Synth Studio Practicalities + 5 Essentials under 50 bucks

Two comments: 1) I'm a master electrician so I will weigh in on the "all on one switch" issue. There won't be a problem for the equipment but you could trip the circuit breaker feeding the outlet. Synths are basically like a computer and use the most power when you first start them up. I would recommend using power conditioner strips with surge protection (some even have amperage readings on board) and trying to use several different circuits to feed the gear. 2) thanks for the tips. I'm currently trying to fit my studio into what should be the 'dinning area' of my apartment 😅 like the idea of tiers. Can you please provide links to some that you like? Great content!

Great advice I learned elsewhere (guess it was Neon Vines' studio tour): if you have a lot of gear, try to create different more or less independent "creativity islands".

I highly recommend getting a proper power conditioner for your studio rather than plugging all the synths into one power strip. Everything in my studio is plugged into a Monster Power Pro 5100 Conditioner, which can be programmed to turn on all of its ports on a delay. Meaning when I power up the conditioner, my gear turns on in stages; first my instruments, then my interface and computer, then my monitors. So just one button to turn on everything in my studio. It also helps to provide a stable source of 120 volts to all my gear, I’ve noticed analog and vintage gear definitely sounds better when getting clean power (we’ve done A/B tests). I used to work in a professional recording studio, and many of the studios I’ve been to all use these Monster Power conditioners and stabilizers. It’s interesting because they were originally designed for home theater use, but studio engineers noticed the difference these things make in keeping all the gear “happy.” I’m also pretty sure other brands like Furman make comparable devices, since the Monster Power ones are unfortunately discontinued

I searched and searched for the right shelves, then I saw on Pinterest how one synth-head was using shoe racks to mount his synths. Not just any old Target shoe racks, but heavy duty Scandinavian (read IKEA) floor to ceiling metal shoe racks(they must have pretty substation hoofs in The Netherlands)😂 but seriously, IKEA Elvarli shelves mount floor to ceiling and are durable and metal and can hold 3 to 4 fairly heavy, 32” or less wide synths. They give you 8 selves with the deal, but synth playing range physically limits you to 2-3 considering the pre-notched adjustable slanted mountings. I have my 22 channel mixer near foot level—easily reachable while sitting.

Excellent video! I have had the 1 switch to rule them all approach for the past 20 years and have had no issues. Currently I have about 25 pieces of equipment on my 1 switch on a 20a 4' strip and 3 or 4 additional 1' strips plugged into it with some daisy chaining. The 20a 4' strip plugs into a 20a isolated ground circuit and I also run a Mac on this circuit as well and a few lights. The 1 switch and 20a circuit operates all the synths, FX units, mixer, rack sub amp, powered monitors, cassette deck, drum machines, computer and lights. I have found that in addition to making turning the rig on/off a snap there is a side effect of eliminating ground noise issues. When turning the rig on or off I am very precise and deliberate about operating the switch *crisply*.

Man I don’t even own synths but your delivery and video production makes the videos so interesting!! You got a formula that works really well, keep doing THAT!

oh and to touch on the power surge, i use a energy conditioner (any surge the box stops it before it hits any synth) and best of all its made to take heavy energy to keep your synths well.

I have my main synths on one plug board but only switch on the ones I want to use. However, I have a smart plug board 🧠 so can switch it on by saying:"Alexa switch on synthesizers". Other studio bits are connected to the strip so I can switch them on or off as required. This not only saves me crawling around on the floor to switch stuff on - it's also pretty cool 😎 😀

Tip: if you don't have velcro, use twist ties for cable management. Just don't make them too tight. Cheap alternative you probably already have lying around. Thanks for the video! Always nice to get other perspectives on studio setups. Cheers!

Having everything ready to go is a must. I have a 24 channel console. I have 16 of those channels plugged into a patch bay. Patch bays are great if you have more audio outposts than inputs on your console. For MIDI I am currently using two 6 output MIDI through boxes. Each is connected to one of the MIDI outs on my KeyStep Pro. My DX7 goes to the MIDI in on my KeyStep Pro to use as a master keyboard. The KeyStep Pro is the heart of my setup. I can send sequences to any synth or drum sound source. For just having fun noodling I get a drum pattern and sequenced or arpeggiated bass line going and live play on top of it. Much more fun than a metronome or click track.

Last winter we had a very bad power overload that ended up setting our AC units on fire causing thousands of dollars of damage... Thankfully my synths were not turned on but that's when I decided I would invest in a Furman power conditioner. Best thing I have bought for my studio! not only my synths are safe but, the moment I put my headphones on there was no noise at all! I didn't know I had this issue until then.

I need to have my significant other watch this video!! 👍👍😁

Excellent thoughts of yours... thank you for sharing... Did not even know that midi splitters were a thing...because I really need several.

A simple thing that made a big difference in my studio was labelling all the power plugs - I just write on each one with a paint marker what it is powering. That way not only can I unplug a piece of equipment without worrying I am going to unplug the wrong thing, it also means all those different PSUs which are particular to a specific bit of gear don't get mixed up. I'm in the UK and our 3-prong plugs are a bit bigger and have more space to write on that the US 2-prongs, but you could possibly put a label/tag on the cable next to the plug if there isn't enough space to write on the plug itself.

Thank YOU so much for hanging out me, have an awesome week my friends! How would you like to help support this channel? Use any of these amazon affiliate links to buy one of the studio essentials (I get a small percentage of your purchase at no extra cost to you, so win win! Thanks!) Versa Monitor stand for Digitakt / Digitone: amzn.to/3DYl6qX Hosa Color Cables: amzn.to/3DPaHxt Velcro Cable ties: amzn.to/3n58iZu MIDI Cable Splitter: amzn.to/3zMFzMK Power Conditioner: amzn.to/3ttLcx8

I was trained in studios that have a one switch to turn everything on, EXCEPT the monitors to avoid DC offset thump. One switch to first turn everything on, then one switch for the monitors.

I’m tuned in man 👍🏾

Very helpful video. This Digitakt stand seems very useful. I’m very bad at organizing my space, this video helps. Thanks a lot for sharing your experience !

This is great advice! I’ve enjoyed your content (old and current) and the presentation style since sub’ing recently. Keep up the great work!

After years of having a couple pro studios near Chicago where space was NEVER a problem, I sacrificed all the spaciousness for a warmer climate outside Nashville. So for the past three years I have been repeatedly brainstorming to get the best ergonomically situated creative area I could muster in a quarter of the space. I wish this video had been around then as you've covered almost everything I've dealt with. Kudos and you have a new subscriber...