Feeling cramped: need table for home studio

[MarkRhodes]

As you can see, I'm working in cramped quarters. This is the 'music room' in the condo I share with my wife. Knocked the mixer off the top of the file cabinet this morning (-not the first time) and felt like Groucho Marx in the movie "Room Service". "Room Service? Send up a larger room."
But there is no room service in my home, so...

I've been thinking I could use a library table. They're wide and sturdy. Also expensive but perhaps I can find one used.

Are there good alternatives I should consider?
This shows promise: Access Denied
Not as sturdy as a library table but it does have a tray for wires to run along, so they don't pool on the floor. That's a plus.

I'd prefer to spend under $300. But since this will be a long-term, daily-use item, the priority is something solid that I can't easily break.

[fep]

Given this is for your home studio, I would consider size first.

You may get reference speakers at some time and will want to create a near field triangle. My table/desk is 63" long, 32" deep, and has adjustable legs which I have so the table is 31" high. This is the minimum size that I want and I'm very happy with it, it's very sturdy. I'm thinking I got it at Ikea, but maybe it was Lowes or Home Depot. It's pretty simple, just a table with a sliding shelf for a keyboard and mouse.

I have a cheap drawer thing under on the right and under on the left some home built shelves.

[MarkRhodes]

Thanks, Frank. I like the adjustable leg idea. I think filing cabinets (2-drawer) are 26 inches high, so if one lays a formica countertop across two of those, it would make a sturdy table top but it would be too short for me to sit at comfortably.

31 inches sounds much better. That extra five inches would make a big difference. ("That's what she said!"---Wife and I have been watching "The Office" again.)

[fep]

I'm looking underneath, it's got steel reinforcement. Pretty sure I could stand on it, but I won't.

[MarkRhodes]

Looks sturdy enough. I wouldn't stand on it either and I'm a heavier fellow than you are. ;o)

I don't like things that go wobbly. Can you slap your hand down (ha!) on it without jarring coffee out of a cup?

[Esport]

When I had to set up a temporary sub station at a friends house, we used a hollow-core door sat on a pair of saw horses. It wasn’t much to look at but we had loads of space and the height was good. Not a small space solution but quick, cheap and easy to put up and break down.

This is the desk I’ve been using since 1993. It’s got a table top over two rolling racks with a second tier that sits directly on the table. Paid $150 used back in the day.

[fep]

Looks sturdy enough. I wouldn't stand on it either and I'm a heavier fellow than you are. ;o)

I don't like things that go wobbly. Can you slap your hand down (ha!) on it without jarring coffee out of a cup?

Shaken not spilt.

[TedBPhx]

Goodwill? St. Vincent de Paul? Or your local equivalent thrift store? Might find something that’ll do. It would be cheap.

[MarkRhodes]

Goodwill? St. Vincent de Paul? Or your local equivalent thrift store? Might find something that’ll do. It would be cheap.

I'll look. (I'm near a Goodwill and pop in there fairly often but haven't found anything yet. They usually have a few old desks, but those won't do.

[cosmic gumbo]

6 ft kitchen table is a fairly minimum standard size for organizing a home music work station.

[thelostboss]

I'll look. (I'm near a Goodwill and pop in there fairly often but haven't found anything yet. They usually have a few old desks, but those won't do.

A few years back I got a lot of good stuff from a computer retailer that was going out business and paid very little for it. I must admit that I now sometimes regret it with the amount of accumulated gear and crap that I have stacked on it. But you are probably smarter and better organized than I am.

[MarkRhodes]

6 ft kitchen table is a fairly minimum standard size for organizing a home music work station.

That could work. Similar to a rectangular library table. Cheaper, though, and easier to find in a thrift shop.

[AlsoRan]

When I had to set up a temporary sub station at a friends house, we used a hollow-core door sat on a pair of saw horses. It wasn’t much to look at but we had loads of space and the height was good. Not a small space solution but quick, cheap and easy to put up and break down.

This is the desk I’ve been using since 1993. It’s got a table top over two rolling racks with a second tier that sits directly on the table. Paid $150 used back in the day.

