Wish me luck (you ever change your studio layout?)

Doing live sound I do that every gig... What's the problem? 
 
Seriously though,  you know you'll have to spend a few months learning the new sound of your room don't you?

Thanks Mesh - the workflow is the driving force. I think if I can make a dramatic improvement in the workflow I can get some creative juices flowing again.
 
Kayrn, that's my biggest fear! :) the room sounds fantastic, even with 5 people jamming and recording. I hope I don't have to much with any of the sound treatment, but there's really no way to know until I do it. Hopefully, a new scan with IK ARC will shorten my learning curve while mixing...

If it sounds good as it is maybe a remote control device to use while recording would be a better option. Then you're still set up for a band when need be too.
 
I used to run really cramped and heavily booked rehearsal rooms for years so I was moving gear all the time. It sucked... especially when my back was being a jerk.
 
My home studio has been moved five times since I first started pretending I was a recording engineer. The last four studio moves have happened in the last 4 years. Fortunately I don't have a ton of gear like I used to. Still an enormous pain. Especially doing it in a wheelchair.

rsp@odyssey.net
 I want to come up with a way to reach my guitar amps and bass rig and the drums without having to move from the desk.
 
Randy

One of these maybe Randy?
 
http://www.frontierdesign.com/Products/TranzPort

jamesg1213

rsp@odyssey.net
 I want to come up with a way to reach my guitar amps and bass rig and the drums without having to move from the desk.
 
Randy

One of these maybe Randy?
 
http://www.frontierdesign.com/Products/TranzPort

Thanks James. I've thought about one of those. And it's small enough so that "she who must obeyed" might not notice a new piece of gear. I'm up to 7 guitars not including basses. Kind of on a covert mission when I want to scan through the MF catalog these days.
 
Randy

MakeShift
"Kind of on a covert mission when I want to scan through the MF catalog these days." :-)

I know the feeling Randy, I find new MF catalogs stuff all kinds of places where it seems unlikely that I would ever find them. ....and I'm still 4 guitars (not including basses) behind you.

The wife is really puzzled lately. I got a call last week from an old friend who is the lead singer/guitarist for his very successful country rock band. His rhythm player of 15 years is hanging it up, and wanted to know if I wanted the gig. Good pay, roadies, truck to haul gear. Just show up with my guitars and play and sing harmonies. 3 gigs a month. Perfect right? Nope! I started a new business 8 months ago and things are going well with it, but I can't stay awake past about 9:30. She just looked in the studio door and looked at the guitars hanging on the walls and shook her head.
 
Randy

rsp@odyssey.net
....... I got a call last week from an old friend who is the lead singer/guitarist for his very successful country rock band. His rhythm player of 15 years is hanging it up, and wanted to know if I wanted the gig. Good pay, roadies, truck to haul gear. Just show up with my guitars and play and sing harmonies. 3 gigs a month. Perfect right? Nope!....... I can't stay awake past about 9:30.....
 

I had a similar offer a while back..... play a few gigs a month, established band playing "real country" music.....just walk in, play guitar...mainly leads,  and sing backup,  then I thought about the time commitment, the drama of being in a band, and those long rides home at 2am...... I had to turn it down. I'm spoiled by the studio playing now....

If I ever have a large/multi room studio space again I'll invest in...
 
a) A good USB hub
 
b) Some really long USB cables perhaps with those repeater thingies and some really long monitor cables
 
c) A small, easily moveable table
 
Then I'd snake the USB and monitor cables through the wall along with whatever audio i/o patch stuff and set up the table with the hub and my flat screen, trackball and keyboard wherever I needed to work.
 
I know that can be done wireless/blutooth now but I hate charging batteries and I think blutooth stuff might interfere with system resources while recording.
 
/lo-tech

smallstonefan
Thanks for all of the great input everyone! Beepster, I shudder at thinking of moving this stuff in a wheelchair! As it is, I'm grateful to have a big 15 year old son to shoulder some of the burden. Randy - getting guitar and bass to the desk is a big part of this move. I want all of my creative tools right there so I can fiddle with whatever is necessary. I don't play drums so I'm fine if they're on the other side of the room (though I would like to take lessons someday since I actually have a nice kit).
 
