Multichannel Recording

T4.3

Studio Plans

Healthandsafety
Thearea around studios A and B have numerous fire exits, one being located in front of the studioA door,
to the right of exiting studio B and the main door entering into where both studios are. There are also
visual fire alarms in each roomin caseheadphones are being use or the music is louder than the alarm.
There are also fire extinguishers, one being next to the main door entering the building and the second
next to the door entering where the studios are.
All equipment once a year is subjected to a PAT test in which all equipment is tested to make sure that
they meet a sufficient safetystandard, if not, then they are not to be used until either replaced
orrepaired.
As the equipment needs a power source, it can be very easy to overload power sockets. Overloading
them could cause thesocketsto overheat and cause the equipment to stopworking, orit can create a fire.
Its best to try and spread the plugs out over different socketsto avoid this.
There are many cables found all over studio A and so, behind the mixing desk, they have been bunched
together in pink ribbonto show the hazard. Its best to avoid going behind the desk unless necessary.
Also, if someone is playing a bass or guitar via DI (direct injection/ input), it can be very easy to trip over
this so it can be helpful if the player sits close to the pre amp in the outboard equipment.
The route to studio A involvesthe floor being raised to accommodate for the wires connecting to the live
roomopposite. If someone is not aware of this, they could trip and hurt themselves so its best to be
awareof the floor heading towards the studio.
Food and drink are notallowedin thestudiosas spillages can cause irreparable damage
toequipmentsuch as thespeakersand the mixing desk. Buttons could get stuck rendering the
equipment useless and therefore the equipment will have to be replacedor there will not be any
equipment at all.
It is best to avoid touching or trying to move heavyequipmentsuch as the KRK E8's as if they were to fall,
they could hurtotherpeopleor damage other equipment.

Microphones
The sub kick homemade speaker mic is made from an oldspeakerwhich helps to pick up low
andinaudiblefrequencies and gives the kick drum more of a punch sound and the speaker captures air
pressure movement from frequencies below 80Hz.
Asuitable choice for a kick drum microphone is theAudixF14 mic. Its has a frequency response of 30Hz,
for a punch low end,to 10KHz and has a cardioid polar pattern, thereforecentringthe attention to sounds

directlyin frontof it rather than behind or to the sides. It does not need anyphantompower as its a
dynamic microphone [1].
A microphone that can be used for the top snare is a Shure SM57. It has a cardioid polar pattern and
frequency response of 40Hz to 15KHz. It does not need anyphantompower as it is a dynamic
microphone[2].
A Shure SM58 can be used formikingup the bottom snare of a drum kit. Itscardioidpolar pattern means
thatitminimisesbackground nose. Its frequencyresponseranges from50Hz to 15KHzanddoes
notneedphantom power as its adynamicmicrophone[3].
A suitable microphone for a rack and floor tom is theAudixF10,althoughit can also be used for snares.
Itdoesnot needphantompowerand it has a cardioid polar patternand frequency response ranging
from50Hzto12KHz[4].
Neumann KM 84's aresuitable overhead microphones. Asthey areacondensermicrophone, they do
need(48v)phantompower and"the mic is known for having an exceptionally flat frequency response and
its ability to maintain its cardioid pickup pattern across the frequency spectrum"Their frequency response
ranges from40Hz to 20KHz and they had a cardioidpolarpattern[5][6].

Difference between Studio A andStudio 1

The Sapphire mixing desk in studio A acts as a middle man between thestage boxinthe live room to the
sound cards(audio interfaces)whereas in studio 1, there is just a single link from the stage box to the
sound cards.
Studio A
Live room------------------->Sapphire Mixing Desk--------------------->Soundcards
(stage box)

Studio 1
Sondheim Room------------------------------------------------------------>Soundcards
(Stage Box)

Key words
Direct injection
Direct injectionor direct input refers to the way you record in an instrument such as a guitar or bass. You
can mic up an amp or use direct injection. This way meansthat a " jack is connected from the guitar or
bass into a pre-amp. The pre amp isconnected to the mixing desk via the patch bay, where we would then
send the signal from the output of the pre-amp to the 'LINE IN" of the channel we are recording into.

