65-643: Hansa Tonstudio is a recording studio located in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin , Germany . The studio, famous for its Meistersaal recording hall, is situated approximately 150 metres from the former Berlin Wall , giving rise to its former nicknames of "Hansa Studio by the Wall" or "Hansa by the Wall". Today, Hansa Studios' fully-restored Meistersaal is used for recording, as well as for concerts and other events. In 1962 brothers Peter and Thomas Meisel of Edition Meisel & Co. founded Hansa Musik Produktion company and
130-485: A telephone hybrid for putting telephone calls on the air, a POTS codec for receiving remote broadcasts , a dead air alarm for detecting unexpected silence , and a broadcast delay for dropping anything from coughs to profanity . In the U.S., stations licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) also must have an Emergency Alert System decoder (typically in the studio), and in
195-401: A different machine, which records the combined signals (called printing ) to a 1 ⁄ 2 -inch two-track stereo tape, called a master . Before digital recording, the total number of available tracks onto which one could record was measured in multiples of 24, based on the number of 24-track tape machines being used. Most recording studios now use digital recording equipment, which limits
260-468: A documentary feature by filmmaker Mike Christie titled Hansa Studios: By The Wall 1976-90 , which aired across Europe on Sky Arts and Sky Arte. 52°30′23″N 13°22′38″E / 52.5063°N 13.3771°E / 52.5063; 13.3771 Recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for recording and mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from
325-750: A home studio is challenging because they are usually the loudest instruments. Acoustic drums require sound isolation in this scenario, unlike electronic or sampled drums. Getting an authentic electric guitar amp sound including power-tube distortion requires a power attenuator or an isolation cabinet , or booth. A convenient compromise is amplifier modeling , whether a modeling amp, preamp/processor, or software-based guitar amp simulator. Sometimes, musicians replace loud, inconvenient instruments such as drums, with keyboards, which today often provide somewhat realistic sampling . The capability of digital recording introduced by ADAT and its comparatively low cost, originally introduced at $ 3995, were largely responsible for
390-484: A home studio via the Internet. Additional outside audio connections are required for the studio/transmitter link for over-the-air stations, satellite dishes for sending and receiving shows, and for webcasting or podcasting . Emil Berliner Studios The Emil Berliner Studios , named after the inventor of the grammophone and the record , is a sound studio in the heart of Berlin . The studio originated from
455-413: A large role in the recording process. With software, a powerful, good quality computer with a fast processor can replace the mixing consoles , multitrack recording equipment, synthesizers, samplers and effects unit (reverb, echo, compression, etc.) that a recording studio required in the 1980s and 1990s. A computer thus outfitted is called a digital audio workstation , or DAW. While Apple Macintosh
520-444: A lesser amount of diffused reflections from walls to make a good-sounding room. A drummer, vocalist, or guitar speaker cabinet, along with microphones, is acoustically isolated in the isolation booth. A typical professional recording studio today has a control room , a large live room , and one or more small isolation booths . All rooms are soundproofed by varying methods, including but not limited to, double-layer 5/8" sheetrock with
585-508: A regular stage or film set. In the era of acoustical recordings (prior to the introduction of microphones, electrical recording and amplification), the earliest recording studios were very basic facilities, being essentially soundproof rooms that isolated the performers from outside noise. During this era it was not uncommon for recordings to be made in any available location, such as a local ballroom, using portable acoustic recording equipment. In this period, master recordings were made by cutting
650-406: A rented house near Dublin to continue work on the album. More recently, Hansa Studios has been utilized for projects by Manic Street Preachers , R.E.M. , Snow Patrol , Kent , Living Things and Go Go Berlin . The first of three videos created for U2's 1992 song " One ", directed by Anton Corbijn , featured the band members performing at Hansa Studios. In 2018, the studio was the subject of
715-410: A rotating cylinder (later disc) made from wax. Performers were typically grouped around a large acoustic horn (an enlarged version of the familiar gramophone horn). The acoustic energy from the voices or instruments was channeled through the horn to a diaphragm to a mechanical cutting lathe , which inscribed the signal as a modulated groove directly onto the surface of the master. Electrical recording
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#1732868662924780-497: 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. General-purpose computers rapidly assumed
845-402: A signal from one or more of the microphones in the studio could be routed to the loudspeaker in the echo chamber; the sound from the speaker reverberated through the chamber and the enhanced signal was picked up by the microphone at the other end. This echo-enhanced signal, which was often used to sweeten the sound of vocals, could then be blended in with the primary signal from the microphone in
