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It's been a while since we've done something like this!
I rethink and/or rearrange my desk frequently and now that I have a great Ergotron monitor arm, my desk is finally as empty as I hoped. So much room for activities!
Tagging galen because I recall you liked seeing people's work spaces too.
galen, if you like "un-cleaned" stations then you are in for a goddamn treat with mine. Behold, the shithole. O! gaze upon the standing desk made from some dresser drawers; the scarves duct taped to a chimney; the comically small screen of my computer; the electric guitar that its owner left here when he moved out and has yet to retrieve. Behold! the island of misfit keys - the odds, the ends. The room's aesthetic: in a word, rugs. In a second word, bikes. So untuned, so unheated. Truly a return to the elements.
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keifermiller · 460 days ago · link ·
I'm digging the nonmatching bartape in the background.
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One's mine, one's my BF's brother's. For the price, I'd say it's pretty hard to beat - but only if you think you would use the pads. The keys are a bit too light for my taste, but they suffice for what I need. I primarily use the keyboard part for writing synth melodies and putting in some chords here and there. I have basically an MPC style sampling setup in Reaper that I control with the pads on this, I can send you some info on how to set it up if you're interested. I use the pads for all my "live" drums to give a bit more of an organic feel. I never use the knobs or the arpeggio function, but they seem to work fine. The joystick-style mod wheel takes some getting used to, but I like it a lot.
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So I actually just got back from checking out some controllers at the music store. The key feel on the Akai was a bit underwhelming, but I did like the way the keys felt on some Yamaha devices. I'm not actually looking to hook it up with a computer much, but rather use it with the volcas, so I'd like to find something with some advanced arpeggiator abilities (latch, ascend/descend scale - think Stranger Things intro arpeggio) and maybe some built-in sequencing that is a bit more user friendly and programmable than the volca FM's sequencer.
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I've had an Akai LPK25 since it came free with Komplete 7. It's every bit as underwhelming as Akais have been going back to the AX60. It does have some dumb little arpeggios but it's also only USB out. By far the best controller I've ever owned is an A80 but it has fuckall for arpeggios.
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Well I have my ideal controller in mind, and I've been running under the assumption that it's out there: I just need to find it. Basically what want is to control hardware by midi, I don't really need computer/software interfacing because I just can't be creative with a computer as my interface. Basically I want something with a powerful built in arpeggiator, and a powerful built in sequencer. For the sequencer I'd want something where I can save an X-bar sequence to a button, and another Y-bars of sequence to another button, and then press buttons 1-through-z in order to create a whole song structure that will play consecutively (like Y x 3, X, Z x 4, Y, etc.). To me, this seems like a basic want from a controller, but my initial forays into searching the controller world suggest this isn't a thing.
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Unless I'm completely misunderstanding your quest, your yearning reflects a fundamental failure of Korg's marketing department. In a bid to stay relevant as a keyboard workstation manufacturer while the whole world went inside the box, Korg took some weird sequencing stuff from this guy named Stephen Kay, raided their stillborn OASYS workstation (not that one, the one it stole the name from) and came out with the Karma, basically a much-maligned play-by-numbers workstation that attempted to bridge two worlds that hated each other - on-stage cover musicians and basement-dwelling Ableton nerds. It lasted not very long. Either you were exactly the guy that wanted standard corporate Korg workstation sounds combined with weird-ass Ableton tweakology or you hated the abomination. They were pretty much always available at steep discount from music stores. Eventually they came out with the actual OASYS and put "Karma technology" on it because bloody hell, they were proud of it and if you were still buying keyboard workstations in 2005 you sure needed all the onboard sequencer fun'n'games you could afford. Even now, sixteen years later, the Kronos and every other big keyboard workstation you've never considered has "Karma" on it. Thing is, though, you're still talking about mashing a button and launching a string which is far more in the realm of the Akai MPC school. See also: NI Maschine. "Classical groove boxes" means MPC60. You can download it for iPhone for like $10. My buddy Dante put this song together on his phone in like half an hour.my initial forays into searching the controller world suggest this isn't a thing.
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Those Korg videos. Those came out post 90s? It does the kind of thing I want, but probably a little too much menu diving for my tastes. I think what I want is a bit more bare bones even: like the sequencer built into the volca, except like 3 of them stacked together, with some more buttons. Even the arp on the volca would be fine with a couple more functionalities and a few more buttons rather than all the settings jammed in 10 positions on a 1 cm diameter knob.
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Honestly? 1) Stack sequencers 2) Buy some Doepfer 3) Learn Reaktor or Bidule, which is hardly stepping out-of-the-box. The problem is MIDI is a digital protocol which means the chipbenders don't fuck with it much, but what you're looking for is pretty advanced analog behavior which means you either need to be a diehard chipbender or you need to do it in the box. In the box is so much easier.
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Not nearly often enough. But they're both weighted, they're both legendary, and I love them both dearly. One's a K2500XS I got for $1200 back in like 2002 (it still has the $9,999.95 Guitar Center pricetag on the bottom) and the other is a Roland A80 I found abandoned at a Guitar Center for like $90 back in 2011. The K2500 has moved with me like four times, down to LA and back. Of the three Internet shows I mixed last year, I'd say I created about seven music cues. And when I have time and can give myself the space, I just sit there and space out and play.
Past few months have been dealing a lot with chronic lower back pain, so here's something slightly different in the vein of productivity. For 2017 I bought a calendar that I can mark off my accomplishments for each day: Each of those symbols corresponds to a different exercise for physical therapy, as well as rock rock-climbing and days of major lab work. I've found that seeing the calendar every morning helps prod me to do the maintenance that I'd otherwise skip. Because let's face it, PT is otherwise tedious and boring.