Audio interface
An audiointerface(soundcards) is a piece of hardware equipment which allows you to connect
microphones, instruments and various other signals to a computer. They can have a number of inputs and
outputs such as the MOTU 1224 having8 of each. Audio interfaces improve the computers sound quality
and they produce a more accurate version of the sound. They are a must in audio production as they are
usedin studios to record music[21].

Patch bay
A patch bay is a unit which consists of many different channels, depending on how many
themixingconsolehas, whichcontains many sockets which can be used to connect themixingdesk, via
bantam or patch leads, to outboard equipment and also send signalsout of the mixing desk, into
outboard equipment and back again creating a circuit.

Auxiliary send
Auxiliary send or aux send is "a signal-routing output" [20]used on multichannel mixing desks to send
audio signal out through an outboard compressor for example, and then returned to themixingdesk.

Semi-parametric EQ

Semi-parametric EQis similar toparametricEQ in that you can alter the frequency and amplitude but, with
semi-parametric EQ, you cannot adjust the bandwidth or Q factor. Semi-parametric EQ has a pre-set q
factor which cannot be altered but it can be movedto different frequencies[23].

Shelving EQ
AshelvingEQ"reduces or boosts frequencies above or below a specifiedcutoffpoint"[19].Low pass
shelving allows all frequencies below a cut off point to come through while reducingfrequenciesabout
the cut off point.Highpass shelving allowsfrequenciesabout the cut off point through while reducing
frequencies below the cut off point.Frequenciesbeyondthe cut off point are rolled off due to a pre-set
bandwidth[19].

NoiseGate

The noiseGatecontrols the volume of anaudio signal and comparable to compression, which reduces
theaudiosignal above the threshold, a noise gate reduces audio signals heard below the threshold[22].

Outboard Compressor
Outboardequipment is used to alter how audio signalswithin music sound. Outboard equipment can be
used in the recording and mixingprocessas well as during live performances.
Outboardequipmenteffects are different to those found onmixingdesks and in digital audio
workstations (DAWS such as logic). Outboard equipment can be;

Analogue to digital converters or vice versa

Musicalinstrumentdigitalinterfaces (MIDI)

Pre amplifiers

Equalizers (EQ's)

Time based effects such as echo, delayand reverb units

Dynamiceffects units such as compressors

Outboard compressors such as the Joe Meek SC2.2 are used within studio A via the patch bay, where we
can send anaudio signal out of the desk, through the compressor and send the signal back again[24].

KRK E8's

EquipmentSpecification

The KRK E8's are near-field monitors designed to be placeda few feet away
fromthe listener to avoid the sound being reverberatedaroundthe room so it
can give out the mixes true sound."The Expos E8B is an extraordinary
loudspeaker that is designed to perform exactly as its name suggests: expose
the truth, enabling you to make informed decisions about the audio projects
you work on"[7]. They have afrequencyresponse from40Hz to 30KHz and
they use 3 pin balanced XLR connections.
The way in which the KRK E8'swould more than likely be placed, is on
aseparatestand as they would be tooheavy to be placedon
themetrebridge ofthe desk. They would also need to be higher than the
desk to avoid anything blocking thesound coming out and so that
thelistenercan hear the true sound of the mix[7].

SoundCraftSapphyreMixingdesk
TheSapphyreMixing desk is composed of 36 individual channels and"condenses the essential features
and performance of the large studio console into a mixer"[8]. On the right hand side of the desk is the
patch bay which accommodates
stereoinputand dual line in input
options and connects the desk with
outboard equipment such as a
compressor or reverb unit,i.e.
JoeMeekor Yamaha ZPX 90.
TheSapphyredesk uses two types
of connections; balanced XLR and
balanced jack leads (bantam leads
for the patch bay). It has 6
bluestereofaders in the centre of
the desk which can be used to
control thereverbsignal
forexample.