I've started sketching out the layout and the new rack layouts and I've moved from trepidation to excited! I am worried about acoustics, but it's a great room and if anything I just might need to tweak the treatments a bit. This will really ****e stuff up! I'll capture photos of the process and if I'm not too lazy I'll post and share. :)

Doing the layout on paper is the right way to go. When I did my current studio setup, I got some graph paper, and measured my desk, amps, bass traps etc and laid it all out. That worked great til I bought the drums, a couple of new amps, and other assorted gear. Now it almost looks like someone tried to rob me and right in the middle of the heist said "screw this, I'm tired".
 
Randy

rsp@odyssey.net

jamesg1213

rsp@odyssey.net
 I want to come up with a way to reach my guitar amps and bass rig and the drums without having to move from the desk.
 
Randy

One of these maybe Randy?
 
http://www.frontierdesign.com/Products/TranzPort

Thanks James. I've thought about one of those. And it's small enough so that "she who must obeyed" might not notice a new piece of gear. I'm up to 7 guitars not including basses. Kind of on a covert mission when I want to scan through the MF catalog these days.
 
Randy

One word.
 
Bathroom.

I've reconfigured twice. Both times it was a major PIA. Both times I was really glad I'd done it.
 
The first time it all began when I simply switched from a USB to a Firewire interface.
 
The FW cable was too short, and when I tried a longer one the interface freaked out. Only solution was to move the rack and computer closer together. I figured if I was going to be shuffling stuff around I might as well move the desk into a better location, for acoustical reasons. But that meant moving the vocal booth next to a window, so I had to cover the window with 703. Now the room was too dark, so I added floor lamps. Not wanting to run the (flourescent) lights on the same circuit with the audio stuff, I built a separate distribution box. I also built speaker stands because the speakers had previously sat on a shelf that had to be torn out for the new configuration. 
 
It all took over a week to accomplish. Only after it was done I realized that the only spot I could put the subwoofer in was the absolute worst place for it. An entirely new configuration would be required. Later, we sold our boat and freed up a garage, so I moved into the garage and applied all the hard-earned lessons - starting with where the sub would go.
 
But you gotta do it, you know you do. Not just for convenience and acoustics, but also for the dust bunnies that gather in places you never look in.
 
My #1 tip: velcro. Color-coded velcro ties are handy, but I'm cheap. In the garden department of your home-improvement store, you can buy this paper tape that sticks to itself like velcro. It's made for tying up tomato plants. It's cheap, can be cut to length and re-used. Great for tidying up cables.
 
For large bundles, there's plastic conduit that's also inexpensive. I ran all my synth cables in them, so when I pack up the synths to take to a gig, all the studio cables remain neatly on the floor, ready to be quickly reconnected later. Colored electrical tape identifies left versus right audio and in versus out MIDI.
 
Also, using conduit makes it easier to keep power and signal cables separated.
 

bitflipper
It all took over a week to accomplish. Only after it was done I realized that the only spot I could put the subwoofer in was the absolute worst place for it. An entirely new configuration would be required. Later, we sold our boat and freed up a garage, so I moved into the garage and applied all the hard-earned lessons - starting with where the sub would go.

Sorry Dave, I'm confused.. (easily).   You had your studio set up on a boat?

Give yourself a little reward for your hard work. Kick back and listen to some of your favorite records. This will begin the necessary process of re-training your ears and brain to what the new configuration sounds like.
 
It may also alert you to any unforseen problems, such as realizing your head is now located in the exact center of the room and every bass note in the first octave sounds like Fish Minor.
 
Yes, Karyn, the boat was in the garage. It was not the studio - not big enough to set up a drum kit in. But at least the kitchen and bathroom would have been conveniently close by.

I have the room set up with a mixing side and a livelier side (more diffusion than absorption) so I was a bit afraid of how that would affect things. It's too early to tell but I think I'm good shape!