The Radiophonic Workshop was founded in 1958 with the aim of applying musique concrète to radio broadcasting, in particular to drama. Using a wide range of equipment, often obtained from other departments, they acquired an enviable reputation for their unusual sound and music, used in both radio and television.
In this early work, under the direction of Desmond Briscoe, the only available materials were real sounds: recorded and manipulated using tape machines and other devices. The process was similar in many ways to modern sampling. Reverse playback, speed or pitch change, equalisation and reverberation were all used, accompanied by endless skillful editing. The sources of sound included those familiar to many drama studios — pebbles in boxes, mutilated musical instruments or even old copper water tanks!
The arrival of the voltage controlled synthesiser in the late sixties brought about a significant change. At last sound and music could be created immediately, albeit using a keyboard that only allowed one note to be played at a time! The arrival of multi-track tape recorders in the following decade enabled the composer to build up complex layers of material — with the option of making changes midway through the job. During this period most engineering was concentrated on electronic ‘black boxes’ and interfaces to satisfy special needs.
By the 1980’s computer control of digital musical instruments via the Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI), using Macintosh computers, became a reality. This was complemented in the last decade by recording systems based on yet more advanced computers — the all-digital studio had arrived.
The Seventies
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During this period the Workshop was in the doldrums — little had changed since the early days. It had developed piecemeal, acquiring a few rooms along the corridor of the Maida Vale Studios as it went. Most of the accommodation consisted of offices — only Room 12 had been professionally installed as a studio.
Room 10 contained the huge Delaware voltage-controlled synthesiser, manufactured by Electronic Music Studios (London) Ltd — EMS. It was a modified version of the Synthi 100, incorporating a two-level keyboard and a vast number of elements connected by two ‘virtual earth’ patching matrices. It also included a real-time sequencer — this took the analogue ‘control’ and ‘gate’ signals from the keyboard, digitised them and stored the data in RAM. The machine’s greatest problem, common to most voltage-controlled synthesisers, was that of VCO frequency ‘drift’ — caused by temperature change as the equipment warmed up. A later attempt to replace the Delaware by a new machine, consisting of Ken Gale’s Wavemaker modules, was forced to a close by the advance of new technology — mainly from Japan!
Room 11 was equipped with an early transistorised mixing desk. It incorporated the Glowpot fader, designed by the Dave Young, the Workshop's highly inventive engineer. This device overcame a common problem of ‘stud noise’ (BBC faders were really switched attenuators) which was particularly noticeable on tonal sounds. The Glowpot fader used a modified ‘stud fader’ to control the intensity of a light-bulb which, in turn, illuminated a pair of light dependent resistors (LDRs) within an attenuator network. The ‘inertia’ of the light-bulb effectively eliminated the ‘stud noise’.
Room 12 was used for many years for Doctor Who effects. It was equipped with a specially-built mixing console fitted with ‘continuous’ carbon faders — an innovation for the time — and miniature valve amplifiers. A bank of three Philips tape machines, with interlinked remote control, provided a comprehensive tape manipulation facility. A Leevers-Rich tape machine was fitted with both ‘continuous’ and ‘chromatic’ control of tape speed. The EMI TR/90 tape machine was equipped with a ‘Tempophon’, whose spinning head allowed the pitch of a recording to be changed without altering the tempo.
Rooms 13 and 14 were the birthplace of the Workshop — it was used for many years as a film editing area. Tape machines included an early Ampex recorder and an EMI BTR/2, fitted with an extra motorised spool on one side — a useful addition for editing! A Prevost 35 mm film viewing machine was provided along with a film editor. A large amount of early work was transferred onto ‘sepmag’ film (a 35 mm ‘sprocketed’ variety of magnetic tape) so that it could be synchronised with the appropriate ‘picture’ film.
By 1974 these rooms became host to the Workshop's most advanced studio. A Glensound DK/1 stereo mixing console was installed — with ‘pan pots’ (for positioning the stereo image) fitted into the faders. This allowed the user to ‘pan’ and ‘fade’ a sound at the same time! This was the first studio with a multi-track tape machine — a Studer A80 8-track. A push-button matrix allowed the user to route sources into the multi-track’s inputs. Later, as the Workshop expanded, this equipment was moved into a new area, Room 36.
Early Equipment
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Apart from the Delaware only a few synthesisers were in use. The highly adaptable, and very portable, VCS 3 from EMS, first appeared in 1968. It was particularly useful for sound effects and incorporated a versatile ‘virtual earth’ patching matrix for interconnecting parts of the synthesiser. The Arp Odyssey, which used front-panel switches for patching, was also a good machine.
