Granoff is open 9am-3pm, M-F until classes start up again on Wednesday, September 3rd. | Trainings will start 2 weeks after shopping period.

Multimedia lab
Recording Booth

THE BOOTH HAS NEW AUDIO EQUIPMENT INSTALLED. PREVIOUS USERS, PLEASE LOOK OVER THIS RESOURCE AS MUCH HAS CHANGED

Physical Set Up Computer + Hardware Set Up Software Setup Setting Recording Levels Troubleshooting

Welcome and Policies

Welcome to the Self-Recording Booth Resource Page. Below you will find out useful information on how to operate the booth successfully, even if you have had little to no experience with audio recording/engineering. The process should be simple and easy to follow, provided the booth is well-maintained by previous users. What this means is that how you leave the booth at the end of your session affects the next person to use it. As with all our services, it has to work and function for all members with all different skill levels. To that end:

Do not unplug anything at all ever (other than your own instruments or devices)
Do not press any unnecessary buttons or play with the menu settings not covered in this resource.
Do not change any of the audio settings not explained on this page, other than to get the booth back to base
Ask for help if you need it. You can sign up for a 1-on-1 session here, or email CATS@brown.edu

In a Glance

The Multimedia Lab recording booth is located in the Granoff Multimedia Lab and:

Is ideal for shorter recordings of one voice (15 mins or so)
Can be used at any time the Granoff lab is open. First come first serve, without any special training.
Includes a high-quality condenser mic and accompanying computer with software (Audition, Logic, Reaper, Audacity, Ableton, etc.)
Can ALSO be used more simply with a personal portable recording device (phone, zoom audio recorder). Just walk in, close the door and record
Will greatly reduce but not eliminate background noise (not whisper quiet) as it is in an active space.
Can be used to record solo, or a team of two, producer and talent!

Physical Set up

The Booth

The booth has a small table and a mic stand, both of which can be adjusted to different heights depending on your setup.

ALWAYS USE TWO HANDS WHEN ADJUSTING THE MIC STAND as it can be heavier and more awkward to adjust than it looks.

You can adjust:

- how tall the mic stand is (green)
- how far out the boom pole extends (purple)
- the angle of the boom pole (orange)
REMOVE LAPTOPS OR ANYTHING OFF THE TABLE BEFORE ADJUSTING IT
- turn the knob (blue) to loosen the pole, then pull the table up or down. When you reach the desired height, tighten the knob.
We recommend setting the height to be slightly above where your mouth will be.

Microphone is slightly above where you are speaking from
A clip light is provided to help with reading scripts, and the mouse is connected to the outside computer

The MoreYou Audio System

The MoreYou audio system is comprised of two different pieces of hardware: The MoreYou Hub (referred to as just "hub") which sits on the computer desk outside the booth and the X2 unit which lives inside the booth.
The MoreYou Hub acts as the computer's audio interface. It also houses the controls to change gain, add phantom power, etc for the entire system.
The X2 unit expands the number of inputs we have and is connected to and powered by the Hub via XLR cable. Its primary function here is to provide talent with direct monitoring and playback via headphones and talkback abilities. The only control talent will have in the booth is the volume and talkback.

the "hub" found on the desk

the X2 unit in the booth

Producer + Talent Setup

If you are working with a friend or a producer, they can handle things like setting your levels, starting and stopping recordings, and giving you feedback from outside, while you, the talent, are in the booth.

After successfully setting up the software, both the producer and talent will be able to talk to each other by pressing down and holding the talkback button on the MoreYou Hub and X2 Unit respectively

two person set up above.

Set up your computer for solo recording

After you have completed the software set up below, very carefully rotate the computer on the arm to face the window of the recording booth. We have an extra mouse in the booth that will allow you to start and stop recordings, play things back, etc.
Its worth noting that the Lower Encoder Knob used to adjust the levels on the mic is on MoreYou Hub interface located on the computer table, meaning you will have to come in and out while testing and setting your levels, but once its set, you shouldn't have to worry about it again for that session.

