JEFF LAITY

Now that the bookcases are done, my next project is a new desk. Not just any desk, but the coolest desk ever. Better than the president: because my desk will have built-in synthesizers.

This is my first plan for the desk. On the left are two equipment racks, the blue boxes. Above this will be a small to large mixer, TBA. Built into the desk will be a MIDI controller keyboard. The orange block represents my chair. The trickiest bit will be getting the two racks to merge together. They’re on an angle to each other, and the rack fronts are also angled. So I’ll need to design an upside-down-triangle piece to fill the gap between them.

This is a semi-recent shot of my setup. The layout will remain roughly the same. But I’ll gain a desk to write on and a place to put my knees.

This iis the setup of another composer, Jeff Rona. Note that the keyboard is recessed into the desk so that the keybed level is slightly below the desk. Computer and video monitors are in front. This desk design is common for film composers, something I aspire to do more of.

Another composer’s desk, Mark Isham. He has much cooler synthesizers than I do, but my desk will still be cooler.

Hans Zimmer’s desk. OK, I’ve set the bar too high. Mine will be the 2nd coolest desk.

In my design, I planned on keeping my computers to the right of the desk as I’ve done in the past. But today I saw this desk, and now I’m considering building a soundproof cubby for my computers. It would need exhaust fans on the back, but I’ve seen this done before. It might be getting too big, though. Currectly I have it so that the desktop can be made of a single 4×8 sheet of plywood. Perhaps the isolated computer cabinet will be a second project to replace the file cabinet that’s mostly there to hold up my printer.

So far I’m in the sketchbook phase, next I’ll start on the rack. But maybe not until after the rainy season.

More to come…