Multichannel Recording  T4.3 

 

 

Studio Plans 

Health and safety 

The area around studios A and B have numerous fire exits, one being located in front of the studio A 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 room in case headphones 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 safety standard, if not, then they are not to be used until either replaced or repaired. 

As the equipment needs a power source, it can be very easy to overload power sockets. Overloading them could cause the sockets to overheat and cause the equipment to stop working, or it can create a fire. Its best to try and spread the plugs out  over different sockets to avoid this. 

There are many cables found all over studio A and so, behind the mixing desk, they have been bunched together in pink ribbon to 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 involves the floor being raised to accommodate for the wires connecting to the live room opposite. If someone is not aware of this, they could trip and hurt themselves so its best to be aware of the floor heading towards the studio. 

Food and drink are not allowed in the studios as spillages can cause irreparable damage to equipment such as the speakers and the mixing desk. Buttons could get stuck rendering the equipment useless and therefore the equipment will have to be replaced or there will not be any equipment at all.  It is best to avoid touching or trying to move heavy equipment such as the KRK E8's as if they were to fall, they could hurt other people or damage other equipment. 

 

Microphones 

The sub kick homemade speaker mic is made from an old speaker which helps to pick up low and inaudible frequencies and gives the kick drum more of a punch sound and the speaker captures air pressure movement from frequencies below 80Hz.  

A suitable choice for a kick drum microphone is the Audix F14 mic. Its has a frequency response of 30Hz, for a punch low end, to 10KHz and has a cardioid polar pattern, therefore centring the attention to sounds

directly in front of it rather than behind or to the sides. It does not need any phantom power as it’s 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 any phantom power as it is a dynamic microphone[2]. 

A Shure SM58 can be used for miking up the bottom snare of a drum kit. Its cardioid polar pattern means that it minimises background nose. Its frequency response ranges from 50Hz to 15KHz and does not need phantom power as it’s a dynamic microphone[3]. 

A suitable microphone for a rack and floor tom is the Audix F10, although it can also be used for snares. It does not need phantom power and it has a cardioid polar pattern and frequency response ranging from 50Hz to 12KHz[4]. 

Neumann KM 84's are suitable overhead microphones. As they are a condenser microphone, they do need (48v) phantom power 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 from 40Hz to 20KHz and they had a cardioid polar pattern[5][6].   

Difference between Studio A and Studio 1  The Sapphire mixing desk in studio A acts as a ‘middle man’ between the stage box in the live room to the sound cards (audio interfaces) where as 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 injection or 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 means that a ¼" jack is connected from the guitar or bass into a pre-amp. The pre amp is connected 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 audio interface (sound cards) 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 having 8 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 used in studios to record music[21]. 

Patch bay   A patch bay is a unit which consists of many different channels, depending on how many the mixing console has, which contains many sockets which can be used to connect the mixing desk, via bantam or patch leads, to outboard equipment and also send signals out 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 the mixing desk .  

Semi-parametric EQ  Semi-parametric EQ is similar to parametric EQ 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 moved to different frequencies[23]. 

Shelving EQ  A shelving EQ "reduces or boosts frequencies above or below a specified cut off point"[19]. Low pass shelving allows all frequencies below a cut off point to come through while reducing frequencies about the cut off point. High pass shelving allows frequencies about the cut off point through while reducing frequencies below the cut off point. Frequencies beyond the cut off point are rolled off due to a pre-set bandwidth[19]. 

Noise Gate  The noise Gate controls the volume of an audio signal and comparable to compression, which reduces the audio signal above the threshold, a noise gate reduces audio signals heard below the threshold[22]. 

Outboard Compressor  Outboard equipment is used to alter how audio signals within music sound. Outboard equipment can be used in the recording and mixing process as well as during live performances. Outboard equipment effects are different to those found on mixing desks and in digital audio workstations (DAWS such as logic). Outboard equipment can be;  ▪ Analogue to digital converters or vice versa  ▪ Musical instrument digital interfaces (MIDI)  ▪ Pre amplifiers   ▪ Equalizers (EQ's) 

▪ Time based effects such as echo, delay and reverb units   ▪ Dynamic effects 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 an audio signal out of the desk, through the compressor and send the signal back again[24].   

Equipment Specification  

KRK E8's  The KRK E8's are near-field monitors designed to be placed a few feet away from the listener to avoid the sound being reverberated around the room so it can give out the mixes true sound."The Exposé 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 a frequency response from 40Hz to 30KHz and they use 3 pin balanced XLR connections.  The way in which the KRK E8's would more than likely be placed, is on a separate stand as they would be too heavy to be placed on the metre bridge of the desk. They would also need to be higher than the desk to avoid anything blocking the sound coming out and so that the listener can hear the true sound of the mix[7]. 

