T3.4 Intro to studio Studio Health and safety It is important to now the heath and safety hazards when using the studio. One of the most important things to know is where the fire exits are located. s shown !elow the emergency exits are located outside the studio control rooms. If the fire alarms sound"s use the nearest possi!le exit. Howe#er only use these exits in emergency"s only. There are many trip hazards around the studio for example when walking to the studio on the left side of the map there is a large hazards where the ca!le go in !etween the li#e room and control room. lso there are lots of ca!le"s around on the floor mostly in the li#e room. $hen working around !ass amps and %rum kits when there !eing played !e careful of your ears as these are capa!le of reaching high S&' (Sound pressure le#els). This could damage your hearing permanently so ear plugs can !e worn in the li#e room when walking in and out.
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It is important to now the heath and safety hazards when using the studio. One of the most
important things to know is where the fire exits are located. s shown !elow the emergency exits
are located outside the studio control rooms. If the fire alarms sound"s use the nearest possi!le exit.
Howe#er only use these exits in emergency"s only. There are many trip hazards around the studio
for example when walking to the studio on the left side of the map there is a large hazards where the
ca!le go in !etween the li#e room and control room. lso there are lots of ca!le"s around on thefloor mostly in the li#e room. $hen working around !ass amps and %rum kits when there !eing
played !e careful of your ears as these are capa!le of reaching high S&' (Sound pressure le#els).
This could damage your hearing permanently so ear plugs can !e worn in the li#e room when
+or example if you looked at a speakers specifications the fre*uency range would !e displayed.
Types of connectors found in the studio
nalogue ,a!les
-alanced and un!alanced ca!les
/ocal mic will usually ha#e a !alanced ca!le normally an 0'1
-ass2uitar amps will usually use an un!alanced signal
Speaker ca!le will !e !alanced
$hat is the difference !etween !alanced and un!alanced ca!les
This diagram shows a T1S 5ack #s TS 5ack. They won"t sound like each other mainly !ecause
!alanced ca!les are more immune to noise from things like radio fre*uencies. The technical reason
!ehind why they don"t pick up as much noise as un!alanced ca!les is !ecause they ha#e 3 wires
Tip 6 &ositi#e1ing 6 7egati#e
Slee#e 6 round
Tip 6 &ositi#e
Slee#e 6 round
How does a !alanced ca!le stop noise
$hen a !alanced ca!le recei#es an audio signal !oth positi#e and negati#e get the same signal. The
difference !etween the two is that the polarity of the negati#e Is in#erted. s two signals tra#el
through the ca!le !oth will ha#e a !uild up of noise. The noise will tra#el up and down the ca!le !utwill tra#el past each other at the same time this effecti#ely cancels out the noise !ringing it to a
The most common lead used in patch !ays Is the !antam lead. These ca!les are &/, 5acketed for
minimum noise. There #ery thin and usually not #ery long so they do not get tangled with other
ca!les. There 5o! is to pass information !etween the mixer and out!oard e*uipment such as a
compressors :headphone amps and effects.
udio interface
The whole point of the udio interface is to replace the internal sound card used on 9acs2&c. These
internal sound cards pro#ide low *uality sound compared to an audio interface. 'ow latency audio
recording means much !etter *uality sound o#erall: the whole reason why you would use a external
card. A#ery!ody from a !edroom producer to a professional sound engineer needs one. The audio
interface usually is in a small !ox. This can stream and record multiple channels of high *uality
audio.
This picture shows an a#erage looking audio interface. Bou can see this has ; 0'125ack inputs for
example you can put in a #ocal mic or e#en a drum kit a record them all at once and ha#e control
o#er the gains of the channels coming in. It will allow you to send phantom power to the mics if
needed. lso it will gi#e you a #isual display of the channel le#els. This sound card recei#e"s andsends information to computer through thunder!olt. It also has a stereo C out to send to monitors :
9idi in and out and headphone out. lso this comes with software control which allows you control
the whole thing digitally.
%irect in5ection
%irect in5ection using a %I !ox or a %i input of an audio interface or a mic pre amp. This is a
process of where an analogue audio signal can !e changed from guitar le#el or mic le#el from
un!alance to !alanced. This will sol#e pro!lem with interference as well for example the humming
The main reason of the patch !ay in the studio is to make changing ca!le going in and out of mixers
and out!oards much easier and *uicker. ,onnections are located at the !ack of this e*uipment
therefore ha#ing a patch !ay in front of you can ad5ust where needed. &atch !ays use !antam leads
as shown a!o#e.
/8 9etre
/8 9etre stands for #olume unit: these can !e found normally at the top of a mixing desk. The /8
metre is cali!rated at D@@@Hz. So when its metering it doesn"t change fast !ut slowly. T his gi#e
you a more accurate reading.
7oise gate
noise gate will mute an audio signal when set to a certain threshold. The reason why there used is
to stop unwanted noise. Howe#er this don"t stop all noise: when the signal is acti#e it will !e louder
than the noise so you can"t hear it much. $hen the signal has stopped thats when the gate needs to
kick in and stop the noise. ates are used on drums mainly !ecause they resonate. +or example
when a tom is hit the sound wa#e will continue. -ut this will effect the final mix as it is unwantedsound. Therefore !y adding a gate it will shorten the wa#eform meaning the unwanted sound is no
longer there.
How to use a noise gate
7oise gates can come as software or an electronic de#ice. There are two main things that will effect
how much acti#ity happens. threshold is when you set a certain #olume say E?@d- when the audio
gets this point the cut will happen. The reduction will decide how much the cut is say ED@@d-.
&arametric e*ualisation
This will allow you to change certain parameter that you find on a e*ualiser. This will allow you to
change the fre*uency: !andwidth and gain. 8nlike a graphic e*ualiser which doesn"t allow you to
ha#e this much control. This type of e* is used mostly on %$ (digital audio workstation). This
type of e* will gi#e you more control o#er any other at this time.
Shelf AF
This is used to cut or !oost high and low fre*uencies in the mix. +or instance if you wanted to add
more high end when recording cym!als of a drum kit. The Shelf e* looks like a tuning fork and can