Post by: Bender Mastering on December 08, 2010, 01:07:50 PM
I finally have the chance to move to a new room on my house, specially built for this purpose.
My question is related to working at home, is it hard? Don't you get tired being all day at home? How have you dealt with this issue in the beginning? And what about the distractions?
Please share your experiences...
Post by: MoreSpaceEcho on December 08, 2010, 01:37:10 PM
being home all day doesn't bother me at all...if you're the type who gets a little stir crazy you can always go for a walk or something.
Post by: Thomas W. Bethel on December 08, 2010, 04:15:00 PM
I have been doing the working at home gig for 15 going on 16 years. I would not trade if for the rat race of driving into the city everyday.
I have four interns working here so it is never dull.
Do it you will not be disappointed.
Post by: carlsaff on December 08, 2010, 06:12:50 PM
True, I have to shut my family out to an extent to get work done... but as soon as I am done, I'm right there with them. It's the best.
Post by: Macc on December 08, 2010, 06:44:35 PM
| MoreSpaceEcho wrote on Wed, 08 December 2010 18:37 |
my studio's in my loft. i love it. i roll out of bed, walk into the studio, turn everything on and go make coffee. do some surfing/emails over breakfast and then go to work. being home all day doesn't bother me at all...if you're the type who gets a little stir crazy you can always go for a walk or something. |
I could have written that
My studio is in a sort-of-separate building at the back, so it takes me three seconds to get to work - but once I am in there I am in 'work mode'. No TV/internet/etc. I keep the Blackberry with me so I can catch and answer urgent mails, but that's it.
I live by myself which on the one hand makes it easier to get stuff done, and on the other makes it harder to be strict about having proper weekends/days off etc. But I wouldn't change anything... after pretty much a year of it I am totally and utterly happy with life at the moment
Post by: jdg on December 08, 2010, 07:58:21 PM
best would be a detached studio on property.
Post by: Jerry Tubb on December 08, 2010, 10:06:48 PM
Another biggy is "how many of your sessions are attended?"
Do you really enjoy having clients at your home much of the day and into the night.
The nice thing about having them separate is:
"when you're at studio, you're working. when you're at home, you're relaxing."
Cheers, JT
Post by: Silvertone on December 09, 2010, 07:03:50 AM
| Jerry Tubb wrote on Wed, 08 December 2010 21:06 |
Naturally having the studio at home would certainly cut waaay down on the overhead costs. Another biggy is "how many of your sessions are attended?" Do you really enjoy having clients at your home much of the day and into the night. The nice thing about having them separate is: "when you're at studio, you're working. when you're at home, you're relaxing." Cheers, JT |
Agreed. I can get a bit stir buggy working from home. And when my wife has friends at the pool it can get a little "man I want to be out there, not in here". But the best part is when it's 10 degrees below zero with 3 feet of snow, I know I only have to walk 40 feet to get to work! Or if I'm getting a bit stressed I can take the dog to the ADK trail down the street and hike the mountains a bit.
As for attended... I keep bankers hours and don't work into the night. That's my time, as are the weekends. Now if I choose to go back up to the studio and record that's my choice, on my time, for fun.
Clients love coming here by the way... if my wife is home they'll get lunch and sometimes dinner!
I went the way of low overhead to no overhead 10 years ago as I knew it would be one way to help survive in an otherwise shrinking industry (budget wise that is). Sold my Neve BCM10 to pay off the building. While I miss the Neve greatly, I don't miss the second mortgage payment! Now I only pay for light and heat... oh and Silvertone pays me rent on the building!
Post by: Silvertone on December 09, 2010, 07:18:43 AM
| Jerry Tubb wrote on Wed, 08 December 2010 21:06 |
Naturally having the studio at home would certainly cut waaay down on the overhead costs. Another biggy is "how many of your sessions are attended?" Do you really enjoy having clients at your home much of the day and into the night. The nice thing about having them separate is: "when you're at studio, you're working. when you're at home, you're relaxing." Cheers, JT |
Agreed. I can get a bit stir buggy working from home. And when my wife has friends at the pool it can get a little "man I want to be out there, not in here". But the best part is when it's 10 degrees below zero with 3 feet of snow, I know I only have to walk 40 feet to get to work! Or if I'm getting a bit stressed I can take the dog to the ADK trail down the street and hike the mountains a bit.