910-414: A single take. In the 1970s the large recording companies began to adopt multi-track recording and the emphasis shifted to isolation and sound-proofing, with treatments like echo and reverberation added separately during the mixing process, rather than being blended in during the recording. Generally, after an audio mix is set up on a 24-track tape machine, the tracks are played back together, mixed and sent to
975-455: A small in-home project studio large enough to record a single singer-guitarist, to a large building with space for a full orchestra of 100 or more musicians. Ideally, both the recording and monitoring (listening and mixing) spaces are specially designed by an acoustician or audio engineer to achieve optimum acoustic properties (acoustic isolation or diffusion or absorption of reflected sound reverberation that could otherwise interfere with
1040-408: A vibrant acoustic signature as the natural reverb enhanced the sound of the recording. In this period large, acoustically live halls were favored, rather than the acoustically dead booths and studio rooms that became common after the 1960s. Because of the limits of the recording technology, which did not allow for multitrack recording techniques, studios of the mid-20th century were designed around
1105-504: A window of the studio, from which he saw Visconti kiss backing vocalist Antonia Maass, an image that made it into the song's lyrics. In the late 1970s, Hansa Studio 1 was closed and its equipment was used to build a second studio within the Köthener Strasse building, which opened in 1980. Hansa purchased three custom Solid State Logic SL 4000 E consoles in "Hansa blue" (two of these consoles are still in use). A third studio, located on
1170-428: 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
1235-409: Is essential to preserving the ability to fine-tune lines up to the last minute. Sometimes, if the rapport between the lead actors is strong enough and the animation studio can afford it, the producers may use a recording studio configured with multiple isolation booths in which the actors can see each another and the director. This enables the actors to react to one another in real time as if they were on
1300-487: Is used for most studio work, there is a breadth of software available for Microsoft Windows and Linux . If no mixing console is used and all mixing is done using only a keyboard and mouse, this is referred to as mixing in the box (ITB). OTB describes mixing with other hardware and not just the PC software. A small, personal recording studio is sometimes called a project studio or home studio . Such studios often cater to
1365-676: The Hansa Records label. The label's name (and the name of the related recording studio) was inspired by the Hanseatic League , a medieval Northern European maritime trade network. Beginning in 1965, Hansa rented Ariola Records ' production facilities at the historic Meistersaal located within the building at Köthener Straße 38. The company built its own recording studio at its offices in 1969, before establishing Hansa Studio I on Nestorstrasse in Berlin's Halensee neighbourhood in 1973. In 1975,
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#17328686629241430-511: The RCA company in the 1930s were crucial to the crooning style perfected by Bing Crosby , and the famous Neumann U 47 condenser microphone was one of the most widely used from the 1950s. This model is still widely regarded by audio professionals as one of the best microphones of its type ever made. Learning the correct placement of microphones is a major part of the training of young engineers, and many became extremely skilled in this craft. Well into
1495-407: The "studio" or "live room" equipped with microphones and mic stands, where instrumentalists and vocalists perform; and the " control room ", where audio engineers, sometimes with record producers, as well, operate professional audio mixing consoles , effects units , or computers with specialized software suites to mix , manipulate (e.g., by adjusting the equalization and adding effects) and route
1560-573: The 1950s and 1960s, the sound of pop recordings was further defined by the introduction of proprietary sound processing devices such as equalizers and compressors, which were manufactured by specialist electronics companies. One of the best known of these was the Pultec equalizer which was used by almost all the major commercial studios of the time. With the introduction of multi-track recording , it became possible to record instruments and singers separately and at different times on different tracks on tape. In
1625-508: The 1960s, in the classical field it was not uncommon for engineers to make high-quality orchestral recordings using only one or two microphones suspended above the orchestra. In the 1960s, engineers began experimenting with placing microphones much closer to instruments than had previously been the norm. The distinctive rasping tone of the horn sections on the Beatles recordings " Good Morning Good Morning " and " Lady Madonna " were achieved by having
1690-469: The 30th Street Studio at 207 East 30th Street, the CBS Studio Building at 49 East 52nd Street, Liederkranz Hall at 111 East 58th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues (a building built by and formerly belonging to a German cultural and musical society, The Liederkranz Club and Society), and one of their earliest recording studios, Studio A at 799 Seventh Avenue. Electric recording studios in