MOTU 2408 and 1224 sound cards

There are three sound cards (audio interfaces) in studio Aand all convert digital signals into analogue and
vice versa. There are two MOTU 2408's and one MOTU 1224. Each have 8 inputsand outputscreating 24
in total, which are designed for recording in and playing backand theyboth useFireWireconnections.
MOTU's 1224 sound card usesXLR outputs formonitorspeakers anda headphone jack output on the
front[9][10]. MOTU's 2408sound card has a"Generous range of analogue and digital interfacing options
and sync capabilities"[11].The sound cardinputsand outputs canbe found in the outboard equipment if
we need to use more than 8 channels. We candaisy-chainthe signal into theoutboardequipment, such
as a compressor, and then into the 9th,10th11th,and so on,input on the sound cards.

Outboard equipment

Someequipmentclassedas
outboardequipmentincludes;

JoeMeekSC2.2 stereo
compressorwhich uses XLR connections
and can be used as a mono compressor
as well as stereo[12][13].

Yamaha SPX 90effects processor which is

connected to stereo fader 1A for reverb.

Mesa pre-ampwhich can be usedfor

recordinginstruments via DI (direct
injection/input).

ConnectionsandCabling

" jacklead
A" jack connectionisone of the most common found in musical
equipment as its used to connect electric guitarsandbases with amps and
can also be used for direct injection (DI). They are alsoknownas a jack-plug,
guitar jack or simply jack. They can either be balancedor unbalanced.
Balanced jack leads are also known as stereo jacks, TRS jacks, balanced jack
or a stereo-phone jack. These connections are also used as headphone
connections[16].

[image1.1]

Balancedand unbalanced connections

Connections such as headphone jacks have three main parts known as a tip,
ring and sleeve(TRS). The part which makes these connections balanced or unbalancedrefers to the
number of rings the connector has.Iftheconnectiononly has 1 ring, then this is an unbalanced
connection, as they only have two conductors, one for the signal and the other as a ground which
aremuchmoresusceptibletointerferenceand hums. Ones with two rings(TRRS)are balanced and
donothaveinterference problems that the ones with only one ring experienceas balanced connections

have three conductors,positive, negative and

ground. These three conductors help create
protection from interference and hums[17].

XLR Cables

XLRcablesare mainly found on video and audio

equipment where they can have between 3 and 7
pins. Cables with 3 pins, positive, negative and
ground,are the most common andarebalanced
connections, therefore they can be used in both a

[image1.2]

live and studio setting[15]. XLR cables and

connections have amaleand female end. The
female endusuallyreceivesthe input while the
male ends are used to plug into inputs, for
examplea pre amp connected to a mixingdeskor
studio monitor
speakers.[14][16]

Bantam Leads
Bantam Leadsare used in theSapphyremixing deskto connect thepatch
baywith outboard equipment such asan outboard compressor. They have
a balanced connectionand are seen as smaller versions of " jack
connectionswhich can also be called stereo patch cables, and TRS patch

[image1.3]

cables.

FireWire
FireWireconnections(IEEE 1394) allow you to easily and quickly
share information between different equipment, such as audio
(soundcards) and videoequipment.FireWirewas created by
apple in 1995 and althoughthey areverysimilartoUSB
connections,FireWireis much faster.FireWireconnections can
allow you to connect up to 63 connections.
OriginalFireWireconnections
allowedyoutotransferinformation up to 400

[image1.4]

mbps over 4.5 metres but updated versions

then allowed speeds of 800 mbps which
could travel over 100metres andFireWire800
is backwardscompatiblewith 400[18].

Thunderbolt
Developedby Apple and intel, aThunderbolt connection combines a PCI express port

[image1.5]

and DisplayPort into one connection. This allows "up to six peripherals, like storage

devices and monitors, to be daisy-chained together. You can also connect USB and FireWire peripherals
via Thunderbolt, as long as you have the proper adapter. Those connections wont run any faster just
because theyre on a Thunderbolt connection"[25].

Ethernetcable (RJ45 orcategory5)

Ethernetcables are used to carry broadband signals between an internet

router to a computer. They are capableoftraveling at very fast speeds.

USB (universal serial bus)

[image1.6]

AUSB connection is one of the most common and popular connections

which are used to
connect computers with digital
cameras,printers,scannersand hard drive devices. Most
major operationsystemssupportUSB connections.

