The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    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.

    Feeling cramped: need table  for home studio-home-studio-jpg

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  3. #2

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    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.
    Attached Images Attached Images Feeling cramped: need table  for home studio-20190420_080435-2-jpg 

  4. #3

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    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.)

  5. #4

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    I'm looking underneath, it's got steel reinforcement. Pretty sure I could stand on it, but I won't.
    Attached Images Attached Images Feeling cramped: need table  for home studio-20201009_085140-2m-jpg 

  6. #5

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    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?

  7. #6

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    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.
    Attached Images Attached Images Feeling cramped: need table  for home studio-da34784c-8195-48e3-8288-2981ad802d3d-jpg 

  8. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by 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?
    Shaken not spilt.
    Attached Images Attached Images Feeling cramped: need table  for home studio-bngjorz-jpg 

  9. #8

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

  10. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by TedBPhx
    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.

  11. #10

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

  12. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by MarkRhodes
    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.

  13. #12

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    Quote Originally Posted by cosmic gumbo
    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.

  14. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by 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.
    Those tiers look really useful! I will be keeping them in mind.

  15. #14

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    Feeling cramped: need table  for home studio-ikea-jpg


    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.
    Last edited by Stevebol; 10-10-2020 at 03:02 PM.

  16. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by 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.
    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.

  17. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by MarkRhodes
    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

    Feeling cramped: need table  for home studio-music-table-jpg

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

  18. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by Stevebol
    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

    Feeling cramped: need table  for home studio-music-table-jpg

    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.

  19. #18

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    How wide do you want to go?

  20. #19

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    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

  21. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by Woody Sound
    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.

  22. #21

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    Quote Originally Posted by MarkRhodes
    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.

  23. #22

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    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.)

    Feeling cramped: need table  for home studio-61k0czxwohl-_ac_ul115_-jpg

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

  24. #23

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    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

  25. #24

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    Quote Originally Posted by 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

    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!

  26. #25

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