Mix/Produce while standing?

[audibleobsession]

Unfortunately I'm not one of the lucky few who get to make a living off music. I've got a desk job where I sit all day staring at a monitor. I'm finding that I'm less interested in creating music because by the time I get home my ass and eyes are tired.

I'm looking after the eyes part through control surface integration into my setup, but my ass is growing bigger every day. I'm feeling an every growing urge to stand up and make music, dance around when a part is rocking, get interactive with it.

I'm curious, has anyone else out there experienced this? If so, have you implemented a waist level work station? Any pictures would be a great help!

[Glenn Kuras]

No I don't have any pictures and please don't post any of yourself in action.

All kidding aside there is no reason you can't have a desk that is higher.

[cborg]

Haha, I always jump around in my small projectstudio! Sitting down at the piano and with the guitar or standing up (or jumping about) mostly otherwise.
So you're not alone in that aspect. Don't have any real solution for you though.

My workspace is for sitting but I've also got some small USB control surfaces which I can move about for both sitting down and standing up.
Still thinking about a solution for easily rasing or lowering a keyboard in front of the worktable. I could easily put any of my controllers on top of the keyboard then.
Now I have keyboards in height for standing up to the left and right of the main table.

The keyboardist in NIN had a pretty nice solution for moving the keyboard about on stage. That would've worked for me but I never found a similar stand or know how to build one.

[audibleobsession]

Thanks for the input guys. Definitely something I need to explore further. Ergonomics/human factors is very interesting! FYI, I built a Charlie Clouser type keyboard stand for live use a few years back, was a blast!! I think I still have my schematics somewhere. Cheers.

[cborg]

Originally Posted by audibleobsession

FYI, I built a Charlie Clouser type keyboard stand for live use a few years back, was a blast!! I think I still have my schematics somewhere. Cheers.

Cool! Gimme gimme gimme!
Would love to see if I could use that in my studio somehow. And if I could actually build it.

[darkbuddha]

Plus there may actually be other benefits to standing... I had a comp prof that insisted on standing while working, whether while composing or mixing/producing. He said it helped him stay focused and to work efficiently because his feet would start hurting after an hour or so. I guess foot pain was his motivation to get done what he was trying to get done.

Also, I suspect there may be acoustic advantage to a taller (standing height) setup. My personal sitting height places my ears right around 48" high... exactly at the midway point between the floor and ceiling in my 96" high room. I do notice that the quality of sound in the room is different (and perhaps preferable sometimes) above and below my current height. Just a thought...

[JoRillo]

Originally Posted by darkbuddha

Plus there may actually be other benefits to standing...

It also increases blood flood (moving around, not so much standing), which keeps you awake, and helps keep your brain in action longer. I would definitely say standing improves my writing. Also keeps me off gearslutz.

[audibleobsession]

I'm glad others agree. Which begs the question why more of us haven't gravitated towards a standing workstation?

[Glenn Kuras]

Originally Posted by audibleobsession

I'm glad others agree. Which begs the question why more of us haven't gravitated towards a standing workstation?

Try standing for 8 to 10 hours.

[JoRillo]

Originally Posted by audibleobsession

I'm glad others agree. Which begs the question why more of us haven't gravitated towards a standing workstation?

Standings really fun... until you want to sit down....

A semi-low desk with chair is still usable when you stand up, a desk designed for someone standing is hardly usable for someone sitting down.

[darkbuddha]

I do eventually plan to do either a counter or bar height desk for exactly this reason. The older I get (and I'm only 39... 39 going on 70), I find that sitting or standing for long periods both cause problems.

BTW...

Originally Posted by JoRillo

Standings really fun... until you want to sit down....

A semi-low desk with chair is still usable when you stand up, a desk designed for someone standing is hardly usable for someone sitting down.

This is why a bar height desk would be good... you can stand at it, or sit at it with a good bar stool... and there are some bar stools you can sit at for hours (and get ).

[audibleobsession]

That's the idea! There's some super nice bar level swivel computer chairs out there. This typs of setup is common place in labs.

[junya-eskimo]

ehe

you can try building a standing chair thing..kind of angled backwards so not all the weight was on your feet..

Then have your speakers angled down a bit with chains on the ceilng..Build a table that has a little lip before all the things on it so they dont slide off.

but have the mouse area flat. soo its eazy... maybe a little table at hand hieght..

You'd save a fortune on early ceiling reflections..ehheehhe

[thenomad]

Originally Posted by audibleobsession

I'm glad others agree. Which begs the question why more of us haven't gravitated towards a standing workstation?

I've actually been looking in to this for a little while now and options are minimal and the prices start from $500 for a decent stand up desk but go up to thousands. I have a back injury and sitting at a desk kills, and standing is much healthier. I looked on craigslist to find a local woodworker and he said he could build me a basic desk ("30W X "55L X "45H), a drawer and strong legs, all of hard maple for about $400 usd. Sounds like the way to go. I'm going to see how much extra to alter a couple things such as raising my iMac off the desk and have a rack stand on each side of the iMac. Do you think that sounds decent?

Originally Posted by Glenn Kuras

Try standing for 8 to 10 hours.

Stools work great.

[deegodbe]

you could build a custom desk with pneumatic legs and when you feel like standing up you could raise the whole desk with a button.
I think it wouldn't be too cost efficient but who cares

[thenomad]

Originally Posted by deegodbe

you could build a custom desk with pneumatic legs and when you feel like standing up you could raise the whole desk with a button.
I think it wouldn't be too cost efficient but who cares

I looked at these self raising desks whether it was electric raising, shock, or manual, they were roughly starting at $1200 and was going well over $3k (USD) for just a flat top and legs. There weren't any drawers, shelves, racks, or anything. Crazy if you ask me. I think it would be best to find a local who could help you design what would suit you and your budget so you get what you want while supporting your local businesses. I'm eager to hear if you've decided something. I'll post mine once it is custom made.

[vespiz]

Arjen Anthony Lucassen ("Ayreon") works in his studio standing up and he's tall!
There are some vids on YouTube from his studio while he's working.

[darkbuddha]

As a composer, I've used drafting tables as composition tables in the past, one of which was very tall (bar height or near). Kinda wish I'd kept it, but it was so big and heavy and couldn't bring with when we moved a few moves back. Depending on one's needs, such a desk could be just the thing, and can be found fairly cheaply.