[image1.7]

Channel Strip
Stage Box
inputs

SoundCraft Sapphyre
Mixing Desk - Right
side of the desk

25

26

27

28

the channel faders. Thefadersused for playing back are

29

thebottomset of faders known as the monitor faders. So if we

30

31

32

33

10

34

11

35

12

36

TheSoundCraftSapphyremixingconsole (desk), has a total of

36 channel strips, each made up of 7 sections.Themixingdesk
has two different functions;
1

Recording into the desk,from the live room.

Playingmaterial back that has been recorded.

If we wantto record something into the desk we would use the

top set of faders within the channel strip. These are known as

were to play something back, through logic or safari, we would

use the bottom faders.
The right hand side of the desk is onlyused for recordingand
this side has 12 channels and there are 12inputsin the live
room. The computer keyboard sits on the bottom set of faders
on the right hand side to avoid confusion.

The top section of the channel strip is

composed of a two levelcontroller, the top is
for controlling the gain and the bottom for
adjusting the monitoring level. There is a
phantompowerbutton [+48v] pressed in
when using condenser microphones, [LINE]
button which needs to be pressed in when
using a bass or guitar via DI (direct injection)
or left up for a microphone, There is a phase
button used for reversing the polarity of the
microphone, for examplewhenrecordinga
snare drum.There is a [sub] button and a low
cut frequency button which cuts at 100Hz,

which we do not have on when recording otherwise it will

cut the lower frequency instruments.
The second section consists of a noise
gate.Anoisegateisan electronic piece ofsoftware/
equipment that is used to control the volume of
anaudiosignal. Similarto acompressor which reduces the
volume above thethreshold, a noise gate reduces signals
heard

below
the threshold. On the left hand side of the section is a
[flip] button, [range] meaning how much reduction is
taking place,underneathis [channel] and under that
is a [in]button meaning on. On the right handsideof
the section is a[in (FIL)] button, then there are three
controls. The top one is the (frequency) but, the
frequency is only changed when the [in(FIL)] button is
pushed in. The second control is the (threshold)
relating to the 'ceiling' and thethirdcontrol is
(release). The last button in the second section is
[hold] which turns the envelope of the noise gate into
a square.

Thethirdsection is shelving EQ.ShelvingEQallows you at

attenuate "or boosts frequencies above or below a
specifiedcutoffpoint"[19]. There are two controls and one
button in this section. The top control is for higher
frequencies (HF) and the secondcontrol is for lower
frequencies (LF). They increase or decrease frequencies
above or below 60Hz (LF) or 12KHZ (HF).
The fourth section is semi-parametricEQ.SemiParametricEQallows you to alter the frequency and
amplitude but not the bandwidth or Q factor. The bandwidth
ispre-setwith the bandwidth creating a hill shape withrolled
off sides. There are four controls and two buttons in this
section. The top control is [HMF], relating to the higher
frequencies ranging from 600Hz to 12KHz. A gain control for
[HMF]
then one
for [LMF] and the bottom control is [LMF] for
frequencies more than 2KHz. There is a [MON]and
a[in] button.
The fifth section is for auxiliaries. Where we can send
signal away from a channel and bring it back. There are
6 auxiliary controls with the first aux being for the
headphone amp where we can control what
instruments are sent to the headphones for that person
to hear. And aux 2 being connected tothe Yamaha SPX
90 reverb unit in the outboardequipment.
The sixth section refers to the top set of faders,the
channel faders. This section consists of a [PFL] button
known as pre fader level which is pushed in
whenyouwant to hear the level before adjusting the
faders.Thereis a [cut] button meaning to mute.
There is a channel panrelating to the group outputs.
There are 4 group output buttons from [1-2], [3-4], 5[6]
and [7-8]. When assigning channels, all odd numbers are panned left and all even are panned right.If the
panning control is left in themiddle, the signal will be heard on both channels. Thereis a[BNCE] button
that is pressed in when you wish to bounce your mix, a [XFX] and [REV] button which is only pressed in
when you wish to swap the fadersaround, so the monitorfaderswill be the top set and the
channelfaderswill be thebottomset.