1755-455: The 30th Street Studios in the late 1940s and A&R manager Mitch Miller had tweaked it to perfection, Miller issued a standing order that the drapes and other fittings were not to be touched, and the cleaners had specific orders never to mop the bare wooden floor for fear it might alter the acoustic properties of the hall. There were several other features of studios in this period that contributed to their unique sonic signatures. As well as
1820-604: The Alten Jakobstrasse was destroyed in 1945 by an air raid. After the war, the recordings department of Deutsche Grammophon started operating their mobile recording services from Hannover, and set up cutting and mixing studios in the record factory in Podbielskistrasse. In 1946 the first recordings on magnetic tape were made, which then went on to replace the direct to disc recording technique. The first stereo recordings were made in 1950 for Deutsche Grammophon. In 1969
1885-518: The Meisel brothers bought the Köthener Strasse building from Ariola and assumed management of the Meistersaal studio, which they named Hansa Studio II , establishing a total of five studio rooms in the building. The studios were used for Hansa's Schlager productions as well as operas and film soundtracks, and the combination of Hansa's good equipment and the outstanding acoustics of the Meistersaal, as well as
1950-445: The Meistersaal, which is also available as a recording space. The former Hansa mixing room was permanently rented, and serves as headquarters to Swedish producer/engineer Michael Ilbert. Offices for film production companies were built into Studio 3, and in 2010 Emil Berliner Studios relocated to that studio, which is no longer part of Hansa Studios. In late 1990, U2 began work on Achtung Baby at Hansa Studios before relocating to
2015-576: The building's ground floor, was added in 1982. The studios hosted numerous notable acts in the late 1970s through the 1980s, including Tangerine Dream , Nina Hagen Band , Killing Joke , David Sylvian , Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds , Marillion , Siouxsie and the Banshees , Wire , and The Psychedelic Furs , firmly establishing the studio's reputation in the post-punk and synthpop genres. In 1983, Depeche Mode , Daniel Miller , and Gareth Jones mixed Construction Time Again at Hansa, and returned to
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2080-519: The case of full-power stations, an encoder that can interrupt programming on all channels which a station transmits to broadcast urgent warnings. Computers are used for playing ads , jingles , bumpers , soundbites , phone calls, sound effects , traffic and weather reports , and now are able to perform full broadcast automation when no staff are present. Digital mixing consoles can be interconnected via audio over Ethernet . Network connections allow remote access , so that DJs can do shows from
2145-489: The concept of grouping musicians (e.g., the rhythm section or a horn section ) and singers (e.g., a group of backup singers ), rather than separating them, and placing the performers and the microphones strategically to capture the complex acoustic and harmonic interplay that emerged during the performance. In the 2000s, modern sound stages still sometimes use this approach for large film scoring projects that use large orchestras. Because of their superb acoustics, many of
2210-480: 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 and 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
2275-436: 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
2340-462: The following year the studios changed their name to "PolyGram Recording Services". The recording studio then expanded with further PolyGram classic labels and third party clients. Following another ownership adjustment, the name was changed to Universal Recording Services in 1999. In 2000 the recording, audio engineering, tape mastering and tape archiving departments were transferred into a new division of Deutsche Grammophon, Emil Berliner Studios GmbH. It
2405-412: The inherent sound of the large recording rooms, many of the best studios incorporated specially-designed echo chambers , purpose-built rooms which were often built beneath the main studio. These were typically long, low rectangular spaces constructed from hard, sound-reflective materials like concrete, fitted with a loudspeaker at one end and one or more microphones at the other. During a recording session,
2470-640: The larger studios were converted churches. Examples include George Martin 's AIR Studios in London, Columbia Records 30th Street Studio in New York City, and Pythian Temple studio in New York. Facilities like the Columbia Records 30th Street Studio in New York and Abbey Road Studios in London were renowned for their identifiable sound—which was (and still is) easily identifiable by audio professionals—and for
2535-584: The mid-20th century often lacked isolation booths, sound baffles , and sometimes even speakers. A major reason that isolation was not used was that recordings in this period were typically made as live ensemble takes and all the performers needed to be able to see each other and the ensemble leader while playing. The recording engineers who trained in this period learned to take advantage of the complex acoustic effects that could be created through leakage between different microphones and groups of instruments, and these technicians became extremely skilled at capturing
2600-422: The mid-20th century, recordings were analog , made on 1 ⁄ 4 -inch or 1 ⁄ 2 -inch magnetic tape , or, more rarely, on 35 mm magnetic film , with multitrack recording reaching 8 tracks in the 1950s, 16 in 1968, and 32 in the 1970s. The commonest such tape is the 2-inch analog, capable of containing up to 24 individual tracks. Throughout the 1960s many pop classics were still recorded live in
