Introducing myself, and my new rig (with pictures)

[Jason K]

Good evening Nord Forum!

I started learning keyboard later in life, but it's been so much fun. I began playing about a year and a half ago, and I've been playing every day since. There's a group of us at work that get together and jam on fridays and that's done wonders for my playing. I've played guitar for 25 years now, so switching to a new instrument has been very inspiring.

Since I'm new to the keyboard, I wanted to give myself a project before I dropped a ton of money on a Nord, so I started building speakers and a keyboard stand. Other than music, woodworking is my main hobby, so it was a natural fit.

I started with the speakers, mahogany, roughly 2'x1'x1', it was my first foray into crossovers, but the internet is apparently full of wisdom these days.

Then it was on to the stand, both the base and the top. I wasn't sure if I was going for a two keyboard setup at first, but more storage is never a bad thing.


Then the base

Then it was just a matter of putting it all together and making a few purchases:

Here it is all buttoned up:


And then here it is open and ready for business:





I've only had my Stage 3 for a week, but I am so very impressed with it. I think I'm all set for years to come.

Thanks for watching.

[PScooter63]

Jason, what a sweet setup that is!
Recessing your lighting into the lid is genius; loving the dovetail joinery on your cabs, too.
(I can't help but wonder, how much downforce can your drawer take, fully extended?)

[JayDee]

With the drawer fully extended, Jason has to be careful when he does his Jerry Lee Lewis covers. All kidding aside, that is some sweet woodworking. I wish I had one like it for my studio

[Marlowes]

Wow!

[Jason K]

Thank you both for the kind words, I really appreciate it.

I tend to have a lighter touch than Jerry Lee Lewis, but I was worried about the same thing when I started designing. More than that I suppose, I didn't just want the drawer to be strong enough, I wanted it to have no wobble in it whatsoever.

So, I drastically overbuild everything. The locking drawer slides that I used aren't your usual drawer slides. they're 3" tall and 3/4" thick and rated at up to 500 lbs.https://www.ovisonline.com/14-Locking-D ... P2412.aspx

In addition to the drawer slides, the drawer itself is designed to be very strong. Made with a combination of 3/4 plywood and solid mahogany, its vaguely triangular in shape. The front of the drawer is narrow so it doesn't knock into your knees when playing, but the back of the drawer is 3" thick. Inside the drawer it's got support struts much like an airplane wing. When I finished building it I stood on it and couldn't feel any flex in the drawer itself. Here's a good shot of the profile on the drawer:



Finally, none of that strength matters if the drawer slides aren't attached to the base the right way. I was concerned about using screw in wood, since over time they might loosen. So I put brass inserts into the base and bolted everything up tight.

With all that done, I'm happy to say that there's no wobble or "bounce" at all in the final product. If someone ever does something violent enough to break the drawer, the keyboard would have been damaged anyway.

[HwyStar]

You could come over to my garage, any day you want, I'll buy the Brewski's and let you have a "whack" at my setup!

Great work, Jason! You thought of everything!

[HwyStar]

Here's my latest setup I am using that I use my Nord Grand to practice piano with. It's an Amazon, Bush Series "A" six-foot desk that I cut the legs down before assembly (4"-11/16 for the NG key height). It's quite simple to do and it's rock solid. It's not as nice as yours but it does get the job done "like a charm". There is still room on it for studio monitors:

My Google Drive image

[JayDee]

Nice and clean looking. Looks better than the desk in my studio, nice tip on Amazon furniture.

[Jason K]

I like the amazon desk. That's a great solution.

I don't have a dedicated music room, so I needed something that lives in the living room where guests and small children run around on a fairly frequent basis, hence the need to keep everything covered and tucked in. If I ever get a chance to take over a whole room, I'll definitely look into the desk option.

[HwyStar]

No, Jason, you will move that great setup to your new studio! Then, put wood slats on the wall to match the units color to help with sound absorption. And, to top it off, you’ll need a new lava lamp... All the pros have one. Make it Nord red of course.