Lets see some studio pics

[bduffy]

Even though I like the dual-flatscreen setup, I'm slowly growing to hate my my rig/setup. Definitely hate the lighting, the picture is just crap, wish I had a better cam (Olympus 5MPix? No reflex camera however).


And I want some digital mixing controllers, but then the keyboard has to vanish... *sigh* I'm definitely envied of other studios. They're just more slick compared to my barn.

I dunno - looks pretty cool to me. What speakers are those?

[thecontrolcentre]

I'm definitely envied of other studios. They're just more slick compared to my barn.

Looks cool to me ... is that a behringer mixer? I got myself a BCF2000 ... I still love it when I start Live7 and the faders fly into position I have an MX2642A also.

[thecontrolcentre]

get some curtains to match the wacky carpet:hihi:

I've got some shiny green ones with little flecks of white on them. Need to get them taken up ... the ceiling in the studio is only 6 feet 3 inches high. I keep whacking my head off the light shade

I feel the sound is a little thin

You could have a look at this mod, (but build it into an external box)

http://www.retrosonik.com/DarkMods.htm

Thanks ... very interesting

[arnethorvald]

How do you supply those studios with multiple synths, mixers, effects etc. with sufficient power? I have eight power sockets in my room which are all occupied, so what would I do with any additional hardware I might purchase? Is there a limit for safe use of power strips?

[bduffy]

You usually get a power conditioner or two.

[Compyfox]

I dunno - looks pretty cool to me.

Yeah, it's kind of tidy, but I dunno... it just feels so wrong. I tried several setups - keyboard on the side, which then turned into keyboard in front of the PC (for better play). Then I got more into engineering and I actually want to "touch" things - but I don't have a digital mixing console like a ProControl, and there's also no room to efficiently set up BCFs and BCRs.

It just doesn't feel right...

What speakers are those?

Don't slap me for that:
Universum 130W 8Ohm Speakers, Customized. Meaning: different speaker switches and loudspeaker cones. My brother exchanged them back in the day (I got them from him - and no, he can't build speakers). They're actually midfield HiFi speakers, but have a great frequency response. The second set I have are Medion Consumer speakers, also ARC corrected.

They (the Universum) are running in 4Ohm at the moment (due to my amp - wrongly set up), but they're corrected with ARC. I posted a plot over in the ARC thread in "Effects", but for convenience the screenshot is here.

Looks cool to me ... is that a behringer mixer?

Yup, one of two analog ones. Have a MX2442A and one MX2004A. Both are the elder builts and still in good condition except for normal dust (even though if covered with sheets) and some switches starting to act up (guess I need to clean the connectors)

I got myself a BCF2000 ... I still love it when I start Live7 and the faders fly into position I have an MX2642A also.

Wish I got one, or a Roland Digital Mixing desk like my friend has. But then again... where to put it.


Like I said... I don't think my setupreally cuts it. Haven't done something really useful or good in months, other than throwing out unused plugins!

I'm so envied if I see all other pictures in here. They're so clean-cut, everything's arranged perfectly, every other one has at least one digital controller. And I? I'm happy that my Kurzweil K2000 (on the desk) doesn't crap out on me.

Maybe it's because my "studio" is also a living room. This sure adds up to decreasing efficiency. Time for an own apartement just for this purpose - but if you got zero to no income... yeah you get the idea.

How do you supply those studios with multiple synths, mixers, effects etc. with sufficient power? I have eight power sockets in my room which are all occupied, so what would I do with any additional hardware I might purchase? Is there a limit for safe use of power strips?

Best if you have fuses for each power socket. Then do the math if the Ampere maximum for this socket isn't used up (mostly 16A, 24A for electric ovens and freezers - depending on your apartement) and you should be fairly clean.

Also... studios usually don't switch on everything at once, but in a certain order. First the PC, then the mixing desk, then the amplifier. And if needed, all hardware later.

Most of the time, my hardware units are turned off. Wish I'd be more productive. But I'm so depressive as of late, that I don't even know what to do if my equipment is running. I'm happy that I even get my engineering stuff done. And even that is massively driven back.

*sigh*

[vurt]

Even though I like the dual-flatscreen setup, I'm slowly growing to hate my my rig/setup. Definitely hate the lighting, the picture is just crap, wish I had a better cam (Olympus 5MPix? No reflex camera however).


And I want some digital mixing controllers, but then the keyboard has to vanish... *sigh* I'm definitely envied of other studios. They're just more slick compared to my barn.

you have about twice as much space as me, that should cheer you up some
i seriously can touch all four walls from the centre of my studio, i could probably swing a small rodent but nothing as big as a rat and definitely no cats
but its home and i love it there

[bduffy]

I dunno - looks pretty cool to me.

Yeah, it's kind of tidy, but I dunno... it just feels so wrong. I tried several setups - keyboard on the side, which then turned into keyboard in front of the PC (for better play). Then I got more into engineering and I actually want to "touch" things - but I don't have a digital mixing console like a ProControl, and there's also no room to efficiently set up BCFs and BCRs.

It just doesn't feel right...

What speakers are those?

Don't slap me for that:
Universum 130W 8Ohm Speakers, Customized. Meaning: different speaker switches and loudspeaker cones. My brother exchanged them back in the day (I got them from him - and no, he can't build speakers). They're actually midfield HiFi speakers, but have a great frequency response. The second set I have are Medion Consumer speakers, also ARC corrected.

They (the Universum) are running in 4Ohm at the moment (due to my amp - wrongly set up), but they're corrected with ARC. I posted a plot over in the ARC thread in "Effects", but for convenience the screenshot is here.

I would never slap you for using those speakers! Some of my favourites are consumer bookshelfs. Might've gone that route, but I couldn't be arsed to deal with buying a passive system.

