Connecting Musical Equipment in the Recording Studio

Setting up equipMent in a recording studio often involves large numbers of wires and connections between different pieces of equipMent. Many different types of cables can be used to connect musical equipment. Some can be used for a number of different purposes, and can therefore be a more cost-effective choice. Other types of cable are only suitable for a particular specialized function, but they may be the only type capable of performing that function. If you are putting together a new recording studio, then you should consider how you will need to connect your equipment before you begin to buy anything. This will help you to pick pieces of equipment that can easily be connected to each other, and to plan the best layout for your studio.

Microphone cables in professional recording studios are typically XLR cables. These are also known as canon cables. Microphone or XLR cables can also sometimes be used with other types of equipment. XLR cables are balanced and have three cores and three pins. They may be either mono or stereo, and they can also be either analogue or digital.

Digital XLR cables can be used to connect two digital devices together, for example a digital microphone and a digital microphone pre-amp. Low amplitude analogue mono XLR cables may be used to connect an analogue microphone with a microphone pre-amp or a mixer. They can also be used to connect a guitar DI box to a mixer. High amplitude analogue mono XLR cables can be used to connect mixing desks with professional tape recorders, effects units or dynamic processors.

Jack Plug cables are also used in recording studios. They are usually 1/4 inch jacks. These cables may be either mono or stereo. Some are balanced, but others are unbalanced. All are analogue. An unbalanced mono jack Plug cable can be used to connect drum machines, keyboards, samplers, sound modules and other pieces of equipment to a mixing desk or audio interface. They may also be used to connect a guitar with a DI box or amp. Consumer grade tape recorders or consumer 2 tracks can also be connected to recording studio equipment using this type of cable. Unbalanced stereo jack Plug cables are used to connect headphones. Balanced mono stereo jack cables can be used to connect some semi-professional tape recorders, 2 tracks and effects units to recording studio equipment such as mixing desks.

Phono Plug cables can be used to connect consumer grade equipment with equipment in the recording studio.

MIDI cables with Firewire or USB connectors can be used to connect pieces of equipment such as keyboards, mixers and microphones with a Computer.

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How to Make a Proper Introduction

Have you ever questioned your introduction skills? If not, you should since making a proper introduction is a form of business etiquette and sets the tone for how others will perceive you. Learning proper introductions not only enhances your business savvy but boosts your self-confidence.

Four years ago, I was meeting with my boss, awaiting our guest. As our guest arrived, I escorted her to meet the boss. I'm an astute business professional who has worked with U.S. Senators, dignitaries, and CEOs; however, at this moMent of introduction, all confidence flew out the window. They were both VIPs in the world of business so who do I introduce first: man or woman, boss or guest, older or younger, tall or short?

Honestly, it was all a glaze as I failed to make a proper introduction while feeling like a dried up raisin in the sun. At that moMent, I vowed to improve my business savvy and learn how to make a proper introduction to exude competency and confidence. Making a proper introduction demonstrates your level of acuMen and respect for others.

Like the old adage goes, "You never get a second chance to make a good first impression," which includes making a proper introduction. When you lose your self-confidence, it's conveyed in your posture, facial expressions, intonation, attitude, and demeanor, so even if people never tell you, which they won't, they recognize your mistakes and lack of confidence.

To avoid feeling socially awkward and to present a poised, polished, and professional image upon meeting and making introductions, here are eight guidelines to follow:

1. Introduce people in business based on rank, not gender or age.
2. In business, the client, guest or visitor outranks the boss or co-worker and should be introduced first.
3. WoMen and men should stand when introduced. Always smile and maintain eye contact.
4. Shake a woman and man's hand the same, straight up and down. Extend a good, firm (not painful) handshake to exhibit respect, trust, and acceptance.
5. Keep the forms of adDress equal to avoid differential treatment or the appearance of preferential treatment.
6. Never use an honorific such as Ms., Mr., or Dr. to introduce yourself.
7. Demonstrate professionalism and credibility by clearly stating your full name.
8. Do not call a person by his or her first name when meeting or being introduced for the first time. Use their title and last name until invited to be on a first-name basis.

Maintaining a competitive edge in the business world differentiates you from the competition. The most important advice I can give you is to keep learning and enhancing your business and social skills to boost your success with etiquette.

