DIY Output Platform Desk w/ angled racks 

I built a slightly taller version of the desk to accommodate my Kurzweil PC 88 keyboard height along with room for my legs. I did it for less than $300. My keyboard is quite hefty so I opted out for some heavy duty drawer glides and they work great. I used Minwax stain and finish all in one and it took a few days to dry but turned out great. I made a larger cable management shelf and it has two power strips on it. I added an extension side table to handle some other gear such as a drum machine and mixer. I love the look and it is much more stable than the two folding tables I was previously using. It is a great design and as a woodworker it was an easy build. If you are not used to building furniture, you can't go wrong buying the Output Platform desk for your home studio. Which ever way you go, good luck.

Wow, spectacular work! Skewed racks are a genius idea, and incredible that you shared all the plans for people to make this! Living in a small apartment in NYC, with absolutely no space or tools to be able to do any woodwork like this, there was just no way I could undertake the project like you did. But if I lived in a large house with a dedicated basement workshop, I would totally take it on based on your instructions! I just got the Platform desk - dark wood - and I'm incredibly happy with virtually everything about it. The cable management is absolutely superb - that was one of the selling points for me - I have like a million things plugged in to multiple buffered power strips, and you can't see a single cord beneath the desk from across the room. I also actually like the cut-out on the keyboard shelf. I don't use that shelf for a large keyboard currently, because I don't have or want one for what I'm doing, but I love storing various gear there that I can just pull out as necessary and not have it cluttering up the desk. The cut out lets me pull it out half-way to access gear quickly without moving my chair. Also, I'm 6'2, and I have no problem with my legs hitting anything. I'm a writer, so the desk is for writing AND music production - it couldn't just be a music production desk - and it works well for me as both. I bolted in an incredibly heavy duty OC White Mic Scissor arm on the top left, which can hold the heaviest stereo mics, and a large artemide tolomeo scissor lamp on the right, so that those things can fold out right to the center of the desk without hitting the monitors. Since I would have had to pay not only the shipping, but the cutting and finishing of all the pieces, I don't think I could have assembled the desk for much under what they charge for it, if at all. Obviously, if you already have the space and tools - and the time - you can do it for less. But if you're looking to save money just for a production desk, I'd say just skip the keyboard tray and then it's $150 less. You can always add it later if you really think you need it, and since it's concealed, you could also build one yourself for less. But kudos for sharing this - incredibly nice work!

I LIVE IN VENEZUELA AND IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PURCHASE THE DESK TO OUTPUT, BUT THANKS TO YOUR VIDEO AND YOUR DRAWINGS CAN MAKE ME ONE. DREAM FULFILLED. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. :)

This is great. The only thing that has had me hesitant about the Platform desk is that I really feel not having the angled racks is a major oversight for exactly the reasons you mentioned.

I built that desk with the help of a friend. It cost me about 200 dollars and took a day and a half to build and stain. I had fun building it and I love the desk!

thank you, this was by far the best video about this topic. i have been dabbling in woodworking and apparently am a natural so wanted to start by building myself a custom studio desk centered around DI guitar recording but versatile enough to show features for all aspects of music production (as it will be either prototype for, or will be first show model for a line of custom desks i want to start making and hopefully for order to customer specs in future) and i was going to start by altering the design of this particular model (making my own design for the sides to look and feel different completely) and see how i can improve on the ergonomics and bells n whistles like the cable routing stuff. you gave me some great ideas to start and was most clear/intelligent explanation of the process. nice job also, looks great and since you used geometry etc it turned out perfect speaking to utility. im using a pseudo corner desk thats a fold out table, and bulky platform desk with drawers on either side that is falling apart, shoved in a corner in an already cramped bedroom (since we had to take in a roomate for $ reasons, my music/kickboxing room became another persons bedroom lol) so for roughly 250 (and even up to 350/4) and a few days work i think will be well worth it for use and practice! studio mounting stuff goes for insane prices, so to be able to offer decent alternative handmade at lower cost/ or same over the top cost but incredible customization/personalization and 1 on 1 customer service etc i think i can move some desks! always wanted to mess around with driftwood too, could be a fun application here.

Wait.... you actually found a use for Pythagoras' theorem? Dude.. you're a unicorn.

Props to you for that handcut angle !!!!

Dawg I haven't done geometry in 13 years

Hi Richard, thank you for the plans. I used your plans and built my own desk, and like you, did a few modifications to suite my needs. I'm really impressed with the way it turned out and can't thank you enough for the work you put in drawing it all out. GREAT JOB!

