Rokit 5 (KRK)

Speaker

Adam 7X
Speaker
EMagic AMT8
Active MIDI

Guide
to Monitor
Studi
o1
EMagic
Logic
Controller

Novation MIDI
Keyboard

Octopre MK11 & Pro 40 are both audio interfaces with 8 inputs & outputs each
to allow us to multi channel. The EMagic AMT8 Active MIDI Transmitter also
has 8 inputs & outputs. The Adam A7X Speakers are near fields monitor
speakers which means they are able to cope with the high volumes & are
used for listening at shorter distances. The Novation MIDI Keyboard changes
analogue to digital convertors then turns back when the track is played. The
Spl 2381 Monitor & Talkback Controller controls volume in the live room & the
Focusrite ISA ONE FF Pre Amp strengthens signal before you record.

Microphones

Rokit 5 (KRK)
Speaker

EMagic
Logic
Controll
er

Adam 7X
Speaker

S-Phone Headphone Mixer

Amp
Pro 40 Audio Interface
Octopre MK11 Audio
Spl 2381 Monitor Interface
& Talkback
Controller
Focusrite ISA
ONE FF Pre
Amp

Dynamic Microphone a microphone which sound waves cause a moveable coil to vibrate in a
magnetic field & induce the current.
Condenser Microphone a microphone that uses a capacitor to convert the compression &
rarefaction of sound waves into electrical energy.
What are the differences between Dynamic & Condenser? Condenser microphones require
power & are more sensitive so are used in studios whereas dynamic microphones are the opposite.
What are polar patterns? A polar pattern is a circular graph that shows how sensitive a
microphone is in different directions. The most common types of direction are Omnidirectional
which picks up sound from everywhere, Cardioid which isolates from unwanted ambient sound &
Supercardioid which offers more narrower pickup but also has pickup at the back of the
microphone.
What is sound pressure? Sound pressure is the difference between ambient pressure of a sound
wave & the static pressure of the medium. In air, sound pressure can be measured using a
microphone & in water with a hydrophone.
What is the proximity effect? The increase of bass frequencies as a directional microphone
comes closer to the sound source.
Whats the frequency response of a microphone? The output level or sensitivity of a
microphone over its operating range from lowest to highest frequencies.

Drum Kit

Drum Microphones consist of:

A F6 microphone for the Kick Drum

A SM57 microphone for the Top Snare
A SM58 microphone for the Bottom Snare
Two F2 microphones for the Rack & Floor Tom
Two F9 microphones for both the Overheads

Setting Up the Drum Kit When setting up the drum kit

microphones, it is helpful if you set them up in a certain order
to
help you remember what microphone leads to what input. Double check the input leads are
connected properly otherwise they could cause the sound of the drum to not flow through
smoothly. The Overhead microphones should be an equal distance away from the Top Snare & you
measure the distance by holding one end of a cable to the end of the Overhead and reach down to
the centre of the Top Snare. You then dont move the cable in the centre of the Top Snare but move
the other end from Overhead to Overhead & you should have the same length of cable. You can
have the overhead microphones in 2 different placements known as XY & ORTF. The XY placement
is easy to manage as the microphones are put at a 90 degree angle. ORTF gives you a "wider"
spread to the sound as the microphones are facing opposite directions at 110 degrees. Apart from
the Overheads the other microphones should be placed facing towards the centre of the drum (as
shown in the photos above) about 2-3 inches away so the sound that is picked up is clear with no
distortion.

How to record a Guitar/Bass

DI Recording DI (direct injection) recording bypasses the
traditional amp and takes the pure signal from your instrument
directly to tape of DAW. Once the guitar or bass is plugged into the
pre amp you can then use the tuner on logic to tune and adjust your
instrument. The pre amp strengthens the guitar/bass signal before
recording. You can get a digital or analogue pre amp.

