[mmichel]

First, a little background:

As I've mentioned previously on this forum, I do most of my (saxophone) practicing in a 4'x6' WhisperRoom. This has many advantages, including the fact that it lets me practice at any time of the day or night without disturbing my wife or my neighbors.

For a long time now, I've wanted to have the convenience of a midi controller/keyboard in my practice space. Most of my electronic recording equipment (e.g., audio interface, microphone + stand, computer w/ DAW, BIAB, etc.) is located in the WhisperRoom, so in addition to practicing in the space, it's where I do virtually all of my recording, transcription, sequencing, etc., as well as where I work out many of my musical ideas. It would be incredibly useful to have a midi controller in the space--both to input notes (e.g., when preparing drones or baselines for practice) and to be able to use MIDI CC messages to control my DAW and other music programs.

I do have a full-sized keyboard with weighted keys that I use to practice piano, work out voicings, and figure out chord progressions, but it's in a different space and is therefore not convenient to use for this purpose.

My wife got me an Akai MPK mini mkii a few years ago, but I haven't used it much because I didn't have a good solution for keeping it at the ready in my space (I'd have to drag in a stool or something to set it on when I wanted to use it and, of course, any furniture I dragged in to hold it interfered with my ability to simultaneously use my saxophones). However, I didn't want to install a permanent shelf or something similar because of the precious space that it would eat up.

Recently, while I was making some minor updates to my space, I got the idea to try something new. I was pretty pleased with the result, so I decided to share:

I found an affordable and adjustable wall-mounted arm meant to hold a computer monitor and decided to try mounting my MPK mini on it.

First, I took the MPK mini apart and created a makeshift VESA mount by drilling holes into and epoxying a set of nuts onto the inside of the base.

Then, I mounted the arm on the inside of my WhisperRoom (using heavy-duty brass anchors made for use in wood furniture).

This worked out really well.
When not in use, the MPK mini folds flat, flush against the wall.

But it easily folds out to playing position, perpendicular to the wall.

Moreover, if I need to spend an extended session working on a composition, sequencing, etc., it can be pulled up and positioned conveniently alongside my laptop (mounted on a similar stand).

Has anyone else had a similar issue and needed to come up with a creative solution? If so, please let me know how you solved your problem.

 

[J-Moen]

That's superbly set up. I have a 5x5 room (closet) not a whisper room, but I fit in a 66 key keyboard, small stool, alto/tenor/sop on stands, a laptop (on a small table), a mic with stand, music stand and a small set of plastic drawers, where my equipment and extras sit, and mouthpieces on top. It also has wire shelving up top, where I have put lots of acoustic dampening facing downward, and the sax cases rest up on top of that.

I much prefer the look of yours though, great setup, looks professional. I definitely thing I want one of those laptop stands.

As to the issue, I can't imagine a better solution than what you had built!

 

[mmichel]

That's superbly set up. I have a 5x5 room (closet) not a whisper room, but I fit in a 66 key keyboard, small stool, alto/tenor/sop on stands, a laptop (on a small table), a mic with stand, music stand and a small set of plastic drawers, where my equipment and extras sit, and mouthpieces on top. It also has wire shelving up top, where I have put lots of acoustic dampening facing downward, and the sax cases rest up on top of that.

I can just barely my fit S/A/T (plus a flute and clarinet) on stands in the room. Besides those and the items pictured above, the only other substantial items I have in the room are a music stand, a mic stand, and, of course, my audio interface.
Perhaps I'm just more claustrophobic than you are?

Honestly though, I think that the real problem is that, while these rooms are about 4'x6' on the outside, the inner dimensions (as provided by the manufacturer) are actually about 3.5' x 5'. Add 2 inches of absorption material on each wall and you're looking at something closer to 3' x 4.5', so space really is tight. Fortunately, I have the outer room (i.e., the one that this WhisperRoom sits in) for storage of books, spare mouthpieces, cases, my bass clarinet and my full-sized keyboard (a Yamaha P-125).

I much prefer the look of yours though, great setup, looks professional. I definitely thing I want one of those laptop stands.

As to the issue, I can't imagine a better solution than what you had built!

Thanks! However, I'm still toying with the idea of getting a wall- or ceiling-mounted mic stand or music stand to give me a little bit more flexibility with positioning.

 

[HeavyWeather77]

Man, what a cool setup! Really well done.

 

[lydian]

Nice setup. Where did you get that laptop holder? I've been looking for something to hold a 2-in-1 about that size. Most tablet holders I've come across are too small.

 

[Atratr]

That´s just what i need! I have also a whisper room in which i use to have an electric piano. Now i have taken out the piano but leave just its stand so i can put the tablet, speaker, audio interface, a small midi controller and the laptop when needed. But i am going to try your solution so i can save some space! Thanks!

 

[mmichel]

Nice setup. Where did you get that laptop holder? I've been looking for something to hold a 2-in-1 about that size. Most tablet holders I've come across are too small.

Good question, I had to look it up.

I bought it years ago (in early 2015) from a company named ErgoDirect. The laptop holder (MF# EVO5501) came as a combo package with the arm (MF# 9110). It's a very sturdy holder that can accommodate a range of different laptop sizes (I had a much heavier laptop mounted in it for years) and it uses the VESA standard, which means that you can mount it on just about any monitor arm.

I remember at the time thinking that it was expensive, but it was something of a specialty item at the time and that was one of the few outlets where I could find it. Now there seem to be many more options and you can get similar arms from Amazon, etc.

In any event, I don't regret the purchase. It has been immensely useful and has held up very well over the years.

 

[lydian]

Good question, I had to look it up.

