Exactly what it says. I live off seeing other people's workspaces. Did you already post a picture but got some new stuff? Post again. Share your pictures below. I want see two channel interfaces attached to inexpensive PCs in a bedroom and I want to see recording studios and everything in between. Let's see em.
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Share your workspace thread
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Gerran
Active member
Well, this is my bedroom... As per your request as untidy and raw as it ever is...
Please, share yours as well @ianaeillo !
Please, share yours as well @ianaeillo !
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Jemusic
Active member
Here is my setup. I have had a studio since 1980 so this is my 46th setup. It began with a Teac Model A3440 reel to reel with a Teac Model 2 mixer and a Roland Space Echo and a Korg MS20. This is my latest system. A few details.
Going anti clockwise. Master control on the right with the Mac Studio as the main computer. Yamaha 01V is my final mixer. Main Monitors are there as well as Faderport 8 and Presonus monitor controller.
I have 5 computers. The other 4 are are virtual synths. On the left table is the screen for the Win7 machine in a cabinet below with the drive enclosure also for the main computer. The rack has synths and interfaces and midi interfaces etc. Two mixers on the top mix all the hardware synths and the 4 computers.
Yamaha H&7's as aux monitors. Under that is a monitor and keyboard/mouse which can be switched between the two computers in front of the chair. One is Win 98 machine and the other Win XP. They have older synths on them like Logic ESX24 and all the Sonar synths from Producer 8.5 are on the XP machine. I like the sounds of these older synths/samplers from that era long ago.
Keyboards are Moog Voyager, VSynth, Prophet 12, Odyssey, Korg MS20, Yamaha CS01 (with breath controller) plus tabletop DR Synth. (general Midi synth) Rack has Korg 03R/W, Roland JV2080 maxed out, Yamaha Motif Rack ES, Kurzweil K2000R fully optioned and EMU E5000 Ultra also with everything. The iMac has a lot of virtual synths on it also. All the computers can be sequenced from Studio One. I have 12 hardware synths, 4 computers (treated as hardware synths) and on the 4 aux computers there are 330 soft synths now. (Too many, really all you need is Omnisphere, Unify and Soundpaint! Those three synths are on 3 computers) With the synths on the Mac Studio it is 433 virtual instruments now in total!
Cupboard has doors removed and hold effects pedals and other things. Including a 1975 Teac mixer which sounds amazing patched over more clinical digital sounds. Up top is ADAT and test gear for fault finding etc.. That large aluminium case down the bottom has 1000 CD ROMS for Kurzweil, Roland, AKAI and EMU libraries. The Kurzweil and EMU read AKAI and Roland libraries as well as their own. Very clever. Both EMU and Kurzweil have CD ROM drives attached. I have had EMU Samplers since the Emulator 1 and had most of them after. I must admit I am fan. They do sound incredible. Kurzweil's sound awesome as well. Epic. Combining the older hardware with modern software instrumnets sounds excellent.
There is a PA in the room driven from a 12 channel Mackie mixer, poweramp plus Turbosound speakers. PA is good for jams etc. The PA sounds as good as my main monitors. There is a sub underneath the main table also. Room treatment does work well and everything sounds great in that room. I have got a large music room as well where I can set up 6 or 7 players. There is an upright in there and room for drums etc. I run a multicore out to that room to record live players etc..
Going anti clockwise. Master control on the right with the Mac Studio as the main computer. Yamaha 01V is my final mixer. Main Monitors are there as well as Faderport 8 and Presonus monitor controller.
I have 5 computers. The other 4 are are virtual synths. On the left table is the screen for the Win7 machine in a cabinet below with the drive enclosure also for the main computer. The rack has synths and interfaces and midi interfaces etc. Two mixers on the top mix all the hardware synths and the 4 computers.
Yamaha H&7's as aux monitors. Under that is a monitor and keyboard/mouse which can be switched between the two computers in front of the chair. One is Win 98 machine and the other Win XP. They have older synths on them like Logic ESX24 and all the Sonar synths from Producer 8.5 are on the XP machine. I like the sounds of these older synths/samplers from that era long ago.