Those tiers look really useful! I will be keeping them in mind.

[Stevebol]

I got a table from Ikea and added a tier to it. Just a 12" wide X 6 feet long piece of pine 6"s high. I put monitors, the 22" display and some other things on the tier.
Lots of room.

[MarkRhodes]

I got a table from Ikea and added a tier to it. Just a 12" wide X 6 feet long piece of pine 6"s high. I put monitors, the 22" display and some other things on the tier.
Lots of room.

I've looked at Ikea stuff the past few days. It's priced right and everyone I know who has bought any Ikea stuff has said it was good and durable.
I can get a pine table for $79 that looks nice.

[Stevebol]

I've looked at Ikea stuff the past few days. It's priced right and everyone I know who has bought any Ikea stuff has said it was good and durable.
I can get a pine table for $79 that looks nice.

This might be the one I have. It's very sturdy. I don't recall why I spent so much when the same can be had for half the price;

BEKANT Desk, black stained ash veneer, black, 63x31 1/2" - IKEA



It was easy to add the tier. I took a look at Goodwill and Salvation Army first. No luck so, Ikea.

[MarkRhodes]

This might be the one I have. It's very sturdy. I don't recall why I spent so much when the same can be had for half the price;

BEKANT Desk, black stained ash veneer, black, 63x31 1/2" - IKEA



It was easy to add the tier. I took a look at Goodwill and Salvation Army first. No luck so, Ikea.

That Bekant is over 5 feet wide, which is a big plus. (Most tables I've seen under $100 are 4 feet wide. But I have a 2-drawer filing cabinet which has a flat surface I can keep a practice amp on.) Also, 31 inches high is nice. Many are 29 inches. Not a deal-breaking difference, but if you store some things under the table, it's just easier to get down there to get 'em out. ;o)
For us---those using this as a workstation-- appearance is secondary. (People want their dining table to look nice but no cares what a guitar player's workstation looks nice.)

I'm thinking one of these Ikea tables for around $80 bucks is in my future. I'll check Goodwill and the Salvation Army some more first, and I'll ask a supervisor at the library what happens to old tables when they buy new ones. A 3-piece band could jump up and down on those things and not cause a wobble.

[Woody Sound]

How wide do you want to go?

[Woody Sound]

Don't know how sturdy these are. I think they also com in light colored wood, and all black.

On-Stage Workstation Rosewood Black | Guitar Center

[MarkRhodes]

How wide do you want to go?

Four feet minimum, six feet maximum. (It's a small room...)
Adding tiers would be nice. I think it best to do like Steve and get a good table then add tiers as needed.

[Woody Sound]

Four feet minimum, six feet maximum. (It's a small room...)
Adding tiers would be nice. I think it best to do like Steve and get a good table then add tiers as needed.

I agree, if you're handy. Just stay away from those cheaper add-on pull-out keyboard trays. They are floppy and bouncy. But I have seem some nice sturdy ones at work.

[MarkRhodes]

Yesterday a thought popped into my head: the tables in my condo's clubhouse might be just the thing.
6 feet long.
Seat 8 (though I only want to seat one--me--at my workstation).
Only $55. (One can pay more and get something that looks woody.)



https://www.amazon.com/Best-ChoicePr...2602500&sr=8-2

[fep]

I'd go for the one that doesn't fold (unless you need it to fold). I think it might be more sturdy than the folding one and you don't have the crack in the middle.

You can adjust the height of this one: https://www.amazon.com/Office-Star-M...cd_asin_1&th=1

[MarkRhodes]

I'd go for the one that doesn't fold (unless you need it to fold). I think it might be more sturdy than the folding one and you don't have the crack in the middle.

You can adjust the height of this one: https://www.amazon.com/Office-Star-M...cd_asin_1&th=1

Right. I don't want one that folds in the middle. The legs fold in (if you need to move it.)

I'm now thinking I will order this tomorrow afternoon. The top is a bit slick, I think, but I could plop a desk calendar on it to give me a writing surface. Lot of room underneath this thing too!

[MarkRhodes]

Dang! Price of the table went up 10 bucks since yesterday---he who hesitates is gouged!