Students on Sound Courses in the Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment can book the different audio studios. By booking a studio you agree to the following rules:
Bookings
Bookings must be made at least two working days (48 hours) in advance.
Ensure all equipment that you require is on the booking form when you make the booking. You
will not have guaranteed access to equipment that is not listed on your booking form. Any changes
to your equipment list made in the 24 hours leading up to your booking cannot be guaranteed.
If you are 15 minutes late for your booking without notifying or attempting to notify the studio
manager with a reason, you will lose your booking. If you provide a valid reason for being late the
studio will be reserved for your attendance for a period of one hour after your original booking time,
after which you will lose your booking.
During term time you will be allowed to book a maximum of ten hours a week. In the two week
approach to deadlines to allow for a higher capacity of students to be able to use the studios you will
be allowed to book a maximum of six hours a week. During holidays between semesters and
academic years you will be allowed to book a maximum of 15 hours per week.
Turning up for a session early will not mean you will have access to the studio earlier than you
booked. Equipment will be prepared for the time you have booked only.
For bookings made outside of working hours (09:00 ‐ 17:00) equipment you have booked will be
stored in one or several lockers found outside of the Drum Tank. Equally if your booking finishes
after 17:00 you will be expected to store the equipment you have used in the locker(s) provided.
If the above applies to you a key for the locker(s) you have been allocated will be provided to you
before the end of your booking. You are expected to hand in the key(s) at reception upon your exit
of the building, please do not take the key(s) home.
Studio Use
Leave Studios and Equipment in the same condition and placement as you found them.
Do not consume food in studios, drinks are fine as long as they are appropriately sealed i.e. screw
top not a can. You are forbidden to consume, be in possession of, or under the influence of alcohol
or illicit substances while using studio facilities.
Do not interact with any installed cables found in studios. Patch bays are provided for routing
outboard gear into signal chains.
Cables must be reverse coiled correctly and tied with velcro provided. Please do not use tape to
secure cables in the studio.
Do not remove equipment from any cupboards without direct authorisation from the studio
manager. This is to ensure that all equipment can be accounted for to allow fair usage to all students
and to avoid disappointment in the scenario the equipment cannot be found.
Ensure you have packed away all equipment and vacated the studio by the end of your session.
This is to enable a seamless transition from one booking to the next. To help achieve this it is
recommended that you begin packing equipment away and tidying up after yourself 30 minutes
before your session is scheduled to end.
At the end of your session zero all equipment you have used, reset any parameters for effects to
default positions and replace patch cables to where you found them.
If your booking is the last for the day be sure to power down equipment and turn off all lights in
the rooms you have been working in.
If you finish a session and vacate the booked areas early, notify the studio manager and you will
be able to use the time you haven’t used on that day for further bookings that week. The time you
will recover will be rounded to the nearest quarter of an hour.
Faults and Queries
Report all faults to the studio manager. If the studio manager is unable to be found at that
moment, please don’t try to fix the equipment yourself.
If unsure on how to use or handle equipment, ask the studio manager for a demonstration and
explanation.
If you are unsure of how to reverse coil a cable ask for a demonstration and you will be shown.
If you are unsure how to use patch bays correctly, find and ask the studio manager and you will be
given a demonstration.
Walk-in Bookings
If a studio is not booked and you would like access during working hours then visit the studio
manager and they will make a booking for you on the spot with equipment that is not booked out.
Please note that you will not be able to book in visitors for on the spot bookings and you will only be
allowed two hours of access in these scenarios.
It is possible to continue using the studio after your two hour period is over only in the
circumstance that nobody else would like to use it. In this situation you will be allocated a further
hour continuing until you leave or another student would like to use the facility.
All students using walk in bookings to studios must vacate the studio and all equipment before the
end of the working day (17:00). This is inclusive of walk in bookings made after 15:00 on that day.
Guests
If you require guest passes for visitors include all names in your booking so the studio manager
can notify security staff. Do not contact the studio manager directly to request visitor passes, this
information should be placed on the booking.
You will not be able to amend your booking for guests two working days (48 hours) prior to your
session. This is for security reasons as reception need to be notified with enough time to ensure
visitor bookings into the building are made correctly.
All guests you bring into the university are your responsibility, if they break or mishandle
equipment you will be held accountable.
Breach of the above regulations could result in restricted access to the equipment and facilities as
deemed appropriate to the situation. If you are uncertain of one or more of the regulations, do not
hesitate to ask the studio manager for an explanation.
By registering to the booking system you are agreeing to the above regulations.