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Yeah you do! I just saw the one in your picture; If you sit at your PC as much as I do that's not going to be too good on your back. Mine was only about £60 off amazon. It's not the greatest but it's sturdy enough and has good support. The only negative I have so far is that the foam in the arms is starting to become permanently depressed.
Here's the desk. I just got a new keyboard since I spilled wine all in the last one. I am still fumbling like mad when I type on it. Behind my chair there's more music stuff. There's also a nice little patio area. Turning left from the last picture is the little makerspace. I've been dabbling with electronics for a bit and mean to do more. I'm very much considering using some of my tax return for a tube amp kit.
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Yes, that too. A week or so ago kleinbl00 linked PAiA which has some really appealing kits. I mainly say tube amp kit though because I figure It's actually a fair bit simpler than a synth, and I have a bit of a need to replace my desktop speaker amp. Other things on the to-do list: I have the spring reverb tank I took off an old crate amp and I want to make it a stand-alone unit.
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Tube amps have two distinct drawbacks: 1) They're line voltage clear through 2) They're stupidly inefficient So long as you're cool with that, rock on. Me? I keep pretending I'm gonna rig up a Bessel array but life is too short.
keifermiller · 461 days ago · link ·
Pictured: - grocery list note pad - journal w/ pens of different inks for color coding - the bowl of misc items Located in the highest traffic part of the apartment. I also capture some notes on my desktop
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tigrisandeuphrates · 452 days ago · link ·
This is my Mail Art / Art desk: And this is my music desk:
I am not much of a "clean" workspaces person. They look really nice but all of mine inevitably collect a nice layer of cruft. This is more or less representative of what mine looks like mid-project; I tidy up a little at the end of the night so that I can find things again the next time I'm down here. Still, too many things and not enough places for all of them. I need to get some more shelves, and take the time to fill up my drawers that I bought a while back. For research, imagine a nice armchair surrounded by stacks of books.
My desk isn't worth showing off, cause it's a crappy little thing cramped with a desktop, printer, and 15" CRT monitor on it. The monitor is starting to go bad, with the image getting wavy as hell, so it's time to replace it. The funny thing is, I love the fuck out of it, small screen size, '90s picture ratio, and all. So I'm looking at getting a 15" security monitor to take its place. I'm weird.
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nowaypablo · 458 days ago · link ·
Stuff on desk in order of importance: >Candle >Calendar print-out made with iOS Calendar app >Hot sauce (Trader Joe's decent Sriracha, but not on my top 5 hot sauce buys). >Preserved Head of Actual Gator or Possibly Crocodile, Either Way It's Because My Unit's Nickname is The Gators >$5 Coffee cup from amazon >Uniform hat with giant picture of Obama duct-taped on the inside mostly meant to trigger rednecks (highly effective)
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I still use a pair of the old M50s daily that I bought around Christmas 2010. And it's not like I've taken that great care of them. Absolute troopers. Though they are starting to show their age now. All the covering on the headband has fallen off and I recently broke a little bit of plastic which ensures the cup stays in place when up against the resistance of your head. I had to tape that up so now left side no longer folds. I guess I dropped them one too many times. I'll probably try to get another 6-12 months out of them.
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nowaypablo · 458 days ago · link ·
Mine literally broke last night. Proof of karma for not mentioning them in my original post. Fixed it with duct tape. 2 years of the best budget studio quality and I treat it like I treat my combat boots. One day I'll have a pair of AKGs. One day :')
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I got mine from Massdrop, so when a buddy of mine wanted good headphones I convinced him to go for the Massdrop sale then, the AKG K7XX. In a side by side comparison I kinda love mine more. The M50x is much more 'precise', if that makes sense. It's like it comes with a mixer built in or something, whereas that AKG sounded like it had some drowned out sounds.
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nowaypablo · 456 days ago · link ·
That's good to know. But AKG has enough high-end equipment that I'm sure there will be something to top the M50x. That said, again, the M50x is pretty freakin' amazing.
Got my new monitor this week. Here's my old CRT monitor, that I'll miss horribly. And my brand, spanking new one. Gotta love that 5:4 ratio goodness. As you can see, there's now clearly much more room for activities! On both desktops, actually. The new monitor is a higher resolution, so now I have about 50% more screen real estate space even though they're both the same size. Sadly, even though I have "Office" for my Hubski style, that nice, soft ivory background looks like a dull gray now. Even after I messed with my monitor settings, it hasn't changed much. Sadness.
Here's mine! Probably moving soon, but I'd like to do same cable-management and set up a permanent charging- station a la Casey Neistat, to have all my video gear organized and ready to go :) Also more lighting would be nice! I've been researching what lightbulbs to buy for our new place that are not yellow and don't produce flickers/bands on video. I've found options, but affordable options are a bit scarce.
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Yours is looking nice. I envy its emptiness. It also manages to avoid the sense that I almost always get from /r/battlestations and the like that the cleanliness is basically a function of getting it all ready to take a picture for reddit, and after that it goes back to being the kind of desk that a person would actually work at. Yours looks like the latter already. At the moment my work mostly happens at the library or the café, so my desk has (unfortunately) been relegated to storage space.
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It is the latter! I usually have a carafe of water and my phone on my desk too but that's about it. I took the pic standing on my couch. Best part about my new monitor arm (especially in combination with the mic arm) is that I can pull the screen towards me aalllll the way to the edge of the table so I can game and voicechat from the couch. Multifunctionality FTW. :)