Music production desk hacks that won’t max out your budget

DIY your own music production desk at a fraction of the cost of branded home studio desks. It won’t be any less good looking or functional just because it’s an IKEA hack.

What’s best is you’ll be able to customise the dimensions and storage racks to fit your specs and all the equipment you have.

Check out these 4 hacks and create your ideal setup with affordable IKEA furniture.

A minimalistic music production desk with rolling desktop

James, inspired by the very drool worthy Milk Desk, went hacking to DIY a white and minimalistic workstation and music production desk. I love how the desk rolls away to reveal the keyboard.

IKEA items used:

VIKA ARTUR legs (x2) (replace with MITTBACK trestles)
Queen size MALM headboard (x1)
LACK shelf (x1)

Other misc:

Wall shelf metal tracking, 48″ (x2)
Casters (x4)
Pipe insulation (to dampen the rolling sound)
Screws

It involved lots of dremeling work. The end result more than made up for it.

Total cost: ~ $130
Cost of Milk Desk: $4700

DIY Music Production Desk Setup

music production desk ikea hack

So here’s the new setup. Since last time I’ve added a 30″ Apple Cinema Display, changed out my chair to a more comfortable leather office chair, and now my work surface (computer keyboard and Wacom tablet) sits on top of my music keyboard.

Keep in mind this is still work-in-progress. I’d like to eventually mount the 30″ display to the wall with a long adjustable swing arm, and also mount the typing keyboard and tablet to a pull-out tray under the tabletop.

Although I don’t own any of their pieces (yet), I’m obviously obsessed with all things Eames and Herman Miller. First future purchase: Aeron Chair, Size B.

3/4 View

music studio desk ikea hack

Figure 2 shows the length of “hang track”, as well as the casters which are mounted to the underside of the MALM. Between Figures 1 and 2, you can get a pretty good view of all the components necessary for this hack.

(2) VIKA ARTUR “Trestle with Shelf” ($30 x 2) (discontinued, use the MITTBACK instead)
(1) MALM Queen Size Headboard (As-is item only, not sold separately) I bought mine for $10
(2) “Hang Tracks” Length: 48” (See Fig. 4) Ace Hardware..
(4) Mini Casters (Fig.. 5 6) Ace Hardware.
(1) LACK shelf, Although optional I found it nice to have a top shelf for my speakers or monitor and not worry about moving them whenever I slide the tabletop,
(1) Foam Piping insulation (Also optional) Cut down to fit in the groove of the hang track to dampen rolling noise.
And lastly, screws. (16) 1 1/2″ wood screws — Fig. 6 and (4) smaller 1/2″ flat finishing screws (Fig. 4)

Side View

side view with keyboard slide out tray

Cable management to me key (I hate the look of loose wires everywhere), except I’ve left this wire one hanging, which is the power supply for my Macbook Pro, which I leave hanging because I’m always traveling with it.

Note to self: Buy another power supply for the road, and tuck this one neatly away,

Assembling the IKEA music producer desk

The key to this hack is to measure, measure, and then measure again. I began by spacing the VIKA ARTUR’s out wide enough to accommodate my 88 key Yamaha Motif (helps to have a heavy keyboard with weighted keys to anchor the whole thing down), Then, pull if out far enough from the wall, so that when the table top is pushed back the controls of the keyboard will be accessible. Once everything is where you like if, measure it all out to make sure it’s all squared, equidistant from the wall, tracks are parallel, etc. Set it, and forget it.

Mounting the Tracks

rail for caster wheel

Here’s a detailed view of how the tracks are screwed on; pretty straightforward you can also see the pipe insulation cut down to squeeze into the grooves).

Align the tracks on tops of the VIKA ARTURS (cut off the extra length with a Dremel tool if if protrudes too far into the wall side). Screw into place. I used small enough screws here so I didn’t have to drill any pilot holes. And it’s perfectly OK that the screws stick up a bit, it makes a nice stopper for the casters.

