MML Recording Booth
In a Glance
The MML recording booth is located in the Granoff Multimedia Lab and:
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, 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 MML Lab space
Can be used to record solo, or a team of two, producer and talent!
Setting 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.
A clip light is provided to help with reading scripts, and the mouse is connected to the outside computer
Recording with Adobe Audition
The booth and microphone can be used with any DAW or audio software, but because the MML uses Adobe Audition software for podcasting, we will be sharing to set up a project in Audition. If you are unfamiliar with Adobe Audition, we recommend taking our podcast editing tutorial first
Using the Templates
We provide two templates you can use based on a one or two-person setup, Solo and Producer respectively. While they aren't required to use, they are designed to quickly get you started with some good basic setting.Solo Template
This template is best used by a single person recording a voice-over by themselves.
Download the Audition template: MML Booth SOLO Template and open it on the MML computer provided.
You will notice that you have a multitrack session already opened (set to 4100 hz sample rate) and that your first track is titled "Recording Booth"
Make sure your software settings in Audition are correct.
Set your input to Mono > Recording Booth Input Scarlett Input 1
Are the track for recording (red "R") and audio input monitoring is enabled (light orange "I")
- Input monitoring allows you to hear yourself while recording and during playback. If hearing yourself bothers you while recording, you can toggle the "I" button to off
Carefully rotate the computer arm so that the screen can be seen from within the booth.
Make sure to set your recording levels
Use the custom interface or mouse to record, stop, and playblack your audio
Producer Template
This template is used by a team, one person producing the recording and the other as the recording talent. The producer track in the project, when active, allows for the talent to hear them through the booth headphones
Download the MML Booth Producer Template and open it on the MML computer provided.
You will have a multitrack session with a 4100 sample rate, and two tracks, named Recording Booth and Producer respectively.
Make sure your software settings in Audition are correct.
In the Recording Booth track, set your input to Mono > Recording Booth Input Scarlett Input 1
In the Producer track, set the input to Mono > Recording Booth Input Imac Pro Microphone 1
Arm both for recording (red "R") and have audio input monitoring enabled (orange "I") for talkback feature
The producer track uses the IMac internal microphone and recording on it will not affect your Recording Booth Track
The producer track is armed to record because it is a requirement to enable monitor input.
The audio input monitoring allows:
The talent to hear themselves through headphones
the producer to hear the talent through headphones
and the talent and producer to hear each other
Set your recording levels by having the talent speak into the mic and the producer give feedback on whether to increase or decease the gain on the focusrite audio interface in the booth
The producer should disarm their track by clicking on the red "R" so that it becomes grayed out, prior to recording to avoid distracting the talent with the live audio coming from the IMac microphone.
After the recording, the producer can arm the "producer" track for recording and enable audio input monitoring to again talk to the talent
Set up for Producer Track
Setting the recording Levels (door closed)
Setting the levels will be easier with a producer/friend helping but can be done on your own.Here are some recommended steps to take regardless of what software you are using- Set gain for the mic to 0 and direct monitor to off
The gain the knob is found to the right microphone input on the Focusrite (scarlett) USB interface
Set it to 0 by rotating the knob counterclockwise
Make sure the direct monitor is set to off
Make sure the phantom power, "48v" is pushed on and is glowing redish
- Set the headphone volume
The headphone volume knob is found of the right of the Focusrite (scarlett) USB interface
Adjust it until you just start to hear a little static through the headphones.
Then slowly turn the volume down until you don't hear any static.
- Set the gain for the mic
Similar to step 2, while wearing the headphones, increase the microphone gain until you just start to hear static or background noise.
Then slowly turn the gain down until you can't hear any static/background noise
4. Test your levels
In a DAW (audio software like Adobe audition) record a short snippet of talking clearly into the mic. Play it back at full volume. There are a few things you can look out for:
Does it sound good to you in the computer headphones?
If you hear alot of unwanted background noise like hums, you may need to reduce your gain on the Focusrite,
if your voice sounds muffled, you may need to increase your gain on the Focusrite
What color is your audio meter? In general:
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.
What decibel (DB) level is the majority of your audio at? Looking at the level meter you can see you 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 than -12db.
TROUBLESHOOTING
if the suggestions below do not resolve the issue, email us at mml@brown.edu
IN ADOBE AUDITION.
The templates should take care of 90% of your audition setup, but sometimes, curious people like to poke around the computer settings. If you are having trouble, check to make sure the following are set correctly within Audition.Preferences > Audio Hardware
Make sure that your Audio Hardware is set to the following:
Device Class: Core Audio
Default Input: Recording Booth Inputs
- this is an aggregate audio device that includes the microphone in the booth and the Imac microphone (for the producer)
Default Output: Recording Booth Outputs
- this is an aggregate audio device that includes the headphones in the booth and the computer
Clock: Out:Recording Booth Outputs
I/O Buffer Size:
Solo template: set to 64
Producer template: set to 16
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, input 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 Recording Booth Inputs: Scarlett 2i2 USSB: Input 1
Output:
Outputs should be set to Scarlett output 1 and External Headphones 1 respectively (see below)
In the Booth/Computer
Are things plugged In?
Users should not unplug anything from the MML Booth set up, but the major areas that should be checked are:
Is the XLR cable plugged into the first (left) input on the Focusrite (scarlett) USB interface?
Are the booth headphones plugged into the Focusrite (scarlett) USB interface
Is the XLR cable plugged into the microphone?
Is the surge protector in the booth on?
Are the computer headphones plugged in?
Is the Focusrite USB plugged into the back of the computer
Other potential/common issues
I am hearing my voice twice in the booth headphones
Make sure that "direct monitoring" on the Focusrite USB interface is set to off
Also make sure your buffer size is set correctly in audition, the smaller the number, the less echo
Producer can't hear the talent recording in the booth via headphones
Check to see that your the computer headphones are plugged in
Check to see that the "Recording Booth" track in your Audition project is armed (red "R") and audio input is enabled (orange "I")
Talent can't hear producer talking through headphones in the booth.
Check to see that the "producer" track in your Audition project is armed (red "R") and audio input is enabled (orange "I")
I am hearing alot of extra noise when I playback my recording
If working with a producer, and they accidentally recorded on the the "producer" track, mute the track (teal "M") before playback
Producer should unarm their track (greyed out "R") before each recording.
If you are hearing alot of static, you may need to reset your audio levels on the Focusrite.
