Studio Manual

Studio Plan:

Control Room A:

Health And Safety:

Due to loud noise in studio rooms it could be very difficult to hear
alarms so visual alarms have been built in, which flash when there
is an emergency. When there is an emergency individuals using the
studio will have to make their way to the sports field.
Trip Hazards:
Studios always have dangerous hazards, on of the most major
hazards are tripping over leads. This is due to lots of wires being
around the studio please ensure extra responsibility is to be taken
when in the studio.
Equipment Safety:
Due to the studio being full of excellent, quality equipment and
instruments, to avoid them being damaged it is highly recommended

that you do not eat or drink in the studio. Also Portable Appliance
Testing is carried out once a year to ensure that the studios are
safe to work in.

Equipment:
Audio Interface: An audio interface is a piece of hardware which
expands and improves the sonic capabilities of a PC or Mac. They
also give you the ability to connect, microphones instruments &
alternative signals to your PC or Mac.
DI: A DI is a device which is used in recording studios what it does is
convert unbalanced signals to balanced. The most familiar type of DI
Box is passive which in most cases is used to match line levels or
instrument sources such as guitars & keyboards and matches them
to the microphone input. Often they also have a ground lift switch
which can sometimes reduce unwanted hums & noise.
Patchbay: Patchbays are widely used to simplify connection of
various different devices which include: Microphones, electric or
electronic instruments, Effects (EQ, Compression etc) which

makes it easier to connect different devices in different orders

because all of the changes can be made at the patchbay.
VU: A VU meter is a device which displays a representation of a
signal level in Audio Equipment.
Noise Gate: A noise gate is a electronic device/software which is
used to control the volume of an audio signal.
Parametric EQ: A parametric EQ is a EQ which controls 3 aspects of
each frequency, those are level (boost or cut), the center or primary
frequency and the bandwidth or range of each frequency. A
parametric EQ also is able to control the bandwidth and range of
each control
Shelving EQ: Shelving EQ boosts frequencies above or below a
specified cutoff point. Shelving EQs come in 2 different varieties
they are High Pass & Low Pass. Low Pass shelving filters all
frequencies below a specified cutoff frequency, while reducing all
the frequencies above the cutoff. The High Pass Filter does the
opposite. (quoted from:
http://www.presonus.com/community/Learn/Equalizer-Terms-and-T
ips)

Equipment Specifications:
Soundcraft Sapphyre (Mixing Desk)

KRK E8B Specifications:

Configuration: 2 Way
System Type: Active Studio Monitor
Low-Frequency: 8 Dual Layer Kevlar/Rohacell Woofer

Mid-Frequency: N/A
High Frequency: 1 AlBeMET (Aluminium/Beryllium) Inverted dome
tweeter.
Frequency Response: 40Hz-30kHz (+/- 2dB)
Max Peak SPL: 115 dB
Amplifier Class: Class A-B
Power Output: 240W
High Frequency: 120W
Mid Frequency: N/A
Low Frequency: 120W
Input Impedance (OHMS) 10 K Ohm balanced
HF Level Adjust: -2B -1.5dB, -1, 0-5dB. 0dB, +0.5dB, +1.0dB LF
HF Shelf: -2dB, 1.5dB-,1dB- 0-5dB, OdB +0.5dB, 1.0dB
LF Level Adjust: -3dB @ 45Hz- 3dB @ 50Hz-3dB @ 65Hz
System Volume: (30dB - +6dB)
Auto Mute: N/A
Indicators: Power
Indicator Control: N/A
Input Connectors:
RCA:
N/A
:
N/A
XLR:
Balanced XLR
Ground Lift: N/A
AC Power Input: Selectable 100V, 120V 230V, 240V (50Hz-60Hz)
Enclosure Construction: 25mm MDF

Finish: Black Textured Paint

Port Configuration: Front Firing Slot Port:
Grille: N/A
Mounting: Bottom
Compatable OmniMount: 120.0 WBX
Dimensions (H x W x D): 19.3 (491mm) x 14.6 (370mm) x 14
(355mm)
Weight: 67 Lbs. (30.4 Kg.)