Computer + Hardware Set up

There will be two different things we need to confirm before we open our recording sofware:

Confirming the MoreYou Hub is on and operating
Confirming our Mac System Sound Preferences

MoreYou Hub (What to confirm)

The Hub at the desk is on
- Is the LCD display working? Are there blue lights above the knobs? If yes, then the Hub is on.
- if it is not, then locate the power button on the front right side of the unit, and press it down until the unit turns on. Note: The power button turns on both the Hub and X2 unit at the same time.
- There is no need to turn off the hub after your session. It can stay on indefinitely and should.
The LCD is set to Gain Mode, is on track 1, and has a number somewhere between 20db and 45db (35db is a good place to start.
- If its not, reset the gain to 35db: instructions below
The X2 Unit in the Recording Booth is also on, indicated by green lights above the knobs.
The "mix" knob for input 1 (bottom left) should be set to halfway.
The headphone volume knob on both the hub and the X2 Unit in the booth should start at halfway (adjustable to your liking)
The Direct, 48V, and Lowpass Filter (sideways "L") buttons are on.

Systems Preferences: Sound set to Audient id14

Click on the apple icon in the top left bar > System Settings
Click on "sound" then
- Set output to MoreYou Hub
- Set input to MoreYou Hub
- Set Sound Effects to MoreYou Hub

Software Setup

Our recording booth should work with any DAW or audio software; however, we recommend two DAWs in particular: Audacity and Adobe Audition. Audacity provides the simplest and easiest recording experience, its a good option if you aren't at all familiar with audio recording/engineering. Adobe Audition is a professional DAW and learning it will give you a marketable skill you can use in the industry. If you have any experience with video or audio editing/recording, we highly recommend using this software.

Option 1: Recording with Audacity

If the recording booth is operating correctly, recording should as simple as detailed below. Otherwise, please follow our troubleshooting guide to get the booth back to base.

Open Audacity from the Applications Folder
Press the Record button
Press the Stop button when finished.
Export your recordings.
- Need help exporting? Watch this video

Troubleshooting Audacity

Click the audio setup button
Host, Playback, and Recording Device should all be set to MoreYou Hub
Channel should be set to 1
Hit rescan if an error message about the recorder pops up
Restart the software

The basic Audacity layout

Audio settings for Audacity

Option 2: Recording with Adobe Audition (Professional)

If the recording booth is operating correctly, recording should as simple as detailed below. Otherwise, please follow our troubleshooting guide to get the booth back to base. If you are unfamiliar with Adobe Audition, we recommend taking our short podcast editing tutorial first

Adobe Audition

Open Adobe Audition and navigate to the top left bar > Settings > Audio Hardware

2. Set the following:

- Default Input to MoveYou Hub
- Default Output to Move You Hub

3. Navigate to Audition > Settings > Audio Channel Mapping

Set the following:

Default File Input Channel 1 [L] to ...Input 1
Default File Input Channel 2 [R] to ...Input 1 *
Default File Output Channel 1 [L] to ...Main L
Default File Output Channel 2 [R] to ...Main R

*Note that both input channels are being set to Analog 1. This allows for the microphone, which produces a mono signal to feed both channels, creating a stereo signal.

Setting the recording levels

Setting the levels is good practice and necessary with any DAW. We have found that setting the gain to be about 35db works well for the average user. Doing this will be easier with a producer/friend helping but can easily be done on your own.For this resource page, we will assume you are working solo.

Start a new multitrack session in Audition (or other Daw)

- With Audition still open after your initial software set up (above), in the top menu bar select file > new > Multirack Session
- Arm track #1 for recording by selecting the square "R" button on the track adjustment panel.
- once armed for recording the track will get signal from the microphone, which you will see in the levels indicator. hint: If you want to use the larger level indicator on the bottom of the screen, select the square "I" right next to the record arming button. It would be best to turn this off when actual recording.

