1.

An explanation of the audio equipment specifications, types of

connections, and cabling that can be
found in the studio
including; balanced and unbalanced connections, digital connectors,
computer connectors, patch leads.
(Unit 2, GC2, GC4) (done)
2. An explanation of the terms audio interface,
signal levels, direct injection, patch bay, V
U Meter. Noise Gate,
Parametric EQ, Shelf EQ. Outboard Compressor.
(U2, GC3)
3. A guide to the health and safety issues associated with working in
the studio.
(U31, GC1)
4. A diagram/plan of the studio area, and explanation/diagram of a
channel strip.
(U31, GC1)
5. An outline of available microphones and examples
of suitable uses for each.
(U31, GC1, U2, GC4)
6. How to route signal from the live room to the desk then to the
computer via an external compressor.
(U49, GC1)
7. The processes involved in your drum kit recording and mix, and
creating your final stereo master.
(U2, GC2, 3 & 4. U31
GC1)
Task:
1 Provide
a written studio manual (including video, photos, and diagrams) explaining how you connect, set up, test and operate studio equipment
(Unit 2, Criteria 2,3,4; Unit31, Criteria 1). POST
TO PRIVATE WORKSPACE
2 Provide an audio file of your drum recording (Uni
t 48 GC2 PMD). POST TO COLLABORATIVE GROUP SITE

1). An explanation of the audio equipment specifications, types

of connections, and cabling that can be
found in the studio
including; balanced and unbalanced connections, digital connectors, computer connectors, patch leads.
(Unit 2, GC2, GC4).
Balanced connections- A balanced connection/connector concists of
three conductors within the connector and also three wires within the
actual cables itself. It also consists of a a ground wire and also two
signals wires. Balanced connectors are long in size and usually range
from 50-100 feet long in size meaning that it helps to protect noise a
lot more because of the length of balanced cable
(http://www.aviom.com/blog/balanced-vs-unbalanced/ Aviom.com 13/
03/15 11:30am).
Balanced connection is extremely important in sound recording and
also production because it tends to allow for the use of long cables as
such which therefore work by reducing susceptibility and external
noise also ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balanced_audio wikepedia 13/
03/15 11:42am). The three conductor connections which can be XLR
or TSR phone connector are usually used within balanced connections.
The XLR connectors will be one of the main balanced connectors
which will be used within a studio as this is usual used along with microphones because of their such durable constuction, with also TRS
being used within the studio by being used for mixer inputs and outputs because of their smaller profile (please refer to pitcures below or
how a XLR connector works and how a TRS connectors works within
a studio setting).

This is an example of an XLR

connector being used on a mixing/sound desk.

This is an example of how an XLR

connector may also be used within a studio, being used for a headset
microphone.

unbalanced connections- On an unbalanced connector the connector

will consist of two connectors with two conductors each which are then
connected by two wires within the cable which are called a signal wire
and a ground wire. within the cable the signal wire is usually in the
center of the cable and then with the ground wire surrounding it. The
ground wire has different purposes these being, that it carries some of

the audio signal and also serves to shield the main signal wire to
some sort of degree to protect it from the outside / from noise such as
the vibrations from the transformers and lights which may be used
within a studio, and also shielding from the radio frequency that may
produce interference which will come from tv and radio transmissions.
All in all unbalanced connections do a really good job of rejecting any
noise around within the studio setting but the wire itself can sometimes act as an antenna and therefore pick up noises of its own accords. Examples of an unbalanced connector is, a standard tip sleeve
guitar cable which may be used within a studio order pending on what
the studio is being used for tending to be known as an unbalanced
cable.
Also the standard RCA cable which tend to be used for AV components which therefore may be used within a studio are also known as
an unbalanced cable/connector
(http://www.aviom.com/blog/balanced-vs-unbalanced/ Aviom.com 13/
03/15 12:47pm). (pictures shown below for examples of how the cables for unbalanced connections are used within a studio setting).

This is an example of a
tip sleeve guitar lead and it being used for a guitar within a studio setting showing that the tip carried sound and that the sleeve of the connector shields it from disturbances.

This is showing how a

RCA cable which is an unbalanced connectors can be used within a
studio in this case being connected to a speaker and the sounds/mixer
board.
(http://www.native-instruments.com/forum/threads/beginner-tutorial-ho
w-to-connect-your-s2-s4-to-speakers-and-headphones.185491/ native instruments.com 13/3/15 13:07pm.
Digital connectors- Digital visual interface is one of the main examples
of a digital connector which is used within a music studio. Digital visual
interface is known as a video display interface and is developed by the
DDWG which is shortened for the digital display working group.
Digital connectors for example these ones in particular are used to
help connect a video source for instance connecting a display controller to a display device which the display device might be a computer
screen which can be found within a music studio when transmitting
music and pictures onto a screen to be seen by the person within the
studio working on the sound desk. This specific digital connector being
the DVI-D which is digital only, interface is desighned to transmit uncompressed digital video as such and can be also configured to support multiple modes/examples such as DVI-A which is analog only and
also DVI-I which is both analog and digital. The example of digital
connectors which i have used are DVI-Ds which are digital visual interfaces. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Visual_Interface 14/3/15
10:30am).

HDMI are also digital connectors and can also be used to perform the
same thing as the DVI by tranmitting the images onto a computer
screen but performs a better picture onto the screen. (The following
images are of Digital Visual Interfaces which are commonly used
within a music studio to transmit images onto a computer screen and i
will also include pictures of the HDMI lead being used within a studio
to and what might be tranmitted onto the screen within a fully equiped
music studio).

this is a HDMI cable being used with a sound/music/mixer board to transmit data onto a computer screen. Also using a computer system can be tranmitted onto a
computer screen within a music studio.

This is a HDMI lead that you may

see within the studio being used to transmit things onto a computer
screen or different appliances such as an apple mac or ipad.

whilst using a HDMI lead

this is a potential image which might be used within a music studio
from garage band and logic express pro etc.

This is a digital visual interface connector being used within a studio to connect the equptment to
the ipad which is featured in this picture to transmit the image or also
the music being played on the midi keyboard to transfer on the screen.

This is digital visual interface which is

used within studios on a regular basis.
(http://www.jiscdigitalmedia.ac.uk/guide/audiovisual-signal-types-and-i
nterconnects 14/3/15 11:02am).

This is a different desighn of the digital

visual interfaces which are used within the studio to submit data onto
a screen.

Computer connectors- Computer cables/connectors are used to

transmit data to and from the computer screen and system itself. For
instance there will be different examples of cables and connectors that
can be used to transmit stuff onto a computer system itself but then after it has been put onto the computer system it then has to be implemented onto the computer screen. Common examples of this is that a
usb port on the computer can except dad from either a USB itself or
an external source where it is a usb to phone or other appliance cables. Eitherway these cables allow users to save data onto the computer system and therefore visually see this data on a computer
screen.
If the data cannont be accessed on a usb and has to be transferred
straight from the device being used such as a midi keyboard then another connector such as a hdmi or DVI cable will be used in this instance to transfer data onto the computer screen. Also within a music
studio we sometimes have to transfer data from a computer onto different devices such as a speakers/studio monitors to transfer music
for instance in the case of it being a music studio then a lead called a
jack to jck lead or a aux lead. (the following images will explain the
connectors that can be used within a studio for a computer by transmitting thing on and off and computer from and onto different devices.
Their are three main computer connectors these being, Anolog video
connectors, Digital display connectors and Ethernet cables, all of
these computer connectors play a different roll for instance to input
data and output data. Within a studio these computer connectors will
be used for different things, for example the Analog video connectors
will transmit a video onto the screen which might be used within a music video with the track running over the top of it, Digital display connectors will be used to input the music/backing track onto the computer to run over the video/music video in the case of the music studio.

(pictures below are of these three main computer connectors being

used within a music studio or studio in general).

These are Analog video connectors.

This is a sound board being

connected to a computer within a music studio.

This is a Digital display connector being used within a studio setting to connect a computer to a computer system.

