Does your studio have windows or clocks?

[target_destroyed]

My "studio" (I use the term loosely) has two windows but I usually have the shades closed when I'm in there. No clocks other than the one on the computer. Never really thought about it before.

[Jesse Miller]

NO Clocks..........Big windows, but cover them when nessary.

[Yoozer]

I had the idea to put a nice big quartz clock in the studio. I quickly tossed it out again - every time the hand for the seconds moved a nice loud "click" could be heard.

Windows can play hell with acoustics and outside noise may bleed through - but daylight is nice.

[Beermaster]

Big windows all down one side

no Soundproofing

Does the trick for me.

[rogerbrain]

no windows .. clocks and cell phones not allowed

[bitman]

Here we are all blacked out with window plugs. It would be nice to let the sun in but then that would let the noise out.

As for a clock I put a 17" lcd on the wall in the tracking room and hooked it to a spare vga output on a computer in the control room. I run Bigfreeclock.exe on it. It remembers the last monitor it was run on so it every boot we have a nice big (silent) digital clock on the wall.

[Reptil]

no clocks - time is relative anyway (no I'm usually prompt for meetings )

[|-|]

Interesting replies so far...

I'd guess a 'client' based studio, windows and a clock would be nice. For getting musicians to pay attention to time. Time = $

In his terms, which is a personal project studio I can see a clock and windows affecting your work flow in a negative way.

No clock, live free and track however long you want without worries. I guess a window is a big clock in a way, when the sun starts going down/coming up you know roughly what time it is.

Been window and clock free for about 10-15 years now...

[Primativ]

Window oneside of the room. No clocks as I have one on my phone and my PC.

[fengland]

I can see the disadvantage of clocks but I definitely like windows.

[kilon]

Most if not all greek houses , have the front side be an entire window of made up of what we call "door windows" , doors made of glass that let the sun in.

For me having a view outside , be near nature in some way is my source of inspiration, without it I just cant write music. I also like to keep track of time , and schedule exactly my actions. So I try to follow a tight schedule. Have no clock on my walls all around my place, but I wear a CASIO Tough Solar to keep track of the time i spend , I try to improve my workflow all the time.

Here is the view from my Home /Studio









I could not exist in a room without windows, unless it was Microsoft Windows , the only windows i hate

[clusterchord]

no clocks. hate clocks and their clicks.


but love windows. im on the top of a small building, and have heavy duty iso/pvc windows so i pretty much dont hear much from outside. nothing that matters or disrupts... unless someone would storm down the street with 80mph, with a truck or formula one..


as far as internal acoustics in dont find em problematic.. i do keep one of them semi covered with a wideband trap at ear level.. it still gives me light, but maintain the RFZ balance, since i got a trap on the oposite side too.


low bass frequencies dont even "see" the windows and just pass thru. so if you havent got them in places where they create mid and high freq flutter and comb filtering, or terribly ruin the symetry of your mixroom.. your should be fine.



i cant live without light. thats why, when i was shopping for apt/studio space 2 yrs ago, i didn't look at basements at all, but only at penthouses .



nice pics Kilon.. inspiring indeed. reminds me a bit of our coast.. got similar view of the islands in front of my summerhouse..

[|-|]

Originally Posted by kilon

Most if not all greek house , have the front side be an entire windows of made up of what we call "door windows" , doors made of glass that let the sun in.

For me having a view outside , be near nature in some way is my source of inspiration, without it I just cant write music. I alos like to keep track of time , and schedule exactly my actions. So I try to follow a tigh schedule. Have no clock on my walls all around my place, but I wear a CASIO Tough Solar to keep track of the time i spend , I try to improve my workflow all the time.

Here is the view from my Home /Studio









I could not exist in a room without windows, unless it was Microsoft Windows , the only windows i hate

GORGEOUS view! I wouldn't get anything done, I'd be staring out the window all day

That's a vacation to me!

[ScoobyDoo555]

(French) windows and a clock for me. Windows look out over my English Countryside back garden. Sweet.

Nothing better than to open them in the morning and compose with a fresh cup of coffee. Yum.

Dan

[kilon]

Originally Posted by |-|

GORGEOUS view! I wouldn't get anything done, I'd be staring out the window all day

That's a vacation to me!