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The Best-Ever Chocolate Cake

2-Cups all-purpose flour
2-Cups sugar
1-teaspoon baking soda
1-teaspoon salt
1/2-teaspoon baking powder
3/4-Cup brewed coffee(cooled)
3/4-Cup evaporated milk
1-tablespoon lemon juice
1/2-Cup shortening
2-large eggs
2-teaspoons vanilla
4-ounces melted semi-sweet chocolate (cooled)

1. Heat oven to 350F
2. Grease and flour baking pan 13x9x2 or two9inch rounds or three 8 inch round layer pans

3. Measure out the evaporated milk and mix in the lemon juice. Let stand while you gather the rest of the ingredients.

4. Measure all remaining ingredients (flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, baking powder, shortening, eggs, vanilla, and melted chocolate) and place in the bowl of your stand mixer. Start the mixer on slow speed to start mixing the ingredients. Add the 3/4 Cup brewed coffee to the milk mixture from the previous step. The lemon juice will have caused the milk to look slightly curdled. This is what you want. Gradually add the milk coffee mixture to the rest of the ingredients in the mixer bowl. Should be added in 3-4 additions with the mixer running.

5. Beat 30 seconds on low speed to moisten the ingredients. Scrape down bowl as needed

6. Beat 3 minutes on high speed, scraping bowl occasionally

7. Pour evenly into pan(s)

8. Bake oblong pan 40-45 min or layers 30-35 minutes. Or, until a wooden skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean

TIP: You can make this cake even more decadent by adding 3/4 Cup chocolate chips to the mix at the end of the mixing time. This cake is great for a 2 or 3 layer cake but is too delicate to use for torting layers (dividing the layers to create more layers)

Frosting and filling recipes are not included in this article. I use a Chocolate Cream Cheese Filling between the layers. For the frosting, I use a cooked Chocolate Fudge Frosting. You can find both of these recipes on my website. Really, any favorite frosting recipe you have will work well. I just like that particular combination of flavors because it gives a different taste to each chocolate used. Coffee enhances the flavor of the cake, the cream cheese adds a twang to the filling, and the frosting is a deep, rich chocolate taste. I have also used a raspberry filling with this cake and it was very good. Coffee frosting with this cake recipe is very good as well.
Preparation time: 15 minute(s)

Cooking time: 30-35 minutes for layers. 40-45 minutes for a single pan.

Number of servings (yield): 12

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Tips on Cake Baking

A Great Cake is Moist and Flavorful!

1. Choose recipe and read thoroughly. If there are any terms you are unfamiliar with, check them out on the Internet.

2. Use fresh ingredients

3. Bring eggs and butter to room temperature

4. Preheat oven-make sure rack is close to center (with exception of Angel Food cakes which need the rack at lowest position).

5. Be sure to use the correct cake pans. Visualize your decoration with frosting, choose cakes accordingly. Most popular birthday cakes are sheet cakes because you can write a lot of words on them. Second most popular is two round pans because cake is so much more tasty with frosting between layers. Cake pans can be round, square, sheet, tube, Bundt or cupcakes. Your recipe may suggest the best cake pans to use.

6. Grease the pans with shortening. Take a small sheet of waxed paper and wrap it around your index and middle finger. Dig into the shortening and apply same to the cake pan. You need quite a bit of shortening-make it look like white layer of cold cream on your face. Be sure to get right into the edges so the cake won't stick. [DO NOT GREASE OR FLOUR ANGEL Food CAKE PANS]

7. Flour the pans. Take about 1/4 cup of flour and sprinkle it over the shortening. Pick up the pan and hit the sides so the flour will distribute equally. You want the flour to adhere to the shortening, but you don't want mounds of flour. Toss the excess in the sink. Repeat with additional pans.

8. Use paper liners when making cupcakes as this provides ease in decorating and clean-up.

9. Gather and measure all ingredients before you start mixing. Use medium bowl for flour and small bowls or containers for salt, baking soda, extracts etc.

10. Dry ingredients are measured with dry measuring cups and spoons. Dry measuring cups look like small bowls and there is one for each amount. (ie. ½ cup). When you measure dry ingredients, overfill the cup while holding it over your container. Then run a knife over the top of the cup to level the ingredient with the absolute top rim of the dry measuring cup. Use this same technique with measuring spoons when you are measuring dry ingredients like baking powder, baking soda, salt.

a. An exception to the dry measure technique is when you are measuring brown sugar. You must compact the brown sugar in the dry measuring cup by mashing it with your hand into the bottom of the dry measuring cup. Fill it to the top and scrape off excess with a knife.

11. Only liquid ingredients are measured in glass measuring cups. Glass measuring cups have lines drawn to designate the amount (ie. 1/3 cup, 1 cup, 2 cups, etc.). You measure small amounts of liquids (ie. Vanilla extract) with measuring spoons. They should be filled to the rim. It's a good idea to have at least two sets of measuring spoons, one for dry (salt, baking soda) and one set for liquid.

