DDS Recording Room guide

Below is a chart that details the equipment located in the Recording Room that supports audio recording.  Additional equipment is available through our circulating media equipment service that operates from the front desk of Tisch library.

Image of Equipment	Equipment Name	Equipment Description
	Microphones	2 Røde NT1000 Studio Condenser microphones on swivel mount boom arms with pop filter 2 Røde NT1000 Studio Condenser microphones on desk stands with pop filter
	Audio interface	Focusrite Scarlett 18i8 audio interface
	Headphones	Monitor sound recording and playback, Sony MDR-7506
	iMac	iMac with Audacity, Adobe Creative Cloud including Audition, Premiere Pro, and Photoshop, Apple GarageBand and iMovie, and more
N/A	Furniture and features in the space	Two-piece moveable conference table

Below is a chart to help you decide which software to use for your project.

Audio level - the strength of the audio signal, in this context it is measured in db.

Bit rate - number of possible amplitude values, or the loudness, we can record for each audio sample.  We recommend working with 24 bits.

db - a unit of measurement.  In the context of this guide we are referring specifically to dBFS which measures amplitude, or loudness.

Hz - Hz is short for Hertz.  This is the number of samples per second of a waveform to create a signal. Sometimes this is also referred to as the sample rate.  We recommend working with 4800 Hz as your sample rate. 

Phantom power - power transmitted to the microphone.  It is also sometimes referred to as 48v since this is a standard power supplied to microphones.

Record enable - when recording on multiple tracks record enable allows for you to select which tracks to record onto

Room tone - recording of the space without speaking or moving.  This captures the ambient sound of the space which can be helpful during editing.  Recording usually lasts between 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Scarlett audio interface - the audio interface is what allows the microphone to connect to the computer.  The specific audio interface we use in the Recording Room is the Scarlett 18i8 audio interface.  In order for your audio recording application to see the microphones, the Scarlett must be selected as the input device.

1. Launch your audio recording application.  Create and save a new project.  If you already created a project, open it to record into it. We recommend your project settings are set to 48000Hz, 24-bit, when possible.

2. Connect the microphones.The space come equipped with four microphones.

3. Point microphone at sound you are recording.  If recording vocals, the microphone should be approximately 3-6 inches from your mouth. 

4. Adjust the microphone volume on the Scarlett audio interface. 

5. Check the volume level. Voice should be approximately -12 db. Sounds recorded at 0 will be distorted.

6. Listen carefully.  If you hear a sound you don't want and you can turn it off or avoid it, do so.

7. Check your headphone volume. If your levels look good but you still can’t hear, check your headphone volume.  This knob is located above the headphone port on the right of the Scarlett audio interface.  Always monitor your recording by wearing the provided headphones.

8. Press the red record button. You will do this in the application, not on the microphone. If you are using multiple microphones, you may need to record enable each track individually prior to hitting the main record button, e.g. programs such as GarageBand and Audition require this.

9. Record 30 seconds of room tone, a recording of the space without anyone speaking or moving.  This will help during editing to create smoother transitions.

10. Playback your recordings. Always listen to your recording by wearing the provided headphones. If you hear a lot of air or background noise, you may need to bring the mic closer to your subject or increase the volume knob on the Scarlett audio interface.

Splitting Stereo to Mono

If recording with two microphones in Audacity, the application typically creates a Stereo track by default.  The recording room is setup with two individual mono, not stereo microphones.  To separate the channels, click the triangle on the track header to reveal a drop down menu.  Select Split Stereo to Mono.  This will create to separate mono tracks that you can edit individually.

Recording with multiple microphones

1. When opening Audacity, make sure the Project Rate (Hz) in the bottom left corner is set to 48000.

2. In the Device toolbar, set your input to the Scarlett 18i8, select the number of microphones you will record with simultaneously and finally, choose select the Scarlett 18i8 again to listen back on the headphones provided.

Note: if the Scarlett does not show up in the drop-down menu, go to the top menu bar: Transport>Rescan Audio Devices, it should now show up in the drop down menu. If not, check the connections on the back of the computer.

2. Test all microphones individually to get proper levels. You can monitor the levels by selecting the the monitor button in the menu pictured above (the microphone icon).

3. Pressing the red, record button will automatically set up a new track for each microphone. 

4. If you stop recording and then want to continue recording on the same tracks, SHIFT + Select all tracks and hit the record button. 

Recording with multiple microphones

Recording with multiple microphones

	1. Once Audition is opened, select "Multitrack" in the top left corner. In this menu, name your session, select the file location and configure to the settings: 48000 Hz, 24 bits and Stereo mix. Press okay.
	2. Delete unnecessary tracks by going to the top menu bar Multitrack>Tracks>Delete Selected Tracks.
	3. Configure Audacity so the default input and output are the Scarlett18i8.   To do this, navigate to Adobe Audition > Preferences > Audio Hardware. Press Okay.
	4. To map each microphone to the desired track, click "Default Stereo Input" and press Mono>[01M] Scarlett 18i8 USB... and repeat this for the other channel selecting the other microphone.  Map Input 1 to Track 1, Input 2 to Track 2, etc.
	5. Press the R button on each track to start monitoring audio.
	6. When ready to record, press the red record button on the bottom middle of the multitrack session.