Fostex PM 0.5 Specs:

Drivers: High frequency driver 3/4 soft dome tweeter
Low frequency driver 5 woofer
Dimensions: 270 (H) x 165 (W) x 214.5 (D) mm
10.6 (H) x 6.5 (W) x 8.5 (D)
Weight: 4.5 kg (/pc., net), 10.7 kg (/pair, gross)
9.9 lbs. (/pc., net), 23.5 lbs. (/pair, gross)
Frequency Response: 55 Hz - 30 kHz
Amplifier Maximum Output: High frequency driver 23 W
Low frequency driver 35 W

Leads,Cables & Connections:

Bantam Lead/Patch Lead: A Bantam lead is an insulated lead with a

plug on each end for use with a patchboard.
XLR: A XLR is used for connecting microphones.
Firewire: A firewire is a standard high-performing serial bus which is
used for connecting digital devices to a computer but also so they
can be connected together
USB: USB is used for connection, power supply & communication
between computers and electronic devices.
MIDI Cable: A Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) cable is
used to connect digital instruments together, while it can also
connect the digital instruments up to computers and recorders.
Phono Connector: A phono connector is used to carry audio and
video signals.
Balanced/Unbalanced Jack: A balanced/unbalanced jack is used to
connect monitors and instruments.

Uses For A Channel:

The 2 uses for a channel are for recording & mixing, to record on a
channel strip use the top faders on the desk what the top faders do
is control the input level. to start Mixing or hear playback use the
faders located at the bottom of the desk what this does is control
the output level.

Noise Gate:
The Noise gate can be inserted in the signal path by pressing
(GATE)IN and this generally located in the monitor path. Pressing
the CH button swaps the gate to the channel path.

Shelving EQ: Located just under the noise gate is the Shelving EQ
section of the channel strip. The HF section is a second order
shelving design which gives 15dB of cut or boost at a fixed turnover
frequency of 12kHz. The LF section provides 15dB cut or boost at a
fixed frequency of 60hZ, which is asymmetric which avoids VLF
(very low frequency) to be recorded.
Semi Parametric EQ: Just located under the Shelving EQ is the
Semi Parametric EQ with The HMF & LMF sections having a peak
boost/notch cut response at centre frequencies variable between
600Hz-12kH zand 100Hz-2kHz with the right-hand knobs. 15dB of
cut and boost is available on the left-hand knobs. All of the EQ
section HF/LF & HMF/LMF, can be switched In or Out with the EQ IN
switch.
Monitor Faders: The monitor faders control the overall level of the
mix that are sent to the monitors.

Master Mutes: Master mutes can be be very helpful, what master

mutes does is mute a group of channels so they are muted together
There m1,m2,m3,m4 buttons on every strip.

AUX: Their are 2 AUX sends which are provided. the AUX 1 is a
stereo send which is generally fed by the post-EQ pre-mute the
signals and tracks balance control, Pressing the POST changes the
source to post-fade. Aux 2 is normally a pre-fade mono sum of the
input signal. Pressing the {Post}3 switch makes it a post-fade
mono sum which routes the output to the AUX bus 3.

The Live Room:

The Live Room Consists of, A Drum Kit, Talkback Communication for
the performer and the engineer to be able to communicate while
recording, and a stage box. The Stage box contains microphone
inputs that link all the way back to the control room, this makes it
simple and easy when setting up the microphones on a drum-kit and
plugging them in to the stage box. The stage box is also used to
record vocals by using the same process.
Routing Signal To The Computer: After following the necessary steps
are taken,

The Multicore will send the signal all the way through to the mixing
desk in the control room. Once the signals have been routed to the
mixing desk you can see what channels they are coming through
(this should be the same as the input they are plugged into on the
stage box unless there is an problem with one of the inputs) Doing
this you should be able to select the group outputs you want on your
individual channels for example select 1-2 and pan left to get 1 and
right for 2. then simply re-open Logic create a channel and select
the correct inputs, the signal should now be sent through to Logic.

Patch Bay:

Outboard Equipment:
Delay Unit DB-7 Roland Dep-5
Yamaha SPX90
Samson Power Strip
Samson S-Phone
Focusrite Platinum Twin Trak Pro

Alesis Compressor
Joe Meek SC2.2 Stereo Compressor
TL Audio Ivory Series
Mesa Rectifier Preamp.

