Studio Clutter

[EdWonbass]

I'm not to sure if this belongs here but it kind of has to do with design.
I have always had a problem with clutter in my recording space. I will spend and hour reoganizing and putting stuff away and cleaning up only to find that after one nights use it's a big mess. I have wires all over the place. It seems like every bit of equipment I own is out even if I didn't use it.
I general I'm not a slob and I like things neat and tidy. I find that when I am working on a song I get caught up in the creative process and don't take the time to clean as I go and put things away and next thing I know I can't even work anymore until I clean.
Does anyone else go through this to some extent? What are some of the ways I can design my space to keep me more organized as I work?
I have my setup out in my garage so the space is dedicated for music.

 

[frederic]

Yes I have, and probably always will. I am not a neat-nick and tend to cover every flat surface with stuff that doesn't need to be there. When I finished welding together my console table, about 20 minutes after I finished stuffing and wrapping the arm rest area with vinyl, it was covered with PC keyboards, DVDs, circuit boards, coffee cups, a camcorder, a tissue box, a tape measure, various pens that probably don't work, a woofer, two boxes of screws, a TV remote to the TV downstairs, a dead webcam, a box of unsorted batteries, an ash tray, and my stetson.

The key to being neat is twofold - having assigned spaces for whatever it is that is torturing you, and a "close up shop" ritual of every night putting everything back in its place when you're done. Even two or three days of not following the ritual results in a huge mess that takes longer to clean up and can be overwhelming if its bad enough.

If you have rack gear that you often use in different areas of your studio space, you might consider a flight case or a rolling cabinet if that gear is in large quantity. This way you can move it near where you're going to use it, then move it back when you're not. For portable use, I have a hard disk recorder and an analog samson MPL2422 mixer in a DJ coffin, so I don't have to unload racks and reload them in portable cases. While I'm not completed building my studio, I've already built in closet space even though half of it is really a crawl space under the slanted ceiling in the front. To get at it, I have to crawl under the console table, but I'll be storing stuff I don't use frequently so only once in a while I'll have to skin my knees. In the bathroom next to my studio, there is a matching slanted ceiling except it went all the way down to the floor, which is odd, but I walled that slanted ceiling off and installed two 40" cabinet doors in the center, framing that out. The crawl space is shared between my garage loft studio and that bathroom, and between the two access points I can shove a lot of less-used stuff there. I'll be putting cables and smaller things through the access door behind/under the console, and larger things like amps and my electronic drumkit will get passed through the doors I added to the bathroom wall.

Strange, but it works.

 

[mikeh]

I too find that when I'm in the middle of the creative process I don't like to stop to wrap up cords, etc. etc. - and it does not take long for clutter to build up.

I force myself to put everything away when I shut down the gear (I find an extra 5-10 minutes is all it takes to get the studio back in order). I do find that the next day (or next time I enter the studio) I enjoy having an organized space (vs. tripping over cords and moving track sheets to get at my mixer).

However, when I'm doing a project for a client (vs. my own stuff) I always put cords, mics, etc away right after they are used. I want my space (and my actions) to look professional - in addition, while I trust my ability to navigate the studio without tripping over something (years, of gigging on cluttered stages) I don't trust others.

 

[EdWonbass]

I use an old kitchen table as my desk. I put a pull out shelf under to hold my drum machine and recorder. I wanted to free up all of the desktop so I could put my laptop on it in the middle so it doesn't block my monitors. So now I have all this free desktop space which my wife thinks I cleared up for her to pile stuff on. Even if it's not studio related, if it's mine it goes in the garage on top of my table.
I can't shoot her because she does the bills.

 

[DDev]

So now I have all this free desktop space which my wife thinks I cleared up for her to pile stuff on.

