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What studio?
My new studio!
When I moved down to the south cost just before lock down I was completely deflated about life. As many of you know, assuming that you watch the sister YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@TheMusicTechGuyUK/videos) I had just finished the legal side of my divorce and moved in with house mates down here as the lease on my little flat had run out.
But the consequences of moving here was that the studio which was there had to be packed up and moved to storage, which was initially were I use to live and then after we started to be allowed to move around a bit I rented space near my new home and over several weekends moved it all down here. But it was still packed up.
But then there was the hunt for a new space. I didn't have alot of spare cash and the spaces I found could only be described as poor. So I stopped looked and resigned myself to the temporay few keyboards in what I called the 'Goldfish' bowl in the house I was sharing.
And that is how it stayed until earlier this year.
And then things changed! Originally it was my intention to finish the renovations on the house I was living in and the with my new partner find somewhere that could accomadate my keyboard fettish. Then we looked at this house that we created and though we should actually enjoy it for a few years before moving somewhere else and potentially starting again. Plus both of use have been through a number of turblent years and having a bit of stability appealled. I am sure anyone that has been through a divorce or seperation after a long term relationship can appreciate where I am coming from.
The new studio was conceived!
Of course the decision to stay put for a while longer lead to the question what do I do about my studio, which while it is a hobby is actually rather important to me.
Do I leave the equipment in storage?
Do I sell it? Yes I did consider selling up and resigning myself to the fact that it might be no more!
And then some more research and some talks around the coffee table. (Many discussions i might add.) We put our heads together and wolla an idea was bourne. Why don't I build a space here.
My ex-would have never entertained the idea of building a space for me. That would have gone against her grain, her raison d'etre was at the end of our relationship to impede anything to do with my artistic leanings.
But this actually made a lot of sense.
I needed somewhere to do the day job that pays for my keyboard fettish. The world I work in is increasing becoming hybrid, 1 or 2 days in an office and the rest working from home.
Allowed me to actually get the keyboard, synths and other equipment out of storage so I could actually use it for its intended purpose. Making music 😉.
New studio build
So at the beging of March, 2024 we began to plot about how to build the new studio / work space.
The first thing we had to understand was did we need planning permission. As it turns out if the structure is not a permenant living space then the answer is no. Otherwise the answer would be yes.
So if it was going to fall inside permitted development what type of construction did I want. And as the home office arrangement is popular here in the UK at the moment there are a number of companies out there offering this type of space and delivery service.
I will do a blog that goes into the costs associated with getting my new space up and running. But what I will say is that the costs vary considerably based on whether you want to pay someone to bascially delivery the finished product or like me buy the different components from different suppliers. The costs also vary considerably based similar products. It is a bit of a minefield and I'd recomend you do your homework first.
I sat down a drew up a list of things that were 'musts' for the new studio space, and those that I could comprimise on.
For the new studio I choose a 44mm log cabin which measures 5m wide by 3m deep and a roof height at its shallowest point of 2.1m. This was a kit that came flat pack on a lorry at the beginning of May, 2024.
So here we are at the 3rd Week of June, 2024 with me sitting in my new studio space with 2 keyboards, studio monitors, mixers and a number of other synths and samplers wired in and ready to rock and roll. And of course the channels mascots 'Shaun the Sheep and 'Bertie Bunny' 😁.
More to follow.....
About the Author
Jon describes himself as a frustrated musician with a passion for the electronic instruments that help him and other musicians be creative. He started playing keyboards in his late teens and re-ignited his passion and built a new studio following his seperation.
About the Blog
The Music Tech Guy UK's Blog, Website and YouTube channel were started to share Jon's experiences and views on the industry at large and how these effect the small musician. Plus technical tips how to configure and maintain the equipment he owns.
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