(Not sure where to post this but yeah...)
Hi! Right off the bat, my current studio setup is so-so. The biggest thing that sticks out is that the desk I currently use is a corner desk with shelves, which really really limits my space. This is my current studio setup. I've also been told that the corner traps bass, and I don't want that. Basically, my setup is cramped and inefficient at the moment.
I saw a lot of people who built their own studio desks. I thought this was a good idea, as it would cost MUCH less money than a company made one (try ~$150 vs $2500) and I could customize it to my needs. Nothing too huge, nothing too small!
Now, I have no skill whatsoever in carpentry or woodworking. Hence, I've had help with this project. I've already started building and and staining the wood, so I'm a little bit in the project already. (Note this isn't a "how to," but rather just me showing you what I'm up to.)
Ok, so I want the desk to be aprox. 7'x3'x3'. This will give me plenty of space for most of my junk. I debated making shelving units underneath for rack-mount systems. I ended up not doing this because of stability, and for the fact that I don't even own any rack modules. The legs I wanted to be sturdy and stable. Though it's not much to look at, I ended up going with 4 3' long 4x4s, cross supported by 2x4s. I felt like it would be the easiest to work with and most stable.
The Finished Legs
Supports
My first choice for the material was particle board. I liked the way it looks and thought it would be good to work with. However, I was told that it was heavy and harder to work on. I ended up going with plywood. Well, I would have gone with plywood if I could find any. Luckily I found boards that both looked nicer and were perfectly smooth. They were 12"x8', so all I needed was to get 4 (one for the monitor/ speaker shelves) and cut off a foot from 3 of them! I pieced them together and connected them with 3 2x4s
Unfinished Desk Top (2x4s underneath)
The boards aren't 100% even, but I'm hoping that once I put the legs on it should straighten them out. Again, I would have rather gotten one solid piece, but I wasn't able to get one in the size and quality I needed.
I will have a monitor shelf up above with room for both a monitor and my laptop, and 2 speaker shelves that are a little higher than the monitor shelf. I will also have a drawer slide for my keyboard, rather than my keyboard/mouse and graphics tablet. I don't use it all that much, so putting it underneath would be a big space-saver!
I'll update as I work on this. If you're curious about any of this, just ask!