I was getting some pictures ready for the instruments topic and then I realised I’d be quite interested in seeing what sort of space people are working in.
Here’s mine: “The Broom-Cupboard”.
It’s the 3rd bedroom in a standard UK “3 up, 2 down” terraced house. We’re actually “end of terrace” so the speakers are on an outside wall not someone else’s bedroom!
Although it’s the 3rd bedroom, it’s a “box room” size really. Years ago, on another website I started talking about “the latest from the broom cupboard” and the name kind of stuck. I ought to put a plaque on the door really (and we ought to decorate the hallway too… we’ve been here 10 years!!):
Open the door, to reveal this magical space:
Step inside, you find this:
If you’ve heard me refer to the “shoe box” of old songs on sheets of A4, it’s actually several box files. And there it is: the yellow and red ones you can see nearest us on the top shelf are two of them.
From the window, with the door shut, the broom cupboard it looks like this:
The other red box file on the left contains instruction manuals for gear currently in use.
Sat in my chair, you get this view (or similar!):
It actually feels BIGGER, more spacious, and more like a cave than this photo implies (taking photographs is not listed on my CV as a skill!)
Since Covid, I’ve been working at home. Luckily, I’d upgraded the desk and so on - so I have plenty of space to clear the deck for music or work… My organisation has realised we’re more efficient/effective working at home - so we’ve changed our working practices permanently. I can use the old 2-3 hours commute time for music related activity!! (Lying on the sofa downstairs sleeping in front of daytime TV)
The above pic was taken during “music work” rather than “work work” or actually creating any music (I was mastering some old recording, that’s what’s going on on the laptop screen, Edith Finally Gets It, I think).
The software is PreSonus Studio One Professional.
The interface, to the right of the laptop, is a PreSonus STUDIO 68c.
Far right is a Yamaha MG12/4 mixing desk. Everything (keyboards, modelling guitar amps, etc) excepts mics go into that and then into the interface.
The monitors are a recent replacement - Adam Audio T7Vs - they are incredible for mixing and mastering. I don’t mind them for listening either.
The laptop is sat on top of my main recording guitar amplifier, a Yamaha THR 100HD.
The keyboards are behind me:
DIdn’t feel I could leave this out… It’s not part of the studio anymore now, but this little beastie did some VERY hard work for over 10 years:
That’s my old BOSS BR1600 when it was waiting for its trip to the loft a couple of months back. Between 2010 and 2020 (last one was Silver Pillow) I recorded, mixed, and mastered everything on this little box.
Then a month or two ago I discovered I could make the original stereo mixes sound SO MUCH better now (more like what I’d actually mixed 
). So I had to unpack it again and spent a couple of weeks getting the old CD backups on to the beast and then exporting the original pre-mastering mixes.
I’m remastering all these old ones at the moment. It’s a bit of an eye opener. I probably won’t record anymore new stuff until I’ve done that (there’s plenty getting written downstairs on acoustic, though).