2665-524: The number of available tracks only on the basis of the mixing console 's or computer hardware interface's capacity and the ability of the hardware to cope with processing demands. Analog tape machines are still used in some cases for their unique sonic characteristics. Radio studios are very similar to recording studios, particularly in the case of production studios which are not normally used on-air , such as studios where interviews are taped for later broadcast. This type of studio would normally have all of
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2730-503: The previous acoustic horn microphones. Three years later the first condenser microphone was introduced, from General Electric and Neumann. From 1939 the Zentral-Theaters in Alten Jakobstrasse was also used as a recording location. It was here that the first recordings from Herbert von Karajan took place. Other artists included Wilhelm Kempff , Elly Ney , Georg Kulenkampff , Erna Berger and Heinrich Schlusnus . The sound studio in
2795-502: 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 found in a recording studio commonly includes: 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
2860-467: The recording department of Deutsche Grammophon . Deutsche Grammophon, founded by Emil Berliner in 1898, opened its Berlin headquarters (Markgrafenstraße 76) in 1900. It was primarily a recording studio with three recording rooms. Mobile recording technology, however, also allowed recordings to be made worldwide. 1925 saw the arrival of electronic recordings with the Reisz-Kohl microphone, which replaced
2925-459: The rise of project studios in the 1990s. Today's project studios are built around software-based DAWs running on standard PC hardware. An isolation booth is either a partially enclosed area in the live room or a completely separate small room built adjacent to the live room that is both soundproofed to keep out external sounds and keep in the internal sounds. Like all the other recording rooms in sound industry, isolation booths designed for having
2990-558: The same building as Hansa Studios and the Meistersaal are located. Here in Berlin, artists such as Anna Netrebko , Plácido Domingo , Rolando Villazón , Lang Lang and Anne-Sophie Mutter have been produced. The new studios have since expanded to recording jazz, rock and film music. One particularly special feature is the reintroduction of pure analogue direct to disc recordings . The Emil Berliner Studios have three digital control rooms covering ca. 450 m , an analogue suit with
3055-444: The same equipment that any other audio recording studio would have, particularly if it is at a large station, or at a combined facility that houses a station group, but is also designed for groups of people to work collaboratively in a live-to-air situation. Broadcast studios also use many of the same principles such as sound isolation, with adaptations suited to the live on-air nature of their use. Such equipment would commonly include
3120-518: The same time the first digital stereo test recording took place with Maurizio Pollini . The first multitrack digital recording took place in 1979 with Herbert von Karajan (Wagner: Parsifal). 1989 saw the first application of digital mixing desks and from 1994 recordings were made on modified multitrack machines with a bit depth of 24 bits. In 1996 the recording center moved into the newly built Emil-Berliner-Haus in Hannover-Langenhagen and in
3185-401: The saxophone players position their instruments so that microphones were virtually inside the mouth of the horn. The unique sonic characteristics of the major studios imparted a special character to many of the most famous popular recordings of the 1950s and 1960s, and the recording companies jealously guarded these facilities. According to sound historian David Simons, after Columbia took over
3250-508: The seams offset from layer to layer on both sides of the wall that is filled with foam, batten insulation, a double wall, which is an insulated wall built next to another insulated wall with an air gap in-between, by adding foam to the interior walls and corners, and by using two panes of thick glass with an air gap between them. The surface densities of common building materials determines the transmission loss of various frequencies through materials. Thomas A. Watson invented, but did not patent,
3315-516: The skill of their staff engineers. As the need to transfer audio material between different studios grew, there was an increasing demand for standardization in studio design across the recording industry, and Westlake Recording Studios in West Hollywood was highly influential in the 1970s in the development of standardized acoustic design. In New York City, Columbia Records had some of the most highly respected sound recording studios, including
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#17328686629243380-495: The smaller independent studios were often owned by skilled electronics engineers who designed and built their own desks and other equipment. A good example of this is Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles, the site of many famous American pop recordings of the 1960s. Co-owner David S. Gold built the studio's main mixing desk and many additional pieces of equipment and he also designed the studio's unique trapezoidal echo chambers. During
3445-474: The sound and keep it from bleeding into the other microphones, allowing better independent control of each instrument channel at the mixing console . In animation, vocal performances are normally recorded in individual sessions, and the actors have to imagine (with the help of the director or a reader) they are involved in dialogue. Animated films often evolve rapidly during both development and production, so keeping vocal tracks from bleeding into each other