I bought it years ago (in early 2015) from a company named ErgoDirect. The laptop holder (MF# EVO5501) came as a combo package with the arm (MF# 9110). It's a very sturdy holder that can accommodate a range of different laptop sizes (I had a much heavier laptop mounted in it for years) and it uses the VESA standard, which means that you can mount it on just about any monitor arm.

I remember at the time thinking that it was expensive, but it was something of a specialty item at the time and that was one of the few outlets where I could find it. Now there seem to be many more options and you can get similar arms from Amazon, etc.

In any event, I don't regret the purchase. It has been immensely useful and has held up very well over the years.

Thanks. All the ones I've seen on Amazon max out at 13.5" and won't fit my laptop, at least on paper.

 

[J-Moen]

I can just barely my fit S/A/T (plus a flute and clarinet) on stands in the room. Besides those and the items pictured above, the only other substantial items I have in the room are a music stand, a mic stand, and, of course, my audio interface.
Perhaps I'm just more claustrophobic than you are?

Honestly though, I think that the real problem is that, while these rooms are about 4'x6' on the outside, the inner dimensions (as provided by the manufacturer) are actually about 3.5' x 5'. Add 2 inches of absorption material on each wall and you're looking at something closer to 3' x 4.5', so space really is tight. Fortunately, I have the outer room (i.e., the one that this WhisperRoom sits in) for storage of books, spare mouthpieces, cases, my bass clarinet and my full-sized keyboard (a Yamaha P-125).

Thanks! However, I'm still toying with the idea of getting a wall- or ceiling-mounted mic stand or music stand to give me a little bit more flexibility with positioning.

Ceiling mount is a good idea too. Stands are so annoying. I have my music stand/mic stand crossing legs which is annoying, and my alto stand is very close to those as well. However, my room was measured from the internal dimensions, so it has much more free room - I feel pretty capable of moving around in it, I could imagine the feel of the whisper room being pretty claustrophobic. However, I'm very excited for my new house room which will give me all the room I could ever need! (Unless I start getting lots more instruments lol.)

 

[KeithL]

Ceiling mount is a good idea too. Stands are so annoying. I have my music stand/mic stand crossing legs which is annoying, and my alto stand is very close to those as well. However, my room was measured from the internal dimensions, so it has much more free room - I feel pretty capable of moving around in it, I could imagine the feel of the whisper room being pretty claustrophobic. However, I'm very excited for my new house room which will give me all the room I could ever need! (Unless I start getting lots more instruments lol.)

Don't bet on it. The quantity of stuff you have always expands to fit the amount of space available

 

[mmichel]

That´s just what i need! I have also a whisper room in which i use to have an electric piano. Now i have taken out the piano but leave just its stand so i can put the tablet, speaker, audio interface, a small midi controller and the laptop when needed. But i am going to try your solution so i can save some space! Thanks!

Another way to save a little more space is by sticking the audio interface on the wall. I stuck some heavy duty velcro on the underside of mine and attached it to the wall (mic input/level meter side up) in the recess created by my sound absorption material. One of the hidden perks of these WhisperRooms is the ability to adhere things (securely!) to the walls using only velcro.

 

[mmichel]

A quick update after about a month using this setup:

This solution has worked out very well for me. So well, in fact, that I've been spending a lot more time using the mini keyboard.

As a result of this increasing use, the Akai's limitations became more glaring and I decided to upgrade to the NI Komplete Kontrol M32 pictured below.

My main reasons for upgrading were that:

1. The Akai's keybed is pretty terrible for anything that involves even a modicum of technique (e.g., playing real-time scale and/or arpeggio patterns that are not diatonic to C major) or any subtlety in dynamics. When took apart the keyboard to make my improvised VESA mount, it was pretty clear why. The action of the keys is essentially mediated by the bending of plastic. I.e., the upper ends of the keys are fastened to the base of the keyboard (creating a cantilever), and the flexion of a small thinned part of the key provides most of the spring force responsible for pulling the key back to its resting position. This construction, combined with the fact that the keys are short and narrow makes it very difficult to accurately control the key velocities, especially for the black keys.
2. The Akai does not include any transport controls or any other automatic integration with DAW (or VST) controls. Its pads and pots can be set to trigger different events, of course, but these must all be mapped manually and there's no smart way to switch between contextual mapping presets.

The NI M32 is a substantial improvement on both fronts:

1. The keybed is about as good as possible for a micro keyboard, and better than I have any right to expect at this price. The key action is significantly better than that of the Akai (the synth key action is mediated by calibrated high-quality metal springs) and the keys are both longer (1cm longer!) and wider (by about 1.5mm) than on the Akai. In fact, the interkey distance between black keys is a full 3mm greater than on the Akai and is (at 16.5mm) comparable to the interkey distance on my full-sized keyboard. This makes it much easier for me (with my wide fingertips) to play technical parts on the mini keyboard. Finally, the keyboard, though just a few inches longer than the Akai, includes an extra half octave of keys, which comes in very handy.

2. The transport controls are excellent and the overall integration with Reaper (via ReaKontrol) is outstanding, especially if you use Native Instruments libraries (as I do). For example, it's easy to switch track focus, control track volumes, project/metronome speed, browse and select instruments, and control instrument/plugin parameters directly from the keyboard, without having to reach for the computer's touchpad or keyboard. Moreover, the control mapping is automatic (but configurable) and switches between contexts in an intelligent way.

The one downside is that the NI M32 doesn't have any MPC pads, but that's not really a problem for me. I'm just as happy using the keyboard to input drum parts. Another downside (for my "off-label" configuration, at least) is that because the NI M32 has less open space on the inside of the unit, it's a little more tricky to position the nuts for the makeshift VESA mount so that they don't interfere with the operation of the keyboard. I ended up having to slightly modify a couple of the key feet to keep the nuts from interfering with the key action. The Akai has much more empty space internally, which makes it much more forgiving regarding the positioning nuts and bolts.