CMM-1723: AUDIO PRODUCTION II

Instructor

Fletcher Clark

Length of Course

3 Hours per Week (Tuesday, 6:00-9:20pm, office hours ½ hour before and after class by appointment only)

Amount of Credit

3 College Hours

Required Text

Modern Recording Techniques (4th Edition) Runstein

Suggested Reading

The Acoustical Foundations of Music; Sound Engineering Handbook: The New Audio Cyclopedia (in library reference stacks); MIX Magazine; EQ Magazine; Electronic Musician; Home and Studio Recording.

Course Objective

For students to build on the foundations of sound, acoustics and electronics learned in Audio Production I combined with substantial hands-on experience to further develop the basic knowledge and skills sets needed to produce professional grade audio recordings.

Course Overview

The course is a study of sound, its properties and measurements, how we hear, how you must hear as an engineer, how to use audio equipment to best capture sound (especially music) without harming it and how to maintain an environment in which artists may realize their creative vision. Emphasis is on developing the life-long learning skills needed to access and master technical subject matter and concepts. After being checked out by Studio Manager, students will sign up for Studio and/or Control Room time to produce their own projects (see policy below). Lecture classes will review concepts covered in Audio I.

Attendance Policy

Due to the cumulative, technical nature of the subject matter and the valuable hands-on time available, any classes missed will seriously jeopardize the successful comprehension and completion of this course. More than three absences could result in a failing grade since 80% of the grade is attendance and participation related.

Grading Policy

Attendance/40% + Participation/40% + Exams/20%

Withdrawal Policy

If a student needs to withdraw from this class for any reason, they must do so themselves within the guidelines and deadlines of ACC. The instructor will not withdraw a student from the course.

Project Policy

Guest artists will be used for class and project recording sessions and require prior permission of instructor. Materials recorded at ACC may be used by such artists for demo or pre-production purposes only. Under no circumstances may any recordings made at ACC be used for commercial exploitation, i.e., made into a product for sale. This is in keeping with the avowed mission of the ACC Commercial Music Management program to foster growth in the private sector of the local music industry.

Course Outline

week

content

1

Course introduction and overview; review of key Knowledge and Skill Sets from Audio I

2

Console architecture; Mackie 8-buss console; patch bay and other routing issues; sessions procedures

3

Recording session: blues trio – drums, electric bass, electric guitar and vocal

4

Review of generic recorder operation; review of Alesis ADAT & BRC operation (24 tracks)

5

Recording session: acoustic ensemble

6

Microphone review and clinic; preamplifiers; Neumann U-87 & TLM-170, AKG 414s & D112, Beyer M88s & M160s, Sennheiser MD421s & MD441s, Crown SASS, Shure SM57s & SM58s; Drawmer 1960 tube preamp (2), Studio Tech MicPreEminences solid state preamp(4)

7

Frequency domain processing: the role of EQ’s in the mix; Aphex 109 Parametric EQ, ART 341 Graphic Equalizer, BBE 422A Sonic Maximizer, DOD SR-RTA

8

Amplitude domain processing: theory and use of compressors/limiters and expanders/gates; dbx 160XTs, Drawmer 1960, Drawmer 201s, RNCs

9

Time domain processing: ambience, tape slap, reverb, DDL, DSP, doubling, chorusing, flanging, etc. Yamaha SPX 1000, Lexicon LXP-1, LXP-5, & LXP-15, Makamichi Cassette

10

Recording Session: miking and recording the piano

11

Audio measurements; issues of acoustics and recording styles

12

Recording Session: ensemble

13

Overdubs on session; rough mixes

14

Final mixing, mastering and dubbing

15

Recording Session: ACC vocal students (multiple microphones) and piano

16

Final Exam: look-back/look-forward

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