Show me your music gear desktop racks / stands / floor stands

[dreamspy]

I have a bunch of musical gear of all sizes, and dream of arranging them ergonomically, where every button can be reached without leaning over a bunch of other gear. And all the cables magically disappear behind.

So I’m both thinking of arranging my gear on a desktop using stands / racks, and using something like those Jasper stands. Maybe I’ll be focusing on desktop stands for my drum machines, effect pedals and sequencers, while using floor stands for my keyboard synths.

Blush Response is using a Jasper stand which seems to be working fine

What solutions have you guys found? Would love to see some pictures or links to shops.

BTW I have a rather large setup so I’m looking for a solid solution. Just so you can get a feel for the capacity I’m looking for then here is a list of gear that I’m working with:

Drum machines

• Perkons
• Alpha base

Elektron

• Rytm mk2
• Analog four mk2 (two of those)
• Digitone
• Octatrack

Keyboard Synths

• Iridium
• Osmose
• Nord Grand
• Nord stage 3
• Sub 37
• Matriarch
• Korg wavestate

Desktop synths

• 3rd wave
• OB-6
• Lyra-8

Sequencers

• Cirklon 2
• Hapax
• NDLR
• Oxi one

Effects

• CXM 1978
• Big sky
• Zen delay
• Microcosm
• Mood

Other gear

• Boss rc-505 loop station
• SSL UC1
• SSL UF8
• SSL UF1
• Big six
• Push 3
• Laptop

[jawside]

Had this stand made for me last year. Great solution for a small desktop setup.

[ringokidf]

Wow that looks a real nice synth cave

[RadioFantome]

Jaspers stands work well for this kind/size of setups.

[GovernorSilver]

Thinking about a Jaspers stand as well to replace my Monoprice Stage Right. I’m considering a 4-tier model with casters.

Black Panther is a competitor to Jaspers. Looks like max 3 tiers though:

Modular keyboard stands, dj tabels and studio set up - Blackpanthersystem Europe

[obscurerobot]

More in the laser cut stands thread.

[fffiiissshhh]

I’m also using a Jasper’s.
Love it. I think it’s a 4R? It has rack space underneath which hosts a power distributor and patch bay. The combination of having everything accessible, repatchable, and on the same on/off switch is a gamechanger.

The patch bay runs into the Tascam model 16 for multitrack recording of my setup plus friends/bandmates during sessions.

I also picked up a pole mounted VESA laptop arm since my setup is far from the main production desk (shared studio).

One note is that if you do attach anything to the poles, vesa and other pole attachments tend to be built for vertical poles not angled ones. In retrospect I think one of the vertical rectangular stands would have been better than the A frame one I have. Also because you have more customizability in terms of the depth (z-axis) on the rectangular stands. On my A frame I have to get clever with different bracket lengths and the crossbar positioning to get everything visible and accessible.

[fffiiissshhh]

Another tip - if you wanna mount a bunch of small units, the holders are pretty expensive but you can make or buy trays that span the entire width (see top row in image.)

[normanion]

This is my old setup, two revisions ago.

It was 6-tier Jaspers stand, the widest one. And here is what I have to say about this setup:

1. first revision, one before that photo, had Modal 002 and 001 on same level. Both are very heavy (001 is significantly heavier than most of my poly synths!). It was very evident that the bar holding this level was bent. So I moved them around. This is thing to be wary of, because on paper I was within limits.

2. I had to remove one tier, because the synths were unusable for me. I program and play everything from the panels and accessibility and immediacy are key factors for me.

3. One needs to think about panels of a synth. Right now top tier is for two synth only - MS-20 and Sub 37, because they can be tilted in a way that leaves me more space beneath, because their panels are raised.

4. To be able to use all tiers comfortably, I am using special chair designed for kneeling. I was and am using this chair anyway, so it wasn’t any adaptation for me, but if this wasn’t the case, I wouldn’t be able to use top and bottom tiers. On this kind of chair I am comfortable with leaning forward to play bottom row, or standing up for top row. Standing up is less demanding than from regular chair and this makes difference for lazy ass like me, where I am theoretically not lazy, but sometimes… “meh… I don’t want to”.

So this is my choice for this space.

Cordially,
Norman

[dreamspy]

Nice setup. Thanks for the picture.

Two questions that come to mind and both about the concept of playability of top and bottom tiers.

Can you comfortably play the top row?

Kneeling chairs, i assume that you’re referring to something like this:

Are you actually able to work on the bottom row for extended periods of time using a chair like this?

