Difference between revisions of "Mixing Bench Overview"

Revision as of 12:01, 3 March 2022

Overview

The Audio Mixing Benches are our introductory audio edit suites. 

• The have one computer station with a variety of accessories and software. 
• They are designed to be used by 1-2 students. 
• They are available for students to use for academic use. 
• The labs require the proficiency badge and also the quarterly access badge. 
• Students in approved programs or contracts will be added to the access badge each quarter.  

Location

• They are in their own rooms on the first floor of Evans Hall in 1520 and 1522. 
• From the lobby walk past the Multimedia Lab and turn left at the garbage and recycling station.

Access

• The labs require the proficiency badge and also the quarterly access badge. 
• Read the Electronic Media Lab Access 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 or the Multimedia Lab or Self Service in Schedule Evergreen.
• Get keys from Media Loan for your scheduled time.

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 L1404 or the Electronic Media front desk Lib 1501
• 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 helpful Mixing Bench articles as well as various audio editing software cheat sheets

Powering On Procedure

1. Turn down the volume on the Volume Box. It’s the metal box with a red knob.
2. Turn on the Main Power on the power strip, wait 10 seconds for the sound card to fully start up, sound card should read 48k.
3. Turn on the computer
4. Log in to the computer and wait for the user template to fully start up. The MOTU audio driver software appears on the desktop, do not close this application.

Applications

• Adobe Audition: Multi-track audio recording and mixing
• Digital Performer: Multi-track audio recording and mixing. It also does MIDI editing.
• Pro Tools: Multi-track audio recording and mixing.
• Audacity: Open source audio editor.
• Waves Native Power Pack: Audio Plug-ins.
• NI Komplete Soft Synths
• Ableton Live: Music Production

Computer Audio Cards - MOTU 828 Firewire sound card

1. Sound card upon start up should be in 48k sample rate
2. There are 2 Mic/Line inputs
3. Trim knob = controls the microphone sensitivity
4. Push the Trim knob engages a PAD to attenuate or reduce your input level.
5. Push and Hold the Trim knob engages phantom power if you are using a condenser microphone.

Patchbay, Mixer and Monitoring

• All of the equipment is connected to the patchbay.
• You can connect devices with patchcords but most of the basic connections are normalized. This means that no patching is required.
• When you start it’s a good idea to remove all the patchcords from the patchbay.
• The mixer and the volume control box are the devices used to set levels and monitoring volumes.
• Use the mixer to set recording levels and the volume control box' to set monitoring levels.
• The mixer’s Main Mix output is normalized to the Mac inputs.
• The mixer’s Control Room output is normalized to the Volume Box Mixer input.
• The output of the Mac is normalized to the Volume Box Mac input.
• On the Volume Box choose Mixer CR Out or Mac to either listen to the mixer or the program using the Mac.

File Storage

• Make a folder on the Storage to store your files in. It’s a good idea to back up your work to an external hard drive or a server.
• All files are deleted at the end of every quarter.