MusicRadar

Is your studio as well-appointed as it could be? (© Adam Friedberg/Corbis)

View in gallery

As a tech-hungry computer musician, it's understandable that you want to spend the majority of your time sitting at your desk making tunes or tinkering with new plug-ins.

But if you want to improve your workflow, it's worth spending just a few hours thinking about how your studio works and how it could be improved. In many cases, a little bit of planning and preparation could improve your music making immeasurably, and we've got a selection of tips that will help you to do just that.

For a complete guide to tuning up your studio, check out the March issue of Computer Music magazine (CM175), which is on sale now.

Crazy cabling

If you've got lots of cable clutter, have a look at cable tidy kits. These flexible loops of plastic wrap around bunches of cables to stop that spaghetti junction from growing any more like a black hole, and best of all, they rarely cost over a fiver. Just keep your audio cables separate from your power cables to avoid mains hum interference.

Get your hands dirty

You'll see various room treatment kits online, but you can build your own for considerably less expense. All you need is some mineral wool, wood for the framing and breathable fabric to cover it with. For bass traps, the thicker the mineral wool is, the better; but when you're building panels to tackle early reflections, you can get away with using thinner mineral wool.

Buy smart

If you're looking to buy an audio interface, make sure you do your homework. Scour the internet to see if people are having recurring problems when running it with your operating system, for example. Both cheap and expensive machines alike can have driver issues, so unless the company is active in patching bugs and releasing updates, you may end up tearing your hair out. Be smart and buy something that scores highly in the satisfaction stakes.

Does this sit right?

Investing in a good chair means investing not just in your comfort but also in your health. Sitting for hours on end in a poor posture is a sure-fire way to give yourself back problems in just a few short months. Choose a studio chair that is comfortable yet still offers enough support. If your budget doesn't stretch to a chair, go for a removable lumbar support instead.

Ground control

If you've got your eye on a MIDI controller, get hold of the online manual before you open up your wallet and have a look at how easy it is to set up the knobs and faders. If you need a degree in engineering to configure the thing, it will be as much use to your workflow as a kick in the shins. A lot of the newer controllers make configuration as simple as pressing a few buttons, and it's always worth spending a little extra for ease of use.

Double check the drivers

When buying a second-hand audio or MIDI interface (or any other bit of gear, really), make sure you check to see if the drivers are available for the operating system you use. Interfaces that only have drivers for older operating systems go for dirt cheap - and no wonder if you've got to buy a Windows 98 PC before you can use them!

Around the web: