A Brief Look At Some Recording Studios Features

By Dan Smith


Musicians, professional voice-over performers, vocalists and others need space where their audio efforts can be captured digitally. Setting up the right recording studio space requires an investment in knowledge and equipment that can be significant. Many performers choose to rent or lease the space from a fully equipped studio, rather than to design and build the space for the purpose of high quality recordings.

A space where recording can be completed, such as a music studio, also is able to offer sound mixing and manipulation of the sounds. The professionals who have the knowledge to design top sound capture and monitoring locations are known as acousticians. These pros create spaces which have the best properties for capture of acoustics. The acoustic authorities ensure that the highest level of sound properties is designed and implemented. The design takes advantage of modern materials to provide sound diffusion, isolation and acoustic precision. Elimination of reflected sound is a factor in quality recordings.

There are several groups and individuals who will commonly need the facilities of a location for creating audio recordings. A recording studio London locale is often retained to record advertising messages such as voice-overs, musicians, both vocal and instrumental and dialogue replacement for animated presentations. Background music is recorded to tie to television and movie productions. A constant evolution of the equipment used to capture audio performance is noted, ensuring improved accuracy and clarity.

Typically, a studio of this type will have a room known as the live room, where the actual performance take place. The studio might have space for vocalists or for instrumentalists. The second major space is known as the control room. In the control room, sound engineers, as well as producers will be located and will operate professional audio mixing consoles. Since 1980, computers have taken the place of mixing consoles in many studios.

The computer equipment has dedicated software suites which can manipulate and route sounds for either digital or analog recordings. Some studios also feature isolation booths in order to accommodate louder instruments such as electric guitars or drums. These booths prevent sounds from the more intense instruments from interfering with sounds coming from other instruments. Alternatively, the isolation booths provide rooms in which recording of vocals or some acoustic instruments.

Room acoustics are an important element of the design of studios. The goal is to provide the best acoustical properties for capturing sound with accuracy and precision. There are two main elements of managing the acoustical properties. The first is the materials for absorption and diffusion which are placed on the walls and other surfaces of the room. The second is the physical dimensions of the room. Soundproofing of the spaces prevents unwanted sounds from interfering with the capture of wanted sounds in the music studio London facility.

There is equipment which is found in nearly every facility. This includes the mixing console, recorder and microphones. Keyboards and drums are also common.

Other equipment which may be found in a studio London locale includes an "On Air" light, a music work station and a digital workstation. Equalizers, compressors and reverbs are also part of the available equipment.




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