Recording sound in a studio
Studio recording set up
Each recording studio wherever you go in the world will be different, some will follow the same basic kit and sound recording equipment depending on the budget of the given studio. Typical sound recording studios may have:
- Quality condenser microphone (in college we have a Rhode NT1A)
- A pop filter (which reduces certain sounds made by the body like S's and P's)
- Sound card or Audio interface (this is used so that the sound engineers can manage the volume levels etc. At college we have an Onyx Producer 2-2)
- Quality headphones and loud speakers (so that you can hear the playbacks in the control room and in the vocal room the people or person recording can hear what they are doing with their headphones)
- A mixing desk (this is optional, recording studios only really use this when they are dealing with a live room so they can control the volumes on multiple inputs)
- Computers with chosen software (lots of people use Adobe Audition like college others will use software like Logic and Pro-tools or garage band)
Different rooms in a studio
There are some studios that have multiple rooms that are being used within the studio in order to record the sound that they need. There are 2 main rooms that will be used in a studio.
- Control room
- Vocal/amp room and Live room
The control room is usually where the sound engineers are with producers and other people that may be there. This room also contains majority of the equipment like the mixing desk, computer and sound card/audio interface. This room also has the speakers in which plays the sound that is being recorded in either the live room or the vocal room, it can also play back what had been recorded with any effects or music that is playing along side it.
The Live room or vocal/amp room is usually where all the vocals or instruments are going to be recorded. They have headphones on so they can hear what they are doing as well as any music or other instruments that are playing along as well. Between the two rooms is usually a one sided mirror glass or just glass so that both performer and producer can see each other and talk to each other.
Recording sources
When artists or media companies use studios to record sound they are probably wanting to record multiple things at the same time. You can have times when they are just wanting to record a single source, this could be one of 3 things:
- Vocals with a backing track
- Voice over for a film or documentary
- A single musical instrument e.g. Guitar, Piano etc.
When people want to record multiple channels at the same time they usually use a mixing desk in order to do so. The only situations that would use multiple sources at the same time would be:
- Interview with more than one person
- Band recording with multiple instruments
- Recording a drum kit (this needs multiple microphones)
- Musical cast recordings
Talk back
Talk back is heard when the sound engineer and the recording artist/talent is in two separate rooms. Talk back is usually a button which is found on the mixing table that allows the sound engineer or producer/anyone in the control room to be able to talk to the talent. This is usually used in order to give feedback and the action plan for what they want to do.
Volume levels
Normally in the control room while there is a recording going on there will be a programme that show the levels of volume. The volume levels will be shown in DB which stands for Decibels and they are monitored on either a PPM (Peak Program Meter) or VUM (Volume Unit Meters). On both of these monitors there is a 0 db level, this is the maximum that the volume level should be at, if this goes over then the sound will peak and distort.
Studio Cabling
When working in a studio there are lots of things that aren't battery powered and are needed to be plugged into mains and then into the several places and things that need to be powered. Therefore, organising the cables so they are not scattered around on the floor for people to trip over and then become a hazard. To avoid a health and safety issue and minimise the amount of unplugging at the end of the day, the cables are usually plugged into a patch bay. This patch bay means that all of the equipment is all plugged in to one place, making it easier and safer for the end of the day.