3510-408: The sound for analog or digital recording . The engineers and producers listen to the live music and the recorded "tracks" on high-quality monitor speakers or headphones . Often, there will be smaller rooms called isolation booths to accommodate loud instruments such as drums or electric guitar amplifiers and speakers, to keep these sounds from being audible to the microphones that are capturing
3575-401: The sound heard by the listener). Recording studios may be used to record singers, instrumental musicians (e.g., electric guitar, piano, saxophone, or ensembles such as orchestras), voice-over artists for advertisements or dialogue replacement in film, television, or animation, Foley , or to record their accompanying musical soundtracks. The typical recording studio consists of a room called
3640-445: The soundproof booth for use in demonstrating the telephone with Alexander Graham Bell in 1877. There are variations of the same concept, including a portable standalone isolation booth and a guitar speaker isolation cabinet. A gobo panel achieves the same effect to a much more moderate extent; for example, a drum kit that is too loud in the live room or on stage can have acrylic glass see-through gobo panels placed around it to deflect
3705-474: The sounds from other instruments or voices, or to provide "drier" rooms for recording vocals or quieter acoustic instruments such as an acoustic guitar or a fiddle . Major recording studios typically have a range of large, heavy, and hard-to-transport instruments and music equipment in the studio, such as a grand piano , Hammond organ , electric piano , harp , and drums . Recording studios generally consist of three or more rooms: Even though sound isolation
3770-444: The specific needs of an individual artist or are used as a non-commercial hobby. The first modern project studios came into being during the mid-1980s, with the advent of affordable multitrack recording devices, synthesizers and microphones. The phenomenon has flourished with falling prices of MIDI equipment and accessories, as well as inexpensive direct to disk recording products. Recording drums and amplified electric guitar in
3835-435: The studio and mixed into the track as the master recording was being made. Special equipment was another notable feature of the classic recording studio. The biggest studios were owned and operated by large media companies like RCA, Columbia and EMI, who typically had their own electronics research and development divisions that designed and built custom-made recording equipment and mixing consoles for their studios. Likewise,
3900-502: The studio to record the band's breakthrough single " People Are People " and subsequent album, Some Great Reward , with band member Martin Gore recording " Somebody " in the Meistersaal in the nude. In the 1990s, due to declining demand for large recording studios, the Meisels decided to focus primarily on Hansa Studio 1 and discontinue use of Studio 2 and 3. Hansa Studio 2 was restored back to
3965-407: The studio's affordability for international clients attracted a growing number of projects. In 1976, David Bowie and Iggy Pop came to Berlin to complete their respective albums Low and The Idiot at Hansa's studios before also recording their follow-up albums, "Heroes" and Lust for Life at Hansa with producer Tony Visconti and Brian Eno . Bowie is said to have written Heroes at
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#17328686629244030-511: The studios moved to Hannover-Langenhagen. One year later multitrack technology was introduced. The first quadraphonic recording (4 tracks) took place with mobile equipment in Boston with Michael Tilson Thomas , followed by the first 8 track opera production with Carlos Kleiber in 1973 ( Weber : Der Freischütz ). In 1976 the studio, together with Eugen Jochum , produced the first 16 track opera production ( Wagner : Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg ), at
4095-571: The unique acoustic properties of their studios and the musicians in performance. It was not until the 1960s, with the introduction of the high-fidelity headphones that it became common practice for performers to use these to monitor their performance during recording and listen to playbacks. The use of different kinds of microphones and their placement around the studio is a crucial part of the recording process, and particular brands of microphones are used by engineers for their specific audio characteristics. The smooth-toned ribbon microphones developed by
4160-442: Was common by the early 1930s, and mastering lathes were electrically powered, but master recordings still had to be cut into a disc, by now a lacquer, also known as an Acetate disc . In line with the prevailing musical trends, studios in this period were primarily designed for the live recording of symphony orchestras and other large instrumental ensembles. Engineers soon found that large, reverberant spaces like concert halls created
4225-546: Was during this period the Emil Berliner Studios developed the ambient surround imaging technique. In May 2008, a management buyout of the recording department resulted in separation from Deutsche Grammophon and the foundation of EBS Productions GmbH & Co. KG. The recordings and studio work now took place under the name of Emil Berliner Studios as an independent studio. In 2010 Emil Berliner Studios moved to Berlin, to their new and current studios in Köthener Strasse 38,
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