Wow this video has been such a great blessing. I'm about to start this same project building my own version of the "Platform" with my own sizes that I want. I kept thinking maybe I should just give in and pay $800, but just like you, their desk doesn't have the exact needs I have. Thank you for giving me courage to embark on this journey!

This is exactly what I need. I have the same mixer as you, so it’s good to know it will fit!

The marketing video you reference also mentions very early on that those angled inserts are reversible, so they don't have to be angled.

Thanks for the video! I'm currently building this desk with the same material (russian birch ply). I have made some size adjustments to the desk for personal preferences but nevertheless your cut plan was extremely helpfull. s/o to you my man!

The cutouts for the racks are great not only for angled racks but for straight racks because your hardware may need to breathe. Everyone building one of these should cut holes under their racks for circulation 👌

Output should hire you, or build one with your tweaks, 4U is amazing, and the Angle on Racks, is GENIUS !!! and i like no cutout on bottom tray

Wish you would have done a step by step for people who dont have the skills to build stuff like this. Its great you showed you can do it but most people dont have those kind of skills. I am going to be building a desk similar to this here soon so i appreciate seeing the measurements on there though so that takes the guess work out for me :).

Haha this is brilliant. All done from a picture in a few seconds of a marketing video.

Phenomenal!! The mods you implemented really makes it look better than the original. Kudos!!!👏👏👏🙌🙌

How did you start the angle hand cuts in the cutouts?

Just wanted to shout out to Richard diZerega! We were going to purchase the output desk as well, but viewed your video and decided to go DIY also. We decided to make it a 28U rack space version and it's on our RU-vid channel Richard if you're interested in seeing it.

Great job man! I went the DIY route too because I thought the screen was too high. I omitted the center rack and changed the dimensions so that it would fit the width of an iMac :)

Can’t find 5x5 sheets of plywood! Did you buy locally or order online? May try to apply the drawings to 4x8 sheets and see how they fit. Advice welcome 🙏🏼

Great work! Looks very good. What's that 16 channel fader controller you've got on the desk?? Model ?

Great job ! I just love the "Pythagorean Theorum!"

As I think of building this myself, I found someone who did it already! Typical haha Thanks a lot for the video!

This is great! I totally agree about the slanted racks and going 4u rather than Output's straight 3u. Thank you for sharing!

Great build! You had to go 4 spaces to fit your DAW....which is great...you loose 3 spaces but then you gain back 2 spaces....sweet desk! I'm building something (somewhat) similar.....so I'll find the plans you drew up helpful....even tho I'll have to customize my own plans from them! Nice job!

Pretty straight forward project but excellent execution man, She's beautiful. And really nice idea with the angled rails. Great job

I was thinking the same thing I wanted angled racks I been holding back on this desk a while. I cant find something else that suits my needs but the rack space is my down fall. I may have to build one too.

Fantastic! I wish I had half the skills required to build this myself. One of the key criticisms of the Output Platform is that the keyboard tray is too small for some popular 88-key controller keyboards such as the Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol S88, so I suppose that's a great reason to go the DIY route! Apparently Output maybe have a new version of the Platform in the works - so hopefully they fix the small keyboard tray and adopt angled racks!

Perfect! I had wondered why the Racks were not angled in the first place. Ty for this video and everything else.

If you build this, be careful as the plan calls for the keyboard sides to be 4 inches. That is fine for a computer keyboard, but not for an Arturia 88. For that bump to 6" instead.

Why using those unuseable inches? Thanks anyway for this outstanding video.

Nice work! And thanks for sharing the info. The original product actually does not have a double-thick desktop surface. There is a layer of plywood that is glued under the front and side edges of the desktop. This is visible on the rear-view on Output's website, and on some other review videos. I'm thinking of building one, like you did, and I'm considering doubling up the entire surface like you did, to prevent issues with sagging. Thoughts? < edit > Now I see that you used a router to remove some of the bottom of the desktop.

I wish Output kept these in stock. It's difficult to get desks/stands right now. There's some cool options, but a lot of them are either out of stock, or they're overseas. I like Jaspers and Black Panther Systems multi tier synth stands, but I don't fully understand how customs works/charges. From what I understand, if you get something sent from overseas, from certain countries, and spend a certain amount, customs will charge 7-10+%. I feel like I should just go for it, but I could put the costs towards a nice synth or drum machine. I hate the clutter that I currently have, so I feel like a nicer desk, and a premium synth stand, will help my workflow and inspire me more. Having machines scattered all over different desks, is not inspiring at all. I feel that having a nice desks, and proper stands will be more inspiring than a new piece of premium gear. I'm just a bit unsure what I should get. I have tools and experience, but it would be difficult to build what I want, due to my only saws being circular saws and a sawzall . I used to have a table saw, and jigsaw, but not anymore. I feel that I'm better off buying one from a company. I like your design though. I wish I could build it.

