Recording Secrets For The Small Studios

 One Source, No Mics

   Recording a Machine,

  Although much of the magic in many productions stems from a marriage of live performers and microphones, I’d like to start this primer by eliminating both these variables from the proceedings, so that we can fi rst concentrate on the bedrock studio techniques you’ll need for pretty much every recording job you attempt. As such, our fi rst goal will be learning to record samples from playback machines that directly output an electrical signal—things like radios, TVs, CD players, and mobile devices. On the face of things, this might seem a rather unedifying prospect, but bear with me, because it’s actually the quickest way to fast-track your basic technical skills. If you can learn to do this task right every time, then you’ll avoid the embarrassment of elementary goofs and the frustration of unnecessary delays once musicians are in the room. In addition, this activity should iron out the most common small-studio confi guration problems, thereby preparing your core recording system for the rigors of serious music sessions. 

1  .1   H  OOKING THINGS UP  So what do you need to know to connect the outputs of such equipment to your recording system? First off, you should realize that plugging anything in can generate powerful signal spikes, which could easily damage your monitors and/or ears. Seeing as deafening yourself probably isn’t the best way to begin a recording course, do ensure that you mute your speakers or headphones at the outset. The simplest way to do this is by silencing your system’s monitoring outputs in some way: you could mute your mixer’s master output; you could hit your monitor controller’s Mute button or disengage its output selector switches; or you could just turn down the volume control on the amplifi er feeding your speakers or headphones. 

  .1.1   C  onnector Basics  Most modern playback devices and sound modules output analog signals at “line level,” which is an alternating voltage roughly in the 1V ballpark. Getting

    .1.2   C  hoosing Cables  Once you’ve muted the monitors, decided which audio plugs/sockets you’re going to use, and placed your sound source within easy reach of your recording system, you’re ready to hook things up. Even cheap-as-chips consumer hi-fi  cables will carry line-level signals OK, but I’d defi nitely recommend using the more robust professional-style cables designed specifi cally for onstage/ studio use. You shouldn’t have to spend more than about $20 (£15) each for workmanlike specimens of up to 10 m in length, but do try to avoid anything with molded-on connectors, because they’re almost impossible to repair if one of the internal solder joints fails—separate connectors can be resoldered. (Speaking of which, if you’re a soldering Jedi then you can save yourself a packet by constructing your own cables in the fi rst place.) Plastic-bodied connectors are also a false economy in my opinion, as the casings have a tendency to crack even at the best of times, and only get more brittle with age.  As long as a line-level audio cable has the appropriate plugs, it’ll usually do the job, but there are a few exceptions that you need to be careful about if you’re rooting through an unknown box of leads. Firstly, some TS jack cables are designed for connecting the high-level output of an amplifi er to a speaker, and don’t offer as much protection against external electrical interference. The best way to identify these speaker-level cables is to unscrew one of the TS jack plugs and have a look inside (see F igure 1.6) : a line-level cable will usually have a single plastic-insulated core (for the audio signal) surrounded by an earthed wire-mesh “screen,” whereas a speaker cable typically has two insulated cores of a thicker gauge without any mesh screening.   Cables designed for digital audio signals are also constructed differently from normal analog leads, but because they’re usually clearly labeled by 

the manufacturer (and often noticeably less fl exible when handled), you’re unlikely to confuse them in practice. As it happens, you can sometimes get away with using analog RCA phono or XLR leads to transmit coaxial S/PDIF or AES-EBU digital signals over short distances without problems, but if you hate the thought of sacrifi cing session time to data glitches as much as I do, then spending $45 (£30) on a dedicated digital cable is a no-brainer. Another thing to realize when recording a digital source is that your recorder’s sample rate must be synchronized to that of the incoming data, so you’ll only get the audio coming through correctly once that’s been done. The simplest means of doing this is to “slave” the recorder’s sample rate to that embedded in the incoming digital data stream, but more complex systems are also possible (see “Digital Clocking & Jitter” in Section 1.4.4 for more details). On computer systems the synchronization options are usually located somewhere in the audio interface’s driver settings— although somehow they always seem to be playing “hide and seek” whenever I need to fi nd them! 

  1 .1.3   C  able Layout  Physically arranging cables in the studio should be mostly common sense, but I’ve seen enough small-studio catastrophes over the years that I’m still inclined to proffer a few basic tips. The most frequent mistake is using leads that are too short, thereby suspending the cables in the air as fi rst-class tripwires and stressing the internal solder joints and signal contacts of your sockets—not a good idea with budget studio equipment in particular, where the socketry may be pretty fragile to begin with.  It’s also preferable to keep audio cables (particularly unbalanced ones) as far away as possible from your mains electrical wiring or any mains transformers, in order to minimize the amount of unwanted interference these may add to the signal you’re trying to record. Mains transformers can be pernicious in this regard, because they’re so often tucked away out of sight inside everyday electrical appliances and domestic lighting systems. Networking devices such as modems, routers, and hubs are also best given a wide berth if possible

  WISTED CABLES   A classic newbie mistake is coiling up cables for storage in such a way that they get twisted. A twisted cable is a complete pain in the ass, because the twist’s slight torque causes the cable to wrap around itself, so that it refuses to lie fl at on your studio fl oor and generally creates an almighty tangle. Fortunately, it’s easy to avoid this, either by using one of several special coiling techniques which neutralize the normal twisting action, or by storing your cables in loose folds or on a cable drum. (For more information on these methods, check out this chapter’s web resources.)

 Spare a thought for wear and tear, because although studio cables are pretty hardy, there’s no sense in throwing money away on unnecessary repairs/ replacements. Obviously, do your best not to tread on them, but also try to anticipate anything that might roll over them (wheeled fl ightcases, offi ce chair casters, trolleys), crush them (doors, table legs, high heels), or melt them (lamps, radiators), and take evasive action. Special mention needs to be made of optical digital cables, however, because these are quite fragile, and won’t even tolerate being bent beyond a certain angle without damaging the optic fi ber, so keep the kid gloves on when handling those.