Music Production Workspaces

The environment in which you are operating can have a significant influence on both inspiration and workflow. For a studio, it’s important to have some degree of acoustic treatment simply to enable yourself to accurately hear what’s in the mix, but the impact of the workspace itself is an interesting topic to consider. A couple of sites have compiled records of various artists’ workspaces…

Taking Out The Trash

Over in the USA, Trash Audio have a list of artists (not all in the US) who have provided photos of their workspaces, some background information about their work, their favourite hardware/software, and thoughts on what they would consider an ideal workspace (presuming that they don’t already have it – which, unless they happen to be Peter Gabriel, is probably the case).

The collection provides an interesting insight into where producers are currently plying their trade, with studios running the gamut from big city pads to rural retreats, small software-centric setups to monstrous modular hardware caverns. Below we see the DIY stylings of Magnetic Stripper’s production home.

Musical Rooms

Closer to home, Sinead Gleeson’s Musical Rooms is a collection of artistic workspaces which has recently reached number 102 with the addition of Hunter Gatherer‘s bedless bedroom studio.

Although artists undoubtedly do put their personal stamp on their workspaces, the workspace itself is often imposed upon them by circumstance and necessity. One of the great things about modern computer-based production technology is that we don’t need a custom-built studio to get musical ideas down to ‘tape’ anymore. So, bedrooms, spare rooms, attics, basements – even sitting on the bus or the subway – are now viable music production spaces. Of course, the equipment we use and the environment we operate in does influence what we produce; but it’s better to work with what you have than spend time wishing for a ‘big room’. And for inspiration, a break in the park/forest/countryside is always an option too, when the city becomes too hectic…

Just to round out the post, I’ll include a shot of my current workspace. It’s basically a spare room converted into a studio, and although it doesn’t have an inspiring view of the Blue Ridge mountains, it’s certainly more than enough to get some tunes together…