As for attended... I keep bankers hours and don't work into the night. That's my time, as are the weekends. Now if I choose to go back up to the studio and record that's my choice, on my time, for fun.
Clients love coming here by the way... if my wife is home they'll get lunch and sometimes dinner!
I went the way of low overhead to no overhead 10 years ago as I knew it would be one way to help survive in an otherwise shrinking industry (budget wise that is). Sold my Neve BCM10 to pay off the building. While I miss the Neve greatly, I don't miss the second mortgage payment! Now I only pay for light and heat... oh and Silvertone pays me rent on the building!
Post by: lowland on December 09, 2010, 08:38:38 AM
Downsides? Well, the fridge calls to me at various points during the day, but other than that, not a lot.
Post by: Ed Littman on December 09, 2010, 08:39:12 AM
I have the ultamate man cave just 50 ft from the family!
Ed
Post by: Silvertone on December 09, 2010, 08:57:32 AM
| Ed Littman wrote on Thu, 09 December 2010 07:39 |
I like being on the same property as the house. For me, I would not like to be in the house. I have the ultamate man cave just 50 ft from the family! Ed |
Yep, my wife and I call it key to a perfect marriage... "his and hers housing".
She can never "throw me out" and most of the time has to call me to get me back in the house at night. That said, her house is bigger and worth more... just how it would be decided/divided if we ever got divorced!
Post by: OTR-jkl on December 09, 2010, 09:12:02 AM
The upsides are I have no clients in my house, I have to "go to work" so there's more incentive plus I tend to spend my time more wisely when I only have so much time to be there which limits any excessive tweaking on projects.
Post by: Waltz Mastering on December 09, 2010, 09:44:06 AM
About 30% of my sessions are attended, so I would have to swing that over to no attended sessions. Although I like having the separate facility, I would also like to cut the overhead to zero.
Having a detached building on the property like Larry, Jaakko or Ed seems like the ideal situation.
Post by: Bender Mastering on December 13, 2010, 09:36:26 AM
I've moved today and this is my first day in the new room, at home.
It feels good and as someone said before I already noticed that "the fridge has been calling me"... And also the Nespresso machine!
Other than that everything has been "normal" with the exception of me wearing slippers instead of shoes/sneakers.
Post by: Thomas W. Bethel on December 13, 2010, 10:58:34 AM
| Bender Mastering wrote on Mon, 13 December 2010 09:36 |
Thanks for sharing your experiences. I've moved today and this is my first day in the new room, at home. It feels good and as someone said before I already noticed that "the fridge has been calling me"... And also the Nespresso machine! Other than that everything has been "normal" with the exception of me wearing slippers instead of shoes/sneakers. |
Great news!!! I am sure you will feel the change even more in a couple of months.
Post by: Nick Sevilla on December 13, 2010, 11:35:30 AM
Been there for over two years.
It does get some time to get used to the workflow being slightly different.
I have one word :
Discipline.
Logical
Post by: William Bowden on December 14, 2010, 12:55:24 AM
Never had any neighbour complaints though, many in fact have asked what it is I do.
I think it's the way of the future frankly, and not having to deal with a landlord is fantastic. All you have to do is keep the mortgage going, which you'd have to do anyway. I'm not going to show my wife that picture of the swimming pool - things like that give her ideas, though I do like the unmarked graves that adorn the periphery!
The King
Post by: bruno putzeys on December 14, 2010, 07:07:19 AM
Post by: JGreenslade on December 14, 2010, 08:36:21 AM
If you can afford to live in an area that has plenty of musicians coming and going, then you get the best of both worlds.
Justin
Post by: lowland on December 14, 2010, 09:54:26 AM
| JGreenslade wrote on Tue, 14 December 2010 13:36 |
Don't you guys ever suspect you'd get more work if your premises were near where music businesses are based? I appreciate that the Internet age has revolutionised things, but if you have an office in an area where there are plenty of studios / live venues / rehearsal spaces, couldn't one argue you'd get more work due to being in the front of musicians / label staff's minds, and generally getting to know them whilst queing at the sandwich counter? If you can afford to live in an area that has plenty of musicians coming and going, then you get the best of both worlds. Justin |
I think there's something in that, though where I am has quite a lively provincial music and studio scene. All I can say is that, for me, the advantages of working from home... well, there's no contest.