This is what a digital display looks

like and these will be used quite regular within a music studio.

These are called ethernet

cables and are also used and recognised within a music studio being
used to transmit data from a wireless router which will be used to access internet for the music studio which might need to be present to
look up songs depending on what the studio is being used for.

This is one example of

how an Ethernet cable may be used within a music studio to transfer
internet onto computers within the studio setting.
Patch leads- Patch leads are optical or electronic cables used to connect one electronic or also optical devices to another for Signal routing which is also known as a patch in. Devices of different types for instance a switch which is connected to a computer, or even a switch
connected to a router are all connected with these patch leads. Patch
cords are usually come in a lot of different colours so they are easy to
distinguish especially within a music studio this will come in handy,
and they tend to be quite short in length, normally not being very much
bigger than 2 metres which means that they work very well within mu-

sic studios because they dont take up too much room as some studios have limited space. There are different types of patch cords
which tend to include the main ones that are used within a music studio these being, microphone cables, headphone extension cables, tiny
telephone connector, XLR cable, RCA connectors and also 1/4 TRS
connector cables.
Patch cords tend to be as short as 3 inches long, to connect stacked
components or route signals through something called a patch bay, or
they can be also as long as twenty feet or more in length for the snake
cables which are also patch leads which can be found within a music
studio.
Patch cords tend to be made of cables called coaxial cables with the
signals being carried through a shielded core of the cable, and the
electrical connection that are carried through a wire mesh which is
surrounding the core. Each of the ends of these cables tend to be attached to a connector of some kind so that the cord can be plugged in.
Connector types tend to vary a lot, especially with the adapting wires.
Patch cords may be single-conductor wires for instance these can be
connectors like, banana connectors as an example, Coaxial cable
which for example are BNC connectors and also optical finer cables.
(below are going to be pictures of the three main connectors and
patch leads that are used within a music studio or any sort of studio.)

These are general patch leads

which have different colours to distinguish which ones are used for
what, being very helpful whilst in a music studio as there are many
wires being used at one time.

This is an example of how a

single-conductor wire patch lead might be used within a music studio.

These are another type of

patch lead used within the music studio called Coaxial cables.

These are examples of how a

BNC patch lead connector might be used within a music studio.

2) An explanation of the terms audio interface,

signal levels, direct injection, patch bay, V
U Meter. Noise Gate,
Parametric EQ, Shelf EQ. Outboard Compressor.
(U2, GC3)
AUDIO INTERFACES- An audio interface is a piece of equipment that
improves the sonic capacity of a computer however some audio interfaces also give you the ability to plug in inputs such as; guitars, micro-

phones and a lot more various instruments. An audio interface also

gives you the ability for a variety of outputs as well. In a more basic
form audio interfaces are known to take all of the various audio inputs
and this device converts all the various different audio inputs into digital audio data. This piece of hardware will be used pretty much used in
all studio settings especially a music studio. The hardware in this case
will end up being the front end for nearly all of the inputs that will be
getting used within a studio. The inputs that will be used on a audio interface are, for instance a digital input and an example of a digital input would be a distortion peddle which would be used for a guitar to
distort the sound of the guitar which would be used for a number of
different songs just like some which use this input often within the
songs which will therefore be used on a regular basis within a music
studio. Audio interfaces also will be used regular within a music studio
because it lets you record external sounds such as vocals, and also
instruments onto your computer, converting these all from analog to
the required digital format.
SIGNAL LEVELS- Signal levels are a very important part of the
recording/music studio as signal levels determine a lot of sound quality within a studio. The signal level is the amplitude of the desired signal which will be used. Signal is mostly transferred from a wifi connection which is normally used within a music/recording studio. Although
most of the audio processing studio happens within the internals of
computers that we use or also in a box for instance, as it is explained
that it is still necessary to send the analogue signals in and also out of
the digital domain, even if it is to simply listen back to the project, be it
through headphones or also studio monitors as such. Audio signal
levels are not that often quoted as being called voltages but are
quoted as decibels. Consumer line level equipment tends to operate
at a different signal level and also uses and different decibel scale as
such.
DIRECT INJECTION- Direct injection is commonly known as direct
input. A Direct input is used in studios all around the world as they are
used to connect output impedance, source impedance or internal impedance, line levels which transmits analogue sound to audio components like mixing consoles and amplifiers however this is usually all