Well music inspiration by watching this view is like diarrhea , when it comes, I can barely hold it. stike

Seriously though, this is what charges my batteries, I just stare the sea for a few minutes and away I go to compose my music. So for me its unthinkable that this can be an obstacle to my music making.

Of course there are times that I just sit and enjoy the view. No reason to be creative all the time. This is my new home. In my previous home , the room where my equipment was , did not have this kind of view. I could only see the house next to me. And that was killing my inspiration , but again luckily , I had a room like this one , a penthouse , on the roof (on top of the floor of my studio /home) where I could see the entire city of Athens, and even Acropolis, Parthenon.

It was a dream for me to live near the sea, moved this november and cant wait for summer to waste my time at the beach.

If I was a pro ambient artist, I would spend most of my time, travelling around the world, seeking the coolest places for inspiration, from Africa to Antartica (The artist Biosphere is doing this, I think he recorded one of his albums at Antartica ). I would probably have made a portable studio that I could carry around me all the time. That would be the ideal way for keeping my creative juice flowing. And I am thinking of doing this at some point.

There is nothing I could not do with a laptop like my macbook air and few soft synth. Sitting on a rock near a beatch or under the shade of a tree near a river and compose my music.

This how the ancient musicians done it (or at least this how I imagine them doing it ), this how I like to do it as well. For now I have a macbook air, a microsampler and a zoom h4n for sampling, oh and an ipad. All of them could fit easily in a backpack. All I am waiting is good weather as all this sensitive equipement is far from waterproof and the weather here is still very cloudy.

[henryrobinett]

No windows or clocks. That's the studio-studio. The home studio has both.

[Bumply]

My god Kilon, what a view. I could only wish.

My studio is small boxy room in a house built in Los Angeles in 1958, with windows looking out onto a suburban street. I close them. Neighbors walking dogs and peering in at me is a bit weird.

And no clocks. I like it dark and timeless.

[seen-da-sizer]

Originally Posted by kilon

Most if not all greek houses , have the front side be an entire window of made up of what we call "door windows" , doors made of glass that let the sun in.

For me having a view outside , be near nature in some way is my source of inspiration, without it I just cant write music. I also like to keep track of time , and schedule exactly my actions. So I try to follow a tight schedule. Have no clock on my walls all around my place, but I wear a CASIO Tough Solar to keep track of the time i spend , I try to improve my workflow all the time.

Here is the view from my Home /Studio

<GREAT PHOTOS>

I could not exist in a room without windows, unless it was Microsoft Windows , the only windows i hate

Beautiful view, Kilon! Don't you worry about humidity?

That's why I choose a place as far as possible from the water. No windows and clocks in my studio. Who needs a clock when there is one right on the computer screen. Having no windows has three reasons: A) It was the only room at my place that was suitable for the studio. B) Does not disturb the neighbors as much. C) I live in a somewhat rough neighborhood and I don't want people to see what's in my house. I have been burglarized before at a different place. Back then I got lucky that the thieves didn't check the basement where the studio was. But still I lost three of my most beloved and very valuable bass guitars. Therefore I am a little paranoid in this area. Really would love to have windows, because my view rocks too!

[modularjack]

Personally I need windows so I can see outside. Dunno if it's necessarily inspiration or just because it's so depressing to sit in a dark room when it's nice outside. I like to look out and at least see the sunshine and remember I can get up and go if I start getting burnt out. But yeah no clocks other than the one on the PC.

Originally Posted by kilon

Here is the view from my Home /Studio

Nice view Kilon!

That reminds me of home. I'm from the Mediterranean too (Mallorca) and living in Mexico right now.

This used to be the view from my studio back in the island


From the living room (now the studio) (now the living room again) - a set on Flickr

[seen-da-sizer]

Originally Posted by Pier

This used to be the view from my studio back in the island

WOW!

Originally Posted by |-|

A very high level well respected DJ/Producer friend of mine swears by a studio having no windows or any clocks to tell time.

I've tried to stay with that mentality and any windows that I've encountered I've blacked out.

Anyone else follow this strange rule?

Just curious...

You know, I have to agree with your friend. Isolation is a plus when writing music IMO. I hate it when I spend the whole night working on something, and then sun comes up, noise from the city starts, and no concentration is possible anymore. I think that is why I prefer working at night, or maybe it's just because I'm a vampire

I also think it's good if you can leave that isolation every few hours.