Keyboards are Moog Voyager, VSynth, Prophet 12, Odyssey, Korg MS20, Yamaha CS01 (with breath controller) plus tabletop DR Synth. (general Midi synth) Rack has Korg 03R/W, Roland JV2080 maxed out, Yamaha Motif Rack ES, Kurzweil K2000R fully optioned and EMU E5000 Ultra also with everything. The iMac has a lot of virtual synths on it also. All the computers can be sequenced from Studio One. I have 12 hardware synths, 4 computers (treated as hardware synths) and on the 4 aux computers there are 330 soft synths now. (Too many, really all you need is Omnisphere, Unify and Soundpaint! Those three synths are on 3 computers) With the synths on the Mac Studio it is 433 virtual instruments now in total!
Cupboard has doors removed and hold effects pedals and other things. Including a 1975 Teac mixer which sounds amazing patched over more clinical digital sounds. Up top is ADAT and test gear for fault finding etc.. That large aluminium case down the bottom has 1000 CD ROMS for Kurzweil, Roland, AKAI and EMU libraries. The Kurzweil and EMU read AKAI and Roland libraries as well as their own. Very clever. Both EMU and Kurzweil have CD ROM drives attached. I have had EMU Samplers since the Emulator 1 and had most of them after. I must admit I am fan. They do sound incredible. Kurzweil's sound awesome as well. Epic. Combining the older hardware with modern software instrumnets sounds excellent.
There is a PA in the room driven from a 12 channel Mackie mixer, poweramp plus Turbosound speakers. PA is good for jams etc. The PA sounds as good as my main monitors. There is a sub underneath the main table also. Room treatment does work well and everything sounds great in that room. I have got a large music room as well where I can set up 6 or 7 players. There is an upright in there and room for drums etc. I run a multicore out to that room to record live players etc..
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Gerran
Active member
Awesome! I guess finding the 'right' synth sound can take a while...
Is that a Liquid Saffire I see in there? I always felt like they could have done more with the Liquid line of stuff. Like the idea sounded amazing...I just never got around to trying them. Do you use the MOTU or the Focusrite for day-to-day stuff or are they both running?
DAMN. My main production synths are a Yamaha TX81z and a Korg M2r and I feel like I haven't scratched the surface of them. Your collection is seriously impressive! How are you networking your soft synths from various computers? I have an 05 MacBook and a 12 Mac Pro that I refuse to throw away because of the samples / synths / authorizations I have on them and I network them using the built-in Apple MIDI network utility. However, on my older Mac Pro occasionally I get laggy notes with Kontakt, but only Kontakt.
Anyway, that's a seriously cool setup.
Gerran
Active member
I have the MOTU over 20 years now and it's my rock solid go to device. I've run several theatre tours with that thing and recorded full bands with it, 8 tracks at a time.
Since FireWire support is dwindling, I got the Liquid Sapphire just recently for dirt cheap (the guy didn't know what he was selling, he said all outputs were faulty, but they were just misconfigured). I haven't had the opportunity to really play with it yet, but it's now properly set up as an ADAT extension for the MOTU. Problem is they don't play nice together when both connected over FireWire. I'm a little bit anxious to fiddle with that too much. I have a working setup now, if I somehow break the FireWire, I'm afraid it's gone forever.
Since FireWire support is dwindling, I got the Liquid Sapphire just recently for dirt cheap (the guy didn't know what he was selling, he said all outputs were faulty, but they were just misconfigured). I haven't had the opportunity to really play with it yet, but it's now properly set up as an ADAT extension for the MOTU. Problem is they don't play nice together when both connected over FireWire. I'm a little bit anxious to fiddle with that too much. I have a working setup now, if I somehow break the FireWire, I'm afraid it's gone forever.
I love how long the MOTU interfaces are officially supported. I recently got a MOTU Express XT with a manufacture date of 2001 on it...and the drivers loaded up and recognized it with no problem. I was honestly stunned.
Focusrite drivers don't like to aggregate with other devices. There was always a way to get them to play nice, but it always just felt a little janky and held together with some string and glue when I was doing it with my old Quantum. I just sorta gave up. Running in standalone is probably the way to go to avoid blowing up a firewire bus for sure.
Focusrite drivers don't like to aggregate with other devices. There was always a way to get them to play nice, but it always just felt a little janky and held together with some string and glue when I was doing it with my old Quantum. I just sorta gave up. Running in standalone is probably the way to go to avoid blowing up a firewire bus for sure.