SoundCraft Sapphyre Mixing desk  The Sapphyre Mixing 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 stereo input and dual line in input options and connects the desk with outboard equipment such as a compressor or reverb unit, i.e. Joe Meek or Yamaha ZPX 90. The Sapphyre desk uses two types of connections; balanced XLR and balanced jack leads (bantam leads for the patch bay). It has 6 blue stereo faders in the centre of the desk which can be used to control the reverb signal for example.  

MOTU 2408 and 1224 sound cards  There are three sound cards (audio interfaces) in studio A and all convert digital signals into analogue and vice versa. There are two MOTU 2408's and one MOTU 1224. Each have 8 inputs and outputs creating 24 in total, which are designed for recording in and playing back and they both use FireWire connections. MOTU's 1224 sound card uses XLR outputs for monitor speakers and a headphone jack output on the front[9][10]. MOTU's 2408 sound card has a "Generous range of analogue and digital interfacing options and sync capabilities"[11]. The sound card inputs and outputs can be found in the outboard equipment if we need to use more than 8 channels. We can daisy-chain the signal into the outboard equipment, such as a compressor, and then into the 9th, 10th 11th, and so on, input on the sound cards. 

Outboard equipment  • Some equipment classed as

outboard equipment includes;  •  Joe Meek SC2.2 stereo

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

• Yamaha SPX 90 effects processor which is connected to stereo fader 1A for reverb. 

• Mesa pre-amp which can be used for recording instruments via DI (direct injection/input). 

   

Connections and Cabling    

¼" jack lead  A ¼" jack connection is one of the most common found in musical equipment as its used to connect electric guitars and bases with amps and can also be used for direct injection (DI). They are also known as a jack-plug, guitar jack or simply jack. They can either be balanced or 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]. 

Balanced and 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 unbalanced refers to the number of ‘rings’ the connector has. If the connection only 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 are much more susceptible to interference and hums. Ones with two rings (TRRS) are balanced and do not have interference problems that the ones with only one ring experience as balanced connections

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have three conductors, positive, negative and ground. These three conductors help create protection from interference and hums[17]. 

XLR Cables  XLR cables are 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 and are balanced connections, therefore they can be used in both a live and studio setting[15]. XLR cables and connections have a male and female end. The female end usually receives the input while the male ends are used to plug into inputs, for example a pre amp connected to a mixing desk or studio monitor speakers. [14][16] 

Bantam Leads  Bantam Leads are used in the Sapphyre mixing desk to connect the patch bay with outboard equipment such as an outboard compressor. They have a balanced connection and are seen as smaller versions of ¼" jack connections which can also be called stereo patch cables, and TRS patch cables. 

FireWire  FireWire connections (IEEE 1394) allow you to easily and quickly share information between different equipment, such as audio (soundcards) and video equipment. FireWire was created by apple in 1995 and although they are very similar to USB connections, FireWire is much faster. FireWire connections can allow you to connect up to 63 connections. Original FireWire connections

allowed you to transfer information up to 400 mbps over 4.5 metres but updated versions then allowed speeds of 800 mbps which could travel over 100 metres and FireWire 800 is backwards compatible with 400[18]. 

Thunderbolt  Developed by Apple and intel, a Thunderbolt connection combines a PCI express port and DisplayPort into one connection. This allows "up to six peripherals, like storage

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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 won’t run any faster just because they’re on a Thunderbolt connection" [25].  

Ethernet cable (RJ45 or category 5)  Ethernet cables are used to carry broadband signals between an internet router to a computer. They are capable of traveling at very fast speeds. 

USB (universal serial bus)  A USB connection is one of the most common and popular connections

which are used to connect computers with digital cameras, printers, scanners and hard drive devices. Most major operation systems support USB connections. 

Channel Strip   The SoundCraft Sapphyre mixing console (desk), has a total of 36 channel strips, each made up of 7 sections. The mixing desk has two different functions;  1 Recording into the desk, from the live room.  2 Playing material back that has been recorded. 

If we want to record something into the desk we would use the top set of faders within the channel strip. These are known as the channel faders. The faders used for playing back are the bottom set of faders known as the monitor faders. So if we were to play something back, through logic or safari, we would use the bottom faders. 

The right hand side of the desk is only used for recording and this side has 12 channels and there are 12 inputs in the live room. The computer keyboard sits on the bottom set of faders on the right hand side to avoid confusion. 

