Hi guys, I was wondering what you do with the cables coming out of your synths to have space for more synths. I attached a pic of how my setup looks right now, I’d like to fit an octatrack or a syntakt behind the Digi boxes but the cables, midi box and converter bricks are in the way.
I’m guessing the easiest solution would be to get a stand of some sort with space under it? Any stand recommendations that are tall enough to have the power brick under them but not too tall? Either for a syntakt, an octatrack or just an 80ish centimeter wide wooden stand with an underspace to place several boxes on?
Alternatively as anyone drilled holes in their table to run the wires through? Is there some kind of attachable basket or compartment available to attach under tables for all the stuff I don’t need to reach for?
You look like you could use some right-angled cables! Also looks like you got plenty of desk space too!! lol
I think lots of people have drilled holes and some of them regret it because how many people do you know whose setup stays the same for long enough to make that useful in the long term?
If your studio is in it’s final form, sure that would work and look good but most people I know don’t have as much of a fixed setup and gear comes and goes or changes locations, so you have to consider the future before making permanent modifications.
Now I’m (re)set up I think I’m going to buy some shorter cables to replace the stupidly long ones trailing over the back of my desk to the pile on the floor. Got some 30cm midi cables for my TT-303 yesterday, cute!
I have one of those Ikea cable baskets attached to the underside of my desktop. All loose cables / slack / power bricks, get twist-tied and secured in that. It keeps cables off the floor so the robot vacuum can go where it needs to go.
I made some stands out of scrap wood for second-tier machines and the cables from first-tier machines can flow under those. Probably plenty of commercially available stands with room for cables underneath as well.
I definitely would not drill holes in the desktop just for cables to run through! As said above, setups change all the time. My desktop would look like Swiss cheese if I did that.
I have drilled two big holes (Hole saw drill bits required) in each corner of my table with foam inserts. Each hole has all the in/outs for any synth/instrument that I’m likely to use.
Each cable whether it be power/MIDI/audio has a label.
All cable tied using Velcro straps and aside from a few power cables they’re all plugged together into patchbay/mixer/audio interface.
I like clearing away all the synths n stuff almost as much as making music.
I use a few of these. They do not allow you to push them directly over the top of the cable connections, but there is enough clearance to allow the cables themselves to go underneath the front lip. It comfortably fits two Digi boxes, and the separation strip and sliding end pieces mounted to the front are optional, so it can take one larger unit.
The quality of the machining is reflected in the price, but once assembled they aren’t going anywhere.
Stack your stuff up, like already mentioned. You can buy feet that you can screw under a furniture panel for cheap at a hardware store or from places like Ikea or use these cheap angled steel plates with some foam rubber underneath (so they won’t scratch your desk and slide all over the place).
You can put some effects behind your Elektron boxes and have things like audio interface, midi routing boxes and usb hubs neatly tucked away under the shelves.
Building little shelves is so cheap and you can re-use the feet, drill new holes etc., you can always build new ones if your setup changes.
Here’s part of my gear stacked up, but I also have my Eurorack on a shelf. Even the H9 is on its own mini shelf lol.
