How to Organize a Music Studio

Music studios can be filled with various equipment. Organize your studio routinely so that valuable items are not lost, damaged or misplaced.

Constructing and organizing a music studio you may have no idea where to place all your equipment, or you may have an unorganized and cluttered room that is in need of help. Having your equipment and instruments quickly at your disposal is the most important piece to consider. Musicians will find that working in a coordinated and clean environment allows tasks to be completed easier.

Instructions

Organizing a Music Studio to Meet Your Needs

1. Assess your room options. Look around and address the layout of the room. Find the amount of outlets at your disposal compared to the amount of electronics you will be using at once, or consistently, during recording sessions. This will help you gauge the amount of space you need and other critical considerations, such as outlet accessibility.

2. Draw a layout of the room in scaled dimensions. Find the dimensions of the larger objects, instruments, equipment and furniture you plan on placing in your studio. Scale down all measurements and develop a layout in the room much like an architect would. Try to measure out the best option that leaves room open for moving, access to various equipment, and creates the most suitable ergonomic environment.

3. Place most-used pieces of equipment and instruments at the most accessible spots, and place the least-used pieces of equipment in the remaining space available. Having the preferred equipment readily available leaves more time to record, and leaves less time scavenging around the room to pull out what you need. This also allows you to discover what equipment you never use in order to increase space available.

   If you find yourself using all your equipment routinely, you can categorize sections of your studio for similar pieces of equipment. For example, this would be helpful for a band. If the guitarist has effect pedals, cords, tools and the guitar itself allocated to a specific spot and the drummer has various toms, symbols and kit accessories placed in another area, they can manage their space to keep everything organized.

4. Categorize, dispose of and arrange your wires. You may have many electrical wires in your music studio. Invest in power adapters to plug in all the different kinds of devices at once. To maintain power, consider a surge protector if you find too much equipment is being used at once. Try to keep the wires you are not using stored away in a tidy fashion so they don't get entangled or damaged.

5. Organize your computer. You will need to have an easily navigable files collection on your recording software in order to not get sidetracked searching for data, loops, recordings and effects. Categorize your files by date, instrument/ effects or projects.

Tips & Warnings

• Label wires and adapters for easy storage and retrieval.

• Keep your studio as clean as possible.

• If you work near where others lives, consider placing material around your room that will absorb sound.

References

• Dummies: Determining What You Need for Your Home Recording Studio
• "Home Recording Studio: Build it Like the Pros," Gervais, Rod; 2008