Weird Working Habits

i have a closet full of gear, but using only 2 to 4 units at once (mixer not counted).
huge setups with dozens of synths are probably cool on pics, but a nightmare to maintain.

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I do probably 80-90% of my music work on my laptop laying in bed with headphones. Other than writing at my synths, I don’t think I’ve made music sitting up in over 5 years. That includes paid mastering work I’ve done too.

Only downside is if the track is too boring (and there is often a long stretch while I figure things out where they are too boring) then it can put me to sleep pretty easily. But hey, the thread is weird working habits, not good ones.

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I find myself often wandering around the house while a pattern is looping. If I notice something grating I’ll address it when I sit down in front of the desk again.

I’ll work a little, do some dishes, tweak the pattern, hang the laundry…

If I find something that’s getting stuck in my head in a good way I’ll build on that.

I do my best not to forget to dry my hands.

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I must admit there are factors brought up in your replies that I hadn’t even considered, like working studios that were designed to be hired out.

So fair enough on that one, but I’m really talking about personal use studios and I still feel that most of you make it really hard on yourselves and impede your enjoyment of gear due to the way you build your studios. I think a lot of them are fine if you’re going for a hidden Pilates routine in your workflow or perhaps you’re a closet contortionist and don’t even realise it, but other than that it must be an ergonomical nightmare to use some of those studios!

There’s no way I could work like that, put it that way :grimacing:

I suppose those of you who have a bunch of gear stored away and only bring out the items you need for a specific project at a time, I say absolutely, that sounds sensible to me.

My own setup is packed away right now because I’m hoping to move house soon. But once I get settled somewhere I’m buying one of those Jesper stands, similar to what Jeanne is using but I plan to buy the components and tubes individually so that I can use a Hacksaw to cut the tubes to the ideal length to make my ideal stand. Should be pretty cool because it gives absolute control over size, position, angle and rotation for every piece of gear!

I have one of those fancy Audio Housing desks, the three-level ones where the bottom two shelves pull out.

It’s great, but I also use it for work, so when I’m done I often don’t like sitting at the same desk to make music.

My favorite option has been to use an external USB-C battery pack, and a Birdcord, to power the Digitakt or Digitone on my lap, on the sofa, with some open-backed headphones (Koss Porta Pros). But I also have a piece of wood on two crates, on top of an old table, to make a standing desk. I have the DN and DT together on here.

Those two units together (DN and DT), plus a keyboard, is at my limit of using multiple devices. Every time I try more boxes together, something ends up distracting me, be it cables or midi or whatever.

If I have a musical “problem” I have to work out, then I force myself to use whatever is in front of me to solve it, instead of grabbing some other app or box. Usually this ends up with a pretty unexpected solution.

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Even though I don’t have to move since i have everything at arm’s length, I use that actually as a quality insurrance: if I have to move (dance), then it’s good :wink:

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I danced to one of your tracks once and my nose started to bleed.

I mean this as a compliment :slight_smile:

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Vans rule!

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I’m a bit of a stickler for a ‘one desk setup’ - I have more gear than fits on this desk but whatever I’m using I like to have it in front of me - I think I also get satisfaction from that efficiency and low cognitive load. I can see the appeal of a big studio with lots of gear but I think it probably lends to a different kind of workflow (i.e. laying down stems). I take a kind of live-approach to my music, so I think I always treat my setup a bit like a DJ booth - even though I’m never actually in that environment…

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Regards the “Static Posture = Static Music” thing:

Hmmm … :thinking:

Well from the rear I’m guessing I must look as static as a shop window mannequin, but it doesn’t result in static music or at least I don’t think so anyway.

Being static can also be a sign of deep concentration :wink:

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ohhhh thats what those sounds are

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