An addition to my studio which has made all the difference

sharke
Weird. 

No!  Really?  
 

Lighting is very important to get you in the 'zone'. I have 2 lamps behind me and a floor lamp at the other end of the room, nothing overhead.

jamesg1213
Lighting is very important to get you in the 'zone'. I have 2 lamps behind me and a floor lamp at the other end of the room, nothing overhead.

So I'll have new tracks soon then?

craigb
A lava lamp is mandatory I hear.

I gots two uf em. One's a bigun.

I have one of those huge ceiling fan/light as the main source of light that I just hate - the worst is that the fan itself is merely moving air, so it's useless. I plan on getting rid of it as soon as we buy the place, and replace it with a simpler lighting device and put a vertical fan somewhere in the room instead.
 
I prefer the place to be as dark as possible when I'm working, so the ceiling light is off the minute I launch Logic. Meaning that I'm kind of stuck with the same problem as you were. I have a little lamp which used to be in the back of the studio that I brought closer to my desk, but it means things are a bit off balance. For someone w/ OCD tendencies like me, that's not good. 
 

 
Unfortunately, those lamps are only available in a store which my wife and I have boycotted, so there's no chance of me getting a new one. I guess I'll have to come up with a different solution.
 
I do have a lava lamp, but I tend to forget about it...
 
 

Track lighting rocks.

craigb

sharke
Weird. 

No!  Really?  
 

I agree. Nothing weird about this. Whatever floats your boat mate :)
 
 

Jeff Evans
 
On another issue, I believe zen is also important to have a lot of order, neatness and tidyness in your whole setup. I find that for me is very important. For example I find that shawn from trust media TV has a very messy studio. I could never work in that environment. The zen in his situation is very poor. I know shawn still produces great music and for him it is obviously not an issue.
 

Same here. I remember seeing early pictures of Van Halen and wondering how they could work in such a mess.
 
Right now my set up bothers me because there's just too much behind the desk - I don't really see it, but I feel it. I plan on buying a pair of monitor stands and cleaning up that "mess" as soon as the more important stuff is taken care of.

I could play my guitar at the local garbage dump on the darkest night but if location and lighting
was a factor I think I would go for a big wall with a picture of a stadium crowd cheering and gel stage lights-
programmed light show and lasers would be a must...with a back wall mural of stacked Marshalls and pretty roadies.
I think I'd also consider a dance floor with all those lights that make patterns just in case the neighbors wanted to join in.
 
 
 
Maybe just after gigging and recording in just about any environment imaginable has benefits I didn't realize.

Jeff Evans
On another issue, I believe zen is also important to have a lot of order, neatness and tidyness in your whole setup. I find that for me is very important. For example I find that shawn from trust media TV has a very messy studio. I could never work in that environment. The zen in his situation is very poor. I know shawn still produces great music and for him it is obviously not an issue.

I agree with this. Some years ago my dad's girlfriend was a practicing Feng Shui consultant. I know the very idea of it will provoke scorn in some, but a lot of it makes sense. I don't think she believed in any "mystical" side of it, she just believed its core premise that clutter is bad for the mind. When you're in a messy room, it's like all of the objects causing the clutter are competing for your attention and you can't think properly. My mind feels so much clearer when everything's tidy.

James,
 
Taking two posts to say the same thing might be considered obsessive-compulsive to some.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I keed I keed.
 
I know it's this suxy forum software.

No overhead lights.... they are just too harsh with bad shadows.
 
Desk lamps and lava lamps for a more intimate feeling is critical. Proper floor lamps would also work well for ambient lighting.
 
You need enough light to see what you're doing comfortably without glare and shadows. And if you're writing, to be able to see the lyrics if they're not on a computer screen.
 
I'm with Rain, I prefer the room more dark than light when I'm working and creating.