[normanion]

Hi!

My chair is orthopaedic one. I didn’t need one, but I got one as a gift when I was kid and I liked it so much that after few years of studying, I bought two - one for each space. Here is picture of mine. Sorry for quality, I took it at the heat of moment, in response to your comment.

To answer your question:

I can comfortably work on bottom and top rows. The two top rows are accessible only from standing position. The bottom row is accessible from that chair, as are second and third. Now the thing is, how I work and how I move. And another thought: I wouldn’t be able to do it with a chair like the one you showed.

One more thing. I am rather active person. I ride enduro MTB all year round, and do rather heavy ski touring during winter. And I exercise in between.

With this in mind. I am not sitting still in front of the gear. I am moving and am rather activated. Contrast that with sitting in chair, where one falls into state of relaxation, deactivating muscles and then standing up requires some additional work. This is what I referred to as “lazy ass like me”. Because when I sit comfortably, I don’t bother to move my back and ass front and up. When I use shown chair, bending over is very comfortable for the time that I tested. And when I need to stand up, my centre of mass is already between my legs, which I moved not minute ago (and I move it even more, when rhythm flow kicks).

But there is exception. When I want to work on single device. In that case for top two or bottom row, I simply am not even moving my chair closer, leaving it by the table. I just stand for prolonged time for the upper ones, or am sitting on floor for the bottom one.

And that’s it. In general: I find it comfortable, and there is added benefit of forcing good habits, like moving from time to time, which might go unnoticed for many people, who are just sitting while some civilisational diseases are creeping in.

Cordially,
Norman

[dreamspy]

Thank you for a detailed answer, and this thread is taking a turn I didn’t expect, but a very nice one!

I myself connect highly with what you just described. I am constantly moving around if there’s a beat going. It’s probably pretty interesting to see me in traffic, since I’m dancing most of the time while I drive and I do the same in the studio. But I must admit that the chair has been pulling me down. Might just get rid of it and try something like the one you mentioned!

I also consciously have decide to activate my body in a similar manner, looking at every day activity as a form of a workout or at least an opportunity to stretch, or practicing a good posture. And variety is the key here. So designing your studio in a manner that encourages movement and good postures in something to put some thought into.

One thing I might add to this thread, which is just partly related, but has proven to be a very helpful in the studio. And that is to use wheels on my most used gear. For me that’s the Push 3, but could just as well be any other sequencers, or mixers. This way I can drag my Push 3 around and use it as the main hub for recording, wherever I’m in the studio. Super handy. This is the unit that I’ve been using:

On-Stage MIX-400 V2 – Thomann International

[dreamspy]

Yes something like this is what I need… I’ll take a look into that laser cut thread. Thanks.

[Octagonist]

@dreamspy

So designing your studio in a manner that encourages movement and good postures in something to put some thought into.

My studio has the unofficial name of “The Last Stand” (it’s just a tiny room in my house). It’s both “well, if I don’t make myself do something with music now I never will” and “stop sitting down all the time”.

[Telantas]

Hello @RadioFantome, lovely setup! Out of curiosity, is that a 4R-105B with a 19-inch rack Inset (19" Einsatz 6 HE B) on the left, just below the 3rd tier?

[RadioFantome]

Hello @Telantas

Yes exactly. It works fine, you just have to rotate and open on both sides the bottom right T-Fittings so that the rack rests on the bar of the second tier.
One of the two aluminum tubes that come with the 19" inset remains unused.

[Telantas]

Amazing. That’s very useful to know, thanks!

[rklem]

@GovernorSilver

Thinking about a Jaspers stand as well to replace my Monoprice Stage Right. I’m considering a 4-tier model with casters.

Black Panther is a competitor to Jaspers. Looks like max 3 tiers though:

This looks similar to a K&M Omega 18810, which I have. It’s very sturdy and has many add-on options. One thing to consider with these kind of stands though is that the angles are very limited compared to Jaspers. When you stack synths, their knobs are always partially blocked by each other. With Jaspers you can mount them almost vertically, which takes more space, but most often works better imo.

[schoolbabyboy]

how about this classic rack at the Musical Instrument Museum in Scotsdale, AZ

[Telantas]

Another question about ypur nice setup @RadioFantome: I see your gorgeous SH-201 is at pretty much the lowest position allowed by the stand. Is that comfortable for playing it from a sitting position? (As you will have surmised, I am seriously thinking about buying a stand just like yours!)