The last, seventh, section are the monitor faders.

There is a [solo] button which literally means to solo
the signal that is on that channel. The [cut] button is
to mute the channel and there are also master
mutes; [M1], [M2], [M3] and [M4]. These are used to
mute a specific group of instruments, forexample, if
channels 1 to 4are drums, we can press in [M1] on
thosechannelsand they are all muted which allows a
group mute.

Recording live soundDrums

Within the live room, whenmikingup the drum kit,
make sure that the appropriate microphonesare used
for each part of the drum kit and that you connect the
correct XLR cables to the right inputs on the stage
box;

Sub kick - 1

Kick drum - 2

Top Snare - 3

Bottomsnare - 4

Rack tom - 5

Floor tom - 6

Right overhead - 7

Left overhead - 8

Once a new logic document has opened up, as we are using8 microphones, we need 8 audio tracks.
Name them and pan the over head microphones and select the correct input on logic, For example, input
1 is the sub kick and input 5 is the rack tom.

On the Sapphire sound desk, we need to also select the correct inputs. To do this, we go to the sixth
section where the first lot of faders are.To select the sub kick, we press in the 1-2 button and pan this
channel all the way to the left.Then to select the kick drum, we move to the next channel and again select
1-2 but pan all the way to the right. For the top snare we select a new channel and press 3-4 and pan left
and for the bottom, again pick a new channel and select 3-4 and pan right and so on.
Wealso need to make sure that on all the channels being used, that 'LOW CUT' has been pressed in,
especially on low frequencyinstrumentsotherwise we would not receive any sound from that instrument.
To check that everything has been set up properly and that nothing needschanging or checking, go
through each part of the drum kit separately, starting with the kick drum (sub kick will work with the kick
drum) and adjust the input gain and faders to get a suitable level for this point in time. Do this with each
part of the drum kit.
There are 4 ways of turning up the headphone volume, number 1 being turning up the metronome in
logic, number 2 being the first auxiliary control which is the headphone amp and turning this to the
maximum level, the third being turning up the master headphone control in the middle of the sound desk
and the last being turning up the headphone amp on the outboard equipment.Before recording in, do a
practice take where the input gain and faders are checked and that everyone is happy with the levels
about to be recorded and the ready, press record in logic.Once you have recorded in, if we use the
snares as an example,zoom inclosely and you may notice that thepeaks and troughs in the signal do not
appear at the same time.
There may be amillisecond(s)gapbetween them. This is known as being 'out of phase'. This can be down
to the microphones not being the exact samedistanceaway from the snare drums skin. Overhead
microphones can have this same problem. The signals can be put back 'in phase' by moving the signal in
logic so that their peaks and troughsmatch up. By doing this, it can give your mix more of a focused and
professional sound and show attention to detail.
To bounce the recording, press in on all desk channels the BNCE button and select the same group
outputon the desk I.e. 1-2. Create a new track on logic, making sure its a stereochannel,andselect the
same group output as to what you have selected on the desk,i.e. 1-2.Armthe channel in logicand check
that it will record from where you want it to, then press record in logic and it will record all channels with
BNCE selected.

Sendingsignal to an Outboard compressor

If we want to send our signal to a compressor such as the TLA, we need to select the same group output
on the desk, for example [1-2], whichcorrelatesto channels 1 and 2 on thepatch bay. We take a bantam
lead and connect the 'INS SND' of 1 to the left input of the TLA. We then take another bantam lead and
take this from the 'INS SND'of channel 2 and into the right input of the TLA. The signal should be
goinginto the TLA, which we now want to send back to the desk. We take another bantam lead and
connect this to the left output of the TLA and into 'INS RET' of channel 1 and we do the same with the
right output of the TLA going into the 'INS RET' of channel 2.

