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Studio Tips


I recently rearranged and rewired my studio.  As I did so, I thought of all the cool tricks I've picked up over the years.  Some were from Keyboard magazine, some from books, some from friends and some I picked up on my own.  Regardless of where they came from, I thought it would be a good idea to compile them for others to use.  Please email me your own suggestions. 


My studio as it is now


Cables and Labels

My first studio consisted of a single keyboard that I ran through my stereo.  Before long, I had two keyboards, a multi-track and a computer.  From then on, I had a perpetual pile of cables to deal with.  This section deals with cables and where they are routed.

 

1. Label the mixer

I've seen this trick in every studio I've ever been in.  I put a label on each channel to remind me what is going through it.  I've also seen people put labels on the back side to remind themselves when they are swapping plugs.

2. Label Both Ends Of Every Cable

OK, I don't always do every cable, but I have labeled every MIDI cable, most audio cables and several power cables.  I also use this trick on my home stereo.  Any time I have to move, rearrange, or just unplug one piece of gear, this helps immensely.


All 14 of my MIDI cables in a big ugly pile.
But since they were labeled, they were easy
to plug back in.

 


This is where my MIDI cables plug into my MIDIMan
4x4 interface.  Notice that I should probably
also label my USB cables.

This pile is all the cables I use with my 
electronic drum kit...

...and here they are all plugged in.

 

3. Head Light

Also called a "miner's light" or a "surgeon's light".  This does not make a good fashion statement, but until manufactures agree on which end is up on a MIDI cable and start using readable fonts instead of tiny labels, I find one of these to be indispensable.  Just don't post a picture of yourself wearing one on the internet.  D'oh.


4. Don't Cross Wires

The best way to avoid a ground loop is to make sure audio and power cables never get near each other.  If they must cross, they should cross at 90 degree angles.  To help avoid this, I always run power cables low and audio cables high.  In the following picture, you can see that the power cables are on the floor and the audio cables run along the back of my keyboard stand.  This guarantees that they stay apart and only meet at right angles.


5. Velcro Cable Wraps

When a cable isn't needed, or has too much slack, these little things do the trick.  The following picture shows my favorite kind, which I bought at Radio Shack.  They hook onto the cable so I never lose them.  I have these on every cable I ever take to a gig.


6. Diagram on MIDI connections

I used to use a sheet of paper that showed me how I plugged in everything.  Recently I got fancy and made one on the computer.  Only 2 of my boards use the full 16 channels, so I can plug 6 sounds sources into four outputs.

7. MIDI Test Template

I use Cakewalk Sonar as my Sequencer/Audio recorder.  I've set up a template that has every device set up and ready to use.  This is great for testing and great when I want to start working on a new project.  I probably don't use templates enough, they are a great way to save time when starting up something new.


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