Audio recording III
Audio Recording III was a three quarter program that introduced the process and tools of modern recording and sound/music production. This three quarter sequence begins with the study of microphones, portable recorders, and mono/stereo editing. Analog and digital recording using audio consoles, multitrack software, and mixing/production techniques will be introduced as you gain proficiency in the Audio Lab and the audio mixing benches. Final projects were student led, giving us freedom to explore the studios, mixing boards, software, while allowing us to make mistakes and figure out in real time how to solve them.
Audio Recording I - Fall Qaurter
Fall quarter focused on analog mixers and magnetic recording with some work in digital editing. The main topics explored were field recording, digital audio editing, microphone design and application, analog multi-track recording, and audio console signal flow.
To begin this quarter my dad offered a bit of advice, "cut a hole into the bottom of a Dixi cup, put those cups over each of your ears and walk around in the woods". I took this advice and went with the styrofoam I found in my room, sm 58s, and my Zoom H5 field recorder. Although the process was fun, the result was unsatisfying and quite obnoxious in fact. The styrofoam was load and because the mics were adjacent, they picked up all of that movement. Oh well.
Studio Recording
The final project of the fall quarter portion of the program was to record a band in the studio. This process was multifaceted and involved an array of details, many of which were hard to predict. I first began by organizing schedules with the artists and having discussion about what the vibe of the track they wanted to record. After a good session listening to the way that microphones responded to different sounds, I choose my microphones for the recording from the mic locker. The next step was to to decide on microphone placement. This was all done before even entering into the studio, which brought new problems that I needed to learn and solve: the patch bay, mixing console, troubleshooting microphone plugins, gain stations, outboard effects, etc.
OTARI 8-track tape machine
Artists unwinding after the session
The recording session was recorded to tape on an OTARI 8-track tape machine through the TOFT ATB 16 channel analog mixing board. This was the first recording I had made to date. I decided that I would create a final mix in real time while controlling the amplitude, effects, etc of the faders on the TOFT mixer board while the recording was being bounced from the tape machine into Pro Tools. Not only did I not yet know what I was doing, but I was trying to mix, eq, and add effects all from the outboard gear, while doing nothing inside of the DAW. In hindsight after producing music in the digital space, this was a wild approach and generated abberrant results.
