I need to get organized

[Travst]

Currently, my rig looks like this:

While the setup looks decent in the photo, the desk is too crowded, with no place to put the computer keyboard and mouse that is comfortable. I'm considering buying a stand, and have been looking at this:

I could put the stand on the back side of the desk, which would be much more comfortable and free up room on the desk. I can flip the monitor around easily, and I have the FaderPort control surface in the foreground to control my DAW and use a second mouse. The stand has option attachments like a music stand. Does anyone have a better suggestion for getting organized and comfy?

 

[Barry]

Hi Travst
The stand looks fine
How about an Ipad sitting on the top music stand. You would need to check angles that the Ipad sits on etc.
You can store your dots on it and turn pages easier and put a DAW on it as well. That would save quite a bit of space and make things easier for you.
I use one for my dots and it works great. I do not currently use a DAW on it but that may be coming next
Hope this helps
Barry

 

[Travst]

Barry, that's an interesting idea. I don't have an Ipad, but I have a nice Android tablet. I assume that, by notes, you mean music? I've not thought of it, but I could scan music into pdf files and display them on my monitor. Wouldn't do much for page turns, however.

 

[Barry]

There are a couple of things on that score ( excuse the pun )
1) it is easier to just draw your finger up or down the screen on the Android than to turn a page in a book also browsing through the collection is easy as it is just a sideswipe
2) With the Android you may also be able to use a USB footswitch for page turning if you have a USB connection. I did this with a small Acer netbook running Ubuntu Linux
3) I found that scanning to jpg was better than pdf as the system handles the files much quicker.

 

[Travst]

Good tip on the jpg files, Barry. I'll give it a whirl.

 

[Barry]

You could even sell your mouse!

 

[b3maniac]

I only have one keyboard on my DAW table with my mouse and keyboard on
a pull out shelf at the bottom of the table. I have a couple of stands where I can stack other keyboards and just play/control them on different midi channels. It works good and gives you move room on the workstation table/support.

 

[Travst]

Thanks, Don, that's also something to consider. I'll do a bit of experimenting with that. I've just picked up the JX-8P and have considered giving up my controller and using only the JX. I'm playing around with different configurations since I've never had two MIDI keyboards at the same time.

 

[b3maniac]

I've migrated to VSTi's for my DAW so the additional keyboards are not really needed anymore. A few strong general purpose VSTI's have allowed me to cover most things pretty well. I don't do commercial recording anymore, generally just writing some songs and adding keyboard/horn/string tracks for friend's projects.
Kontakt, Gigastudio, Colosus, Ivory , and Drumagog (drum replacement program) are the ones I use the most.

 

[Travst]

I've been using VSTi's for some time with my controller. The JX is my first full synth since the eighties. Remember the Crumar Stratus? I'm a guitarist and have enjoyed branching out and exploring keys. The JX gives me something to tote to church and play live.

 

[Travst]

After much deliberation, I settled on an Apex 48 Pro stand when a deal came up on a demo unit. I tried a cheap X-stand that came with my son's keyboard and hated it. It was tippy and blocked access to my rack that's low to the ground. I was concerned that a Z setup would do the same. With the Apex, I think my rack will be able to remain close at hand.

 

[happyrat1]

I tried a cheap X-Stand when I added a second keyboard to my rig and like others have said, I too was dissatisfied with it's sturdiness and stability. Furthermore, space is at a premium where I live so I needed something that I could slide in and out of the way when I wasn't using it.

I finally settled on an OnStage Two Tier Z stand and in a moment of brilliance found something called a Universal Mobile Base in order to stick some wheels under it.

http://www.amazon.com/Stage-Tier-Folding-Keyboard-Stand/dp/B0002F6JH6

http://www.amazon.com/HTC-HTC2000-Universal-Mobile-Base/dp/B00002262M

Basically it's designed to move heavy power tools and equipment around a woodworking or machine shop, but it works just brilliantly for sliding the keyboards back and forth to their cubby with ease.

I've attached a couple of pics to give you a better idea of what I'm talking about. Please excuse the mess. I'm a lousy housekeeper.

 

[The Y_man]

Basically it's designed to move heavy power tools and equipment around a woodworking or machine shop, but it works just brilliantly for sliding the keyboards back and forth to their cubby with ease.

Hey that's brilliant!

The Y-man

 

[happyrat1]

Hey that's brilliant!

The Y-man

Heheh... Thanks. Like Ben Franklin said, Necessity is the Mother of Invention. A friend of mine saw me struggling with the rig and said "You should stick some wheels on that thing bro."

Then I googled for days trying to find dollies and carts and casters and other solutions that didn't seem to be a proper fit.

Then I lucked out and on one of my searches the "universal mobile base" turns up on a dolly page and voila! History is made!

Funny thing about google. It's like trying to look up the spelling of "Gnome" in a dictionary if you've never seen how the word is spelled before.

If you don't have the right search term you can look til you're blue in the face even if the answer is sitting out there right under your nose.

Anyway, I highly recommend using one of these, even with an X stand, if space is a problem for you and you need your keyboards to be a bit more mobile.

 

[Travst]

That's very creative. I have a Black and Decker model out in the garage, but it would never have occurred to me to try it as a keyboard stand!

Here's the current setup:

 

[bo ayars]

Hi Travst
The stand looks fine
How about an Ipad sitting on the top music stand. You would need to check angles that the Ipad sits on etc.
You can store your dots on it and turn pages easier and put a DAW on it as well. That would save quite a bit of space and make things easier for you.
I use one for my dots and it works great. I do not currently use a DAW on it but that may be coming next
Hope this helps
Barry

 

[bo ayars]

Hi - Not sure it there's already a thread on digital music stands. If so, love to hear what others are saying. I've been researching tablets, slates, etc. I go from gig to gig doing a variety of shows, each one with about 30 charts (keyboard/piano, though mostly lead sheets). Is there a letter sized tablet, not a full and expensive computer, that is swipe-able and can fit on a standard music stand? Thanks in advance for any suggestions. Keep practicing...

Bo

 

[happyrat1]

Here's a link for an android app that displays sheet

http://www.musicnotes.com/android/

And here's an article on using a Kindle for sheet

http://gizmodo.com/5311795/sheet-music-for-amazon-kindle-dx-gets-rid-of-the-um-sheet

 

[Travst]

I added a 3rd tier to the Ultimate Support AX-48 Pro and was given a keyboard tray that has a cutout to match the stand. I'm parking my BCR2000 controller up top. I'm now considering giving up the Arturia controller and just using the JX-8P to control my JV-1080 and softsynths. Then I'll park my music up top on the 3rd tier. Thanks for all the suggestions. I really wish that Ultimate Support offered a music stand that clipped on to the AX-48.

 

[happyrat1]

Here's a whole bunch of iPad and Sheet Music Clip On attachments at Sweetwater. I'd imagine it's possible to make one of them work.

http://www.sweetwater.com/c1067--iPad_iPhone_Stands_And_Holders