Inputs
The audio interfaces in the Control Room & the
stage boxes in the Live Room all have 8 inputs & 8 outputs so a total of 16 &
each allows us to multi channel. If you was to set up a drum kit in the live room
you would only need to use 7 inputs so you will be able to connect them to 7
inputs in the control room. Once all have been connected dont forget you need
to arm all of them so you can get the levels you need to record. Arm each input
one at a time so it picks up that specific microphone. To level the overhead
microphones you have to make sure the left overhead is panned at 63 & the right
overhead is panned at 64.

How to Mix
Mixing is about controlling & balancing the near levels of different instruments. Most of the
balancing is done by managing the faders, compression, EQ, reverb & metering.
Compression can be thought as an automatic fader. Used to reduce the dynamics of a signal
that rises above the threshold to a lower volume range. This process is done so that the dynamics
can be managed by the electronics in the signal chain. It is also done so the range is appropriate
to the overall dynamics of a broadcast medium. The most common controls on a compressor
include:
Input Gain this control is used to determine how much signal will be sent to the
compressors input stage.
Threshold This setting determines the level at which the compressor will begin to reduce
the incoming signal. Most quality compressors offer hard & soft knee threshold options. A soft
knee widens or broadens the threshold range making the compression less obtrusive. The
hard knee settings cause the effect to kick in quickly above the threshold point.
Output Gain used to determine how much signal will be sent to the devices output. Its used
to boost the reduced dynamic signal into a range where it can best match the level of a
medium or be better heard in a mix.
Slope Ratio This control determines the slope of the input-to-output gain ratio.

 Attack this setting determines how fast or how slow the device will turn down signals that
exceed the threshold.
EQ can be used as a tool to smooth out differences between cuts or for making changes that
affect the overall character of the entire project. There are two main things you can control with
the EQ. First is the Frequency & the second is the Gain, which is the amount of boost & can be
measured in decibels.
Reverb reverb & delay are the most common effects used in mixing & are about adding
characteristics either by making easy echoes or creating harder patterns. Synthesizers & sampled
sounds have no realistic acoustic. The reverb effect helps give us cues as to the size, density &
nature of a space. The cues can be broken down into 3 subcomponents such as: Direct Signal,
Early Reflections & Reverberation. Direct Signal is heard when the original sound waves travel
directly from the source to the listener. Early Reflections is the term given to those first few
reflections that bounce back to the listener from large boundaries in a given space. Reverberation
is sounds comprised of hundreds of random reflections that travel from boundary to boundary
within the confined room. There are 8 different reverb types that can simulate a wide range of
acoustic environments. These are:
Hall simulates the acoustics of a concert hall & is often a diffuse setting
Chamber simulates the acoustics of an echo chamber. Like a live chamber these settings
have a lighter reflection off of tile or cement surfaces.
Room these settings simulate the settings of acoustics in a normal to large room. It best
suits a solo instrument.

 Live (stage) works a live performance stage. These settings can vary widely but often
simulate long early-delay reflections.
Plate these settings are used on vocals& percussion instruments.
Reverse can be created using a DAW by reversing a track or segment, applying reverb &
then reversing it again to get a realistic backward reverb trail.
Gate cuts off the decay trail of a reverb signal. These settings are often used for emphasis
on drums & percussion instruments.
Metering amps, magnetic tape & even digital media are limited in the range of signal levels
that they can pass without distortion. 2 types of metering response times are encountered in
recording sound to either analog or digital media such as Average or Peak.

Evaluation
I think I found this assessment harder than the previous assessments because it was quite a lot of
work that had to be done in what seemed like enough time but really wasnt. Me & my group
aimed to get our 4 tracks done first before anything to get them over & done with then do the
writing part at home in our own time. Luckily me & Megan had already started mixing &
compressing the Daft Punk track so much wasnt left to do. I struggled with my track the most
because the first track I was originally going to do wasnt long enough & the timing was hard to go
by. So I only had a couple of days to make something new & record it. I found the writing part not
too bad as I had quite a bit written down already from the studio sessions with Andy and I went to
the library to do some more research. Us independently setting up the DI & levels for the drum kit

has made me feel confident in being able to set it up whenever needed. Overall I hope me & my
group have done enough to pass because we all tried our best even though we did struggle at
times.

(I know mine is really bad but I didnt have enough time to perfect it)