Testing the current recording levels

- Using Audition, record a short snippet of you talking clearly into the mic (click on the big red dot at the bottom) Try to speak the same way as you will when you record. Be wary of "performance voice" which might be much louder or softer than the voice you will use in your recording, and thus can affect setting your levels
- Play your short recording back. There are a few things you can listen out for:
  1. Does it sound good to you in the headphones?
    - If you hear alot of unwanted background noise like hums, you may need to reduce your gain (shown later) on the Hub
    - if your voice sounds muffled, you may need to increase your gain (shown later) on the Hub
    - Not hearing anything and your headphones are plugged in? Go back and reconfirm your computer, hardware, and software setups

2. What color is your audio meter? In general:

- 1. - Green is good and means none of your audio is blown out
    - Hitting yellow occasionally is ideal. However, if all of your recording is in yellow with spikes in the red, your gain may be too high
    - Red indicates your audio is blown out. This might be ok as a temporary spike (laughing unexpectedly into the mic) but if you hit alot of red in your playback, lower your gain.

3. What decibel (DB) level is the majority of your audio at?

Looking at the larger level meter you can see the audio level as you playback. In general, you want to be around -12db with most your audio . Its ok to be lower (down to -20db), but you don't want to be generally higher than -12db.

- hint: If you want to use the larger level meter on the bottom of the screen, select the square "I" right next to the record arming button. It would be best to turn this off when actual recording.

Changing your gain levels on the Hub

While the recommended baseline setting of 35 dB should work for most instances, as reviewed above there are several reasons why you might need to change the gain levels of the booth.

To do this:

Make sure the hub is in gain mode, which should show on the LCD screen. If it is in mix mode, this is a mistake. You can correct it by pressing down on the Top Encoder Knob, like a button, and it will switch back to gain mode.
Rotate the Top Encoder Knob to navigate to channel/input 1, which is where it should always be by default
Now you can rotate the Lower Encoder Knob to raise or lower the gain.

Click Here to go back up to Computer and Hardware Setup

You are now ready to record!

TROUBLESHOOTING

if the suggestions below do not resolve the issue, email us at cats@brown.edu

IN ADOBE AUDITION.

Preferences > Audio Hardware

Make sure that your Audio Hardware is set to the following:

Device Class: Core Audio
Default Input: MoreYou Hub
Default Output: MoreYou Hub

Clock: Out:MoreYou Hub
I/O Buffer Size: 512
Sample Rate:
- 4100 for podcasting
- 4800 for film or music
- This sample rate should be the same as your audio project setting

Preferences > Audio Channel Mapping

Default Stereo Input:

Because we only have one recording microphone, we want the same input, Analogue 1, to be used for both left and right channels.

Take a look at the image below to see that all file channels for input should be set to MoreYou Hub: Input 1

Output:

Outputs should be set to MoreYou Hub: Main L and MoreYou Hub: Main R respectively (see below)

MoreYou Hub Interface

Users should not unplug anything from the recording interface, but outside of what you should have already confirmed in your Hardware setup, there are a few other issues to look out for:

The speaker button should be red, not blue. To change this, press the speaker button.

If you are hearing reverb or echo like sounds in your headphones, check that the input 1 reverb knob is set all the way counter clockwise

If you are only hearing out of one side of the headphones, then the pan function has likely been altered. To fix this:
- - Push down on the Top Encoder Knob to toggle between Gain mode and Mix Mode until you are in Mix mode.
  - Make sure Ch 1 is highlighted, if not turn the Top Encoder Knob until it is.
  - Push down on Bottom Encoder Knob to go into pan mode, which should show "C" for center. If it doesn't, turn the Bottom Encoder Knob until you get to "C".
  - Go back into Gain mode by pressing down on the Top Encoder Button.