Patchbay
This refers to the right hand side of theSapphyremixing desk where there are varioussocketsthat relate
to a channel strip. They are connected via bantam
leads (patch leads) to an outboard connection such as
a compressor or reverbunit. In other words the
bantam leads connectsthe outboard equipment to the
mixing desk.Each channel on the patch bay has 7
sockets.
Thefirst socket is'LINE IN'. This socket can be used
toconnectthe output of a pre amp, forexample, the
Mesa pre-amp,to the desk so that we are able to
record in DI instruments, such as guitar or bass. If we
are recording in via the pre amp, we must make sure
that 'LINE' is selected on the desk channels the signal
is going to.
'INS SND' and 'INS RET' refer toinserts, our
outboard equipment. These sockets allow us to
'plug in' our outboard equipment to the desk. If
we wanted to send our signal through a
compressor, we would go to the channel
number of what we want to compress, I.e.9,and
use a bantam lead toconnect the 'INS SND'
with theinputof the JoeMeekcompressor.
Then we get another bantam lead and connect
theoutputof the compressor and put the
bantam lead in the 'INS RET' of channel 9.

The fourth socket is 'CH OUT' which we use when we run out of group outputs. As we only have 8 outputs
on the desk, when we need to use a 9thmicrophone, we dont have enough on the desk to use. Therefore
we connect the 'CH OUT' of the channel with the 9thinput of the sound card via abantamlead
and we can record this independently without mixing it with the other 8 channels. If we had
selected group output 5-6 and panned it left for the 3 and 9thmicrophone forexample, those
signalswould have mixed together.
Next along is ''TAPE SND' which we do not use on the mixing desk but it is another way of
sending outasignal to outboard equipment.'TAPE RET' is the sixth socket where we connect
theoutputfrom the sound cards to the deskso that we can have the signal on our monitor
faders for playingback.
The lastsocketis 'MON IN' which we do not use but it can be used toconnect anexternal
signal to a channel and this selection can override 'TAPE RET'.

Centre stereo faders

Inthecentreif the mixing desk there are 6 blue faders which are stereo faders. They are
named1A, 2A and 3A. Underneaththeseare the last three, 1B, 2B and 3B. Stereo channel 1A
is used to control the wet reverb signal. To be able to hear the reverb signal in the mix, you
need to make sure the'MIX" button is pressdownon stereo fader 1A. If you want to bounce
the mix with the reverb, you need to press down on the stereo channel the same group output
to the one you have press on the
channels you which to bounce,
for example group output
1-2.You can decide which
channels get sent to the reverb
via auxiliary 2.

Auxiliaries
Auxiliaries are used to send a certain
amount ofinformation from each
channelto a speaker or reverb unitfor example. On theSapphyremixing
desk, the first auxiliary is aux1, which is linked to the headphone amp in the
live room so that whoever is in there can hear what they want of other
instruments or themselves. For example if someone wants to hear more of a
guitar andsaxophone, we can turn up auxiliary 1 on the guitar and saxophone channels so that they can
hear them and play along to those instrument, using them forguidance. Auxiliary 2 is used for the reverb.
Once we havethewet reverbsignal on stereo fader 1A, we can twist the aux 2 control on the channels we
wantreverbon, thereforecontrollingthe amount of reverb we have on each instrument/channel.
There are different reasons that we use auxiliaries. One reason is for live monitoring,because during a
liveperformance, we can control what is sent to each of the monitor speakers on the stage as a
drummerwouldnot want to hear moredrums, they might want to hear more of the guitars and the

vocalist. This can be donewithout affecting the front of house speakers.Anotherreason

why is because outboard equipment such as reverb units and compressors can
costaround

700 and can be more than a

1000 each. Also, we cannot 'save'

eachchannelsetting to one compressor or reverb unit as once we have the setting for
one channel, when we move onto another channel, the settingofthe previous one would
be wiped away. So, byusingaux send, we can send multiple channels to one unit and
adjust on each channel how much we want compressor tohow much reverb we want on
the channel.
Also, within logic, especially on a large mix, we cannot have one insert for reverb and one
for compression on each channel as this uses processing power making the computer
slow or causing it to crash. Soby using auxiliaries and busses, we save a lot of processing
power and mimic the desk process.