done via an XLR cable. Direct Injections are usually used to connect
instruments like electric guitars and bass guitars into a mixing desks
jack input which is usually where you plug your headphones.
PATCH BAY- Patch bay is used to connect a DI box to a mixing desk.
A patch bay is also known to help change the signal level or signal
flow amongst the devices within the studio making it a lot safer because this makes it so that you dont have to crawl around the equipment to unplug or replug your wires and cables. In the simplest form
patch bays are switchboards which are put in place within a studio
used to reroute audio signals. There are also MIDI patch bays for rerouting midi signals also.
VU METER- A VU meter is a device that displays the description of
signal levels within audio equipment.It has been used by many years
by the Acoustical Society of America for things like radio broadcasting
stations and for telephone installations, considering a VU metre is a
mechanical device it can never reflect the immediate signal peaks of
complex audio signals. When being connected to an Impedance the
VU meter should present 7500 ohms to the circuit it is in however it is
also measured with a sinusoid signal which sets the indicator to 0 DB.
NOISE GATE- A noise gate is a electronic piece of software that controls the volume of an audio signal such as; vocals. It is normally used
to suppress any unwanted noise from a audio file for example; background noise or even crossovers from other signal sources. But this is
only done when the signal is at a low level. If you also adjust the reduction to a higher level it will still play they low level sounds but at a
weakened force.
PARAMETRIC EQ- Parametric eq is a multi band equaliser which is
irregular. It usually controls the three primary parameters: amplitude,
centre frequency and bandwidth, The amplitude of each primary parameter can be controlled and the centre frequency can be modified.
Parametric equalisers are commonly used in sound recording due to
because they are capable of making more precise adjustments to
sounds than other equalisers, they are also sold as single outboard
gear. Another example of a equaliser is a semi-parametric equaliser,
which has also been known as a sweepable filter. It also lets people
control the amplitude and frequency but with a preset setting, however

in other cases there are semi-parametric equalisers that also let you
set between a wide and narrow preset bandwidth.
SHELF EQ- There are two different types of shelf equalisation theres
low-shelf and high shelf EQ. The only difference is low-shelf is used
for decreasing where as high-shelf is used for increasing however only
at certain frequencies will pass through the low-shelf cutoff and the
rest will go through the high-shelf cutoff, this is a good way for changing the frequencies within your mix however it is only used within an
audio signal.
OUTBOARD COMPRESSOR- A outboard compressor is mainly used
within recording purpose, it helps you compress instruments like a
snare drum to get a better quality sound before you have even started
recording. Vocalists also use outboard compressors a lot while singing, they will turn it on at the beginning of each song and it will bring
out he loud parts of a song and level it out to a more even threshold
where as the quieter sounds remain unaffected. However outboard
compressors are not that easy to use, if you use too little or too much
it can make a track sound horribly wrong! They can also be used with
both live performances and within a recording studio.
3). A guide to the health and safety issues associated with working in the studio.
(U31, GC1)
There are many health and safety issues which are associated with
working within a music studio and many will be health and safety issues which will be an everyday issue with most places of work or even
in peoples homes as well meaning that they will most [probably be
more of an issue within a music studio because of all the equipment
and the prices of equipment and also space in which to record in as
studio are normally quite small. Below are examples of the different
health and safety issues/hazards which can occur within a music studio or a studio of any kind these include, Fire hazards, drinks/food,
training, children within the studio, overcrowding the studio, use of
drugs and alcohol, poor fire regulations, tripping hazards, electrical
hazards, hearing damage, and also not servicing the equipment regulary. I will start with fire hazards:

