Studio Desk Design

Would appreciate any advice or comments on this studio desk before I start building it. Funny thing- I actually drew that up on MS Paint cause that's the only program I have at work.

Don't you need monitor bridge? You can have your computer monitor plus your studio monitors on it. It is much easier to see a computer monitor when it is near by. Just a thought.... :idea:

just curious, is the USB controller mixer your primary mix-down tool or the analog mixer? if it is the USB I recommend centering it over the keyboard tray since you want to be positioned correctly for mixing. I also agree you need something to support your monitors. could be a "couch table" (narrow long table) that sits behind your desk to support your monitors and near-field speakers.

Wow!! Thanks so much for that design! It looks great! Much better than my approach. Much better than MS Paint too! :) As you mentioned, I am going to be mixing mainly with the Midi Controller as I really only use the Mackie for monitoring. So having the controller centered would be much better. However, I'm still indecisive as to where I want my mouse. In my illustration, I left an empty space in between the consoles for it, but I guess it would be more comfortable on the keyboard tray. Thats not a big issue anyways. The level of the monitors and reference speakers looks great though! It's much easier to picture it with an image of someone sitting at the desk. :D As far as the rack unit goes, I'd definitely need wheels on it, I really hate having to crawl behind to take care of wiring. The only thing I would really be concerned with is the weight on the desk. If I don't secure the back somehow, it looks like the desk would just tip over and fall. I'm not exactly the most talented carpenter, so I don't know how to approach that problem. Any advice? With a good solution to that issue, I'd most definitely go with your design over mine. Thanks again, I really appreciate your time!!

if you get 14 U rack units on casters, they should put the desk at the right height and allow it to move around. the desk itself sits squarely on the 2 rack cases so stability shouldn't be an issue. the back table would only hold the smaller speakers and monitors. if you use tube type monitors as opposed to LCD panel, then a beefier table would be needed.

the common desk height is 72cm or 28" It's a good idea to lean the units back so they slope back at around 6 -7 degrees, it makes it easier to see what the settings are at a glance from above. cheers john

About the common height yes, that´s the average and has some ergonomic reasons to be like that, but what I´ve found is that with that heigh if you have a chair with armrests it could hurt your elbows after long periods of time, I´m thinking, at least for my size 64.5 cm from floor to keyboard height would be fine (I`m 180cm); plus if you have a lower height you will have a clearer version of your controller. My suggestion is to sit on your chair and put your arms in a position you feel confortable about and measure it :D

digitalelf wrote:

Don't you need monitor bridge? You can have your computer monitor plus your studio monitors on it. It is much easier to see a computer monitor when it is near by. Just a thought.... :idea:

nnnnnnnnooooooooooooooooo sorry for being so dramatic :lol: stick to the original design, add some sort of support for the computer monitors (although some like them off to the side so you're not always staring at them while mixing -- mix with your ears not with your eyes -- but put the speakers on separate stands. No sense altering your plan to <u>add</u> structure borne resonance issues and plus with stands you can adjust your speaker placement.

Well this is my current desk. As you can tell, it's way too cluttered.

The problem is, with the new desk design, being that it's going to be a bit wider than this desk because it's not a corner unit, I'm gonna have some trouble making room for this:

Here's the current desk at a different angle