Processinvolved with the mixes

Mix1 - Joe
For the first mix, we added in a bass via direct injection(DI). We did this by connecting the bass via jack
lead to theMesaPre-amp in the outboard equipment to the channel we were using on the desk,
forexample channel 8, via a bantam lead which came out of theMesapre amp and into the 'LI-IN' socket
in the patch bay.Wemadesure that 'LINE'wasselectedon the channel to receive the signal and logic was
armed.
We had trouble trying to send the signal from the desk through to a compressor. We all tried having a go
atproblem solving for around half an hour until we finally gave inbutwe were not far off the solution.
Lastly, we had forgotten how to bounce the finished mix. We knew we had to press 'BNCE' on all channels,
select the same group output, have a new channel on logic but couldnt figure out where we
weregoingwrong. We had to ask for helpagain which we did not want to doas we wanted as little help
as possible.

Mix2 - Daisy

For mix 2, we had issues with the desk channels as somedid not want to playback,thereforeon numerous
occasions we had to move the channels up. This meantthat once we had the playback issue
sorted,channel 1 on logic corresponded to channel 5 on the desk. We also had added semi-parametric
EQ andnoise gateto the 'pillow hit' (kick drum) and so we hadto reset these and start again on the new
channel.
Whilst creating my mix in logic tothembe used in the project, I hadexperimentedwithinsertsand like the
effect reverb had on it and so, after turning space designer off, we used aux send (auxiliary 2)
andexperimentedwith the amount of reverb we wanted on each channel. Desk channels 5,6,7,8,9,10 and
12 were sent to the YAMAHA SPX90. We didinitiallyhave trouble trying torecordthe reverb but it turns
out it was a problem withthe way the reverb was wired which is why we couldnt understand why it wasnt
working as we were doingeverythingright.
We then sent the mix through the TLA compressorand bounced the mix,selectingthe same group
outputs on the new logicchannel, on the desk and pressing 'BNCE'.

Mix3 - Tom
To create 8 channels, we added a bass in via direct injection, likewe did withmix 1,connecting the mesa
pre amp with the bass and taking thesignal from the output into the 'LI-IN' of the 8thchannel. We made
sure we had a new channel on logic and had pressed 'LINE' in on thedeskchannel to receive the signal.
Noisegateand shelving EQwas added to the 'engines' so thatthey cut outsharply at the end of the mix.
After this, we added reverb
Reverb wasadded via aux2 controlling the amount of wet signal on stereo fader 1A making sure we
pushed in the 'mix' button on fader 1A.
Wethen sent the mix to the TLA compressor and then wewanted to bounce the mix but couldnt work out
why it wasntworking. We found out that we had a mono channel in logic and not astereochannel which
was why weweren'tgetting anysignal when bouncing.

Evaluation
What Went Well?

Ithink thattrying to problem solve ourselves wentwell as I think we all had issues with trying to learn and
recall information about how to use the desk and thepatch bay, so by combining everything we each had,
helped us on occasions to figure out why we couldnt bounce the mix or why we couldnt
sendasignalthrough a compressor. Although we took notes in the 5 session on how to use the desk, I
feel that for me, it took a long time for these pieces to come together.
Ithink that getting to grips with using the auxiliaries help me to better understand them and how they
work, especially with theSapphyremixing desk. I think that by using stereo fader 1A and actually sending
aux 2 to the reverb helped me to understand the signal flow and how it allconnectstogether.Also, by
looking at thepatch bayshowing how the Yamaha SPX 90 is connected to the desk helped me piece
together the signal flow therefore increasing my confidence with the desk's patch bay.
I feel that because of this, I was able to figure out how to connect equipment such as compressors to
thepatch bayand sendasignal through andreturnit to thedesk.

What did not go so well?

Ithink that at the start, where we were not confident using the desk, and despiteusingtrial and error, we
had to ask for help on several occasions rather than wasting time. Ifeel thatoncethe issue had been
explained, it still took me multiple explanations for me to fully understand what we did and what we
needed to do and why what we did,didnot work as I was slowly understandingthe desk but not
necessarily the parts we had the issues with.

If I was to do this again?

IfI was to do this project again, I would make sure that during the 5 session before, I took down more
notes, asked more questions and also got involvedwithtriallingequipment such as using the noise gate
and shelving EQ as I think that having a go myself whilst listening to how it works may have helped bridge
the gap in my knowledge and helped me tounderstandit better.

