Console height? DAW?

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mingus2112
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Console height? DAW?

Post by mingus2112 » Mon Apr 03, 2006 8:22 pm

ok. . .here's a question that i haven't seen here before!!

What's the height of everyone's console? I'm getting a new desk (the peice of furniture. . .not a new mixer) Saturday and I want to try to plan it's "installation" ahead of time. Here's the scoop. . .

The desk consists of two modular rack type things. Think of two wooden racks 26.5" high with casters on the bottom (the 26.5" INCLUDES the casters). In between them are supports for the surface that the mixer will rest on. It's recessed about 2.5" down. Right now it's 20" wide, but i'm expanding it to 32" to accomodate my mixer. I don't use my mixer a hell of a lot, but i'd like it in the center of my workspace rather than how it is now (along side). Anyhow, i'll need to mount a keyboard underneath the mixer and this makes the keyboard height somewhere around 22" or so. I think this is WAY too low. I guess i could put the modular rack pieces on risers? I don't know. . .

How high is everyone's console? Who here has a keyboard drawer under their mixer, and how well does it work out? I could remount the middle support piece flush with the tops of the modular racks, but i kind of like the idea of having the top of my mixer flush with my work surface. I use the mouse and keyboard enough, though, that it needs to be REALLY usable.

Anyone have any thoughts?

-James

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Post by Mark Alan Miller » Mon Apr 03, 2006 10:28 pm

Oh crap... I have a custom desk/cabinet for my console, but I'm not there...
I'll try to remember to measure it for you. PM me to remind me. It works great, with a keyboard/mouse drawer under the console.
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Post by mingus2112 » Tue Apr 04, 2006 5:37 am

Mark Alan Miller wrote:Oh crap... I have a custom desk/cabinet for my console, but I'm not there...
I'll try to remember to measure it for you. PM me to remind me. It works great, with a keyboard/mouse drawer under the console.
Thanks! I will! Anyone else?

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Post by Cyan421 » Tue Apr 04, 2006 6:27 am

I helped a friend change the setup at his studio a while ago. The desk had been to high. and he had been working with a keyboard/mouse tray undeneath and wanted to keep it that way.

So chiropractors say that if you sitting in one place for a long time that the best thing for body are right angles. mostly at your knees, hips and elbows. So I would start with measuring myself. 22" is pretty much perfect for me. The higheth of the keyboard tray (swivle out work area thinger) on my compuer desk at home is 25". The work surface of this compuer desk is at 28". If i had to reach up to a console higher than that all day it would be troublesome. I would probly like it to be lower that 28", but i don't know if that would be worth the time and effort to custom fit all that stuff. It mgiht be to you, but if the difference is only 2-3 inches....I don't know. All that is for me kind of a short guy, 5,6 on a good day.

back to my buddies set up. Well we moved the consoles's desk and when we were all done the keyboard tray was too low. It was kind of tight getting into the desk, with your legs underneath the keyboard tray. The swing arm for the keyboard tray is adjustable but when you set it to the right hight you couldnt push it back underneath the console. I almost broke the F keys a bunch of times.

It will work awsome if you get the hight right for how you like to sit and other who will use your space. Sit at your chair and measure your legs at a right angle. sit at other desks (staples, office max, even Guitar theif) and measure them. find what fits you.
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Post by cwileyriser » Tue Apr 04, 2006 7:45 am

28"-30" is a standard height for work desks, and that's the height I'm planning for the console we're designing. That makes it sound like I'm having some fancy shit built for me - I just mean that the desktop on the thing we're going to build in the shop from MDF is going to be 29" high, with cutouts for the mixing board and the patchbays.

If you search around the net, you can find technical drawings of studio consoles in a few places.

If you're the only one who'll be using it, then the idea of customizing the height for yourself makes a lot of sense.

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Post by MT » Tue Apr 04, 2006 8:35 am

I just built a new desk for my setup as well (just installed), but I put the whole computer setup to the side. I posted a bunch of details on my blog, which is not that interesting, but does have pictures. Just more ideas, at least.

My desk surface sits at roughly 30" which allows me to mount the keyboard underneath just fine. Like your future setup, the mixer's dropped down (about 3", I think), which feels much better than having it on a desktop. My chair's kind of tall, so YMMV.
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Post by mingus2112 » Tue Apr 04, 2006 9:06 am

thanks guys! I already have these modular pieces though. . .so i'm a little limited. I guess I could stick the racks that support the mixer on small 2" to 3" risers. . .hmmmm

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Post by mingus2112 » Thu Apr 13, 2006 12:24 pm

well here it is!

Image
Image

I still need to make it higher. Right now it's 26.5" to the top of the desk parts and 27" to the top of the mixer. It's like 24" to the bottom of the mixer. I jury-rigged a board under the mixer to temporarily hold the keyboard, but i'd like to get a KB drawer for that. I'll need it at LEAST 4" higher for that.

The other thing is monitor height. My NS10s are propped up on my Tannoys right now and are the perfect height. I'd rather not have to prop them up though. I'm thinking if i raise the entire thing 5" i could be in business.

Kentothink sent me this link:

http://www.lnt.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1351148

Do you think this would be a good enough solution??

-James

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Post by Mark Alan Miller » Thu Apr 13, 2006 12:40 pm

To bring the whole desk and everything up 6 more inches, you'd use those bed risers? Seems plausible.
Still, I'd avoid putting the NS10s directly on the desk, as the coupling and resulting resonances could get ugly...

Nice so far, though!
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Post by mingus2112 » Thu Apr 13, 2006 12:46 pm

Mark Alan Miller wrote:Still, I'd avoid putting the NS10s directly on the desk, as the coupling and resulting resonances could get ugly...!
I've got Auralex Mopads for under the NS10s!. . .not to worry. They're just sitting like that while I was trying to figure out the correct height!

-James

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Post by Mark Alan Miller » Thu Apr 13, 2006 7:21 pm

mingus2112 wrote:
Mark Alan Miller wrote:Still, I'd avoid putting the NS10s directly on the desk, as the coupling and resulting resonances could get ugly...!
I've got Auralex Mopads for under the NS10s!. . .not to worry. They're just sitting like that while I was trying to figure out the correct height!

-James
That's the ticket...!
he took a duck in the face at two and hundred fifty knots.

http://www.radio-valkyrie.com/ao/aoindex.htm - download the new record (free is an option!) or get it on CD.

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