Home Studio - L shaped Setup help

[Mike Martin]

As many of you know, I work almost every week in NJ but my HOME is back in Chicago. Needless to say to make the most (musically) of my time out here in NJ I've brought a lot of my music gear out here where I rent a small room from an old friend. I call it my "home away from home studio".

 

So there is a small desk where I have two LCD computer monitors (that barely fit) on the right side and a good ol' 19" rack with some of my favorite old toys and audio interface hanging off the far left of the desk.

 

90 degrees to my right, I have two keyboards (PX-3 and a 49 key UF5) stacked (Yes, I'm still trying to figure out where to put the XW). It is a basic L shaped setup here in the corner of this room.

 

It has been set up this way for a while and it has been a pretty product setup. Lately though, when I'm turned and really focused on playing the keyboards, I'm finding the placement of the computer to my left really awkward especially when I need to grab the mouse with my right hand. As much as I'd like it there isn't really a way to get set things up any other way other than this L shaped configuration. Putting the PX-3 on top of the desk would make it way too high to play comfortably.

 

So I guess my question is for those of you in a similar environment, is your computer on the right or the left? Anything else you've done to make it easier? Even with this smaller rig it would take me at least a couple of evenings to move and rewire everything. A second mouse or trackball is probably where I'm headed. Thoughts?

[Bridog6996]

Try the other side. I have a similar set-up in my apartment: desk with laptop, monitors, interface, hard drives, what-have-you, and then my main controller sitting to the left, with an spare tier above it to put any keyboards I might be recording. I'm a right hand mouse user as well, and I find this arrangement to be pretty comfortable. It's easy to be playing the keyboard with my left hand, like say auditioning sounds, while simultaneously tweaking parameters or whatever with my right. I'm sure I could get used to doing it the other way around, but keyboard on the left feels the most natural. YMMV, but I think that if you're right-handed, the priority for that hand should probably be mouse-oriented.

 

Beyond that, I don't know what other choices there are. If the keyboard can't sit on the desk in front of you, then it's gonna have to be on one side or the other.

[mate stubb]

I bought a wireless keyboard/trackpad that is very compact, and i can throw it in my lap or even on top of the keyboard as needed.

[Michelle ggurl]

I'm a right hand mouse user as well, and I find this arrangement to be pretty comfortable... I'm sure I could get used to doing it the other way around, but keyboard on the left feels the most natural. YMMV, but I think that if you're right-handed, the priority for that hand should probably be mouse-oriented.

 

There is probably something to this. I am left-handed and prefer my computing stuff to be on the left, my keyboard on the right. I don't use a dedicated mouse, just a trackpad on my laptop but I'm very left hand oriented for that stuff. Maybe switching sides as Brian suggests will feel better for you.

[DanL]

easiest solution would be a longer mouse cable so you can put the mouse on top of the keyboards. my studio is set up similarly, with my keyboard stand to the right, but I built my desk to hold my a main controller keyboard, with a pull out shelf underneath for the mouse/keyboard. I have an adjustable chair that I can raise up high enough for playing the keyboard comfortably.

[Mike Martin]

I'm sure I could get used to doing it the other way around, but keyboard on the left feels the most natural. YMMV, but I think that if you're right-handed, the priority for that hand should probably be mouse-oriented.

 

You're probably right, I guess I'm just avoiding the inevitable.

[Ken Beaumont]

Isn't that a mouse pad on the XW-P1?

I would mount the screen above the keyboards with a wall mount or such. Then I would purchase a wireless keyboard and mouse.

Then you could use a pullout shelf as suggested, or if you put a mouse pad on the XW-P1 you might get away with using the keyboard in your lap.

 

I'm looking at this for my practice room / studio:

WS7500

[Joe Muscara]

For basic mousing (trackpad, really), I do it left handed. I started doing this for two reasons. One, because it works better on my keyboard tray to have QWERTY in the center, and two, because I was developing elbow problems leaning and mousing.

 

When I need to do more detailed work, I pull the trackpad off the tray (it's wireless) and use my right hand.

 

Besides, we're keyboard players, aren't our left hands supposed to be as good as our right?

[Mike Davis]

For me, it's computer in front, KB on the left, guitars on the right. I've just learned to deal with reaching for the mouse. That might change with the addition on an iPad. I'll let you know

[MonksDream]

The easiest thing would be to add a trackball to your setup located on top of your PX3. That way you can leave everything where it is and still control the cursor with your right hand. The trackball works better on top pf your keyboard because it stays in one spot unlike your mouse which requires space to move around. That setup worked well for me. I eventually gave it up for the trackpad on my laptop.

 

If you're doing a lot of work in a DAW you may also want to try a Frontier AlphaTrack control surface. I found that a lot of what I used the mouse for when doing tracks could be done more directly with a control surface.

[SVG]

http://i861.photobucket.com/albums/ab179/Vsyevolod/KurzweilTouchSmart4.jpg

 

 

Second keyboard and full rack of sound manglers directly behind me. The computer doubles as a music stand. Mouse on a custom built table attached to to the keyboard stand.

 

Stephen

 

 

 

 

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