Working from home was a massive decision. For almost 30 years I’ve worked at a major radio station in a state of the art recording studio. From my experiences in other studios around Sydney, I believe my studio was right up there with the best, with all the equipment and toys you could ever dream of.
The room itself featured raised floors, double glass on windows and the best sound proofing I’ve ever seen. It came complete with a huge ‘Voiceover booth’, that was actually big enough to comfortably fit a full band. Back in the day I was responsible for recording all the acoustic versions of songs when artists came to town.
Knobs and Faders
Then there was the gear. The main desk was a Control 24 – probably old school in today’s standards. The studio was also padded out with all the outboard gear, including compressors and limiters, and pre amps etc. As well as multiple monitors for viewing Pro Tools mix and edit windows and anything else you wanted open on another 2 monitors.
My studio (Prod 4) was linked to another 3 production studios on the same floor and also the on air studios on the floor above. Everything linked seamlessly via a kick ass patch bay (just the through of plugging and removing cables to connect to things brings back so many memories), and then later over the network once all the PCs rolled in (around 1997).
Room with a View
And just to add to the awesomeness of this room, it also had the best view in the building, over looking Sydney’s Chinatown (well close to). Great for when major demonstrations, protests or crowds celebrating sporting wins marched through the streets. It was directly under the CEO’s office on the floor above, so it shared the CEO’s outlook.
I also loved the fact the studio was tucked away at the end of the building, which meant there was less traffic from members of the sales department wandering by peeking in at the wondrous world of audio production. Not that anything that exciting was ever happening.
Pandemic Problems
Over the years, thousands of hours were spent on the tools in that studio working from promos and jingles and radio specials and recording bands. Pretty much lived in the studio. I used to drive to work early to avoid traffic and usually leave later to avoid traffic – yeah Sydney traffic is a nightmare. But I loved the job and I really felt at home in the studio. It was my space.
Then, March 2020 happened. Remember that pandemic thing? Slowly one department after another were told to work from home. It was easy for the sale department and others, but for anyone working in a studio it involved a bit more thought. So we (the production guys) were the last to make the move to working from home.
>>> More on my Home Studio Set Up here <<<
Working from Home
I still remember day one working from home. I’m sitting there at my dining table on the new laptop provided to me thinking ‘this is ridiculous. This is never going to work. What’s the point?’.
Eventually I got everything working, including connecting to the network and being able to send and receive audio from other studios (other laptops at homes). But then, the next issue to overcome, the most important – was editing and mixing on the laptop and monitoring on headphones. At first I thought the same thing – this is never gonna work!
Finding Some Rhythm
After a couple of weeks of trial and error and a clunky workflow I eventually found some rhythm working inside Pro Tools on the laptop instead of riding faders and drawing in automation using the desk in the studio. Ultimately, I found I was working even faster on the laptop.
Luckily, I still had limited access to the real studio, so I was also sneaking back into the building just to do an A-B on the final mixes I was making to listen and check they sounded ok back in the studio. I found that sometimes things were sounding even better.
>>> Setting Up a Home Recording Studio: Basics <<<
Getting Focussed
I put this down to the focus needed when monitoring on headphones.
My headphones of choice are by Audio-Technica and I find they give a real, natural, raw sound, so it’s an authentic version of the mix similar to what you might hear in the studio. This intense focus could possibly mean that I was paying attention to finer details in the mix.
In the weeks and months that followed I continued to sneak back into the studio and listen to mixes back in the building. It was also fun entering the Covid ghost town and being the only person in there. The more experience I had on the laptop working with headphones the better things started to sound, until I eventually felt completely confident.
The End of Lockdown
6 months passed and I was really finding my rhythm with a workflow I was happy with, pumping production out faster than ever and happier than ever with the sound I was dishing out. I began to think ‘hey, this working from home thing is alright!’.
The Covid lockdown was ending and staff were starting to migrate back into the office.
Management approached me and said ‘things seem to be working well… would you like to work from home permanently?’ I thought ‘wow!’ This could be cool. The decision was mine. But it was clear I had to make a call. Once I did, my studio would be used for something else.
>>> Choosing a Laptop for your Home Studio <<<
Giving Up the Studio
The station obviously had a plan to use the space for other things and the ability to have another team member working from home worked in their favour. Even though I was loving this new flexible home-life, it was a big decision. For 25 years I’d been in that studio and it felt like home.
I bit the bullet and took the leap. Gave up the state of the art professional studio and opted to stay at home full time punching away on the laptop. It felt good committing and I’ve never looked back. My workflow and work-life balance is 1000% better.
in a Nutshell 🥜
Fast forward 3 years an although it can get a little lonely sometimes, I am still loving working from home and the laptop is my bestie. Ditching the studio and working remotely gives you so much freedom, and that freedom is worth more than any flashy piece of studio gear.
My workflow is ten times faster, my focus is intense, the stuff I’m outputting is on par or even better than ever… and my dog gets to go walkies every day.
If you find yourself in a similar situation, struggling to take the leap – just do it!
