this is the biggest redesign of my studio since I began this YouTube
channel. the desk, the keyboards, the synths, the interfaces, microphones. the whole
setup is new. this is the next chapter. two years in the making.
welcome to Sanjay C's Studio 2.0!
do you remember what the old setup looked like? here's the before and after.
Wow it's incredible! today I'll share all the gear, all the changes I've made to
optimize this space for creativity. watch until the end because after I go over
all the music gear, I'll share some of the cool gadgets, the non music gear as
well. things like USB hubs, voice control power outlets, lighting, and more. I spent
months planning this new setup and I think the stuff I've chosen will help
your studio setup as well. I'll put links to everything in the video description.
if you're new around here I'm Sanjay C. you'll find music production tips,
tutorials, and gear reviews on my channel. consider subscribing because there are
some exciting things coming soon. also, follow me on Instagram because you won't
want to miss my biggest giveaway ever coming really soon. alright, let's get
started with the biggest change. the desk. it's not just a normal desk. it's got
some hidden amazing features. the desk is by Monkwood Studio. Monk, the guy who
created this has built desks for famous artists and composers like Ryan Tedder
from One Republic, James Hetfield from Metallica, Tori Kelly, and so many others.
I visited his workshop recently. don't miss that video. it's the last one that I
posted. this desk is huge with lots of space on top and it fits an 88 key
keyboard in the drawer. I've got the Native Instruments S88 Mk2 in here.
I love the S series workflow and the keys feel excellent. and right above it, a
super thin secret drawer for my Roli Seaboard Rise! on top Monk built 2
removable racks that hold three units each. having the racks movable makes it
easy to get to the cables in the back and even move them off the table for
filming. one of my favorite features of this desk is that it's sit-stand.
controls in the front raise the desk to standing height. really helps with
fatigue and back problems. this chair is new too. it's by Laura Davidson. excellent
and super comfortable. under the desk there is a hidden shelf for cables. I've
actually got three large surge protectors back there. there's tons of
space. the desk is backlit with colored lights. more on that later in this video.
you'll notice that I haven't set my studio monitors on the desk. I have them
on floor stands. having them on the desk would actually improve the listening
experience, but I really prefer having the extra space for more gear. my new
studio monitors are the Barefoot Footprint 01.
they replace my Presonus Eris 4.5s and my Presonus T8 subwoofer. but
hey I still highly recommend those Presonus monitors. I love mixing with
those. the Barefoot's are bigger, badder, and much more expensive. but they've got
a really cool feature too! this little knob here lets you change the sound of
the speaker to mimic other speakers. a hi-fi consumer stereo, the standard flat
Barefoot monitor sound, the old-school Yamaha NS10 sound, or even the sound
of small cube speakers. I need to use it a bit more before I give it a real
review. okay so moving those monitors out makes a lot more room for gear. let's go
over everything from right to left. first right here I've got the Arturia MiniBrute
synth. this is a mono synth with an excellent thick sound. love this for
bass or leads. you'll see and hear more of it in the future.
below the Minibrute I've got the LA2A compressor. this is an industry standard
in pro studios, but this one is special. it was owned by Ben Folds, one of my
all-time favorite artists. I purchased it at an auction on Reverb.com and I got
it for the same price as other used LA2As. but it's so much more special
because Ben Folds used it. all right in front of the LA2A I've got the Prophet 6
by Sequential Circuits. when I tried this synth for the first time in my
local music store, I knew I had to have it! I've made a couple videos about it. I
even have a video showing how to control Omnisphere with it. check it out over
here. alright let's move to the left of the desk. on top I've got my Neumann
NHD20 headphones. next to the headphones I've got the Native
Instruments Maschine Mk3. this is one of only 100 orange Maschines in the world!
alright in the rack below I've got some really important gear. let's start from
the bottom. I've got the Universal Audio Apollo 8 audio interface. great preamps. I
highly recommend these or even the smaller Apollo
Twins. the preamps, the plugins all top-quality. but one problem - I didn't
have enough inputs for my keyboards and synths. so I added the Arturia AudioFuse
8Pre as well. the AudioFuse is an 8 input audio interface with tons of
features on its own. but I have it connected to the Apollo with an optical
cable so that I can control all changes from the Apollo Console. these two
interfaces together give me 16 inputs! right above the Arturia AudioFuse I've
got the BAE 1073 MP preamp. this preamp seems to make every mic sound cleaner
and clearer. it surpassed all my expectations. it's modeled after the
famous Neve 1073 but many people say the BAE version is better than the Neve.
