I have a workflow problem. It’s a simple workflow problem, but it has a big effect on my musical work.
My desk and MIDI keyboard stand are arranged in an L shape. Now turn that L 90 degrees clockwise, so it looks like an r. Yeah, like that. The top of the r is where my keyboard is, the stem is where my monitors, mouse, keyboard, etc. are. If I want to work at the keyboard and go through patches, I have to cross my right arm over my left to get to the mouse. (It’s a right-handed mouse– it doesn’t work well with the left hand, and I’m right-handed to boot.)
This makes it really uncomfortable to patch-surf or fiddle with anything on the computer while messing with the keyboard at the same time, and I can’t just dump my MIDI keyboard on the desk and use it that way, because the computer keyboard, mouse, and graphics tablet get in the way.
So I had a think.
If I had a stand, and could tuck everything under the monitors, life would be easier. I could plop the keyboard on the desk, and adjust away while looking at the screen. I checked Amazon, and saw a few stands, but nothing really excited me enough to drop $100 on it. Then I read a comment by one guy, who said he got some wood and screws and made it himself.
What a brilliant idea!
I went by the local lumber yard today and picked up some pine boards for about $30, plus some screws and glue for another $5. We’ll see how it goes.