Stage Box inputs

SoundCraft Sapphyre Mixing Desk - Right

side of the desk

1 25

2 26

3 27

4 28

5 29

6 30

7 31

8 32

9 33

10 34

11 35

12 36

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The top section of the channel strip is composed of a two level controller, the top is for controlling the gain and the bottom for adjusting the monitoring level. There is a phantom power button [+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 example when recording a 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. A noise gate is an electronic piece of software/equipment that is used to control the volume of an audio signal. Similar to a compressor which reduces the volume above the threshold, 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, underneath is [channel] and under that is a [in] button meaning on. On the right hand side of 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 the third control is (release). The last button in the second section is [hold] which turns the envelope of the noise gate into a square. 

 The third section is shelving EQ. Shelving EQ allows you at attenuate "or boosts frequencies above or below a specified cut off point"[19]. There are two controls and one button in this section. The top control is for higher frequencies (HF) and the second control is for lower frequencies (LF). They increase or decrease frequencies above or below 60Hz (LF) or 12KHZ (HF). 

The fourth section is semi-parametric EQ. Semi-Parametric EQ allows you to alter the frequency and amplitude but not the bandwidth or Q factor. The bandwidth is pre-set with the bandwidth creating a hill shape with rolled 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 to the Yamaha SPX 90 reverb unit in the outboard equipment. 

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 when you want to hear the level before adjusting the faders. There is a [cut] button meaning to mute. 

There is a channel pan relating 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 the middle, the signal will be heard on both channels. There is 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 faders around, so the monitor faders will be the top set and the channel faders will be the bottom set. 

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, for example, if channels 1 to 4 are drums, we can press in [M1] on those channels and they are all muted which allows a group mute. 

  Recording live sound -

Drums  Within the live room, when miking up the drum kit, make sure that the appropriate microphones are 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  • Bottom snare - 4  • Rack tom - 5  • Floor tom - 6  • Right overhead - 7  • Left overhead - 8 

Once a new logic document has opened up, as we  are using 8 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. 

We also need to make sure that on all the channels being used, that 'LOW CUT' has been pressed in, especially on low frequency instruments otherwise we would not receive any sound from that instrument.  To check that everything has been set up properly and that nothing needs changing 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 in closely and you may notice that the peaks and troughs in the signal do not appear at the same time.

There may be a millisecond(s) gap between them. This is known as being 'out of phase'. This can be down to the microphones not being the exact same distance away 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 troughs match 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 output on the desk I.e. 1-2. Create a new track on logic, making sure its a stereo channel, and select the same group output as to what you have selected on the desk, i.e. 1-2. Arm the channel in logic and 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. 

 

Sending signal 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], which correlates to channels 1 and 2 on the patch 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 going into 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. 

 

Patch bay  This refers to the right hand side of the Sapphyre mixing desk where there are various sockets that relate to a channel strip. They are connected via bantam leads (patch leads) to an outboard connection such as a compressor or reverb unit. In other words the bantam leads connects the outboard equipment to the mixing desk. Each channel on the patch bay has 7 sockets. 

The first socket is 'LINE IN'. This socket can be used to connect the output of a pre amp, for example, 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 to  inserts, 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 to connect the 'INS SND' with the input of the Joe Meek compressor. Then we get another bantam lead and connect the output of 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 9th microphone, we don’t have enough on the desk to use. Therefore we connect the 'CH OUT' of the channel with the 9th input of the sound card via a bantam lead 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 9th microphone for example, those signals would have mixed together. 

Next along is ''TAPE SND' which we do not use on the mixing desk but it is another way of sending out a signal to outboard equipment.  'TAPE RET' is the sixth socket where we connect the output from the sound cards to the desk so that we can have the signal on our monitor faders for playing back. 

The last socket is 'MON IN' which we do not use but it can be used to connect an external signal to a channel and this selection can override 'TAPE RET'.   

Centre stereo faders  In the centre if the mixing desk there are 6 blue faders which are stereo faders. They are named 1A, 2A and 3A. Underneath these are 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 press down on 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 of information from each

channel to a speaker or reverb unit for example. On the Sapphyre mixing 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 and  saxophone, 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 for guidance.  Auxiliary 2 is used for the reverb. Once we have the wet reverb signal on stereo fader 1A, we can twist the aux 2 control on the channels we want reverb on, therefore controlling the 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 live performance, we can control what is sent to each of the monitor speakers on the stage as a drummer would not want to hear more drums, they might want to hear more of the guitars and the

vocalist. This can be done without affecting the front of house speakers. Another reason why is because outboard equipment such as reverb units and compressors can cost around  700 and can be more than a  1000 each. Also, we cannot 'save' each channel setting to one compressor or reverb unit as once we have the setting for one channel, when we move onto another channel, the setting of the previous one would be wiped away. So, by using aux send, we can send multiple channels to one unit and adjust on each channel how much we want compressor to how 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. So by using auxiliaries and busses, we save a lot of processing power and mimic the desk process.   

