Audio recording

Library team works to digitize Boston Gay Men’s Chorus performances

The Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections is fortunate to have the records of the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus (BGMC), founded in 1982. BGMC is a 200-voice community ensemble that sings popular and classical music and works to “inspire change, build community, and celebrate difference.”

A black and white photo of a Boston Gay Men's Chorus live performance, with a view of center stage and a pianist, from 1987.
Boston Gay Men’s Chorus live performance, view of center stage and pianist, 1987 https://repository.library.northeastern.edu/files/neu:m041vr30r

Some chorus recordings are already available in Northeastern’s Digital Repository Service (DRS) but there are many more in the Archives that haven’t been digitized yet. Recently, members of BGMC working on a documentary requested the digitization of recordings on 1/4″ reel-to-reel tape and Digital Audio Tape (DAT) from the 1980s and 1990s. These recordings included holiday performances, Pride concerts, and a collaboration with the Connecticut Gay Men’s Chorus.

A black and white photo of a group of men walking down a street. Two men in the front hold a large banner that reads "Boston Gay Men's Chorus" while someone in the back holds a flag that says "BGMC Pride"
Boston Gay Men’s Chorus march in Boston’s Pride parade
https://repository.library.northeastern.edu/files/neu:m041vr24m
A small DAT cassette tape
DAT cassette

We’re always happy to help make the collections accessible, but the digitization of older audiovisual formats presents challenges. DAT cassettes were released in 1987 and used throughout the 1990s. They encode digital information onto magnetic media and allow for high quality recordings. However, Sony stopped producing DAT cassette decks in 2005 and few people know how to maintain the equipment needed to digitize them. In addition, use of an out-of-repair machine might damage the tape. You can read more about the preservation issues with DAT in archival collections here and here. Luckily, we were able to work with National Boston to digitize these DATs with no issues.

A reel-to-reel tape and deck
A reel-to-reel tape and deck

The reel-to-reel or open reel format using magnetic tapes was popular from the 1940s through the 1980s. We also sent our reel-to-reel tapes to National Boston but due to the age and condition of the materials, an extra step was required. Many of the tapes had sticky shed syndrome. This preservation issue is common and affects magnetic media. The tape has three layers: the magnetic portion which contains the information; the base layer; and the binding agent. Sticky shed syndrome causes the binder to degrade, leading the tape to shed bits of itself while being played. Since this causes irreversible loss of information, tapes with sticky shed should be baked before playback. This involves putting them in an oven at a low heat to rebind the layers. You can read more about baking tapes at the Library of Congress here.

Luckily, these gorgeous vocal performances are now preserved in our repository and available here. Thanks to my colleagues in the Archives, especially Molly Brown, and to my colleagues in Digital Metadata, especially Anna Ryerson, for their work coordinating the request and cataloging the recordings.

A group of men in tuxedos and dress clothes stand informally smiling and chatting. Two men in the center pose for the camera hugging and making kiss faces.
Boston Gay Men’s Chorus members talking pre-performance
https://repository.library.northeastern.edu/files/neu:m041vq97x

Studios Staff and Students Record “Protect the Pack”

Last winter, staff members, co-ops, and student employees of the Northeastern University Library Recording Studios joined their collective musical powers to record “Protect the Pack,” a song inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to spreading the word about the importance of face masks and physical distancing to keep the campus community safe, the recording also serves as an example of the type of audio recording capability and support available to Northeastern students, faculty, and staff who need to make recordings while in quarantine.

Cover art of Protect the Pack by The Snell Family Band
Cover art of Protect the Pack by The Snell Family Band

The group, which calls itself The Snell Family Band and includes Ben DeUrso, Jonathan Iannone, Chris de Pierro, Patrick Sayers, Jared Zimiroski, Isaac Schutz, and Craig Short, began the project in late November 2020 and completed the initial recordings before the December break. Final mix and updates were completed by the end of February 2021, with cover art and credits by Antonio Banrey.

The group recorded a video on the creation and recording process, which is available in the Digital Repository Service. A music video, created over Zoom and including most of the contributors, was recorded and is in the editing process.

The Recording Studios has hosted a number of online workshops and one-on-one editing sessions over the past year, helping students, faculty, and staff create and edit high-quality audio and video recordings in their homes. Recordings of these workshops are available online.

Recording At Home Part 2 Workshop Addendum

This workshop, presented on Wednesday, September 23rd, was the second workshop in a series focused on recording high-quality audio in your own home. Besides providing the basic information about the hardware and software required for recording audio, the motivation behind this workshop was to provide an effective framework for building one’s toolkit of audio recording equipment, with financial responsibility in mind.

Those who record their projects at home are most likely doing so out of necessity rather than choice. This is because recording in an untreated home is always less preferable to recording in a professional studio, even if for no other reason than concerns for acoustic quality. This also means that finances are very likely a concern when choosing what resources to buy/use for recording an audio project. The first thing one should consider when deciding which pieces of audio equipment (hardware or software) to invest in is the needs of the artist creating the project (or your own needs, if you are the artist). This will help determine which parts of a recording setup are most important to you, and therefore which pieces to invest the most money into.

For example, if you plan to do a lot of recording with vocals or acoustic instruments, it would be most wise to spend less (or no) money on things like a premium DAW (digital audio workstation) or third-party plugins. These software elements of a recording setup have no effect on the inherent quality of the audio that is being recorded. This would allow you to invest more of your budget into a high quality microphone and preamp combo, to ensure the captured audio is as clean as it can be. However, if you make most of your music using samples, electronic instruments, or recorded sounds to be edited, then the previously suggested scenario doesn’t make much sense for you. Instead, you would likely be much happier with a simple and inexpensive USB microphone, which eliminates the need for a preamp. This would allow you to instead invest into a premium DAW like Ableton, along with some third-party samplers, sample packs, MIDI peripherals, or other virtual add-ons to expand your electronic music toolkit.

Hopefully, this workshop as given those who are recording at home a more clear picture of which pieces of equipment are most important for their needs. This should help achieve high quality and also minimal cost for recording audio, regardless of the format or intended outcome.

Check here for info on future workshops:

Digital Media Toolkit: Workshops

Digital Media Design Studio Closing August 21st

The Library’s Digital Media Design Studio (DMDS) closes its doors on August 21st. Beginning on August 26th, most of the Studio’s services will be distributed elsewhere in the library, while construction of an innovative landscape of improved facilities and services gets underway. Here is how we are addressing key services:
  • Basic audio and video recording rooms will be temporarily available on the first floor in while construction for an improved suite of studios are built for spring term. Reservations to use the temporary studios will be available through a new booking system.
  • Multimedia workstations with a full suite of software are available in the Digital Media Commons.
  • Media equipment, such as video and audio recorders, will be available for check-out from the new first floor Help & Information Desk.
  • Instructional sessions, workshops and support for multimedia projects will continue to be available to you and your students, either in your classroom or library location, as appropriate. Learn more about instruction here.
  • We will assist you with media reformatting, duplication and digitization requests, in partnership with Terry Beadle of Academic Technology Services.
  • Unfortunately, we will not be able to assist with off-air recording requests during the fall.
Staff offices are also changing in September. Temporarily, Thomas Bary and Jonathan Iannone will reside in 260 SL, adjacent to the 2d floor Digital Media Commons (DMC). Library and Information Services student staff will continue to provide a wide range of media and printing services from the DMC Information desk. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. Let’s discuss how we can work together to meet your research and curricular needs in the coming school year. Debra Mandel   Associate Dean (Acting), User Services 320 Snell Library (617) 373-4902 d.mandel@neu.edu