Fire Hazard (wires/electricals): Wires being tangled can cause a fire

if lifted tangled and in a mess, also stretching wires too much can
cause a fire if the wires within are damaged and exposing the internal
electrical wires. Also if the correct size wires are not used this could
cause strain on the wires causing them to also expose internal electrical wires which can cause a fire and also cause an electric shock
which could be life threatening.
Drinks/Food- spilling drinks, damaging thousands of pounds worth of
equipment, blow up (causing fire, see above), rodents being attracted
from food and sticky substances
not having the correct training- equipment could be used wrong and
cause problems or ruin equipment, if equipment is used in the wrong
way it can cause problem (i.e. fire or ruin the recording)
Having Children In The Studio (only under supervision)- If children
start touching equipment which will most probably be inappropriate
use of the equipment could mess up the current project that is being
developed within the studio and also they could end up hurting themselves and also others by for instance using the wires to hurt themselves, I.E. chocking themselves. If young they could suck/chew on
wires and have an electric shock which could cause devastating consequences. If the plug sockets aint covered they may get electric
shock by putting their fingers in the holes, running about and knocking
over expensive equipment, making too much noise so too loud to record.
Too Many People In The Studio (clostaphobia)- knocking equipment over, getting aggravated with each other, too loud to record.
Use Of Drugs/Alcohol When Using Equipment- ruining equipment,
inappropriate use of the equipment, judging things wrong, missing
your step when walking, injuring yourself.

Poor Fire Regulations (fire exit not being is correct place)- everything is electrical so there is a high chance of a fire taking place and if
the fire door is no where near the studio or the fire regulations are bad
then this could mean they may get trapped within a fire.
Tripping Hazards (wires not tied back correctly)- wires being everywhere and not tied back to ensure no one trips, hurting yourself, ruin
equipment, unplugging equipment so it wont work as it should.
Electrical Hazards- dropping liquid and getting an electrical shock,
using equipment wrong
Hearing Damage From Too Much Voltage From Amplifiers- having
head phone on too loud, having a too much voltage in speakers or
amps for the size of the room (watts)
Servicing Equipment Regulary- if something in a studio isnt serviced at correct times there might be problems that are unknown because a service hasnt taken place on the correct date (if this is found
out by the people investigating a fire for instance they might blame
them for not getting it service on the correct date and insurance
wouldnt cover it and people might sue you if injured).
4). A diagram/plan of the studio area, and explanation/diagram of
a channel strip.
(U31, GC1)

1) the top channel strip is to adjust the gain on both recording

and recordings, below is the phantom power button which is
marked as 48V but is only used if needed. The line button allows
you to choose
either a microphone or another input signal from the patch bay.
The phase button causes sound to arrive at different
speeds. Low cut cuts off all frequencies under 100 Hz where as
the sub button allows one of the channels from the
mixer to be mixed into one of the 8 buses.
2) The second strip down is known as the noise gate. noise gate
is activated within a mix by switching on gate in
which allows you to adjust the frequency, threshold release and
hold. These are called the parameters.
3) This is a parametric equaliser. It is a 4 way equaliser that is
used to adjust the frequency either higher or lower, By

turning the HF or LF knob . The Lf frequency is 0.15 - 2.4 KHz

where as the Hf frequency is 0.6 - 10 KHz.
4) There are 6 auxiliary dials which are used to create effects.
5) This is called a control fader it is used to adjust the volume
within the mix. The fader also has a maximum of 10DB gain
and a minimum of 0DB. You can also cut the gain by using the
button above.
6) This is called the monitor path. It is used to receive audio from
the performer which is sent through an output signal to
the person whos recordings headphones.
7) The four buttons at the bottom allows you to mute the channel
via the master volume.

5). An outline of available microphones and examples

of suitable uses for each.

