Guitar Practice Rig From the Bone Yard

by Pat Brown

A guitar practice rig idea for a small space.

My office is a converted bedroom (there are perks when the kids move out!). Like most audio guys, I have way too much stuff packed into this small space. Since this is “my world,” it’s also the logical place for playing the guitar, an exercise that is a lot more fun these days with some of the newer gadgets – iPads, computers, modeling processor, etc. Where was this stuff 30 years ago when I actually needed it?

Brenda said “It’s time to paint” so I decided to redo my messy guitar rig. My real estate budget is about six square feet of floor space. I made a trip up to the bone yard, a room cluttered with technical fossils, to find some things that could be re-purposed for the task. It’s a special victory when you can form something useful out of junk. The hunting expedition produced:

(1) old mic stand

(2) clamp arms

(2) some plywood for making shelves

(3) quad electrical boxes

The outlet boxes are fastened to the stand using conduit mounts. This allows enough space for the fixtures to be affixed to the stand.

I broke down and bought a stand-mount for the iPad. The rig lives next to my desk, where I can use the PC to control the effects processor, record, etc. There’s room to add more stuff, but I have vowed to “keep it simple” this time around and stick with the necessities.

If you need to organize your toys into a small space, and don’t want to buy an expensive workstation, this may be for you.   pb

Click to Enlarge…