12. When measuring margarine or butter use the measuring guide located on the stick wrapper and cut evenly. Then let it come to room temperature. If you are using margarine or butter from a tub, it's a good idea to place a small piece of saran wrap inside the measuring cup and then spoon the butter (or shortening) into the cup, this makes for easy clean-up.

13. For extra moist cakes (and muffins), add 1 Tablespoon of sour cream to your batter.

14. Follow your recipe for the order in which to mix your ingredients. Very few recipes say to dump all ingredients in at once. Often, you need to beat in eggs one at a time on low speed.

15. Use an electric mixer, if at all possible. It is much better at mixing your ingredients than you can do by hand. Mixing by hand in a large mixing bowl is possible, but it takes at least 300 beats to properly mix a cake. When you can see no flour or dry ingredient, your cake batter is properly mixed. Stop the mixer occasionally to scrape the batter from the sides of the mixing bowl. An electric mixer will do your work in two to three minutes.

16. Use a sturdy wooden spoon for adding in ingredients like chocolate chips, nuts or dried fruit. Take a few tablespoons of flour and mix with the dried fruit. This will prevent dried fruit from sticking together.

17. Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pans. Use a rubber spatula to scrape as much of the batter from the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl and beaters as possible. Smooth out the batter so that it reaches the sides of the prepared cake pans.

a. If using two pans, try to get the batter evenly distributed between the two pans. Some cooks use a measuring cup to evenly distribute between the two pans, but that takes time. You do need the two pans to have approximately the same amount of batter so that they will rise and cook the same in the same oven.

18. Carefully, put cake pans in the pre-heated oven.

19. Some ovens require you to change from pre-heat setting to bake setting. If this is required, please do so. Preheat uses both the top and bottom heat eleMents and baking only uses the bottom. So if you don't want to scorch the top of your cake, be sure to set the oven on BAKE.

20. Set a timer. You can set it 5 minutes less than the recipe calls for. Peaking that late in the process will not make the cake fall.

21. DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR, until the timer goes off. If you open an oven door while a cake is rising, the cold Air from the kitchen will rush in and cause the cake to collapse.

22. Cake is ready when the sides have gently separated from the sides of the pan. Best test is to stick a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, cake is ready. If there is batter stuck to the toothpick, return to oven for 5 to 10 minutes. Test until toothpick comes out clean. [Pull the rack with the cake pans halfway out of the oven, then test. ]

23. When cakes are ready, remove from oven and place on cooling racks on kitchen counter. Set timer for 10 minutes. Do not disturb the cakes.

24. After 10 minutes, run a butter knife around the edge of the pan (between the pan and cake) to ensure the cake has loosened sufficiently around the edges. Place a cooling rack over the cake with one hand and gently turn the cake over with the other. If you have used enough shortening, your cake pans will lift off the cake layer easily. If not, you may have to gently shake the pans to separate them from the cake. Try not to tear the cake at this point or you will be covering your mistake with frosting.

25. Cool THOROUGHLY before frosting. When you place the palm of your hand on the cake, and it feels cool, you are ready to decorate. It may take 30 minutes to cool.

High-Altitude AdjustMents

* For each cup of flour, increase by 1 tablespoon. Add an additional egg to rich cakes to prevent them from falling.

* For each teaspoon of baking powder or baking soda, decrease by 1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon.

* For each cup of fat, decrease by 1-2 tablespoons.

* For each cup of sugar, decrease by 1-2 tablespoons.

* For each cup of liquid, increase by 2-4 tablespoons.

* Try increasing baking temperature 15-25 degrees to "set" the batter.

ExperiMent with different combinations. All adjustments may not be necessary.

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KitchenAid Stand Mixer

If you have been looking for a new mixer, and you want to have the best kind that is going to last, there is one brand that you should look at. KitchenAid mixers are one of the oldest and most well known brands of mixers that are found in homes. For many years, the brand has been making mixers that are built to last and work great. There are a lot of options that you can choose when you are going to purchase a Kitchen aid mixer, and one of the most popular kinds are the stand mixers.

The KitchenAid stand mixers are some of the most popular mixers because they are easily used in your kitchen and are ready to use when you want to use them. There are a lot of colors available to choose from, and they also have a lot of features that you can enjoy. The settings on the KitchenAid mixers vary and provide you with any level and speed that you need for what you are making. You can also find that the KitchenAid mixers are very reliable and you can keep using yours for a long time.

The KitchenAid stand mixer is available with many features, and you can choose the model and the color that are going to work the best for your kitchen. You can also choose the right features that you need that are going to allow you to make whatever you want. The prices on the KitchenAid stand mixers range depending on the model that you get, and the speeds that you want to use for the mixer. There are also different models available that have a variety of different looks that you may like.