Note: For added support, you could also mount the tracks to an additional 2 x 4 the same length of the track and then mount the 2 x 4 to the VIKA. Although so far my tracks have held up fine. (I did bend the protruding length ever so slightly to compensate for the weight when the top is pushed back.)

Prepping the casters

caster wheel

You’ll want to dremel off a few mm’s of the outsides of the caster wheels, and ensure that they roll nice and smooth in the tracks,

Dremel away. (Wear eye protection)

Mounting the Casters

caster wheel installed

Measuring is critical in this step. You’ll want to measure the distance between the tracks, as well as how far in you want the casters mounted (depending on how much you want the top to overhang). I mounted mine so that it was flush with the front when not rolled back,

Measure, Measure, Measure, then mark the holes and drill small pilot holes for the screws. Be careful when drilling, as the surface and core of the MDF is very brittle. Fill the pilot holes with wood glue as best you can. I used a toothpick to work the glue inside. Screw on the casters.

Enjoy your music studio desk

music production desk ikea hack

You should be able to flip the MALM over and with a little finagling, get the casters into the track.

Hope everything was clear. This was my first DIY / IKEA Hack writeup, so I apologize if I’ve left out any crucial details.

Last, but certainly riot least I would like thank Irene, who introduced me to IKEA hackers.

Get the instructions in pdf.

~ by James

Standing work desk and DJ booth

I’m a father of 3 children and running a small business at home. And to save space (because the children have a lot of toys!) I wanted to make a standing desk for work and hobby music production.

The result is this standing work desk with DJ music booth. I made the leg from a LACK shelf and another shorter shelf is used as a computer monitor stand and for speakers.

music production desk ikea

Materials: 

1 long LACK shelf
1x LINNMON tabletop
2 drawer rails
2 short LACK shelf
IKEA LED

I cut the depth of the tabletop, making it narrower to fit my space. Then, I used the remaining material under the short shelf on the desk. The short shelf is used for the computer and speakers so I could hide the cables. 

A long LACK shelf to put under the table top with drawer rails for the midi controllers and keyboard. Slides in when not in use.

Compact music studio

For the longest time I was using 2 tables for my studio gear and it wasn’t until I moved to an apartment that size became an issue.

So I figured out a way to put all my gear together right in front of me. What we have here is 9 ADIL legs and 2 LINNMON table tops and a homemade keyboard tray or pull out shelf with drawer rollers.

First I cut one of the table tops 15” length ways. I took 4 ADILS legs and cut them down to 14”. These support the half table top above.

Then, I used a drawer roller system to mount my pull out keyboard under the second table and I added a 5th leg in the middle to help support all the weight.

Plenty of room for all my studio furniture.

Music production desk on a budget

My name is Ivan, and I’ve been a music enthusiast my whole life. I wanted to share with you my new hack “Making a Music Production Desk With Only 40 Pounds”.

Here’s a breakdown of the steps.

music production desk ikea hack

IKEA items used and other materials:

LINNMON table tops x 2
ADILS legs x 4
Carton boxes

Tools:

Xacto knife
Screw driver

1. Get two LINNMON desk tops measuring 100 x 60cm.

2. Set up the first desk as per IKEA instructions. Screw in the ADILS legs using the hardware provided.

3. Then, take the second LINNMON desk and cut it into two, lengthwise, to make two shelves. Set them aside.

linnmon table top

4. Next is to make the support for your shelves. I used carton boxes as they are lightweight and versatile. Cut them into a shape like this. The flat top supports the shelf and the bottom fits the keyboard.

5. You’ll need a whole stack of them for strength. Make two stacks.

6. Do a dry run to make sure the support fits your keyboard.

7. Place the stack of cardboard on the table top and then the shelf on top.

8. Slot in your keyboard below it.

9. Add your other equipment.

10. You can also use it as a DJ desk like this.

~ by Ivan