Jemusic
Active member
The auxiliary computers have got nice audio interfaces in them and midi interfaces attached. So I just send midi to them from the tracks in Studio One from my Mac Studio main midi interface. The computer audio comes into the mixers etc and finally to my main mix. The latency is fast in most of them too. I can send the synths audio directly to tracks also for printing. I don't use them all the time but its nice to have the old computers around though. I did not want to thrown them away either and they are not worth anything money wise. But they all have older rare synths/samplers and large libraries as well. I have decided to engage them into my current latest configuration. They offer synths like IRIS 2, Absynth, FM7, Sonar Dimension Pro, Rapture, Wusik Station, Alchemy etc. I can send audio to and from them for effects processing. I have got a UAD card in the XP computer and it can do a whole lot. The older computers with their older software still sound very very good today. It can also contribute to creating a more individual sound too.
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I am in a basement room that is 11x14. It was just storage space and has a plywood floor. The walls and ceiling were covered in low quality pine 1x10. I used it like that for the first 4 years we lived here. Last spring I decided to gut the room and build a proper space. Im about halfway through the renovation but have my workstation set up temporarily where it will be.
I did a lot of research into room treatment and all that. I bought a calibration Mike and am learning about REW software.
As I go I take measurements.
Next on my list is to build a defuser for the back wall.
I also need to build a bunch of cabinets for storage of all my wires. Pedals and stuff.
Right now I’m using boxes and temporary tables to hold my workstation. It’s gotten to cold out to use my carpenter shop. But there will be warm days from time to time.
I have a basic plan which will involve installing my hardware in racks and this time there’ll be room on the desk for my Yamaha o1v mixer. That way everything will always be connected and ready to go.
Im also going to dig my drum kit out of storage and make a mini drum booth.
The room treatment will involve having a place where my acoustic guitar sounds good.
I am planning on recording live instruments mostly instead of using midi. Im sort of bored with the sound of midi tracks. If I use midi it will be for keyboard parts.
Im also hoping to involving other musicians especially for vocals. Therefore room treatment is paramount.
I did a lot of research into room treatment and all that. I bought a calibration Mike and am learning about REW software.
As I go I take measurements.
Next on my list is to build a defuser for the back wall.
I also need to build a bunch of cabinets for storage of all my wires. Pedals and stuff.
Right now I’m using boxes and temporary tables to hold my workstation. It’s gotten to cold out to use my carpenter shop. But there will be warm days from time to time.
I have a basic plan which will involve installing my hardware in racks and this time there’ll be room on the desk for my Yamaha o1v mixer. That way everything will always be connected and ready to go.
Im also going to dig my drum kit out of storage and make a mini drum booth.
The room treatment will involve having a place where my acoustic guitar sounds good.
I am planning on recording live instruments mostly instead of using midi. Im sort of bored with the sound of midi tracks. If I use midi it will be for keyboard parts.
Im also hoping to involving other musicians especially for vocals. Therefore room treatment is paramount.
I *really* liked Dimension Pro and Rapture. Project5 was fun to noodle with while it lasted.
Jemusic
Active member
When Roland took over Cakewalk I worked for them for a while as a demonstrator and clinician for the Roland VStudio 700 system. They gave me everything for Dimenbsion Pro and Rapture. All the Dimension Pro libraries, and I invested in some 3rd party ones as well. The libraries are extensive and have some really excellent atmospheric soundscapes in them. Many other nice sounds too. Also some great Rapture libraries. In fact Craig Anderton created some really nice patches for Rapture also that I still have.
Here's The Velvet Cave. So called because in its first incarnation the walls and ceiling were covered in old green velvet curtains, cadged off a neighbour who was throwing them out. My partner named it, in her usual slightly sardonic way, and it stuck.
The grey panels are loose weave fabric stretched over wood frames I made out of an old fitted wardrobe. The infill is Rockwool loft insulation for sound absorption. The building is single skin brick, but with studded walls made from acoustic plasterboard with Rockwool Acoustic infill for soundproofing. It was all a bit of an experiment, but I'm happy to say that it does the job. I'm particularly impressed by the Rockwool Acoustic.
The corner-pieces house a pair of JBL Control 5's for rehearsal purposes.
The mic is a Neumann U87 and the preamp, which you can just about see in the rack at the bottom right, is an Avalon vt-737sp.
All of that goes into a Presonus Studio 68c (less impressed with this if I'm honest) and on to a custom built Windows box in the other half of the room.
The computer's OK I have to say. I was a bit dubious about the claims that were made for it with regards to noise but the extra I paid for the cooling fans and the Bequiet case were definitely worth it. I always had the option to remote the computer, but I've found that I don't need to. SCAN computers put it together, if anyone's interested.
