Sound Studio Overview

Last updated: November 7, 2013

Welcome to the online curriculum for the Odegaard Sound Studio Overview. Located in the Odegaard Undergraduate Library on the second floor, the Sound Studio is a workstation available to all students and faculty at the UW. In this reference guide, we will introduce the equipment is available for use as well as cover the basics of working in the Sound Studio.

Booking the Sound Studio

To use the Sound Studio, you must first reserve the room either 

  • In person, by visiting the 2nd floor desk at the Odegaard Library
  • Or online, through the UW Libraries Web site.

A user can reserve the Sound Studio up to twice a day and a single reservation can be up to two hours. Successive reservations are not allowed. Remember to be on time for your reservation as being more than ten minutes late can result in a forfeiture of your reserved time. Prior to your reservation, you can pick up the Sound Studio key and audio suitcase (containing microphones and other peripherals) from the front desk of the Odegaard Library.

Using the Workstation

The Sound Studio is equipped with a state of the art Mac Pro to eliminate any hiccups or errors that might occur due to an underpowered system. Logging on to the computer is easy, all you have to do is use your UW NetID and password. At times, an alert may pop up warning you that networked accounts are not available, but logging in should still work. If you have trouble accessing the computer in the Sound Studio, someone at the Odegaard Help Desk can be of further assistance.

Available Software

The Odegaard Sound Studio has several powerful digital audio software suites available for use. Though features are similar between programs, workflow can be dramatically different. Thus, though each software can accomplish similar things, some are more tailored to certain tasks than others. The programs available can be divided (sort of) into several categories.

Basic Audio Recording and Editing

  • Audacity

Recording/Editing/Mixing

  • Avid Pro Tools 
  • Apple Logic Pro

Beatmaking/Music Production

  • Propellerhead Reason 
  • Ableton Live

 Again, all of these pieces of software can accomplish similar things, it’s merely a matter of what exactly you’re trying to accomplish and the workflow you prefer that dictates the software you use.

Final Notes

Out of respect for all the people that use the sound studio, please make sure you clean up after yourself. The sound studio is a small space and gets dirty easily, and we like to avoid having a messy space. Additionally, please do not remove or re-route any connections already made in the sound studio. All software should be automatically configured to work with the hardware in the Sound Studio, so changing physical connections could jeopardize the functionality of the space for another user. If you have a problem, consult the sound studio software troubleshooting guide or talk to a help desk employee as they are well qualified and happy to help.

 

We are continually updating our online resources in regards to digital audio. Please contact help@uw.edu with any suggestions or comments.