Post by: Dave Davis on December 15, 2010, 08:31:46 AM
I'll note that working at home really does require more discipline. 15 years ago I had a home-based mastering room in a different house, and eventually moved to a dedicated space because I found focus a challenge. Now it seems like there's enough separation between work space and living space that I can escape either under the same roof, and maybe I'm more disciplined with age.
Anyway, the current arrangement provides me with the best of both worlds.
Post by: Rick O'neil on December 19, 2010, 10:03:33 PM
i have the same gear , same clients but i dont do attended sessions ATM its all set up very nicely sounds great works great
but frankly its not for me , i can see the attraction dollar wise for sure
but its never really been about money has it ?
i like to GO to work and i like to Come home
weirdly i like the time in the car by myself on the way to and from as well
even with the travel and the extra expenses there is something about having two lives in one day i seem to be settled on .
i dont know how you guys do it really - more power to you
Post by: Ben F on December 19, 2010, 10:55:16 PM
The studio is really only 10 minutes drive from home, it's just on those late nights you sometimes get an idea it would be great to just walk out the back, turn on the gear and get started.
Post by: dcollins on December 20, 2010, 01:47:11 AM
| Rick O'neil wrote on Sun, 19 December 2010 19:03 |
i like to GO to work and i like to Come home weirdly i like the time in the car by myself on the way to and from as well even with the travel and the extra expenses there is something about having two lives in one day i seem to be settled on . |
I agree completely.
DC
Post by: Rick O'neil on December 20, 2010, 03:41:48 AM
i should add a at least third life into the story
i have a small fishing boat so some nights on a whim i dont go straight home at all after work especially if its been one of THOSE records
I take the boat that i keep at work out of the downstairs carpark and head down 5 mins down the road to a boat ramp and into sydney harbour and fish until the early hours of the morning , mostly alone but sometime with a buddy , i do it one night a week most weeks , weather and family stuff permitting
i used to drink..... now i fish
Post by: Silvertone on December 20, 2010, 08:28:00 AM
| Rick O'neil wrote on Sun, 19 December 2010 21:03 |
i have been working from home for half of this year while we build the new place, i have the same gear , same clients but i dont do attended sessions ATM its all set up very nicely sounds great works great but frankly its not for me , i can see the attraction dollar wise for sure but its never really been about money has it ? i like to GO to work and i like to Come home weirdly i like the time in the car by myself on the way to and from as well even with the travel and the extra expenses there is something about having two lives in one day i seem to be settled on . i dont know how you guys do it really - more power to you |
Quite easy to do... I go to work and I come home. That my commute is 40 feet away is no different really. Once I leave the building I'm done. No ringing phone, no projects to look at and the only thing musical in my home besides my stereo is my Musicman Stingray bass, my Chapman Stick and a small Ampeg B12... see at home I'm still a musician while at work I'm a mastering engineer.
No more "discipline" to this really than being a mastering engineer in general. Anal retentive lot that we are.
The benefit is two fold. If I choose to work more... it's right there... and if my wife ever throws me out, I have a place to live!
After owning 5 commercial facilities from coast to coast I'll never pay anybody but myself rent. I myself love it... especially when my wife and all her friends are sunbathing by the pool! A third benefit!
Post by: Rick O'neil on December 20, 2010, 08:46:55 AM
some of the advantages are bleeding obvious
its the 2nd no 3rd time i have tried it for a while and i am sure
its not for me .. something just doesnt sit right .
maybe its cause my wife could not spot my quadeights or pultecs in a police line up
Post by: Darius van H on December 20, 2010, 09:00:04 AM
Ideally i think i'd like to have the studio a 5 minute walk from home.
Post by: Rick O'neil on December 20, 2010, 09:13:46 AM
but i have grown to enjoy the commute .. great time to listen to the radio
i could NEVER do that at home , kids dinner, dog etc
Post by: lowland on December 20, 2010, 09:22:16 AM
| Silvertone wrote on Mon, 20 December 2010 13:28 |
the only thing musical in my home besides my stereo is my Musicman Stingray bass, my Chapman Stick and a small Ampeg B12. |
OT: Can't be a lot of MEs with a Stick, I should think. When I used to record etc. I spent many happy days working with Nick Beggs - a fascinating instrument played by one of the funniest and nicest people you could hope to meet.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapman_Stick
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Beggs
Post by: Darius van H on December 20, 2010, 09:23:56 AM
Your old place looked none too shabby so i'm curious.