[Mardi Gras]

I cant write music in a dark cave. The blinds in my room are drawn all the time.

[alexp]

Kilon and Pier what amazing views you guys have! Lucky!


I have no windows, and no clocks. Most of the time I have no lights either, as Im all candle powered after sundown! Makes a really intimate and cozy space, and I just feel super creative in that environment



alexP.

[FlametopFred]

I've had every sort of studio

and really have been lost for hours, days even, in studios with no clocks, no windows

last studio was an attic space with one window that looked out onto other roofs. That was a nice, cozy space

current space is drafty basement with open ductwork
there is natural light but the windows are far away

I have clocks, but they are up and out of view - - only if I need to be aware of time (like to go get something) do I ever view

studio time ... stands still when everything is going just right

[PaPi61]

Huh? Isn't a clock in pretty much every computer? Yeah, you can hide it, but if you need it, it's there...

[The MPCist]

It would be nice to work without any time constraints but how is that possible these days with all the deadlines, work meetings, etc.....

And I LOVE windows. Absolutely important for me!

[Diametro]

Drawing the blinds, to me, is context sensitive; it means the opposite of how they are ...

For instance, in Dangerous Liaisons, Michelle Pfieffer says, "Draw the curtains" when they are open. The nurses close them. To draw means to pull or drag, so it can mean either.

Also, I've read and heard more than once -- although it's probably a contrarian viewpoint -- that having a beautiful view can hamper inspiration and creativity because why do you need to create anything beautiful when it's right there in front of you ... ??? Also, that scenic imagery is very strong and specific. It can make it difficult to imagine and create a diverse array of conflicting scenes and situations, which is our job as artists.

When you are creating, you should be focused creation and your tools ... A real artist should be able -- and perhaps is more capable -- in a less specific environment ...

I'm not sure how I really feel about that ... but what I'm saying is don't despair if you have not a possibly distracting five-star view ... it may be helping you more than you know ...

And yes, I have one small digital clock that needs to be picked up to view, and another analog one behind me ... Neither tick ... However, the rest of the house is a practically a clock museum ... The overlapping chimes and tick-tocking analog synchronicity is very complex and strangely soothing ...

A window to the side with a view of trees deciduous and palmed ... But the blinds are usually down ... or the louvers slightly raised ...

To me, a nice breeze and a comfortable temp as well as a clean, healthful and tidy environment are more important to my workflow and state of mind as an artist ...

[kilon]

Originally Posted by seen-da-sizer

Beautiful view, Kilon! Don't you worry about humidity?

Humidity ? are you joking that the least of my problems.

As you can see I leave near of the top of rather small mountain. But there is a problem, the area there makes a cone shape are which has the effect of concetrating clouds. Concetrating clouds equals to alot of lighting strikes very near my house even on top of it . In the last lighting strike everything balcked out.

When I turned the main power back on, I realised that none of my equipment was burned (I was about to disconnect when I realised that a storm was coming but the storm left me no time to react).

However Andromeda did something very weird. All notes were not only detuned but some notes even had the same pitch . 1 st Wtf. the Second WTF was that it was as if the ringmodulator was on, there was some very weird disortion coming out of the synth. But fortuntally a retune reset was all it needed to return back to normal.

Another thing I learned after that made me terrified, is that the cable that passes through the house that suppose to send the lightining from the roof to the earth underground does not go to earth because when the house was build for technical reason it was not possible for the cable ( I blame the stupidity of the builders personaly) to reach earth. So that means I am completely naked against ligthing .

Of course for years now I always unplug my equipment from main power by bringing everything to one plug which i remove in one move. But , the storms in my new home are not only strong but quite sneaky.

The possitive thing about the cone shaped are is that the sound of the lighting is reflecting in the side and amplified. So when it goes boom with a lightining strike it really goes BOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!

Next time I am going to record and upload it with my zoom .

Originally Posted by Pier

Nice view Kilon!

That reminds me of home. I'm from the Mediterranean too (Mallorca) and living in Mexico right now.

This used to be the view from my studio back in the island


From the living room (now the studio) (now the living room again) - a set on Flickr

Ok seeing this AMAZING view inspires me to write an ambient medieval song with church bells ....

Originally Posted by alexp

Kilon and Pier what amazing views you guys have! Lucky!


alexP.

I will post some more photos when I have the time, during a sunny day, its even better.