And that, my friend, is what pushed me to figure out where in the house I could build a dedicated space that my wife only enters at my invitation. It is not much more than a large closet, really (8x8 ft) but it is mine. Of course, the only way I could justify it was when we had a water leak that destroyed a corner of the finished basement living room and I convinced her it was cheaper to build my room than to re-carpet the whole basement

Good luck,
Darryl.....

 

[frederic]

LMAO wife by invitation!

My studio has a double-hung door in its entry way, with two deadbolts with the locksets facing out

In about two weeks I'll be installing the electric strikers and the "pop outs".

Swipe access card on swiper thing on the outside of the doors, both doors "pop".

 

[maestro7879]

A few things that helped me keep my studio clean.

Make shorter cables. No sense in having really long cables when I only need like 7 feet.

Buy Mini Mic stands. Great for micing snares , guitar amps , everything except for oh's and vocals.

Use quality stage snakes if possible. One thick cable and then all of your shorter cables coming out of that.

Loud Dog Studios
www.louddogstudios.com

 

[EdWonbass]

LMAO wife by invitation!

My studio has a double-hung door in its entry way, with two deadbolts with the locksets facing out

In about two weeks I'll be installing the electric strikers and the "pop outs".

Swipe access card on swiper thing on the outside of the doors, both doors "pop".

That's awesome Frederic. One of those swipey things would send the message to everyone. STAY AWAY FROM MY STUFF!
I thought about locking my wife out but you have to go through my half of the garage to get to the part where we store some household items and the recycle bin.

 

[MadAudio]

I wish I could help, but sadly I am a lifetime charter member of the Society for Putting Things On Top of Other Things.

 

[frederic]

For a variety of reasons, my intention is to install this around all the perimeter doors for the house too. Much easier than keys.

Oh, and that's poor planniing, you have to put her stuff in the way of your studio, so you have to walk past her stuff rather than the other way around

Though I gleefully let my wife into the studio today... she brought up two homemade salt bagels with creme cheese!

 

[ez_willis]

I wish I could help, but sadly I am a lifetime charter member of the Society for Putting Things On Top of Other Things.

The S-P-T-O-T-O-T, that's great.

I've noticed that if you stay in your studio long enough you'll find the wife and all of her stuff gone ......but........you'll have room for more gear, and the money to buy it !!! Just kidding!

 

[EdWonbass]

For a variety of reasons, my intention is to install this around all the perimeter doors for the house too. Much easier than keys.

Oh, and that's poor planniing, you have to put her stuff in the way of your studio, so you have to walk past her stuff rather than the other way around

Though I gleefully let my wife into the studio today... she brought up two homemade salt bagels with creme cheese!

If I could have switched it around I would have but its a 1 car garage attached to the house and I didn't want to be at the end with the large garage door so I'm stuck with the layout for now.
I guess at this point I should get her to start bringing me stuff while I'm working so there is at least a pay off.

I shouldn't use her as an excuse because I just went out to the studio and looked at the condition it was in after working for an hour last night and the mess is all mine. My wife is an RN and worked the late shift last night and my son was playing Halo2 so it looks like it is all my fault.

 

[EdWonbass]

I wish I could help, but sadly I am a lifetime charter member of the Society for Putting Things On Top of Other Things.

Oh man you just reminded me I have to send in my dues. I think the form is around here somewhere. No not there....how about....nah...OH there it is underneath the manual for my Zoom MRS1044.

 

[DDev]

I shouldn't use her as an excuse

But that takes the fun out of it

And, just to clarify a previous comment I made, I actually do let my wife come into studio without permission, but she usually chooses to ask first (mainly because I can't hear anything outside the studio so she knocks loudly or opens the door and hits me on the head to get my attention ).

Darryl.....

 

[frederic]

mess is all mine. My wife is an RN and worked the late shift last night and my son was playing Halo2 so it looks like it is all my fault.

I unfortunately have a "half-life" addiction, specifically the dayofdefeat.com WWII simulation mod that rides on top of it...

But I have to say, it sounds awesome with 5.1 studio monitors and about 500W of power feeding such