Is having a clock in the studio inherently a bad idea?

wren · Post by **wren** » Wed Dec 21, 2011 5:45 am

http://coolmaterial.com/home/reel-to-re ... pe-clocks/

I'm making one. BUT: is having a clock in a room where you sometimes charge an hourly rate always a bad idea, even if the clock is that clock? I rarely have people in my mixing space these days, so it's not an issue for me at the moment, but it could easily become one in the relatively near future.

I started writing this because I wanted to share this particular clock

, but I'm curious about y'all's take on the "presence of clock" idea too.

Nick Sevilla · Post by **Nick Sevilla** » Wed Dec 21, 2011 7:58 am

I have one in the back wall.

But, no one ever looks at it. Unless they need to be somewhere at a certain time.

That is a cool idea to repurpose a reel...

Cheers

joelpatterson · Post by **joelpatterson** » Wed Dec 21, 2011 9:29 am

It would only be a "bad" idea if you needed to intentionally obfuscate what time it is, how long your customers have been working, or otherwise shade or shroud the passage of time. Or if there was some need to pretend something-or-other. In the real world, I find a clock that's visible to everyone works to the greater good-- and that way I know what time it is too!

wren · Post by **wren** » Wed Dec 21, 2011 7:54 pm

Interesting...I've kind of been operating under the assumption that a clock is some sort of strange faux paux after one experienced engineer essentially told me that, followed shortly thereafter by editing something for someone who was a clockwatcher to such a degree that I couldn't imagine how neurotic and unpleasant to work with she'd be if we were doing something that involved a performance. I guess I'll assume that that kind of person is rare and I was just unlucky.

joelpatterson · Post by **joelpatterson** » Fri Dec 23, 2011 4:50 am

I'm all for operating in strange, rarefied realms where the menus have no prices and the bills just get sent somewhere and sleek, silent butlers hand you lit cigars when you snap your fingers... and probably neurotic clockwatcher-people will find ways to express their neuroses even if there was some way to blindfold them... but me personally, I try to be as "user-friendly" as my grating personality allows... keeping track of the time, that's just all part of being human, I think. But, again-- not everyone is human...

cgarges · Post by **cgarges** » Mon Dec 26, 2011 2:10 pm

I'm working on an article for Tape Op that covers some of this kind of thing. I like having one available to look at and we have one in the control room above the studio window at Old House, but I don't like having one out in the studio. It's totally easy enough for anyone to find out what time it is if they want to know, but I'd rather not have a constant reminder right in front of them. In my experience, people tend to relax a bit more and concentrate on the work at hand if they're not constantly reminded how long something that may be kind of difficult is taking.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

Post by **TapeOpLarry** » Thu Dec 29, 2011 5:53 pm

My rule: Not in live/performance room. Not on wall people face when listening. Behind the seating position is idea. Jackpot!'s is above the door as you head back out of the control room. Perfect place.

I hate that there is a little clock in the right hand corner of the computer screen at the studio. Sometimes I need the reminder, but some days it seems to be running rather slowly...

MoreSpaceEcho · Post by **MoreSpaceEcho** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 2:54 pm

you can set the taskbar to autohide so you don't have to see the clock all the time. on a pc anyway.

joelpatterson · Post by **joelpatterson** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 3:49 pm

You can auto-run, but you can't ....

drumsound · Post by **drumsound** » Thu Jan 05, 2012 12:26 am

I don't have a clock on the wall and have no intention of adding one. I always have my cell phone, and so do most clients, to the time is accessible, but not obvious.

Post by **TapeOpLarry** » Fri Jan 06, 2012 6:54 pm

Tony, You can't tell time any way. I've heard your drumming. Ha ha, sorry. Had to take the joke...

vvv · Post by **vvv** » Sat Jan 07, 2012 8:11 am

drumsound wrote:I don't have a clock on the wall and have no intention of adding one. I always have my cell phone, and so do most clients, to the time is accessible, but not obvious.

As a side note, besides what I consider to be the general unpleasantness of cell-phones in a musical situation, I note that when such a phone is located very close (within, say 1-2 feet) to a microphone, it can occasionally give off a short burst of static - my guess is it's something to do with polling the towers or something; I notice the same obnoxious sound right before it rings.

Nick Sevilla · Post by **Nick Sevilla** » Sat Jan 07, 2012 9:08 am

On the topic of cellphones,

I have a nice little box, for holding remotes, which I keep in the studio.
All cellphones go in, box gets taken out of the studio, problem solved.
This I only do when recording.

Cheers

joelpatterson · Post by **joelpatterson** » Sat Jan 07, 2012 2:54 pm

This brings up the whole topic of: what do people do when they need to test out a ringtone they've been mixing?

drumsound · Post by **drumsound** » Sun Jan 15, 2012 11:30 pm

TapeOpLarry wrote:Tony, You can't tell time any way. I've heard your drumming. Ha ha, sorry. Had to take the joke...

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA

vvv wrote:
drumsound wrote:I don't have a clock on the wall and have no intention of adding one. I always have my cell phone, and so do most clients, to the time is accessible, but not obvious.
As a side note, besides what I consider to be the general unpleasantness of cell-phones in a musical situation, I note that when such a phone is located very close (within, say 1-2 feet) to a microphone, it can occasionally give off a short burst of static - my guess is it's something to do with polling the towers or something; I notice the same obnoxious sound right before it rings.

I've been lucky and haven't experienced that. My studio has pretty weak cell reception.

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Is having a clock in the studio inherently a bad idea?

Is having a clock in the studio inherently a bad idea?

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