SOS Editor Paul White explains the thinking behind his own studio layout, and offers a few practical tips on cable runs and studio furniture.
There's been quite a lot of reader interest in our Hard Choices & Soft Options series, which ended in the November '98 issue with a schematic view of how my own studio was arranged following a recent reorganisation. At the time, I suggested that although everything seemed to be working fine, I would probably make some changes as I got used to the new setup, and sure enough, I have. I thought I'd follow up the last part of that series with this separate article to explain some of the further changes, and also to look at the way my studio is set out to keep wiring to a minimum. Along the way, there'll be a few tips about making your own studio furniture.
As those of you who have read the series will know, I've abandoned the usual way of working where the mixer is used both for recording and mixing. Instead, I use a Yamaha 03D for mixing and monitoring, and feed all the signals to my recorders (ADAT digital multitracks) directly from dedicated preamps, voice channels or from a small Mackie 1404 mixer that comes in handy where several mics need to be mixed to the same tape track.
Since I wrote the series, Yamaha have come up with their 8‑input analogue expander board for the 03D, which means I can leave my two favourite effects units connected to aux sends one and two while returning them through channels 17/18 and 19/20 of the mixer. All my MIDI gear and sequencer audio tracks are submixed using a Mackie 3204 line mixer plus an expander, and two more effects units are dedicated to that so as to avoid the need for patching. However, anyone with fewer effects units could use a patchbay as usual to keep things flexible
No matter how you design your studio, don't make anything too permanent or too difficult to get at, as I can guarantee you'll want to change it at some time in the future.
In order to keep the cable runs manageably small, I built a console at the front of the studio that would house the 03D, the Alesis BRC remote control/autolocator, a couple of effects units, several dynamics processors and three patchbays. The patchbays provide inserts between the analogue outs of the ADAT and channels 1 to 16 of the 03D, as well as ins and outs to the dynamics processors, the spare effects returns, the ADAT line inputs and so on. All the wiring is hidden inside the patchbay pod, and though the construction of this part of the system may look complicated, it was actually quite straightforward and only took an evening using little more than a saw, a hammer, some PVA glue and a packet of panel pins. Because I needed a cutout for the BRC, I also used a jig‑saw. The flat surface above the patchbay lifts out to provide access to the wiring. Now, don't tell me you can't do woodwork — anyone who can deal with the manuals that come with today's studio equipment will have no problem pinning the four sides of a box together!
Though I have a fondness for waxed antique‑look pine studio furniture where possible, the console is actually built from oak‑veneered chipboard (available from any DIY superstore), and all the rectangular sections can be cut to size at the store ready for you to assemble at home. A thin pine edging strip was used to hide the cut ends where they would be visible. The only non‑right angled cuts are at the front of the patchbay panel so that it can slope backwards for better visibility, but there's no reason not to make this vertical too if you don't want to do your own sawing. Just draw everything out on paper and take the cutting list with you when you buy the board.
The DAT machines, cassette deck and ADATs occupy a separate vertical rack, made in the same way, and commercial EDAC multicores are used to connect the ADATs to the patchbay. I've positioned the rack where I can see the ADAT and DAT meters when recording as that's the only means I have of setting recording levels. Figure 1 shows the general construction method for the rack which is similar to that used for the console, albeit a little simpler. Hopefully the photograph of the part‑assembled console will give you an idea how it goes together.
Anyone who can deal with the manuals that come with today's studio equipment will have no problem pinning the four sides of a box together!
Tidy Cables
Before. The apparently professional crafted look of the finished wooden console in the after shot is given away in the before picture; it's just a lot of veneered chipboard pinned together!
After (left). The apparently professionally crafted look of the finished wooden console in the After shot is given away in the Before picture; it's just a lot of veneered chipboard panels pinned together!
Because the ADAT leads are multicores, the cable run between the main console and the recorder rack is fairly straightforward and was kept tidy by using split corrugated plastic piping (a commercial cable tidying product) to hide the other cables. The same cable run also carries the main and Alt outputs of the Mackie 3204 — the main output is patched to the stereo input of the 03D via a normalised patchbay pair that can function as inserts, while the Alt output simply comes up on the patchbay as an output so that it can be patched in manually if required.
That leaves the synths and the Mackie 1404s, which I've housed in two racks bolted together. Obviously this has to be movable as occasionally you need to get to the back of it to add or remove equipment, but rather than use castors, I opted for PTFE gliders, which slide smoothly on short pile studio carpet. These gliders are available from most DIY stores and have a self‑adhesive backing for easy fixing. Because of the number of units in each rack, I've had to fix some distribution boards in the bottom to supply the necessary mains connections, but the use of three‑headed Studiospares IEC mains leads helps here by reducing the number of outlets needed.
