Music Technology Forum - Semester 2, Week 2: Field Trip

This week in Music Technology Forum, we went on a Field Trip to a nearby house studio called 'MixMasters'. Upon arrival, we were greeted by the owner of the studio who took us in and talked about our Diploma of Sound Engineering course. Once David had arrived, we soon talked about the equipment used in the MixMasters studio; many of which we use in our University. We were told about the ways of the past in the field of recording and editing, where Sound Engineers recorded on tape, and had to cut specific areas of the tape if an error was made during recording. The tape was played back multiple times to find the correct area where the mistake was made. A lead pencil line was drawn on the tape. The tape was secured on a wooden block and cut with a knife. Finally, the tape was stuck back together with sticky tape. This was a lengthy process, but with modern technology and the endless possibilities with editing recording, it could be argued that recording on tape could take less time than recording straight to Pro Tools. We had a look at the recording area. We were shown a collection of vintage guitars and microphones and how some microphones from the past match up to the ones we have today. We were told about the materials used to build the studio, and which ones were the best. This studio was layered with large amount of carpet and covered with mud bricks for extra sound proof. We listened to a surf song that had been recorded and ways to manually EQ different tracks. At the end of the field trip, some members of the class played songs they have recorded themselves and were given some advice on how to possibly make them better.
In conclusion, I think this was a very useful field trip. I learnt alot about what it takes to actually build a home studio, and the ways engineers had to record in the past. I'm looking forward to next weeks field trip. :)