(U31, GC1, U2, GC4)

(https://microphones.audiolinks.com/microphones.shtml AND
http://www.desktop-documentaries.com/different-types-of-microphone
s.html

Categories for microphones are:condenser mics, dynamic mics,

and ribbon mics.
Shotgun Microphone - a shotgun microphone is a microphone that
must be directed at its sound source. This makes it a highly directional
microphone, however shotgun microphones are usually used in conferences, speeches, meetings and lectures. This is a condenser microphone.
Handheld Microphone - handheld microphones are used all around;
television broadcasting, entertainment industry and public speaking so
that always all performers, public speakers, interviewers and entertainers can amplify there voice while being able to move freely. This is
a dynamic microphone.
Lapel Microphone (seminars and business meetings)- Lapel microphone are also known as lavalier microphones and are commonly
used and are ideal for television broadcasting, sound reinforcement,
and also radio and motion picture appellations. All of these microphone within this range are mostly, lightweight, portable and also very
descreet.
Directional Microphone (omnidirectional, cardioid and unidirectional microphone)
(wireless mice optional)- Directional microphones are one of many
that are extremely important within the studio and are used very often
being one of the most common microphones used. These microphones are one of many which have a carded polar pattern, although
other pattern may and most of the time will be radically different.
When they have different patterns this means that they are mostly
much better than other microphones.

Boom Microphone (for broadcasting or film shoots)- The boom

microphone is a very well known microphone which is especially used
within the tv industryy for instance used quite often to record news. a
boom microphone is used alongside a directional microphone in which
the directional microphone is mounted onto the are of the boom microphone and is normally positioned just out of the camera frame as
such. booms normally have the advantage of freeing up subjects/
poeple from haven to use a microphone in their hand.
Studio Microphones (for recording in)- Studio microphones tend to
be used world wide within studios for example a music studio. they are
simply used mainly to record music within a music studio in this case
and come in all different types, makes and sizes to suit the studio. one
of the examples of studio microphones which are commonly used
within a studio are capacitor microphones for the simple reason that
they are much more lightweight so can be easily healed and easily
transferred.
PA Microphones (live sound)- at a first glance PA microphones are
cordless meaning that they tend to be easy to walk around with meaning that they can be transferred within radius of signal and no worrying
about wires traling and tripping anyone up. The common use for these
microphones are in the name and are mainly used within office settings for example PAs might use them often whilst in the office.
Instrument Microphones (which attach directly onto guitars or
horns)- Instrument microphones ar commonly used when a musician
is performing a song or playing on their instrument to a crown of people and can also be used within a studio to get a more precise recording of every note of the song or music that is played.
Boundary Microphones (conference systems)- a boundary microphone is part of the group of confessor microphones which are normally positioned near or even flushed with the boundary which is also
called the surface. Uses of these microphone can be for instance on a

piano to record the pianist playing or even on hockey players to record

movement between the players.
Headset Microphones- Headset microphones are commonly used in
call centres and another example of their uses are within theatre for
stage productions to hear the actor on the stage. Headset microphones come in all different shapes and forms and can range from a
single earpiece nearly invisible or a headphone set with a microphone
built in.
6). How to route signal from the live room to the desk then to the
computer via an external compressor.
(U49, GC1)
7.The processes involved in your drum kit recording and mix, and creating your final stereo master.
(U2, GC2, 3 & 4. U31
GC1)!

At the first instance when recording and mixing with your

drum kit you must know in as much detail as you can
what and how the mice will be put onto the drum kit to
start the recording and mixing process as possible, the
following explains each part of the drum kit and how the
process of setting up all the mics will be set up to start
recording and then i will speak about the process which
is involved in creating the final stereo master.
Within a drum kit you should have a:
1). The toms
2). The snare
3). The high hat
4). The kick drum
5) The crash symbols

The tom-tom drum is a cylindrical which has no snares

on it. when trying to achieve a good sound when recording the tom-tom drums you must always try and make
sure wherever possible that the microphone being used
for this recording is seem to be pointing in the direct of
central to the drum as possible because it is normally
placed quite close to the symbols that are normaly used
on a drum kit whilst recording and therefore must be kept
quite low where it is possible to do so. There are different
types of tom-toms that are used for different types of music recording these can consist of for example, single
headed tom-toms, rototoms, or a floor tom tom which is
usually the most popular tom tom drum which is used in
a normal drum kit often. Below is an example of a tom
tom drum.

The snare drum which is also known as the side drum is

a well known percussion instrument that is known to be

used for a variety of used in a lot of different music and

drum kits world wide.