I also, would have created diagrams showing the audio signal flow so that when it came to connecting the
patchbaywith the outboard equipment, I understood where the signal needed to be sent and how to get
the signal back into the desk.
____________________________________________________________________________________________

Bibliography

Allwebsites accesses between Friday11thDecember2015 and Sunday13thDecember 2015

[1]http://www.audixusa.com/docs_12/units_archive/F14.shtml
[2]http://www.shure.co.uk/products/microphones/sm57
[3]http://www.shure.co.uk/producten/microphones/sm58
[4]http://www.audixusa.com/docs_12/units_archive/F10.shtml
[5]http://recordinghacks.com/microphones/Neumann/KM-84
[6]http://en.wikiaudio.org/Neumann_KM_84
[7]http://www.krksys.com/manuals/expose/expose_manual.pdf
[8]http://soundcraft.com.s3.amazonaws.com/downloads/user-guides/Sapphyre-user-guide-1-2.pdf
[9]http://www.zzounds.com/item--MTU2408MK3
[10]http://en.audiofanzine.com/pci-isa-rack-soundcard/motu/1224/user_reviews/
[11]http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb99/articles/motu2408.654.htm
[12]http://www.joemeek.com/pdf/sc2-2hb.pdf
[13]http://www.joemeek.com/sc2.2review.html
[14]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XLR_connector#Three_pin
[15]http://www.ehow.com/about_5090903_xlr-cable.html
[16]http://www.dawsons.co.uk/blog/a-guide-to-types-of-cable-connector
[17]http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/article/200-what-is-the-difference-between-balanced-andunbalanced-audio-cables-.html
[18]http://computer.howstuffworks.com/firewire1.htm
[19]https://www.presonus.com/community/Learn/Equalizer-Terms-and-Tips
[20]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aux-send
[21]http://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/audio/buying-guide/audio-interfaces
[22]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noise_gate
[23]http://www.presonus.com/news/articles/Equalizer-Terms-and-Tips
[24]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outboard_gear
[25]http://www.macworld.com/article/2083257/what-you-need-to-know-about-thunderbolt-2.html
[image 1.1] https://www.google.co.uk/url?
sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiStoOxj9rJAhVGthoKHVlM
CQMQjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.euronetwork.co.uk%2Fcables%2Faudio-visual-cables
%2F6-35mm-audio-jack&psig=AFQjCNHCk7uxcEp7PWATJzQjdZheuHbIgA&ust=1450140186863228
[image1.2] http://sonicsynergy.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/difference-between-balanced-and.html
[image1.3] http://www.videk.co.uk/section.php/144/1/xlr-cables

[image1.4] https://www.google.co.uk/url?
sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjt9ZvakNrJAhXKtBoKHQLr
DPEQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fforum.videohelp.com%2Fthreads%2F257464Firewire&psig=AFQjCNEEufRorBbTCzaedP_1YZoz_WMAvQ&ust=1450140554060118
[image1.5] https://www.google.co.uk/url?
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%2Fintel_newsroom%2Fblog%2F2011%2F02%2F24%2Fthunderbolt-technology-the-fastest-dataconnection-to-your-pc-justarrived&psig=AFQjCNGp3KSy3dHjYiTrqfl7e0ipCh6CHQ&ust=1450140660312018
[image1.6] https://www.google.co.uk/url?
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RBfsQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.conrad-electronic.co.uk%2Fce%2Fen%2Fproduct
%2F972412%2Fnetwork-cable-RJ45-CAT-5e-SFUTP-Blue&psig=AFQjCNGH6rhXuwnwNuWzH8LcqNASGOhVQ&ust=1450140754698308
[image1.7] https://www.google.co.uk/url?
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BmEQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cablesdirect.co.uk%2Fproduct-catalogue%2Fusb_usb20_cables
%2FUSB-20-A-Male-to-A-Male-Data-Cable%2FCDL-012&psig=AFQjCNEjOXSKY9ZRCje77fvzctDPACMAA&ust=1450140819419790
All other images taken/created by me.