College Library Room 2256 - Recording Booth - Troubleshooting

This KB provides information about how to resolve common issues with the equipment present in the recording booth at College Library.

Table of Contents

Overview

The best resource to use when troubleshooting issues in the recording booth is the mixing board vendor's website.  Video tutorials from the College Library DesignLab will also be available to walk patrons through the process of using the recording booth.  Below, please find a list of some of the more common issues you might encounter.


Troubleshooting

Patron Hears Background Noise While Recording

If a patron reports hearing background noise during their recording session, have them try the following:

  1. Create a test recording to make sure they can actually replicate the issue.
    • While some background noise can be heard during a recording session it does not often translate to background noise in the final recording.
  2. If background noise is still present in their final recording, suggest the patron try using the high-pass filter.
  3. On the mixing board display, navigate to Settings > Audio > Processing > Effects Edit Mode, then tap to toggle the setting on.
  4. Tap the number that corresponds to the recording channel (e.g., "1").
  5. Navigate to Audio Processing > High-Pass Filter, then tap to toggle the setting on.
  6. From this point, the patron can manually adjust levels to try and remove background noise.
  7. For additional information, please refer to this page on the mixing board vendor’s website.

Patron Can't Connect Their Laptop

The USB cable provided in the recording booth is a USB-C to USB-A cable that connects from the mixing board (USB-C) to a laptop (USB-A).  Certain laptops might require a different connection on their end (e.g., a MacBook Air checked out from College Library does not have any USB-A ports; it only has USB-C ports).  To resolve this issue, suggest the patron checks out a USB-C adapter from the CMC Equipment Checkout Desk (College Library Room 2250).

For additional information, please refer to this page on the mixing board vendor’s website.

Patron Unable to Hear Audio During Playback

If a patron reports they are unable to hear any audio while playing back their recording, make sure the audio output for their laptop is set to either the laptop’s internal speakers or to external headphones connected to the laptop.

Patron Unable to Pick Up Audio While Recording via GarageBand

If a patron reports they are unable to pick up any audio during their recording session while using GarageBand as their digital audio workstation (DAW) software, have them try the following:

  1. Click "GarageBand" in the menu bar.
  2. Click "Preferences."
  3. Click "Audio / MIDI."
  4. Verify "RODECaster Pro Stereo" is set at the Output Device.
  5. Verify "RODECaster Pro Multichannel" is set as the Input Device.

This is a known issue when using GarageBand to record audio.  For detailed troubleshooting instructions with pictures, please refer to this page on the mixing board vendor’s website.

Patron Unable to Pick Up Audio While Recording via a DAW Other Than GarageBand

If a patron reports they are unable to pick up any audio during their recording session while using digital audio workstation (DAW) software other than GarageBand, have them try the following:

  1. Verify all audio, data, and power cables are securely connected.
  2. Verify the mixing board is picking up sound by speaking into an unmuted microphone and noting the movement of the green levels indicators.
  3. Verify the patron’s laptop registers the mixing board (RODECaster Pro) as both the input and output device.
  4. Verify the patron’s laptop can pick up sound by using a built-in tool like Voice Memos (macOS) Voice Recorder (Windows).

If none of the above steps resolve the issue and the patron still cannot pick up any audio during their recording session, have them try different digital audio workstation (DAW) software.  Alternatively, the patron can check the mixing board vendor’s website for additional information.


Assistance

For any issue not covered by any of the troubleshooting steps above, please submit a Redmine ticket so that the issue can be investigated and its resolution can be added to this page.




Keywordsmixing board, rødecaster, rodecaster, noise, interference, high-pass filter, high pass filter, channel, audio processing, levels, usb-c, usb-a, cmc, equipment checkout desk, headphone, garageband, garage band, digital audio workstation, daw, microphone, voice memos, voice recorder   Doc ID122503
OwnerDylan R.GroupLibraries
Created2022-11-15 11:03:40Updated2023-07-06 11:35:31
SitesInfoLabs, UW-Madison Libraries
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