The instruments, from left to right: A cheap student grade cello, a good quality modern viola, an early 20th century French violin, a German violin from the mid 19th century, an English violin from somewhere between 1790 and 1820, and a late 19th Century French cello. All decent bits of wood in their own way, and all with very different tonal characteristics.
The other end:
Sorry, it was dark.
This is where I arrange. The only thing of note are the Kali ultra near field monitors, which I like a lot. This is also where I do most of the editing so the fact that those speakers are utterly ruthless works for me.
The grey panels are loose weave fabric stretched over wood frames I made out of an old fitted wardrobe. The infill is Rockwool loft insulation for sound absorption. The building is single skin brick, but with studded walls made from acoustic plasterboard with Rockwool Acoustic infill for soundproofing. It was all a bit of an experiment, but I'm happy to say that it does the job. I'm particularly impressed by the Rockwool Acoustic.
The corner-pieces house a pair of JBL Control 5's for rehearsal purposes.
The mic is a Neumann U87 and the preamp, which you can just about see in the rack at the bottom right, is an Avalon vt-737sp.
All of that goes into a Presonus Studio 68c (less impressed with this if I'm honest) and on to a custom built Windows box in the other half of the room.
The computer's OK I have to say. I was a bit dubious about the claims that were made for it with regards to noise but the extra I paid for the cooling fans and the Bequiet case were definitely worth it. I always had the option to remote the computer, but I've found that I don't need to. SCAN computers put it together, if anyone's interested.
The instruments, from left to right: A cheap student grade cello, a good quality modern viola, an early 20th century French violin, a German violin from the mid 19th century, an English violin from somewhere between 1790 and 1820, and a late 19th Century French cello. All decent bits of wood in their own way, and all with very different tonal characteristics.
The other end:
Sorry, it was dark.
This is where I arrange. The only thing of note are the Kali ultra near field monitors, which I like a lot. This is also where I do most of the editing so the fact that those speakers are utterly ruthless works for me.
This is where I'm at right now with the reno. You can see the temporary work desk. When finished it will have a few drawers underneath and will go wall to wall. The computer will have a special noise proof cabinet in the right corner. .
Those look like speakers in the corners but they are mid range traps. The other end has them floor to ceiling. They are stuffed with Rockwool. Rockwool has a factory here. My son works there. Don't buy Safe and Sound, it's actually lower quality than the regular and it messy. The regular has higher density so is better for sound.
The ceiling is stuffed with 6" of Rockwool as the kitchen is above me. . You can see to make clouds what I did was cut out openings so behind the panels is open into the ceiling cavity. This is because the ceiling is only 7 feet so hanging clouds would not work.
The walls is the cork flooring I flipped it over so that's the backing which is soft. It's about the density of Cedar.
The ugly panel on the side wall I will change. It was a failed experiment.
The floor also didn't work. Its those rubber floor tiles from Amazon they sell cheap for using in exercise or kids play rooms. The office chairs get stuck because they sink into it.
I guess I'll just go with carpet.
But I don't want a 100% dead room. I had that in my last studio and it sucked for recording acoustic guitar and drums. What the experts say you want is "controlled reflections" Therefore using some absorbers as well as proper diffusers.
This is why using REW room measurement software is a big part of the plan. As I work I take measurements and it's slowly getting to where I want it to be.
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Sadly not, and I secretly believe that when it was a ton of moth-eaten velvet, it sounded just a little bit nicer. But, progress and all that.
Dead is what I'm after. I do a lot of doubling to make full string section sounds, and room reflections create some pretty nasty effects when you multiply them up over twenty-odd takes. The "room" is always possible to add later, but impossible to remove if it's already in the signal.
Glad you like it anyway, and hats off for making this space. It's truly fascinating.
The boxes are an original Roland SC 55 and my beloved Korg 05R/W sound modules. On the other Yamaha NSM10 speaker is my Roland 505 drum machine. that is my very first piece of midi hardware. Still working fine.
Yes I agree that you sort of need both. What I am thinking is to have a heavy curtain about half way that I can deploy. It would also block out any potential noise coming from the doorway.
My wife wants to change the colour in the front room and the drapes are just the right size. They are heavy and insulated which is common here in the Great White North. I was even thinking about hanging them from two sides that can swing out of the way. That would give me a few options for changing the room around.
Oh man. I only have two synths. A Korg M1R and two Yamaha Tx81Zs, but I had friends who had the 05R/W and they really make those things sound better than I ever could with mine. I'm not a synth guy and just use them sparingly, But that 05 always had a place in my heart because of the music my friends make with them.