Well, I hope the Studio Fairy grants your wishes one day!

[Compyfox]

The "Studio Fairy" sure is a bitch to me lately...

[james0tucson]

How do you supply those studios with multiple synths, mixers, effects etc. with sufficient power? I have eight power sockets in my room which are all occupied, so what would I do with any additional hardware I might purchase? Is there a limit for safe use of power strips?

There are limits, and they are routinely pushed. The answers depend on how paranoid you are about fire prevention, and whether you actually need to comply with safety/health/hvac rules (e.g., does a safety inspector make a routine visit to your shop... probably not in your bedroom studio...)

The real limitation is "current draw". Your typical house circuit supplies 20 amps, and will usually carry 110% of its rated load for a while. Complicating the equation is the difference between the "thermal" and "magnetic" trip in modern GFCI circuits.

You have eight sockets in your room -- that's four groups of two, and what you need to find out first is, how many circuits that represents. If they are all on one circuit, then it's essentially the same thing as having an eight-outlet power strip...

The right way to deal with the power supply problem for a residential workshop is to bring dedicated circuits from the main supply to your shop. Most residential supplies can deliver at least 100 amps, often 200A... the guys with home shops with lathes and milling machines and heavy welders will outgrow that, but you won't just with electronics.

(My day job is in a plant whose monthly electric bill is in the $300,000 range... we have some intense power requirements

If you're drawing more than 20 amps total -- not that hard to do -- you can drop another circuit from the main breaker, assuming your breaker box has room for expansion. The only really hard part is the labor-intensive work of getting the wire from the service point to the room. In some houses this is very easy, and in some houses it's a demolition / construction job...

Take all your equipment and add up the Amperage rating from the plates by the power supplies or on the power bricks. That number is the maximum amount of current your equipment should be able to draw if it's functioning properly. In practice you won't reach that number since circuits tend to be more efficient, but some equipment rated at 1 Amp really will draw 1 Amp.

Anyway if you go over 20-25 amps you'll probably trip your circuit breaker.

As for the limits to how many power strips you can have, it's risky because it encourages more current load on a circuit, and it creates that many more points where someone can be shocked by bare contacts, and that many more potential fire starters. On the other hand, it introduces a layer of safety since it puts an extra circuit breaker in the line...

Say you went crazy and took a 6-outlet power strip and plugged it into your 20 amp circuit. Then you took 6 more power strips and plugged each one into the one strip. Then you plugged in 36 devices each rated at 1 Amp and turned everything on. Chances are, when you put an ammeter on this, you'll find the draw is far less than 36 Amps because nothing really draws on its power supply at full capacity. And consider this: If it did, the chances are really good that the 15 amp breaker (typical) in the one power strip will trip long before the breaker in the residential breaker box.


If you're not talking about a bedroom studio, but a professional one, you really shouldn't have this issue, because you'll be in Cutler-Hammer or Square-D commercial power territory from the beginning, and of course, you'll have safety and fire prevention regulatory issues to comply with.


It's not that hard to do it right in a residential setting though. When I bought my house, I knew that I wanted part of the house to be professional office, and I knew that I'd need separate power circuits for it, so I upgraded the breaker box, and put a 100Amp sub-panel in for the office. It's not uncommon to do this; people who add pools or big air conditioners have to do it all the time, so it's not like you're asking electricians to do work they don't do every day.

On the other hand, my electrician thought I was crazy when I told him I needed four separate circuits dropped into a closet, plus a dedicated line for a separate air conditioner. The closet became a server room, of course, but the guy refused to understand the concept of a "home office" that was something more than just a desk in a spare bedroom.

[Hink]

as so much stuff is run on wall warts the draw isn't as high as it was back in the day. In fact I have never had an issue in my limited space with everything including home entertainment. The only time we have tripped a breaker is when the wife has run the microwave on the same circuit as her blow dryer and for some reason our bathroom and kitchen plugs are on the same circuit (except the icebox), then it pops.

[james0tucson]

Also... studios usually don't switch on everything at once, but in a certain order. First the PC, then the mixing desk, then the amplifier. And if needed, all hardware later.

I did a gig at a studio that really surprised me on this.
Basically, nothing ever gets turned off. Not only that,
every single piece of equipment that takes an audio signal,
always has a 1kHz tone routed to it and the meters at 0dB.
This accomplishes 2 things: (a) everything is always calibrated, and (b) it's extremely obvious if you have some piece of gear in your signal chain and didn't know it...


For the record, the hippie in me doesn't agree with the whole "everything stays on all the time" approach, but lots of shops do that.

[metamorphosis]

http://www.soulstudios.co.nz/about_us.htm
m@

[thecontrolcentre]

I got myself a BCF2000 ... I still love it when I start Live7 and the faders fly into position I have an MX2642A also.

Wish I got one, or a Roland Digital Mixing desk like my friend has. But then again... where to put it.

I reckon you could slot a BCF2000 in next to your keyboard. They're not that big. The footprint is only 32cm wide x 28cm deep ... gives you an extra couple of midi outputs, a midi input and USB in/out. I route mine to control my Nord Modular as well as my DAW. It's a great bit of kit for the price.

[Compyfox]

Thing is, I'm used to have either a keyboard or a controller directly in front of me in the hotspot. Both doesn't work due to the wide keyboard.

I could hide the BCF under the desk (maybe 2, it's 63,5cm wide but only 22cm deep - so using the potis is a pain), but then where to put the keyboard and the mouse?


And another important fact... where to get the money to actually "get" one of the BCFs? And isn't it discontinued now? Behringer hasn't announced anything new, and the price is still a ripoff if you ask me.