Process involved with the mixes  Mix 1 - 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 the Mesa Pre-amp in the outboard equipment to the channel we were using on the desk, for example channel 8, via a bantam lead which came out of the Mesa pre amp and into the 'LI-IN' socket in the patch bay. We made sure that 'LINE' was selected on 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 at problem solving for around half an hour until we finally gave in but we 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 couldn’t figure out where we were going wrong. We had to ask for help again which we did not want to do as we wanted as little help as possible. 

Mix 2 - Daisy  For mix 2, we had issues with the desk channels as some did not want to playback, therefore on numerous occasions we had to move the channels up. This meant that 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 and noise gate to the 'pillow hit' (kick drum) and so we had to reset these and start again on the new channel.   Whilst creating my mix in logic to them be used in the project, I had experimented with inserts and like the effect reverb had on it and so, after turning space designer off, we used aux send (auxiliary 2) and experimented with the amount of reverb we wanted on each channel. Desk channels 5,6,7,8,9,10 and 12 were sent to the YAMAHA SPX 90. We did initially have trouble trying to record the reverb but it turns out it was a problem with the way the reverb was wired which is why we couldn’t understand why it wasn’t working as we were doing everything right.  We then sent the mix through the TLA compressor and bounced the mix, selecting the same group outputs on the new logic channel, on the desk and pressing 'BNCE'. 

 

Mix 3 - Tom  To create 8 channels, we added a bass in via direct injection, like we did with mix 1, connecting the mesa pre amp with the bass and taking the signal from the output into the 'LI-IN' of the 8th channel. We made sure we had a new channel on logic and had pressed 'LINE' in on the desk channel to receive the signal.  Noise gate and shelving EQ was added to the 'engines' so that they cut out sharply at the end of the mix. After this, we added reverb  Reverb was added via aux 2 controlling the amount of wet signal on stereo fader 1A making sure we pushed in the 'mix' button on fader 1A.  We then sent the mix to the TLA compressor and then we wanted to bounce the mix but couldn’t work out why it wasn’t working. We found out that we had a mono channel in logic and not a stereo channel which was why we weren't getting any signal when bouncing. 

Evaluation 

What Went Well?  I think that trying to problem solve ourselves went well as I think we all had issues with trying to learn and recall information about how to use the desk and the patch bay, so by combining everything we each had, helped us on occasions to figure out why we couldn’t bounce the mix or why we couldn’t send a signal through 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.  I think that getting to grips with using the auxiliaries help me to better understand them and how they work, especially with the Sapphyre mixing 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 all connects together. Also, by looking at the patch bay showing 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 the patch bay and send a signal through and return it to the desk.  

What did not go so well?  I think that at the start, where we were not confident using the desk, and despite using trial and error, we had to ask for help on several occasions rather than wasting time. I feel that once the 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, did not work as I was slowly understanding the desk but not necessarily the parts we had the issues with. 

If I was to do this again?  If I 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 involved with trialling equipment 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 to understand it better. 

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

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Bibliography 

All websites accesses between Friday 11th December 2015 and Sunday 13th December 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-and-unbalanced-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=0ahUKEwiStoOxj9rJAhVGthoKHVlMCQMQjRwIBw&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=0ahUKEwjt9ZvakNrJAhXKtBoKHQLrDPEQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fforum.videohelp.com%2Fthreads%2F257464-Firewire&psig=AFQjCNEEufRorBbTCzaedP_1YZoz_WMAvQ&ust=1450140554060118 [image1.5] https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwj417-MkdrJAhWJqxoKHfYiDhQQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnewsroom.intel.com%2Fcommunity%2Fintel_newsroom%2Fblog%2F2011%2F02%2F24%2Fthunderbolt-technology-the-fastest-data-connection-to-your-pc-just-arrived&psig=AFQjCNGp3KSy3dHjYiTrqfl7e0ipCh6CHQ&ust=1450140660312018 [image1.6] https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiGwp24kdrJAhUFfxoKHSlRBfsQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.conrad-electronic.co.uk%2Fce%2Fen%2Fproduct%2F972412%2Fnetwork-cable-RJ45-CAT-5e-SFUTP-Blue&psig=AFQjCNGH6rhXu-wnwNuWzH8LcqNASGOhVQ&ust=1450140754698308 [image1.7] https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjXjtjXkdrJAhXKuhoKHV0cBmEQjRwIBw&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=AFQjCNEj-OXSKY9ZRCje77fvzctDPACMAA&ust=1450140819419790 All other images taken/created by me.