Podcast Studio Overview

Overview

The Podcast Studio is fully equipped to record a 4-person audio podcast. It is designed to be easy to use and easy to access.

It has a height adjustable podcast table.
It is set up with 4 microphones on boom arms.
Can make multitrack recordings directly to an SD card or to a computer.
Has one computer station.
Editing and mixing of podcasts can be done in the Audio Mixing Benches or the Multimedia Lab.
Available for students to use for academic use.

Location

First floor of Evans Hall in 1504.

Access

The lab requires the Audio - Podcast Studio proficiency badge in Schedule Evergreen.
Read the Media Labs Proficiency Process page for proficiency information.
Read the Media Labs Access Policy for lab polices.
Read the Scheduling General Access Media Labs article for scheduling procedures.
Schedule time at Media Loan, the Multimedia Lab or via Self Service in Schedule Evergreen.
Get keys from Media Loan for your scheduled time.

General Policies

No food or drinks of any kind are allowed in the labs.
Alcohol, drugs, vaping and smoking are not allowed anywhere in the buildings.
Take care of yourself and remember to take a break once in a while.
Clean up after yourself.
Do not delete other students' files.
Do not unplug or remove anything from the spaces.
Make sure the door is closed and locked when you leave the lab.
- Do not leave doors propped open if the room will be temporarily unoccupied, even if you are only running to the restroom.
Only use your scheduled time.
Return keys and equipment promptly to Media Loan or to the Library Circulation Desk.
Reports any lab problems by following the Report a problem in a media lab procedure.
Be courteous and respectful to the other users of the labs and all student employees.
Follow the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities and the Social Contract
Files on computers may be deleted at the end of each quarter or as-needed.
- Always keep a backup of your work in another location.

Help

Always enter your name and time into the logbook, along with any problems you encounter during your time in the lab.
If you need help, go to the Multimedia Lab Evans 1404.
In the dock there is a folder with an orange M called Manuals that contain PDF’s of some of the manuals.
The Evergreen Help Wiki has lots of useful information. For example, check out the Audio Mixing Benches category page for instructions on getting started recording into different Digital Audio Workstation software available in our labs.
You can also email audiosupport@evergreen.edu if you need help or more information about our labs.

Applications

Ableton Live: Music Production
Pro Tools: Multi-track audio recording and mixing.
REAPER: Multi-track audio recording and mixing.
Audacity: Open source audio editor.

Equipment

Podcast Table

Height adjustable table with padded surface.
4 mic boom arms mounted to the table
4 RE-20 microphones secured to the boom arms.
4 Stereo Headphones

Tascam Mixcast 4 Interface/Mixer

Can make multitrack recordings directly to an SD card or to a computer.
4 mic inputs.
Stereo line input.
Bluetooth input.
USB feed from the computer.
Dedicated stereo Monitor Output feeds active nearfield speakers by computer.
4 Headphone Outputs for monitoring.

Computer

Mac Studio and 64 GB of Ram
27" Dell monitor with built in webcam

Lab Procedures

Powering On Procedure

Turn down the volume on the Mackie Big Knob Passive monitor controller. It’s the black box with a large volume knob by the computer.
Turn on the power strip located with the switch at the base of the computer display.
Power on the computer by pressing the button on the lower left back corner of the computer.
Power on the Tascam Mixcast 4 by pressing the button on the back right corner.
Log in to the computer and wait for the user template to fully start up.

Power Off Procedure

Turn down the volume on the Mackie Big Knob Passive monitor controller.
Turn off the computer.
- Go to the Apple menu on the top left of the screen
- Select Shut Down ...
Turn off the power strip located with the switch at the base of the computer display.
Press the power button on the back right corner until the Power Off screen appears.
Tap Yes on the touch screen.

Monitoring

Both the Monitor Output of the Tascam Mixcast 4 and the Mackie Big Knob Passive monitor controller are used to set the monitoring volume through the speakers.
On the Big Knob set the Input Selection button to A (Stereo) to listen to the Monitor Outputs of the Tascam Mixcast 4.
- The computer is set up to send its main output signals through the Mixcast 4; the fader for the stereo channel labeled with the USB symbol needs to be turned up on the Mixcast in order to monitor audio coming from the computer.
On the Big Knob, Input Selection 2 is not being used.
On the Big Knob, there are two pairs of speaker outputs available. Output Selection A is connected to the nearfield speakers. Output Selection B is connected to a headphone amplifier at the computer desk that can feed additional headphones.
The four sets of headphones connected to the Mixcast 4 can also be used to monitor.
Be careful! If the Monitor Output of the Mixcast 4 is turned up too much, loud feedback from the microphones could occur. A "best practice" would be to only use the Monitor Output to listen to playback from the computer; when recording microphones, monitoring should be done on headphones, and the Monitor Output knob should be turned all the way down.

Recording

The Tascam Mixcast 4 is a 14 input, 2 output USB audio interface that can be used to make make multitrack recordings into a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software such as ProTools or REAPER. The Mixcast can also function as a standalone recording device, record a Polywav file (a single file that contains all 14 inputs) to an onboard SD card, which studio users must provide if they want to utilize this option.
Each individual channel of the Mixcast can be recorded on its own channel in a DAW. The four microphone's outputs appear as mono channels, and the Line Input, USB Output, Bluetooth Input, and Main Mix Output appear as stereo channels.
All outputs of the Mixcast are post-fader.
There are templates for ProTools and REAPER. All the Mixcast's input channels will appear, labeled, when one of these templates is opened.
Record enable the tracks you want to record and start recording.
For more detailed instructions, check out Recording with Pro Tools in the Podcast Studio.

File Management

All file storage on the computers is local to that computer. You need to back up your files in order to use them in another lab.

Make a folder on the desktop to store your files.
When working save often
When you are done save and quit any applications you are using.
Back up your files to:
- OneDrive
- External hard drive
- Thumb drive
If you have a fast USB three hard drive you can work directly of your drive.
We erase all the student files off the computers on Thursday of every eval week.
Always back up your files