Best Studio Desk

Studio RTA Producer Station

Don Makoviney
Last Updated: February 1, 2016

The Studio RTA Producer Station is our pick as the best recording studio desk for most people. It's large enough to accommodate most anything you would need to put in - or on - it. It's also been on the market for quite some time, so it has lots of reviews from users on music gear forums and websites over many years which attest to the quality of workmanship and usability. If you need to up your game and get a dedicated desk for recording and mixing, the Studio RTA Producer Station is the one to get.

Our pick

Studio RTA Producer Station

Best Studio Desk

Studio RTA Producer Station

Important Specs

Keyboard Tray	Yes. 26-1/4" wide slide-out
Rackmount	Dual 20-space racks
Frame	Steel
Work Surface	72"W x 30"D
Top Shelf	60"W x 15-3/4"D
Pull-out Upper Shelf	18-1/4"W x 11-3/4"D
Bottom Shelf	72"W x 30"D
	more specs

Synopsis:

Where To Buy:

Buy from Guitar Center $500

Buy from Amazon $500

Our Pick

Studio RTA Producer Station

We think the Studio RTA Producer’s Station is the best home recording studio desk for most people for several reasons:

It’s been around for awhile

An example of how long it’s been around? It comes with a 20 CD holder. Yes, you read that right. Don’t worry, you have the option of not installing it when putting the desk together. You can reclaim that space for additional storage.

Because it’s been around awhile, there are plenty of reviews on forums and Amazon dating back to 2005. So if you’re worried about the quality of a mass-produced item, you can see for yourself what other’s experiences with the desk have been. (Hint: They’ve been good.)

Lots of fellow home studio configurations to look through online

Since it has been around awhile, and is priced well, plenty of people have posted their setups online, which can give you some ideas for your own desk. I’ve posted some below.

The Producer Station in action:

best home recording studio desk
Pic above via

home recording studio desk

Pic above via

You can see even more pictures of this desk in people’s home studios via this Google Image Search.

User reviews

One Amazon reviewer noted:

This desk is a great home studio desk for those who don’t have a lot of space to work with. It is 6″ long so it fits perfectly between my windows, which is also in the center of my room which would make producing my mix perfectly doable. The wood is sturdy and the racks are perfect for my amps and EQ racks. The keyboard rack could be a bit more smooth and wider for more elbow space for the key board. But other than that I love this desk. It is the best desk I’ve ever bought. I don’t use the CD racks as much but its there whenever I need them. The height of the second shelf is a perfect height. And the most important thing is that this desk comes with wheels and brakes on two of them. This makes it easy to move and rearrange my mix room if I wanted to. Thank You Studio for making such desk. I’m sure a desk like this someone can make it for 1/4 of the price. But for convenience sake I just forked over the $500 because I didn’t want to go through all the measurements and finding the rack materials.

I am scared to think about ever having to move this thing out of the room it is in (it will have to be at least partially disassembled to fit through any reasonably sized doorway) so I recommend making sure you intend to leave it where you put it together for awhile, but cant think of anything bad to say about this desk. Any other comparable piece costs 2 to 4 times as much and doesn’t really offer anything more until you get into modular expansion racks, etc.

If you need a large recording studio desk, and don’t have the time or cash to build a custom solution, the Studio RTA Producer Station is the one to get.

Also Great

Studio Trends 46″ Desk

studio-trends-desk-46-inch If I didn’t need something as physically large as our pick, or wanted to save even more money, I’d go with the Studio Trends 46″ Desk. It also enjoys a reputation as a well-made and flexible studio desk, attested to by user reviews.

When I was poring over the reviews on all the music gear sites, one common complaint was that the faux-wood finish sometimes arrived chipped. These desk finishes are similar to the desks you get from Target or IKEA, a thin wood grain veneer that chips easily during rough transport.

studio-trends-desk-46-inch-loaded-via-gearslutz

These kinds of things don’t bother me personally, but I understand that it may bother some. One user (who loves his desk) had this suggestion:

Go to Home Depot and buy a Minwax Cherry Wood Stain Marker for $8 and you will be able to blend in any chipped areas. It’s true the manufacturer doesn’t seem to care about the quality of packing/shipping these desks, but if you’re fortunate to get one that isn’t damaged or the damage is hard to see, the desk will be great in your studio.

I like the dual 4U rack space although it makes your monitor sit up high and you might feel like your neck is straining. I bought a Vesa kit for my Apple LED Cinema Display 27″ and now the monitor sits lower and it’s more comfortable.

I bought two of the Side Cars and I replaced the front casters with larger ones from Home Depot to give the Side Cars and angle. Otherwise, because they are flat and not very elevated, you have to crouch over to access additional gear. Having the angle help quite a bit. The perfect desk and side car would be Sterling Module Plan B and Vesa II, but that setup is closer to $5,000. For the price this furniture is hard to beat. Better than all the other sub-$1000 furniture.

Custom Option

AZ Studio Workstations

If you already have gear, and a workflow, then it may be time to get a higher-end, customized solution. Of course, these kind of projects can quickly spiral out of control cost-wise.

If I needed a customized solution, I’d go with AZ Studio Workstations. They get great reviews on the forums, and the minimal design focuses on the gear and the workspace.

Check these out:

User Reviews

Over on the Gearslutz forums, a producer was looking for a custom solution, pleading for some references. After awhile, he popped back up and had this to say:

Guys I just wanted to let you all know, I finally found somebody who has far by exceeded my expectations for what I was looking for, after a bad experience with guys taking a deposit and never coming back. Months later after searching and searching, this guy popped up..

http://www.azstudioworkstations.com/

Now hold up, while the pics on the website do look very good, these do no justice at all for the reality of how good this guy’s work is. I had a custom job. Pictures to follow below. He made the base with acoustically sound panels, the same as Sterling Modular. His finish had the sleek look and quality better than the known brands. His price was way, and I mean way more fair than any other company I contacted, and I contacted them all, trust me. In fact I still cant believe how fair he was.

I am raving about this guy because he has made this his business, as his passion is in music. He was doing custom furniture for rich people for 30 years, I believe. It’s rare you come across someone so passionate, and so detailed. The job he done for me would of been 4-5 times the price with a recognized brand, and I could almost bet the quality would not be on par. This is a guy who loves his work, and he was delighted at the chance to make something to my specification, and he excelled.

Anyone considering custom work needs to check this guy out. He is so friendly he even delivered and installed the desk and told me if i need any help moving it in the future he would. I’m going to upload pics now, the room is not finished and pics are not great but at least you can get an an idea and see real craftsmanship still exists, but like i said the pictures do this no justice.

The back has perfect racking for cables etc., and every detail was thought of and covered, everything I forgot was there when it arrived finished. Solid ash and black melamine are the materials I opted for.

Check it out. I just placed a few pieces in so I could get an idea of how it looked. He even has the USB rack made in ash, which are beautiful looking, and he engraved my name on mine..

Sorry for ranting on, but I’m very happy and as I appreciate customer service, this was just that, but at it’s best!

About AZ Workstations

They have several models available on Amazon, which you can see here. But while these are some “standard” models, the company also excels in providing recording studio desk customization, which you can find on their website:

Conclusion

Obviously there is no one-size-fits-all approach for every home studio owner. However, we do have some great models you can purchase online that have been thoroughly tested and vetted by studio owners like yourself.

Now go make some music! 😉

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