ANN ARBOR—The audio recording studio at the Duderstadt Center at the University of Michigan will be renovated this summer, creating a better learning environment for students.

The acoustics will improve dramatically with the remodeled studio, which will get a new 40-channel, analog API Vision surround sound mixing and recording console.

“Using an analog console is a more effective teaching tool than a digital console because the layout is easier for students to learn the fundamentals of audio signal flow,” said David Greenspan, coordinator of audio resources at the Duderstadt Center, located on North Campus.

The studio closes for renovation April 19 and reopens Sept. 5.

Occupying 1,800 square feet, the audio recording studio features a control room, a main recording room, an isolation booth, machine rooms and storage closet. To make the recording space more” live” acoustically, reflective surfaces” such as a wood floor (which will replace carpet) and wood panels on the walls” will be added.

Jason Corey, a U-M School of Music assistant professor of audio engineering, who teaches three classes in the studio, said the panels hinged to the wall will be wood on one side (reflective) and sound absorbing on the other side, allowing users to vary aspects of the room acoustics (such as reverberation time) by simply changing the orientation of some or all of the panels.

“This is essential to teaching sound engineering because we can demonstrate how the recording environment itself contributes to the quality the recorded sound,” Corey said.” The recording environment makes a fundamental contribution to recorded sound and the renovation will make it easier to teach that aspect. With a given soloist or ensemble we can vary the acoustics of the room and demonstrate how the room is contributing to the sound being picked up by the microphones.”

John Storyk of Walters-Storyk Design Group, a New York architectural design and acoustic consulting firm, designed the control room and recording space. He has designed hundreds of recording studios, including Jimi Hendrix’ Electric Lady Studio and Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York. Storyk has also given lectures on studio design to U-M students.

The audio studio also serves as the University’s recording facility for major projects, including the Internet Publication Project promotes publication of music recordings, scholarly writing and video productions. One major project is” Block M Records,” the University’s recording label that makes performances available to anyone worldwide, primarily through Internet streaming or fee-for-download.

Formerly the Media Union, the James and Anne Duderstadt Center opened in 1996 to provide faculty and students with the tools and collaborative space for creating the future. It houses the Art, Architecture, and Engineering Library, the College of Engineering Computer Aided Engineering Network (CAEN), the Digital Media Commons, and the Millennium Project.

The center is open to the public. Most computing resources and special services, however, are limited to U-M students, faculty, and staff. Audio studio users must complete training and certification before they become qualified to schedule sessions.

Block M RecordsDuderstadt CenterWalters-Storyk Design Group