The main source of reverberation or ‘echo’ was provided by two EMT echo plates. Each of these consisted of a steel plate suspended on springs within a large box. A pair of transducers, one for ‘sending’ sounds, the other for ‘receiving’, were fitted onto the plate. A remote-controlled servo system was used to adjust the spring mounting which determined the effective ‘reverberation time’ (or ‘room size’) of the plate. This was usually set at 2 to 3 seconds.
Another kind of reverberation was provided by an echo room. This small area, of oblong dimensions, was provided with a sloping ceiling to avoid resonance. At one ‘short’ end was a loudspeaker. At the opposite end a pair of microphones picked up the reverberant sound — in stereo. Unlike the plate, however, the ‘reverb time’, of about 4 seconds, was fixed.
The least successful form of reverb was that provided by the humble echo spring. This incorporated a coiled spring, usually over 200 mm in length, with audio transducers at each end. Some very interesting sounds could be produced by hitting the device!
The Workshop’s first ‘off the shelf’ sound mixing desk arrived in 1979. The Neve 8066 was a highly conventional 20 channel music-recording console, coupled with a Studer A80 16-track recorder. It was installed in Studio E, part of the original room 13, in time for the production of Paddy Kingsland’s Rockcoco, a rock musical.
This was soon followed by the Soundcraft Series 2 mixers which provided eight ‘group’ outputs — allowing any source to be routed to any input of an 8-track recorder. These were installed in Studio C (originally Dave Young's office!) and in Studio F (the original room 10). But these installations were only stop-gap measures, an attempt to catch up on lost time.
At this time a number of highly versatile electronic effects devices began to appear on the market. These included the Roland ‘flangers’ and ‘phasers’ which used quasi-digital ‘bucket brigade’ devices to introduce delays in audio signals.
The Eighties
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During this decade the situation changed dramatically: the consumer music industry suddenly expanded, giving access to a tremendous range of ‘off the shelf’ products. With a little imagination, sometimes even stretching equipment beyond what the manufacturer envisaged, these devices offered the Workshop unseen new opportunities.
By this time the Workshop was showing signs of serious financial deprivation. Under the hand of Brian Hodgson it at last received the funding it deserved — one of the six studios would be upgraded every year. Once again, Soundcraft consoles seemed the obvious choice.
By 1982 Studio B (the original room 36) and Studio D (the site of Maida Vale's wartime control room) were equipped with Series 1624 mixers, intended for 16-track operation whilst Studio A had been fitted out with a Series 800 console, providing for 8-track work. Next came Studios C, E and H (the latter converted from a small film theatre) with Soundcraft 2400 consoles, this time with 24-track capacity.
All these new studios were provided with 8-, 16- and, latterly, 24-track tape machines. Unfortunately 8-track recorders were totally inadequate for stereo work, providing only 4 stereo ‘tracks’. Sadly the introduction of 16- and 24-track machines also caused problems — for interchanging material between studios. The greatest difficulty was caused by the 8-track format — this used tape of one inch in width, unlike the others which used two inch tape.
The new mixers justified beyond all doubt the advantages of low-cost equipment. By using unbalanced audio circuits, instead of ‘broadcast’ transformer balanced circuits, a very high sound quality was maintained — consequently transformers were removed from virtually all other equipment.
In 1981 the computer made an early appearance in the form of the Fairlight Computer Musical Instrument (CMI). This was really an adapted ‘mini’ computer incorporating a graphical display and light pen. The CMI out-lasted many of the ‘top end’ machines which followed, some of which disappeared almost without trace.
Sequencing
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During the early eighties the music industry launched the Musical Instrument Digital Interface, a system for connecting musical devices and computers. MIDI sockets soon appeared on the back of many keyboards and synthesisers — the initial reaction was ‘what could it be used for?’
The answer was sequencing. This process took a performance from a MIDI musical keyboard and recorded it as digital data within a MIDI sequencer. The could then be edited as necessary and subsequently used to play any MIDI instrument. The beauty of the system was that no sounds were recorded on tape — the information was simply held as a computer file which could be updated at any time. Even the choice as to which sound or ‘voice’ was triggered by keyboard actions could be left to the very last moment.