wait - if you want angled rack mounts, don't you just flip the separators around? I thought for sure that they designed the desk to accommodate the exact thing you're describing? ETA: Ohhhh, I think I get it; you wanted the gear to mount at an angle....interesting! I don't think I've seen this style anywhere else - great idea! New question: where did you get the piece for the keyboard tray? I thought they only sold the two pieces (left/right) with the gap in the middle...but yours seems to match the desk perfectly. Did I miss something? ETA AGAIN: Wait - you built this from scratch?? I'm watching this video from my Platform Desk right now, and yours is identical. Wow, great work!! This whole time I thought you bought the desk and tweaked it to your liking; this is a whole other level!

Would it be possible to add angled racks to the middle section as well? It looks like it does some loud bearing for the upper shelf. Not sure it would hold if the lower shelf was hollowed out in the middle.

Yeah I wish that output would have done the angled rack mounts. You did a great job!

Thanx And Love for you brother for providing the drawing paper.

Will you be doing a DIY Output Sidecar and if so when can we expect that video to come out?

Hi Richard, Thanks for the lovely video. Is it possible for you to provide the dimension in Centimeters? What is weight

Great video, wished I saw it before I ordered from Output 4 weeks ago... now they are telling me 8 weeks before they even ship.

What are the keyboard tray dimensions - I really want to build this but also want to ensure it can fit a Native Instruments S88 mk2 in the keyboard tray - I believe it is about an inch to wide for the original Output desk tray

Best part of this video is the pink drum kit in the back ground.

Thank you for the plans. Excellent work on your desk. I have begun building one for myself.

GREAT video Richard!! I have a question regarding your build? When constructed, what is the length of the keyboard tray? Is it a total length of 59” as outlined in CutPlan3 or 54 1/2” as per my math? As per James message below, I actually have a NI S88 controller and may have to reverse engineer the desktop. Appreciate your response good sir!

Hi Richard. Great video one lnk I did not see was for the bottom left side cable pass thru. Where did you get that? It has like brisel in black color. I am going to do mine but I will use wrap instead of finishing it like you. I appreciate knowing where you got it. Thanks again for a great video.

What a great video. You are very succinct in your language and this was a breeze to follow along with. Kudos man!

I wish I could build this. That is the exact desk I need.

Great video. I'm making one! I also have specific requirement's for my setup that I cant find without spending 1500$. Thank you again!

Great job and very attractive result.

“Basic geometry” and I’m here struggling with long division😂

Great job the desk came out perfect 👌and i like the mouse pad i also got one with my wife and our daughters!

Regarding the bevel and the equipment in the racks, would it be an idea to have some kind of support for them? Or would they be ok just err "Free Hanging" in space?

Any chance you have the measurement for the keyboard tray? Can’t find it in your plans

great tips to making your own! Curious about the mixer / surface.... looks like a 16 channel of sorts? Do you still have it or have you changed it out. THANK YOU!

I wish I was high on potenuse

Could you explain what you mean when you say you used the router to "chamber the bottom ply of the tabletop" ? I'm new to woodworking and haven't heard of the term "chamber" before. Are you more or less hollowing out the bottom of the table? That's my best guess based on the visual and the explanation that your goal was to reduce weight. How deep do you routing recommend going when you do this?

how stable is your midi keyboard tray ? because mine isnt stable and its annoying to playing and that is because the slides have movement itself, can i fixit changing for biggers slides ? thanks !

It's actually not Geometry. It's Algebra and Trigonometry. The Tan function is from Trig and Pythagorean Theorem is Algebra. Other than that a well thought out and executed plan. Bravo!

Looks great - thanks for sharing - I echo some of the comments below and wish I had the skillset to do this myself

that's really cool! I wanted to build this for a while now. This will make my life way easy. thanks for this. do you have a list for the hardware like the screws you used?

Hey Richard, I'd love to know how you went about mounting the hardware. I have a Platform, and I just bought an Apollo x8. I'm curious how you did the rack mounts. Would you be willing to share? Thanks!

Hi Richard! I look at CutPlan3.JPG (Leg(n)) and I found that the 14 15/32 (14.46875) inches adjoining to the corner of 45-degree's angle give a hypotenuse in 20.4619 inches, but you have 4 + 15 5/8 (19.625) inches. What's wrong here? Thanks in advance!

Great desk :-) Can I ask what brand is your mixer?

