Editing Recording studio (section)

==Design and equipment==
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===Layout===
[[File:Control-room2.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Engineers and producers watch a trumpet player from a window in the control room during a recording session.]]
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Recording studios generally consist of three or more rooms: 
* The ''live room'' of the studio is where instrumentalists play their instruments, with their playing picked up by microphones and, for electric and electronic instruments, by connecting the instruments' outputs or [[DI unit]] outputs to the mixing board as well as a place where vocalists may perform;<ref name="Watkinson">{{Cite web |last=Watkinson |first=David |date=2015-05-12 |title=Studio Acoustics: Treat Recording and Live Rooms |url=https://acousticalsolutions.com/studio-acoustics-treat-recording-and-live-rooms/ |access-date=2022-12-14 |website=Acoustical Solutions |language=en}}</ref>
* [[#Isolation booth|''Isolation booths'']], or sound enclosures are either enclosed or partially enclosed areas built out of boxes or partitions or are completely separate small sound-insulated rooms with doors, designed for certain instrumentalists (or their loud speaker stacks). Vocal booths are similarly designed rooms for singers. In both types of rooms, there are typically windows so the performers can see other band members and other studio staff, as singers, bandleaders and musicians often give or receive [[conducting|visual cues]];<ref name="Watkinson" />
* The ''control room, or production/recording room'', is where the [[audio engineer]]s and record producers mix the mic and instrument signals with a [[mixing console]]. From here, they can record the singing and playing onto tape (until the 1980s and early 1990s) or hard disc (1990s and following decades) and listen to the recordings and tracks with monitor speakers or headphones and manipulate the tracks by adjusting the mixing console settings and by using [[effects unit]]s;<ref name="Watkinson" />{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}
* The ''machine room'', where noisier equipment, such as racks of fan-cooled computers and [[power amplifier]]s, is kept to prevent the noise from interfering with the recording or listening processes.
Even though sound isolation is a key goal, the musicians, singers, audio engineers and record producers still need to be able to see each other, to see cue gestures and conducting by a bandleader. As such, the live room, isolation booths, vocal booths and control room typically have windows.

Amplified instruments, like electric guitars and digital keyboards, may be connected directly to the recording console using DI units and performance recorded in the control room. This greatly enhances the communication between the producer and engineer with the player, as studio mics, headphones and talkback are unnecessary.

Recording studios are carefully designed around the principles of [[room acoustics]] to create a set of spaces with the acoustical properties required for recording sound with accuracy. [[Architectural acoustics]] includes acoustical treatment and [[soundproofing]] and also the consideration of the physical dimensions of the room itself to make the room respond to sound in the desired way. Acoustical treatment includes and the use of [[Absorption (acoustics)|absorption]] and [[Sound diffuser|diffusion]] materials on the surfaces inside the room. To control the amount of reverberation, rooms in a recording studio may have a reconfigurable combination of reflective and non-reflective surfaces. Soundproofing provides sonic isolation between rooms and prevents sound from entering or leaving the property. A Recording studio in an urban environment must be soundproofed on its outer shell to prevent noises from the surrounding streets and roads from being picked up by microphones inside.

===Equipment===
[[File:Neve VR60 (The Engine Room).jpg|thumb|upright|Neve VR60, a multitrack mixing console. Above the console are a range of studio monitor speakers.]]

Equipment found in a recording studio commonly includes:
* A professional-grade [[mixing console]]
* Additional small mixing consoles for adding more channels (e.g., if a drum kit needs to be miked and all of the channels of the large console are in use, an additional 16 channel mixer would enable the engineers to mix the mics for the kit)
* [[Microphone preamplifier]]s 
* [[Multitrack recorder]] or [[digital audio workstation]]
* Computers
* A wide selection of [[microphones]] typical for different types of instruments
* [[DI unit]] boxes
* [[Microphone stand]]s to enable engineers to place microphones at the desired locations in front of singers, instrumentalists or ensembles
* [[Studio monitor]]s designed for listening to recorded mixes or tracks
* Studio monitoring [[headphones]] (typically closed-shell, to prevent sound from "leaking" out into the microphones)
* "On Air" or "Recording" lighted signs to remind other studio users to be quiet
* Outboard [[effect unit]]s, such as [[audio level compression|compressors]], [[reverberation|reverbs]], or [[equalization (audio)|equalizers]]
* [[Music stand]]s
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===Instruments===
[[File:Studio A, In Your Ear Studios.jpg|thumb|right|A selection of instruments at a music studio, including a [[grand piano]]]]

Not all music studios are equipped with musical instruments. Some smaller studios do not have instruments, and bands and artists are expected to bring their own instruments, amplifiers, and speakers. However, major recording studios often have a selection of instruments in their live room, typically instruments, amplifiers and speaker cabinets that are large, heavy, and difficult to transport (e.g., a [[Hammond organ]]) or infeasible (as in the case of a [[grand piano]]) to hire for a single recording session. Having musical instruments and equipment in the studio creates additional costs for a studio, as pianos have to be tuned and instruments and associated equipment needs to be maintained.
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