Music / practice room layout

[Jim Hussey]

Can you share photos or the layout of your practice area or music room / studio?

Moving to a different home, so I’m looking for thoughts on the best way to organize the next woodshed.

Thanks!

[Andy Henriksen]

I just have a corner of the living room. If my family is in there and watching TV, I'll wear headphones.

Absolutely nothing special about my set up other than having a piano within arm's reach is really helpful when engaging the "music theory" portion of my brain.

[John McClung]

Jim, there's a prior thread with a lot of guys showing their music studios/practice rooms. If you plan to record, you'll need your steel quite close to your computer and desk. I think remote control with in iPad is also a technology that minimizes that need, but that's just my vaguely recalling reading about that.

In the studio I'm building this summer, I plan to have my steel on a wheeled platform, so I can move it near my Mac, then move it to another part of the room for teaching and video shoots.

Did you buy a house? Email me with an update! Or call.

[Greg Cutshaw]

My music room is about 8' x 10' with a small closet. I chose to put a Zoom R24 in the music room to capture all the live tracks. Since my large screen PC is used for many other things I chose to leave it in a more open, light filled space where I can run Reaper. It's easy and fast to port tracks between the two areas.

A bit dated but here's the gist of my recording setup:

http://www.gregcutshaw.com/Zoom%20R24%2 ... tudio.html

[Erv Niehaus]

I don't have any pictures but I added a loft over my double garage for a music room.
Erv

[Greg Cutshaw]

Darn Erv, that sounds spacious and you should post some pics! BTW do you have any information on the Lehle volume pedal lol.......

[Erv Niehaus]

Greg,
Yes, I get no noise complaints!!
I know nothing about the Lehle volume pedal.
Erv

[Richard Sinkler]

Hey Jim. Where you moving to? We need to get together. Here's my music room/ office. Not much to brag about.

[Ken Metcalf]

Best deal ever. $40.00

Went to a practice one time and the guy says I have an amp you can use.
He tells me he sells them so I bought one.
These little crate amps sound really good and have RCA inputs plus headphone out.
They are no longer sold but can be found used.
Great for upstairs practice room.

And band in a box is good for practice with an old laptop.

[Ian Rae]

I shall follow this with interest as I am planning a revamp. My room is very small but I still hope to pick up some general principles.

[Tucker Jackson]

If you're right handed, your other gear (recording or playback device or mouse) should be in close, easy reach off to the right from your seated position at the steel.

Other than that... I got nothing.

[Don Kuhn]

I'm seeing carpet and wood floors will either of the two make a difference in your sound as mine is Carpet.

[Erv Niehaus]

Carpet will tend to muffle the sound.
Erv

[Justin Emmert]

Here's a pic of mine. Nice room, but doesn't make me play any better.

[Don Kuhn]

Thanks Erv

[Jim Hussey]

Hi John and Richard:
Shelley and I have purchased a home in Reno. As a 5th generation Californian I hate to admit it, but California has become more than I can take. Politics, overpopulation, and taxes have all gone too far. I’ll send new contact info after we move sometime in September / October.

Greg:
Are you sending your guitar signal through the VTB-1? Are you using this like a Black Box?

Guys:
Thanks for all the input. I’m thinking Tucker is on to something. I’m right handed and even with picks in place, I need to be able to work a mouse and a keyboard. So, locating those items to my right makes sense. What I’m wondering about is everything else. Monitor, mixer, music stand, tuner, etc. I’m thinking these should be in front of my steel so I can see these things while picking. That’s easy to do, but should I face the wall or the room? In either case, I’m thinking seat then guitar then some sort of table with a monitor and / or mixer and then a music stand. Maybe back to the wall and monitors / amp on opposite wall? Maybe face the wall and play through headphones? Finally, I like the idea of a piano or keyboard close at hand. Helps with visualizing intervals?

All thoughts / comments are appreciated
Jim

[James Mayer]

[Bob Fraser]

James Mayer - in your first picture...
on the wall on the far right...
not a lot of guys have those.

Very Cool,
I am envious.

With a Bigsby, no less!

[Peter Leavenworth]

James, is that an ML-1 baritone banjo over the piano? If so, how do you like it? I just bought one but it hasn't arrived yet.....
Pete

[James Mayer]

James Mayer - in your first picture...
on the wall on the far right...
not a lot of guys have those.

Very Cool,
I am envious.

With a Bigsby, no less!

That guitar is a replica. I found that in a London shop and played it for an hour before buying. Revelation is a UK budget-ish brand but this was a pet project of pickup designer Alan Entwhistle. He wasn't satisfied with Gibson's reissue of the "Recording" model as it was more of a tribute than an attempt to accurately recreate that model. The Revelation RLR is very well built and the pickups have neodymium mags. I have flatwounds on it and can get a huge range of clean tones. It's easily my favorite electric guitar and you can see I have several. I added the vibrato unit. It's a Hagstrom Tremar which is usually only sold connected to a Hagstrom guitar.

James, is that an ML-1 baritone banjo over the piano? If so, how do you like it? I just bought one but it hasn't arrived yet.....
Pete

Nope. Those are Turkish CÜMBÜŞ (pronounced "jim besh" or "joom boosh". I've heard it pronounced both ways.).

[Don Kuhn]

Looks like you have lots of room not like my little 10X12 room and oh yeah doe that TV still work looks like the one I grew up with back in the late 50's or early 60' my parents bought it from J.C. Pennys.

[James Mayer]

Looks like you have lots of room not like my little 10X12 room and oh yeah doe that TV still work looks like the one I grew up with back in the late 50's or early 60' my parents bought it from J.C. Pennys.

That’s a 1959 “Danish Modern” Magnavox console. The phonograph, tuner and tube amp with speakers all work fine. The TV tube wasn’t functional so I removed it and mounted a flat-screen inside. The vintage antenna array is just art.

[Bob Jennings]

I've got a room upstairs--about 14 x 21. I've set it up in several different ways but this is how it is now. I'll post more photos when I take them. I had a lot of photos but dropped my laptop and it won't work anymore--I'm trying to retrieve all the data and photos from the dropped laptop but am having a difficult time with the program to do this. I play a Williams 400 series single neck on a double frame. The shirts are ones my Mother made me when I did music waaay back in the late 50's and early 60's up in Minnesota.

Bob Jennings

[Erv Niehaus]

Bob,
Where did you play in Minnesota?
We are from the same time period.
I played over KDUZ in Hutchinson in the 50's and 60's. Also over KWLM in Willmar.
Erv

[Bob Jennings]

Erv,

Sent you a PM.

Bob Jennings