Post by: Rick O'neil on December 20, 2010, 09:35:01 AM
(i wish)
we have a few council holdups that means i will be opening the smaller rooms first
in the early part of the new year and the big mastering room in the latter
the big room will be big
the smaller rooms are smaller
but i have much more time then money so i am spending the time first
no point wasting it it doesnt grow on trees
Post by: Jerry Tubb on December 20, 2010, 10:18:17 AM
| Rick O'neil wrote on Mon, 20 December 2010 08:13 |
but i have grown to enjoy the commute .. great time to listen to the radio |
Yep, that's my radio time as well, we live about four miles/ten minutes from the studio, usually listen to one of favorite AAA/Americana stations to warm up for the day, and on the drive home cool, down with classical music.
http://kut.org/
http://www.kgsr.com/
http://www.kmfa.org/
JT
Post by: Matt_G on December 20, 2010, 10:29:22 AM
I'm currently looking to build a separate building/studio to the house which will solve those small issues & also give me more ceiling height & improved isolation. The bonus is that my existing room won't go to waste as I'll be hiring a young apprentice I've been training up to run that one which I'll turn into a surround/post/QC/budget mastering room. I think this will be the best of both worlds for me.. a completely separate building on the same property as the house is a perfect scenario. The old room can also be used as a home theatre room with the surround monitoring & projector/screen after hours. Best part is that overheads are low & I can hang with the family whenever I'm not working...
Matt
Post by: dcollins on December 20, 2010, 06:14:37 PM
| Rick O'neil wrote on Mon, 20 December 2010 00:41 |
you feeling all right dave...? |
Never better. I tend to agree with you, fwiw. Except for the having too much gear and liking those giant horn loudspeakers part.
I like the 20 minute drive to and from work and I'm never in the rush hour traffic. Plus, now I have a car with a CD player so I can check out the latest music on the commute.
Personally, I think the physical separation of home and work is a good thing.
DC
Post by: Rick O'neil on December 20, 2010, 07:44:20 PM
not very enviromentally friendly and we should all car pool /ride bikes etc
but over the last 5 years or so i have found that the time i spend on the road
20 mins/ 1 hour depending on the traffic is ever so helpful when it comes down to
"oh have you heard that new xyz track ...." or being able to say "hey i heard our track on the radio last night etc etc "
finding time to hear current tracks that you have nothing to do with every day is invaluable in our line of work i think
and i got me one of those new fangled compact disc audio players in the car nowadays just like you have now dave .... i dont know why i put it off so long either
the morbid attraction i have to outragous audiofool setups comes from the cold hard reality the some of best listening experiences i have ever had have not been in anybodies "studios"
they have been in peoples homes when i was not working or "on guard" and usually and i must admit rarely from the most unlikely looking scenerios
if you ever get the chance to meet a mad mega rich japanese man or three
(they come in odd sets)
follow them home and get them to light up one of those nutso ongaku tube horn systems for you .
for reasons i am yet to or probably will never comprehend
that is the true sound playback experience ...
its like your "inside" the sound .. not listening to it .
nothing flat or true or even mega loud in it .. err...even that description isn't right
its nothing like what we do for a living , nothing at all.
if i had one of those setups at home , i dont think i would bother going to work
Post by: cass anawaty on December 20, 2010, 07:46:45 PM
Post by: jdg on December 20, 2010, 09:33:26 PM
sure, i could do it without the commute, but the commute is my excuse to ride bikes for hours a day.
Post by: compasspnt on December 20, 2010, 10:03:53 PM
Post by: jdg on December 20, 2010, 11:07:54 PM
Post by: bblackwood on December 20, 2010, 11:14:42 PM
| jdg wrote on Mon, 20 December 2010 22:07 |
im sterile |
Comeback of the year.
