When working in a studio it is important to understand the different types of equipment and cables used in the studio. It is important to understand the difference between a balanced and an unbalanced cable. An unbalanced cable is a cable that has two conductors. If a cable only has two conductors it is possible that the signal will pick up interference and cause a buzzing sound. A balanced cable has three conductors. This will reduce the amount of interference that is picked up. An XLR cable which is commonly used for microphones would be a balanced cable because you would not want to pick up interference while recording vocals.When it comes to using the computer there are many different cables that will be used to connect different types of equipment. A midi cable is a common cable. It is used to connect midi instruments such as midi keyboard to a computer. Firewire cables can also be used to transfer audio data at high speeds.2.Audio Interface An Audio Interface is an interface designed to allow audio to be recorded or played back in various ways from a computer. It is more advanced than a sound card. The Audio Interface has a higher quality audio reproduction, dedicated audio inputs and outputs and could run at a in a way which the user wouldnt even know it was there (low latency) which is different from the normal sound card. The Audio Interface also had increased numbers of inputs and outputs, which mean multiple pieces, can be played and recorded at the same time. Signal Levels Signals are needed to send analogue signals in and out of the digital domain. Analogue audio signals are very low-power so if the connection is not matched correctly this could result in inaudible volume levels or lead to the piece being distorted, and some signals have a higher power which could lead to damaged hearing, the individual or equipment. DC signals measure voltage differently using a complex algorithm that makes negative voltage values into positives which is called Root Mean Square and then takes and average of the values and square roots it. This then makes it easier to quote all voltages using RMS values. Direct Injection A Direct Injection unit/box is used in recording studios to connect a high-impedance, line level, unbalanced output signal to a low-impedance microphone level balanced input. This normally is done with an XLR connector. These can be used to connect an electric guitar to a mixing consoles microphone input. The DI then performs a multitude of tasks which minimise noise, distortion and ground loops. Patch Bay A Patch Bay enables you to change the signal flow among the different devices within the studio without having to change cables around. They are switchboards for rerouting audio signals. It contains rows of input and output points. A patch bay cable can be used to connect different signal processors to different instruments. An example of this would be adding a reverb effect to an electric guitar from within the control room. VU MeterA VU Meter is a Volume Unit Meter which is a device to display the signal level in audio equipment.Noise Gate A Noise Gate is software that is used to control volume. A Noise Gate will change signals that are below the correct hearing level. Noise Gates work in a range and changes it by a fixed amount. If the signal is above the threshold the gate will be open and the signal can pass through, if it is below the threshold then the gate is closed and no signal can pass. A Noise Gate is used when the level of signal is above the level of noise. They are used to eliminate unwanted noise in recordings, for example background noises. Parametric EQA Parametric EQ is a complex Equaliser and it can control three aspects of a frequency. These are the level, the centre and the bandwidth. Each frequency can be changed by +/- 6 dB or +/- 12 dB. This is different from a graphic equaliser as it can also adjust the centre of the frequency and the bandwidth.

