That's Audio Baby!
STUDIO OPERATION
Preparation
The source of audio must be prepared, as this is what will affect the outcome of audio the most.
Distribution
File formats that the audio can be saved as, and which ones are suited for what kinds of distribution.
PREPARATION
Before any recording starts, the source must be prepared or rehearsed in order to minimize the amount of errors in the final audio. For example, a guitarist who meddles with sheet music during a recording will find that there is the unwanted noise of papers rustling in the final audio; this can be avoided if they memorize the main chords before recording. They could also add live effects to the sound by playing the guitar in different ways, such as playing with a pick versus without, as that will affect the outcome of the sound.
STRUMMED
PLUCKED
PRODUCTION
During recording there will be a recording engineer or boom operator to ensure that the microphone is set up correctly for the most optimal sound quality. They will also check the surroundings to get an idea of how the environment will affect the sound output (also known as an environment's acoustic properties).
A live room, which is made specifically for sound recording, will ensure clear sound that is free of reflections or unwanted room tone. It usually has a low ceiling and medium to large room size, allowing instruments to have a slightly 'wet' sound output. 'Wet' sound is when elements of the acoustic environment can be heard, and is described as a more realistic sound. Whereas a 'dry' sound does not appear to have any acoustic environment - it can be described as sounding 'dead'.
WET DRUM SOUND
DRY DRUM SOUND
LIVE ROOM
DEAD ROOM
VS
-
Good for music recording as it provides a more 'realistic' wet acoustic environment
-
Laminate (wood) flooring and walls to absorb sound without dampening it too much
-
Heavy double doors make an airlock for outside sound to disappear in
-
Low ceiling to prevent reflections and dissipation of sound into the air
-
Medium to large room size to maintain 'liveliness' of sound in the room
-
Minimal furniture, usually only consisting of instruments, to prevent excessive sound absorption
-
Good for recording dialogue for ADR as it provides a dry acoustic environment
-
Foam padded walls and laminate flooring to absorb more sound than a live room
-
Heavy double doors make an airlock for outside sound to disappear in
-
Low ceiling to prevent reflections and dissipation of sound into the air
-
Small room size to prevent sound from travelling, creating dry sound
-
No furniture except for microphone and headphones to ensure sound is immediately absorbed by the foam padded walls instead of reflecting.
Alternatively, sound recording may be done on location instead of in a studio. There will obviously be a strong acoustic environment compared to the controlled parameters of a studio, however this may be what the sound recordist intends (for example, if they want to record the ambience of a busy cafe).
​
​
​
​
LIVE ROOM
DEAD ROOM
LOCATION RECORDING
As seen in 'Studio Layout', there are often separate rooms for the keyboard, vocal, amplifier, and instrument recording. This is because electronically produced sound, vocals, and instruments all have different acoustic qualities, and they produce the most optimal sound if recorded in different ways:
​
Keyboards are computers instead of instruments; they do not produce a sound on their own. When you press a key, it tells the computer what pitch, volume, and sound to produce; this is how keyboards can simulate a variety of instruments. This data is called MIDI - 'Musical Instrument Digital Interface' - and consists of the above data which the computer then outputs into a specific sound. Therefore, keyboards can be directly plugged into the control room's recording software and do not need to be placed in the band room to be recorded with a microphone.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Amplifiers also electronically produce sound, as they take the input of an instrument and electronically amplify it through a speaker. They need to be put in a specific room to prevent feedback, as the sound coming from the speakers could be picked up by other microphones in the band room and bounce back and forth between the microphones very quickly, creating that ringing noise known as feedback. Moreover, amplifiers are quite loud and it is better to place them in a dead room to dampen their sound and prevent peaking (noise that is too loud for the microphones) on the recording.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Vocal rooms are designed to be dead rooms and dampen sound as much as possible, as most purposes require a very clean voiceover without any elements of an acoustic environment. A well known example would be radio; broadcasters would not want unwanted room tone or ambient sounds in the background of their audio, as it would diminish the quality of the voice. Another purpose would be ADR (Automated Dialog Replacement) where a film actor may re-record a line that they didn't perform so well - their voice need to be very clean so it can be placed into the film track and still 'fit in'. If there were unwanted ambience, this would make the ADR very noticeable.
​
​
​
​
​
​
Finally, the band room is of medium to large room size and allows for more 'lively' sound, but still has dampening acoustic qualities to prevent reflections. If the room was too dead, the instruments wouldn't sound realistic or pleasant, whereas if the room were too lively there could be reflections of the sound bouncing around the room. This is why recording studios need to have a good mix of 'liveliness' and 'deadness' in the band recording room, unlike a vocal room which should be very dead.
This is what MIDI data looks like when input into a DAW (digital audio workstation) program called FL Studio. The program uses this data to play the note 'D#5' for the length of time specified by the green boxes.
WHAT FEEDBACK SOUNDS LIKE
HEADPHONES WARNING: THIS IS A VERY UNPLEASANT SOUND AND IT IS RECOMMENDED YOU LISTEN WITH SPEAKERS AT A LOW VOLUME
SOUND RECORDED IN A VOCAL ROOM
THE CONTROL ROOM
Each room above has a pair of headphones available so the musician can hear the recording engineer communicate with them from inside the control room. The recording engineer can also play a backing track through one ear of the headphone and allow the musician to listen to themself in the other ear, which is useful when a band is recording their instrumental parts separately.
Inside the control room there is a soundboard where the recording engineer can control the sound live, as opposed to changing it in post-production. There is usually an equalizer with 6-10 frequency bands, allowing them to adjust how loud the low, mid, high pitched frequency sounds are. Along with built-in filters and effects that can be applied live.
EQUALIZER
Where the low, mid, and high frequencies of the sound can be adjusted. If you want more bass, you could turn up the low frequencies on the far left.
MIC INPUTS
Where the microphones from each room are plugged in.
CHANNELS
Each microphone input is assigned to a channel. Each channel's volume can be adjusted here.
EFFECTS &
FILTER KNOBS
Built in effects and pre-set filters that can be applied live. For example, a pre-set that makes the input sound like it is coming from a concert hall.