Hey Richard! Could you provide links to rack covers (where there is no hardware), and all hardware models within your racks? 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

Noticed a small error on one of your drawings. One of your dividers is marked at 7" instead of 7 1/4". The 7 1/4" is correct as the 1/4" is the dado allowance.

Nice Echoplex!!!

How did you go about the assembly? In terms of screws and their so called "screw pizzas"?

I’ve been looking for such a desk with a front surface low enough to carry a stage piano, so that counting the height of the keyboard area it won’t be too high as a piano. A real piano keyboard top surface is about 48” from ground. But I have not found a desk with a surface low enough

What is the size of the keyboard tray? It's not listed on the cut plans. What size drawer slide did you use for the keyboard tray? When I click the link Amazon there is a 10", 14" and 22" available.

What is the width, from rack to rack? That is, the width of the cell for the equipment. The height is clear - 6 3/16, but the width? Thanks.

The dropbox link doesn't work anymore...Does anyone have a copy of the measured drawings??

Killer woodwork

Is there a materials list available anywhere?

Apologies, I am sourcing material, and was wondering if you already answered this, but what screws did you use?

Did you change the size of the modesty board to accommodate the angled rack cutouts....beautiful job!

How is the height of the bridge? Is it still good for screen and monitor?

what is the rack unit called with the bristles and wire going through it?

Hey Richard. In a few weeks I am going to start this build myself. My main concern is the keyboard tray. My keyboard is 54 1/2” long. Will it fit on the keyboard tray and still slide if I use the measurements exact as they are on your cut plan? Or, would I have to make the entire desk longer?

Did you ever follow up with cable management for the desk? I think I'm going to build this desk within a week!

Hey can you please tell me what kinda mixer you have ??

I was curious about the fasteners you used to hold the sandwiched side pieces together. Did you use inserts for the inner side piece or does your bolt go all the way through and use a nut? Thanks!!!

Wow, great project and presentation! Think I will have a go at building it, though I will probably skip the angled rack cutouts as I'd like to keep that space to slide away a pad controller or something. A couple quick questions if you have a moment: 1. What kind of fasteners are used on the sides? 2. How did you bond the 2 desktop pieces? If glued, how many clamps are needed? 3. Looks like the dividers and sides are fit with 1/4" rabbets and dadoes. Are those only cut on the bottom of the shelf and top of the sides, or are there any other special joints? Thanks!!

I'm going to be building a desk with this design, but possibly some changes to dimensions (overall height, width)... but I'm curious as to how you arrived at 7" for a 4U space, when single slot gear measures 1.5". If you could let me know, I would very much appreciate it, as I'm not sure if I'm missing something here. Thanks! Edit: Also, have you run into any issues with design that you would do differently, if you were to do this again?

Would be helpful to be a bit clearer on the size and position of the cutouts in the desktop for the rack equipment to slot into

I see you used the router on the top shelf and rack separators. Did you adjust your measurements at all for this? Also how did you attach the separators? Thanks!

Awesome build! What did you use to fasten the desk together? Just regular screws? I want to build this desk soon but also plan on moving within the year so I'm trying to come up with a way where I can disassemble and reassemble the desk for transportation and not sacrifice stability

awesome explanation !!! i built this desk using your mesurements and it looks awesome on my studio !!! thanks for the video !!!

What’s your mixer called? That thing that’s waving around

Hey Richard I’m getting started building this desk using your drawings. I was just curious what your cut measurement is for the angled racks going into the desk like we’re do I stop the cut. From the end of the desk going toward the center. It might be shown in the cut drawings but I’m not seeing it. Just the length of the cut is all I need

Is that a control surface or a mixing board & what's the name & model

bro really just wanted to flex on all the musicians with his math skills lmao, bro knew could've just shown the dimensions. I love it.

one question what did you use to assemble the risers with the top desk ? in the instruction video they call it screw pizzas and I couldn't find them anywhere.

Great video! Where did you purchase the plywood?

Hi Richard, thanks for the great video! In your plans, I see that divider 2 (in CutPlan1) has a dimension labeled 7", but divider 1 (in CutPlan2) has a dimension labeled 7 1/2". Should these both be 7"? Thanks again!

Impressive work!

Hey Richard, this is a brilliant build, love the angled rack mounts. I’ve had my eye on this desk since Output first released it, I think for my purposes, it comes really close to being the ideal desk, but it lacks one critical feature, a sit/stand capable base. Now, I know you would lose a lot of the aesthetics with those beautiful angled legs missing, but do you think there would be any way to create a version of this that would mount onto one of those powered bases that are sold by various outlets online, which allow you to add your own table top?

Where did you find 5x5 sheets of plywood? Im only finding 4x8 haha