One of the earliest sequencers, the Yamaha QX-1, provided 8 separate MIDI outputs but required the composer to stare for hours at a small liquid crystal display (LCD). An important arrival was the Apple Macintosh, and associated MIDI interface, first used at the Workshop during 1986. The first machine was a Mac Plus — later superseded by the Mac II, IIx and finally Quadra 900. The Mac was a perfect choice: its WIMP (Window Icon Mouse Pointer) environment ideal for a non-technical musician. A huge range of useful software was available, suitable for general housekeeping and programme documentation.
The new range of digital MIDI synthesisers also used completely new techniques, such as frequency modulation (FM), featured in Yamaha's DX-7. Its dramatic and highly musical sounds accelerated the demise of many analogue machines. Many more all-digital synthesisers were soon to follow.
Synchronisation
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The Workshop had produced material for television for many years — and the business of synchronising sound to picture had always been rather tricky. Working with film was relatively easy — it was simply a case of counting picture ‘frames’ (at 24 or 25 per second) and calculating times. Completed work would be transferred onto ‘sepmag’ film which could be played in ‘tandem’ (and locked in ‘synch’) with the original ‘picture’ film — if they were not in step the ‘sound’ and ‘picture’ films could be ‘slipped’ against each other. If one or the other was too long they could be edited with a razor blade — it was usual to edit the ‘sound’ film rather than the ‘picture’!
The arrival of video recording made things more difficult — the tape had no sprockets! The Workshop was originally provided with Shibaden half-inch ‘helical scan’ video machines. These allowed the composer to see the original picture material — in some instances the ‘time of day’ or ’time of recording’ would be ‘burnt in’ to one corner of the picture. This timecode showed hours, minutes and frames as they elapsed. The composer would then make calculations so as to fit the new sounds to the pictures provided. Finally the new material would be checked against a stopwatch. The resultant tape would then be ‘played in’ during dubbing of the transmission tape — usually by pushing the ‘play’ button at the right time!
Timecode and VCRs
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With a new generation of video machines (VHS and latterly Sony U-matic) it was possible for timecode to be supplied as useful data. In the case of VHS machines one Hi-Fi sound track could be designated to carry SMPTE longitudinal timecode. With U-matics this timecode could be carried on one of the ‘linear’ sound tracks.
Better still was Vertical Interval Timecode (VITC), which inserted timecode within the video signal itself. This was not found to be particularly reliable on European VHS machines — so the Workshop eventually standardised on the U-matic format.
When a video tape arrived the composer would copy the timecode (and possibly any original sounds) from VCR to an appropriate track (or tracks) on a multi-track recorder. On playback the output of this ‘timecode track’ would drive a timecode reader which displayed the original timecode. Hence the user could create new sounds exactly ‘on cue’. Unfortunately although the composer could anticipate a cue, there was no guarantee of hitting it!
Syncwriter
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Ray Riley's Timecode Memory Unit was the first device that put the studio under control of timecode. It took the Binary Coded Decimal (BCD) output of a timecode reader and used it to generate a ‘trigger’, ‘gate’, switch-closure or bleep at any specified timecode. Hence a sequencer or tape machine could be ‘fired off’ any time it was required. It also generated a ‘metronome’ click which was locked to the rate of timecode.
It was eventually replaced by Syncwriter — developed by Ray White (hardware) and Jonathan Gibbs (software). It connected to the 1 MHz ‘bus’ of a BBC micro and accepted the output of a timecode reader — it was later updated to accept SMPTE longitudinal timecode directly.
Unlike anything before, Syncwriter gave the composer a visual presentation of a moving point of time ‘hitting’ fixed cues. It provided a range of ‘clock’ outputs, locked to timecode, for driving pre-MIDI sequencers — and duplicated all the features of the Memory Unit. MIDI inputs and outputs were included, enabling it to generate MIDI timecode (MTC) or MIDI ‘clocks’ that could be merged with the MIDI output of a keyboard.
The final piece of the timecode jigsaw came much later. Although the composer could now create material perfectly synchronised to picture it was essential for timecode to be ‘stamped’ onto the final tape — to prevent timing ‘drift’ due to speed variation. The only way to do this (apart from using one audio track for SMPTE longitudinal timecode) was to use a quarter-inch tape machine with a ‘centre’ track designated for timecode. Two Studer A810 machines finally appeared in 1991 — but by this time the speed stability and timecode options of Digital Audio Tape (DAT) had almost made them obsolete!
A Kit of Parts
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By 1987 the explosive growth in technology had made the conventional studio with its large mixing console almost unworkable. The composers found themselves surrounded in a veritable sea of keyboards and ‘effects racks’ bulging with equipment.