The Mackie 3204 is connected to its expander unit by means of a short ribbon cable, and having the synths, modules and sampler in the same rack means the signal connections can be kept quite short. I'm currently using a MOTU MIDI Xpress MIDI interface with six outputs, one of which feeds a Philip Rees Thru box so that I can drive all the synths that I tend to use in non‑multitimbral mode from just one of the MIDI ports, leaving the others feeding one multitimbral instrument each. To accommodate visiting instruments (for SOS reviews and so on), I've brought the end of each Thru chain out to a Signex CPM22 MIDI patchbay along with one of the spare inputs on the interface. This way, I can connect guest synths without having to disrupt my own system — all I need to do is mute my own modules at the mixer or turn them down. Figure 2 shows this arrangement.
A few spare spaces at the bottom of this rack are given over to preamps, voice channels and other input devices. As a rule, the gear that needs the most adjusting gets the highest place in the rack while stuff that can be left largely alone sits near the bottom. However, it's a good idea not to fill a rack all the way to the floor as that's asking to get the front panels kicked. The mic inputs from the input devices are fed from the studio XLR wallbox, with the line inputs and balanced outputs connected directly to a patchbay in the same rack (rather than being run back to a patchbay in the main console). When these are being used for recording, they're simply patched over to the main console patchbay using 1.5 metre patch cables.
A home‑made desk is used to support the computer, though I won't feel bad if you decide to visit MFI or IKEA instead! To save space, the MIDI keyboard slides out from beneath the desk on a shelf supported by filing cabinet runners bought for 10p at a car boot sale! As I said in the original Hard Choices & Soft Options series, the layout means I'm sitting side‑on to the monitors when programming, but it really doesn't present any problems. Ideally you need absolutely everything to be located centrally between the monitors, but as that's clearly impossible, this seemed to be the best compromise. The general studio layout can be seen in Figure 3.
I've taken the Klark Teknik Jade active monitors I mentioned in the Hard Choices series out of service to try a pair of Mackie HR824s. When I first reviewed these speakers, I was largely impressed but felt they sounded just a little bright; however, Mackie now seem to have addressed this shortcoming. The monitors work exceptionally well in my room as long as I use the middle of the three bass roll‑off settings. The other major change is that I've added a second Korg Wavestation module to my synth rack so that I can use them both in non‑multitimbral mode to avoid running out of polyphony.
Summary
Figure 1: DIY rack construction
So far the new layout and working methodology is working fine, though you do need more effects units than with a basic system if you're going to dedicate some units to the main mixer and others to the keyboard submixer. It would also be nice to think that you could set up the synth levels on the keyboard mixer just once, then do everything else via MIDI, but in reality, different synth patches can be so different in volume that some adjustment is still necessary.
Interestingly, I ran the Acoustic X room analysis software (see review in last month's SOS) on my studio, and although it always wants me to move my speakers another foot or so from the front wall, its opinion of my room was surprisingly positive. Certainly the studio is working fine in practice, so I don't plan to change anything too drastically — as it is, I know I can get decent mixes that will still sound OK when they leave my studio.
I hope you've found this case study interesting, but I must sound a note of caution. No matter how you design your studio, don't make anything too permanent or too difficult to get at, as I can guarantee you'll want to change it at some time in the future. If you can think ahead and leave yourself a few spare rack slots, it'll save a lot of hassle later.
Tidy Tips
The units in place in the finished studio.
Figure 2: MIDI Thrus to patchbay.To keep track of my cables, I've labelled the important ones with self‑adhesive labels stuck around the jack plugs, over which I've put clear adhesive tape to keep the label from coming off. Cable looms are tied together using reusable plastic plant ties from the local garden centre and as stated in the main text, flexible corrugated plastic tubing, split along its length, is used to keep bundles of cables together when they're outside the racks. I've also made a cable duct running the full length of one side of the room, comprising a wooden box structure with sections of removable top cover. This helps hide the run of cable behind the various racks, and because the cover is in sections, cables can enter or emerge in the gaps between sections.
Large wooden hooks are used to store cables and storage shelves are fitted to the rear of the room to help break up reflected sound from the monitors. These include wall‑mounted DAT storage units, again from Studiospares.
Figure 3 (left): General studio layout.