There is no quieter place to record audio on campus (or in most places you might have access to) than the voice over booth at Arnhold Hall. This is an acoustically isolated space that is an excellent location to record vocals, foley, an instrument, a conversation, etc.
Here’s some step by step instructions for making a reservation
Click Add Reservation
Add a date and time for your session and then click ADD RESOURCE
Select Voice Over Booth (i818)
In the timeline view, Click the Add button
Now add the recording suite (i817) and click ADD
Review your reservation and submit
Congratulations!
What are someways to use the booth?
Check out both i818 (the booth) and i817 (the recording room) and record in either ProtoolsOR Audition
Use protools or Audition to record from microphones plugged into the voiceover booth (my own preference is the excellent Neumann mic that you can check out at the EQC on the 9th floor). You will also need an XLR cable to plug the mic into the wall in the booth. You will need one MORE short XLR cable to use in the record suite (also from the EQC).
You should also check out a pair of headphones. I highly recommend that on your first time using the suite that you get some help setting up the room from one of the techs.You will use the audio application Protools to record the audio from the booth and then grab the files you’ve recorded from the work in progress drive.
Just reserve room i818 (the booth) and record with a mic plugged into the zoom recorder
You can check out a zoom recorder on the 9th floor in the EQC. You can also check out a microphone to use with the recorder.
Here’s a video that describes how you can use an external microphone with the Zoom H6
Reserve room i818 (the booth) and record with the onboard zoom recorder microphone
While it isn’t as SUPER-excellent as the Neumann mic it is still a good option and a bit less work than what I described above.
Here’s the same video describing how to work with the built in microphones.
What gear to use?
The mics you use can depend on what you want to record (for example voice vs. drums) but here’s some gear we have access to that I can recommend:
Microphone I really like the AKG mics that you can check out in the EQC (there are two versions, both are good!)
The advantage of this mic is that it has different recording stereo patterns you can select, so if you want to capture everything in the room or whether you want it to focus on what’s right in front ot the mic (like your voice). Use the button on the front of the mic to select which mode you want to record in.
The AKG mic comes with a shock absorbing mic holder you can attach to a mic stand as well as a pop filter (that round mesh thing you see in videos of people singing in recording studios)
A Zoom recorder This will be a crucial tool if you are planning on only using the booth and not the attached studio.
You will need to connect the mic to the recorder using an XLR cable. Be sure to review the video above about recording with an external mic (important… PHANTOM POWER!)
An XLR Cable You will need this to either connect to the zoom or to the recording booth if you are using the adjacent recording studio too.
A 10′ cord is a safe bet. Note that are using the adjacent recording studio, you’ll need another short XLR that is used as a patch in the equipment rack.