One of the popular models of the mixers is the KitchenAid artisan mixer. This mixer has a variety of features that allows you to blend and mix a number of different items and variable speeds. This allows you to easily adjust the mixer to the type of Food that you are using. When you want to find the best deals on Kitchen aid mixers and stand mixers, you can go online to the web site and discover all of the best models that are available. You can also compare each of the models to see which ones are going to give you the options that you need. There are a lot of great choices available with any of the KitchenAid stand mixers and you can find the one that is best for what you are going to be using it for in your kitchen

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Best Bread Mixers

For baking enthusiast, nothing beats a good mixer. Baking, like Cooking is an art. Many would say Cooking is for everybody but best cooks are of limited numbers. You have to possess an inner passion within to create a good meal. Same with baking, you have to have an enormous passion within you to begin with. Let say when you have the best mixer, you got everything covered. Bosch mixers are one of the best inventions of all time. The Bosch Company has been making precision tools, appliances, and engine parts, since 1886.

The newsiest addition, their very own Bosch Mixers are specifically designed help bakers from all over the world to have ease of mixing. In the market today, you can find numerous brands for baking aids however Bosch Mixers are designed to give more power, efficiency, and of course, durability. Bosch bread maker is another good deal. This piece of heaven is perfect for personal or professional use. They have designed the motor for efficiency and durability. No wonder professional bakers prefer Bosch mixers to aid their baking and pastry needs.

Good news to all baking devotees, The Bosch Company's best seller, Bosch Universal is on sale. Best deal ever! This generation of kitchen machine offers added power, improved safety features, and updated styling. The powerful 800 watt motor provides four speeds plus impulse, and all of the machine's components and accessories are dishwasher safe for easy cleaning. Bosch Universal Sale is still ongoing until Supplies last.
Prices:

In the USA: Regular Price: 9.99 USD Sale Price: 9.99 USD

In Canada Regular Price: 9.99 CAD Sale Price: 9.99 CAD

Prices include shipping.

Bosch Universal Mixers is another good piece of investMent. The Bosch Universal Mixer is perfect for preparing both quantity and quality Foods. The system includes a plastic bowl; dough hook, whips, splash ring, & cover, blender is optional. The New Bosch has a powerful 800 Watt motor. Mixing bowl capacity is 15 lbs. of dough, or 6.5 Quarts. Four controlled speeds plus a moMentary switch for pulse operation and, comes with the best warranty in the business, including a 3 year motor warranty.

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Bring Rusted Cast Iron Cookware Back to Life

The process of restoring rusted cast iron cookware can bring a family heirloom back to life and make it a fully functional asset in your kitchen. You can even salvage a garage sale or flea market find that looks too far gone. The beauty of cast iron cookware lies in it's rugged durability and versatility. Cast irons durability results from the quality and thickness of the material from which the pan was made. Older cast iron is especially tough since it was made before the time of cheap imports that do suffer some quality issues. But, nonetheless any piece of cast iron that is structurally sound can be restored and put to use in your kitchen.

Before beginning the restoration process, you must carefully inspect the pot or pan and make sure it is truly structurally sound. Look for cracking or pitting in the surface of the pan. If the pan is cracked or severely pitted then it would be best to set that pan aside and not proceed with restoration. a cracked cast iron pan is very hard to repAir and requires a process called brazing to fix the pan. This is usually an expensive process and even with repAir the possibility of contamination of your Food from the repair process makes the pan pretty much useless for use in the kitchen. If you would like you can restore the damaged pan and use it as a decorative reminder of days gone by in your kitchen.

Once you have established the soundness of the cast iron, you can begin the process of restoration. Start by using steel wool or a wire brush to remove as much surface rust from the pan as possible. You can then soak the pan in a solution of 1 part vinegar to 10 parts water for a day or so. This will help to finish dissolving any rust that remains on the surface of the pan. If you run into a pan with severe rusting, then you may have to use a product like spray on oven cleaner to remove a heavy layer of rust. Be careful when using caustic chemicals like oven cleaner. Wear personal protection such as gloves and a mask to prevent personal injury. Also, avoid using any other highly caustic chemicals on your cast iron. Solvents and similar chemicals can soak into the loose pores of the iron and then leach into your Food at a later time.

After you are sufficiently satisfied with the initial phase of restoration of your cast iron, then you can proceed to the seasoning step. seasoning is a simple process whereby the clean pan is coated with either lard or bacon grease and repeatedly heated in an oven. This process creates a durable non-stick finish for the cast iron and makes it easy to clean after use. For a more detailed look at the seasoning of cast iron cookware, please review my other article at Recipe-Rack.com

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