3. When working in a studio it is important to bare health and safety in mind. Issues which may occur in the studio should be rated on a Risk Assessment Scale and measures should be carried out in order to reduce the number on the Risk Assessment Scale, thus this will reduce the number of accidents occurring in the studio. Some of the health and safety issues can be towards the person or to the equipment, for example: injury to self by tripping over cables or damage to equipment by having food and drink in the studio. One of the main health and safety issue of working in a studio is tripping, this is due to there often being cables on the floor and also tripping over equipment in the studio. If the studio is not kept tidy and the cables put away the chance of someone tripping in the studio is very high. This could lead to serious injury to the person involved. Therefore, to minimise this risk it is important for people working in the studio to ensure that the studio is always kept tidy and cables and equipment are not left lying around in places where they should not be. Also, anyone entering the studio should be paying attention just in case the studio has not been kept tidy. Food and drink should not be taken into a studio. If there is a spillage onto the studio equipment this can cause the equipment to fuse or to break. Some spillages may cause an electrical fire which could lead to the whole studio being set alight. The risk of this happening is fairly low however; the consequences can be high and very dangerous and expensive. To reduce this risk no food and drink should be taken into the studios. People working in the studio should leave the facility before consuming these goods. It is important for anyone entering the studio to know where the fire escapes are located. The fire escapes located in this studio can be seen in the diagram. People working in the studio they must be aware of time limits and computer usage. If working at the computer for too long this can cause eye strain and has the possibility of causing back problems. To prevent this it is important for each individual working in the studio to be aware of how long they have been working for and to ensure that they have regular breaks where they get up and move away from the screens and to provide themselves with a light exercise, e.g. a small stretch. Although the risk is quite low here it is still important that measures are carried out to prevent any personal injuryPeople entering the studio should behave in a responsible matter and respect the property in the studio. The equipment in the studio is very expensive and it should be treated in a responsible manner to avoid damage to the property.

This is a diagram of the studio area.This is a more detailed diagram of one of the studios. On the mixing desk you will find many channel strips. A channel strip is used to allow an audio device to be integrated into another system. An example of this would be using the channel strip to amplify the signal from an instrument so that it can be connected to a DAW. When it comes to recording instruments there are many different types of microphones available. There are two man types of microphones that are used in studios. These are called condenser and dynamic. A condenser microphones will require its own power supply. A condenser microphone would normally be used to record vocals and acoustic instruments as they can record sound in much higher quality than a dynamic microphone. A disadvantage to a condenser microphone is they tend to be very delicate. A dynamic microphone does not require its own power supply. Dynamic microphones are very rugged and can be used to record almost any sound. If you wanted to record a kick drum you would use a dynamic microphone because it will be able to withstand the high levels of sound pressure. Microphone placement is very important when it comes to recording. It is very important to make sure the kick drum is miked up correctly because the kick drum produces some of the very low frequency sounds. A good position for the kick drum would be to place it half way inside the drum. This will allow the microphone to pick up more of the sounds produced by the body of the drum and less of the attack produced by the peddle hitting the drum. A Audix D6 dynamic microphone would be a good microphone to use because it is able to make high quality recordings of very low frequency sounds. The snare drum microphone will need to be placed about 2 inches away from the drum. The head of the microphone will need to be placed so it is pointing at the centre of the drum. The snare drum will normally be placed near the high-hats so a directional microphone will be needed to help reduce the bleed from the high-hats and other drums. A SM57 is commonly used when recording the snare drum.A similar process is involved when positioning microphones for the tom-toms. You should place a microphone about 3 inches above each drum. The microphone should be pointing to the centre of the drum. A good microphone to use for recording the tom-toms is a Shure PG56.The high-hats do not need to be miked up because they are normally picked up through the other mics. If you did want to position a microphone for the high-hats you would need to place the microphone about 4 inches away from the high-hat. The microphone would need to be pointing directly down. A diaphragm condenser microphone would be a good choice here because it will pick up more of the high-hats and reduce the bleed from the other drums. The cymbals can be picked up by using overhead microphones. These microphones will pick up the entire drum kit to give the recording a fuller sound. The overhead microphones should be placed about a foot above the drum kit. There should be one either side of the drum kit pointing directly down or across the drum kit. The distance of the microphones should be measured so they are both the same distance away from the centre of the snare.After you have positioned all of the drums you will need to connect them to the mixing desk. This can be done by connecting the microphones to the patch bay. You will need to remember what microphones are plugged into the different inputs. The patch bay will need to be connected to the sound card and the sound card will need to be connected to the mixing desk. A good way of organising the microphones is to remember the order of the microphones plugged into the patch bay and repeat that order when connecting the patch bay to the sound card. Then when you connect the sound card to the mixing desk and set the mixing desk to input 1 you should receive a signal from the microphone that is connected to input 1 in the patch bay.