Clearly a new approach was long overdue — once again MIDI would provide the solution. One of the composers, Peter Howell, recognised that the central focus of an ideal studio ought to be the Macintosh computer which would control all aspects of studio operation — the task of mixing had almost become subservient to the creation and sequencing of sound.
Whilst discussions continued apace, three commercial products appeared which offered a complete solution to the problem — the Yamaha DMP7 mixer, the Akai DP3200 audio router and an Apple Macintosh application known as Hypercard.
To all appearances the DMP7 was just another compact eight channel audio mixer, but internally the audio path was entirely digital, employing 32-bit processing for all functions including special effects such as delay and reverberation. It was even fitted with motorised faders — settings could be recalled in an instant! Furthermore, every switch and control setting could be set via MIDI messages, albeit in a non-standard fashion. The user could use a ‘look up’ table within the DMP7 to convert any incoming MIDI message into the appropriate instruction for the mixer.
The Akai DP3200 crosspoint router offered 32 analogue audio inputs and outputs, controlled by a serial interface — on investigation this was found to be MIDI, but using non-standard codes. These codes later caused problems with ‘intelligent’ MIDI interfaces because they broke the ‘rules’ of MIDI. This was solved by adding ‘dummy’ data bytes to ‘fool’ the interface — fortunately the router ignored all the extra data!
Hypercard seemed at first a rather curious Mac program, perhaps more suited to domestic chores such as accounting. But on closer inspection it was found to offer an almost unique ability for building screen displays with pre-programmed ‘buttons’ and ‘boxes’ which could then be ‘bolted together’ with other proprietary software. It also included its own language and could handle MIDI — a real opportunity to reach the goal of a computer controlled studio.
Putting these elements together resulted in a trial studio assembled in March of 1988 — it required 200 audio cables together with considerable effort from Peter Howell, Mark Wilson (Development Coordinator), Ray Riley (Engineer) and Ray White (Senior Engineer). This exciting new studio system was soon in operation: the mixers and routers proving their worth. The software, based on Hypercard, was developed and refined during as the studio was used — it became known as CueCard.
Sound in the Round
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By January of 1989 Elizabeth Parker was hard at work in the finalised version of the circular console. The new Studio F had been built on the site of the old Film Unit projection room and recording ‘channel’. The new console was self-contained, making it totally independent of the building infrastructure. It was provided with removable panels and cable covers, allowing wiring to be modified in minutes.
 
Five ‘input’ mixers were used, each positioned beneath a rack containing the appropriate sound generators, and connected to two ‘output’ mixers — three audio routers completed the studio. The ‘input’ mixers were assigned as follows:
1 - Synthesisers
2 - Samplers
3 - TX-816 Synthesiser
4 - Drum machines
5 - Multi-track
All the equipment was controlled from a Mac II with MIDI interface, a MIDI router and MIDI ‘distribution’ box. In order to record the fader movements of any mixer a MIDI circuit was also provided from the mixers to the Mac — data from all the mixers was combined using a chain of MIDI ‘mergers’.
With everything under MIDI control there was no need for an expensive musical keyboard in each instrument — most synthesisers now arrived in convenient rack-mounting boxes. The Yamaha KX88 was chosen as a ‘master’ MIDI keyboard: it included a ‘pitch bend’ wheel and sockets for foot pedals.
Sampling was based on the Roland S-550, a multiple-output machine that stored sounds on floppy disk. Later additions included EMU's Proteus which provided a range of excellent ‘playback only’ samples and the similar Procussion for percussive sounds. Both of these were multi-timbral machines — they could use all 16 MIDI channels. Other synths in the final line-up included Roland's D-550, and from Yamaha, the TX-802, TG-55 and TX-816. The latter was actually 8 DX-7 synths combined into a single rack-mounted box.
The wide range of effects devices included Yamaha’s DEQ7 equaliser and SPX1000 effects unit, Roland's SRV2000 reverb, Gatex noise gates, and Drawmer’s excellent compressor/expander. The first three were from a new generation of machines, using digital signal processing (DSP) throughout.
Digital Audio
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Following on from this success, another studio was completed in September 1989, this time for Peter Howell. Sound quality was enhanced by replacing the audio links between ‘input’ and the ‘output’ mixers by digital circuits. One of the ‘output’ mixers was replaced by a DMP7D which provided digital audio interfaces. Yamaha provided a Custom Interface Unit (CIU) to convert the ‘stereo’ data from four mixers into eight mono signals.