Simple Recording:
A simple recording is done very simply, for example to record drums
you would mic up the kit as usual, connect the microphones to
different inputs on the stage box which routes the signal through
the multi-core into the mixing desk. Which then you shall select the
correct input channels on Logic.
DI Recording:
A DI Recording is done with no live instruments and can be done
using Pre-Amps.
Routing To The Compressor During Recording:
To route to the compressor during recording we use the patch bay
on the desk. Locate the patch strip for what channel you are
recording on. After locating the patch a Bantam lead would be used
to send the signal from the channel to the compressor, we would go
from ins send to the left side ins this is due to our signal being in
mono with the input being in stereo. We then use the compressors
left output to send back to ins return on the patch bay. Once this

process is complete the compressor should now be on the channel

strip you are using.

Routing To The Outboard Equipment For Post Production:

Routing to the outboard equipment is a somewhat similar process.
For this occasion you will need to press the Rev button on the
channel strip & once this is completed replicate the previous steps
to go from the patch bay to the compressor however when this is
completed you would have to re-record the signal to logic.

Spreading Your Recording Across The Desk:

If you wish to mix your recording on the mixing desk rather than
mixing in Logic you will need to switch from using top faders on the
desk to the bottom ones which are meant for mixing. What we first
have to do is select a different output for all the channels on Logic.
The reason is because we are going to be using a different group
output for the faders. All the channels at the moment are set to
stereo, which means that the signal for all of these channels is
coming through the monitors and is controlled by the 2 faders. If we
take off the stereo from the channels we should be able to mix the
tracks individually instead of just mixing the overall left and right
monitor output. So lets say we have 4 group outputs you will see
1-2, 3-4. So for the first 2 faders you will pan hard left to get the
output 1 and hard right for output 2 etc. Once you have completed

this process for all the channels you will be able to start mixing
them on the desk.

Bouncing Your Final Mix From The Desk:

Once you have completed a mix on the desk and you wish to bounce
it to logic you need to press the bounce button on all the channels
that you have used on the desk that will send them to the top
faders you must then set them all to the same group output and
create a new audio channel on logic with the correct input.

Recording Drums:
To record drums you will first need to make up the mic up the kit.
The microphones you will be using are:
Audix F14 (Kick Drum)
Snare Top (Shure SM57)
Snare Bottom (Sennheiser)
Toms (Audix F10s)
Hi-Hat (Audix F15)

Overheads (Neumann's)
The correct microphone placement for recording is as follows,
The Kick Drum Mic should be positioned just inside the soundhole.
The Snare Top Mic should be positioned slightly to the side of snare
with the microphone pointing to the center of the snare
The Snare Bottom is positioned straight under the snape again
precisely pointing at the center of the snare.
The Floor & Rack Tom mic is positioned slightly to the side and
again is pointed at the center of the drum.
The Hi-Hat Mic is to be positioned at least 6 inches above the hat
with it pointing as close to the center as possible.
Overhead microphones are positioned directly over the drum-kit. The
Microphones need to be the same in height to avoid latency and as
close to each other as possible without touching each other. After
setting up the kit, you need to connect to the right outputs, and
then choose the right inputs for logic so
for example, the kick would be input 1 so on Logic you would set the
input as input 1 arm the track and then you should hear the kick
drum coming through.

Setting The Right Levels:

To get the right levels for each individual track you would need to
get a drummer to play each part of the drum kit individually so you

do not get any clipping, a respectful level of recording is -12dB or

-6dB. Once you have taken all the necessary steps you should be
able to record drums normally and you will have a multi channel
signal which will then allow you to record to Logic.
Routing Multi Channel Signals: To get multi channel signals from The
Live Room you need to group the outputs on the desk, so for
example lets say Channel 1 & 2 would be group outputs 1 & 2 and
channel 3 & 4 would be You must also pan hard left on the desk for
1, hard right for 2. You should now be able to create your drum
channels on Logic and select the correct input.

Recording Drums:
Once all the necessary steps are completed you can set all your
drum channels to record as you generally would you will have a multi
channel signal which can then record to logic.