Post by: jdg on December 21, 2010, 12:07:17 AM
Post by: compasspnt on December 21, 2010, 01:53:05 AM
Post by: JGreenslade on December 21, 2010, 07:33:14 AM
| dcollins wrote on Mon, 20 December 2010 23:14 |
I like the 20 minute drive to and from work and I'm never in the rush hour traffic. Plus, now I have a car with a CD player so I can check out the latest music on the commute. Personally, I think the physical separation of home and work is a good thing. DC |
I'm totally with you on the separation aspect. Not sure about the 20-minute drive, though. You should make it your New Year's resolution to ditch the car and run to and from work. After a few months of that, just think how fit you'd be!
That's my NY resolution, anyway... I'm transferring it onto other people...
Justin
Post by: MoreSpaceEcho on December 21, 2010, 10:23:16 AM
Post by: cass anawaty on December 21, 2010, 10:41:04 AM
| MoreSpaceEcho wrote on Tue, 21 December 2010 15:23 |
that would be an awful lot of running. |
Small price to pay to be a good world citizen. I was going to suggest moving to Amish country and using a horse and buggy.
Post by: Jerry Tubb on December 21, 2010, 12:08:34 PM
| JGreenslade wrote on Tue, 21 December 2010 06:33 |
Not sure about the 20-minute drive, though. You should make it your New Year's resolution to ditch the car and run to and from work. After a few months of that, just think how fit you'd be! |
Everyone has their reasons for why they drive, ride, or walk to work.
Happy Christmas -JT
Post by: MoreSpaceEcho on December 21, 2010, 12:31:27 PM
Post by: JGreenslade on December 21, 2010, 06:10:21 PM
Mind you, vigorous cardiovascular exercise really clears out the tubes. You'd arrive at work with crisp hearing :)
Justin
Post by: Silvertone on December 22, 2010, 07:37:31 AM
| lowland wrote on Mon, 20 December 2010 08:22 | ||
OT: Can't be a lot of MEs with a Stick, I should think. When I used to record etc. I spent many happy days working with Nick Beggs - a fascinating instrument played by one of the funniest and nicest people you could hope to meet. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapman_Stick http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Beggs |
I think I'm the only Stick playing mastering engineer. Levin loves coming to me for that reason. We've know each other since my touring days but I would never ask for his business until about 5 years ago... stupid me, I should have asked a long time ago... maybe I'd be mastering Peter Gabriel and King Crimson by now if I had.
I'm aware of Nick, what a fantastic Stick player... I only wish I was that good. Tough instrument and with my arthritis now I don't think I'll ever "master" that instrument... but been trying for 30 years!
Check out Levins last album called Stickmen... two Chapman Stick players and Pat Mastelotto on drums... they bow the stick and do things I've never heard done with one before. Just unbelievable stick playing from Daniel in the band. Makes Tony look like he just picked up the instrument.
I use to hate my commute when I lived in the Bay area... I was so tense by the time I got to the studio that I wanted to kill... of course this was after being shot at on the highway, which was kind of popular "thing" to do in California during the 80's!
I don't miss the commute at all and because I work by myself 95% of the time... I have plenty of quite introspective time to myself, too much in fact.
As my tech says when I get on the phone with him... "Larry, you could talk a dog off a meat truck"...
Post by: Jerry Tubb on December 22, 2010, 09:10:41 AM
| Silvertone wrote on Wed, 22 December 2010 06:37 |
I think I'm the only Stick playing mastering engineer. |
I spent a couple weeks wrestling with one back in the 80s, finally decided it wasn't for me.
Sort of like deciding to take up the pedal steel guitar, or string bass, it's an all consuming lifestyle choice!
I felt kinda like that when I decided to adopt Sonic a few years ago, got totally obsessed, now it's easy as pie.
| Quote: |
I work by myself 95% of the time... I have plenty of quite introspective time to myself, too much in fact. As my tech says when I get on the phone with him... "Larry, you could talk a dog off a meat truck"... |
Funny how those that work unattended like to talk a lot, those of us that work mostly attended are looking for some quiet time : - )
Cheers, JT
Post by: MoreSpaceEcho on December 22, 2010, 04:01:41 PM
quick cute story: client showed up with his (very young, very attractive) girlfriend. he was sitting up front with me, his lady was hanging back on the couch. at some point i'm blathering on about my recent infatuation with def leppard's "hysteria" (no joke)....
client asks "when was that released?"
i reply "it came out in 1987."
his girl pipes up from the couch "I came out in 1987!"
we laughed.