of using mdf half sheets for the desk now. My original drawing had the top width @ 30", but I wouldn't be able to fit that through the door assembled :lol: I suppose I got a while to figure it out.
When I built my youngest son's loft bed in my basement, it wouldn't fit up the stairs! :oops: So I had to disassemble it, reassemble it in the garage to complete and finish it, disassemle again, put up in his room and reassemble AGAIN. :?