I've never owned the Neve so I can't really say. but it sounds amazing to me.
over to the left I've got my mic arm. this is the Rode PSA1 mic arm. link in
the description. right now I've got the Peluso P12 microphone on it. the P12 is a
condenser microphone. I'm testing out this one for now and we'll see what
comes in the future. all right in front of the rack I've got the Arturia Microfreak
connected right now. I actually saved this space for any random gear I'm
testing or playing around with. so I have an input cable and a USB cable to
connect any gear. the biggest change to my setup these days is just having
everything connected. I've never had this! for all my previous videos I've had to
disconnect one thing to connect another because of space or limited inputs. now
it's all connected. it's just a dream come true! the moment I get an idea I can
start playing with anything. speaking of which, I finally connected my other
keyboards. to the left of my studio desk I've got the Rhodes Mark 1 stage piano
connected and ready to play. right above that I have my Roland Juno 106. the Juno
is MIDI connected to the MOTU Fastlane MIDI to USB converter.
finally to the left I've got the Solina String Ensemble and a Casio CZ101. the
Solina is a vintage keyboard that makes string sounds. this one is special
because it was owned by the Eagles and they actually used it on tour and in one
of their music videos! by the way, if you're enjoying this video, hit the like
button and if you have any questions about any of the gear here leave it in
the comments below. alright let's talk about some of the non music gear that's
holding all this together. I'm gonna go over the computer monitors, USB hubs,
laptop docks, and lots more. I've even got a trick for sequencing the power of
different devices. my computer is a 2018 MacBook Pro 13 inch. this is a 2.7
GHz i7 with 16 gigabytes of RAM and a 2 TB hard drive. it's docked
on a Henge Docks dock. I love the Henge dock simply because there's no fiddling
around with cables when I connect the laptop. the Henge dock is connected to a
USB-C hub - the CalDigit TS3. it allows me to connect multiple displays, USB, and
even charges the MacBook. link in the description. connected to the USB-C hub
is the Anker AH241 USB hub for all my other USB gear. it's lasted me a long
time and I highly recommend it. I've got two displays connected. the one that's
on my desk is an LG 29 inch ultra wide display. sitting on top of my monitor I
have the BenQ Screenbar Plus which adds some light to the desk. it really helps
my eyes at night. it's very sleek, you don't even know it's there, and it runs
off USB. you can set the light temperature more yellow or more white
with this dial. it's also got an ambient light sensor that automatically sets it.
it's a little expensive at $130 for a desk light, but BenQ also makes a
$99 version without the dial. still a bit expensive but if price is not an
issue for you I'd recommend it. so even though this is my main monitor, having a
second monitor has made an even bigger difference. above my desk is something
you've seen in a lot of my previous videos. it's The Frame by Samsung. it's a
65 inch TV / art display. and most of the time this just displays artwork behind
me when I'm talking to the camera like this. but now finally I get to use it as
a second monitor! boom! when I don't need it, I can just select a piece of artwork or a
beautiful photograph and I've got instant vibes.
oh it's also a TV but it hardly ever gets used as a TV. I sequenced the turning
on and off of all my gear to avoid speaker pops. you see, if your speakers
are on and then you turn on your interface, you may get a loud pop sound
that's not only hard on your ears, but could also damage your speakers. to
prevent this, I've used a couple of Gosund Wi-Fi outlets. they're super
cheap - $25 for four. They're Alexa compatible, so I've programmed
Alexa to start up two different Gosund outlets in sequence. all I have to say is
"start studio" and the audio interface and all the other components start up. then
Alexa waits another 10 seconds before powering up the speakers and a few other
components. when I say "stop studio" the reverse happens. the speaker's turn off
first and then the rest of the gear. magic! all right to help create a
pleasant and inspiring atmosphere in my studio, I've added some colored lighting.
the desk is framed with Philips Hue Light Strips as well as the Hue Bloom
behind the headphones. in the ceiling I've also got Hue lights.
I need my color scenes by city so Barcelona is my favorite. that's what
you're looking at now. but Tokyo is pretty cool too... and Dubai. when I film at
night I can actually turn the bulbs to a white daylight hue so that I get
consistent color in these videos. this redesign was not only done to help with
my music creation workflow, but to help make better videos. the desk provides
much more space to test and film gear and the wood color makes for a better
background compared to my previous black desk. it's gonna be easier for you all to
see the gear that I'm filming. that's it! that's my new studio tour 2020. of course,
things are going to evolve and you can be around to watch it. don't forget to hit
the like button and subscribe. keep making the music you love! and I'll see
you guys later! I gotta go make some music!