This studio also saw the introduction of the innovative Akai DD1000 four-track audio recorder — recordings were made onto erasable magneto-optical disks. Its digital audio outputs were fed, via an interface, into another DMP7D which in turn fed the ‘output’ mixers. In this way the DD1000 acted as a master timing clock for digital signals throughout the studio.
Slowly but inexorably the Macintosh computer itself was becoming a device for sampling and recording sounds. The Mac IIfx featured six slots to accommodate NuBus cards. Stereo recording, together with editing and sound manipulation, was provide by Digidesign’s SoundTools — using just one card and an interface box. The Workshop used also used low cost Audiomedia cards — although less powerful they did not need an interface box.
Useful though these systems were, the real breakthrough came with a new version of Opcode’s Vision sequencer programme called StudioVision — this allowed previously recorded ‘soundfiles’ to be triggered from within a MIDI sequence. Surprisingly soundfiles created using Digidesign’s system could be interchanged with those created using StudioVision and an Audiomedia card.
This was taken one stage further when Digidesign introduced ProTools, a 4-track system, again using a single NuBus card and interface, but this time with the ability to add tracks by means of additional cards. By the end of 1992 this new hardware was being used to incorporate 4-track material into MIDI sequences.
Sonic Solutions
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In October 1991 the Workshop opened an entirely new studio — its role not to create sound but to remove it! The Sonic Solutions NoNoise system was designed to dispose of interference and other unwanted sounds from audio recordings. It also offered the opportunity to archive the restored material onto CD-R.
A Mac II FX computer (later replaced by a Quadra 900) was equipped with three powerful Digital Signal Processing NuBus cards. The first two cards were used to provide a 4 channel on-screen mixing desk with faders, pan pots and extensive equalisation. The cards were also linked via a Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) to 2.8 GBytes of hard disk storage and a Sony CD Encoder. From this encoder audio data passed via optical fibres to five Sony CD Writers.
The third card was used entirely for de-noising. A pair of stereo digital audio inputs and outputs, using optical fibre connections, were provided. An interface box enabled connections to be made to AES/EBU or SDIF 2 digital inputs and outputs. The AES/EBU interface had become the ‘industry standard’ for interconnecting digital audio devices whilst the SDIF 2 (Sony) interface had become a ‘de facto’ standard over several years.
Source material would be loaded into the system, usually from Digital Audio Tape (DAT), creating a ‘soundfile’ on hard disk. The effect of various settings would then be checked using the on-screen mixer — having chosen the best setting the system would process the material in the ‘background’. This was often achieved in real-time, using three separate ‘passes’ to remove crackles, noise and hiss.
This new soundfile which had been created could be then edited on-screen — this was a ‘foreground’ task. Sound waveforms would appear graphically on the Mac screen — the user could ‘zoom’ in or out, either to see detail or to obtain a more general view. Sections of sound could be removed and replaced either with 'black' silence — or the original material could join up around the ‘gap’. Material could also be repeated or swapped between the stereo ‘tracks’.
A Table of Contents (TOC) for the CD could be created, either manually, using 'flags' on the graphical display, or automatically by setting the 'silence' threshold and duration. The final soundfile would be ‘dumped’ onto tape or DAT or onto CD-R. The blank Write Once Read Many (WORM) discs are gold plated and coated with a green vegetable dye, with a spiral groove already cut into the surface. As the disk spins, the intensity of the laser varies, warming the dye, so changing the reflectivity of the disc. The discs, once recorded, have a predicted minimum life of ten years.
The studio was built into an elongated version of the earlier circular console and was equipped with four Akai DP3200 routers. Three DMP7Ds were used for mixing, together with AD8X 20-bit A-to-D converters and SPXl000 effects processors.
Other equipment included a Roland SN-550 Digital Noise Eliminator, a Precision Power Phase Chaser and Audioscope spectrum analyser. Sony PCM2500 and PCM7030 DAT machines were also installed. The latter worked with SMPTE timecode and could be controlled directly from the Sonic system for automated loading and dumping of sounds.
A new router control application called QuickPatch was developed by Anthony Morson. This replaced one vital role of CueCard in the move to a new generation of computers and MIDI interfaces.
Conclusion
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 The latest audio samplers allowed the Workshop, once more,
to return to its tradition of making sounds from those of the
real world, so reopening a vital repertoire for musical
composition. During a period of electrifying developments the
Workshop remained at the ‘sharp end’ of the industry.
In the final analysis, whatever technology had to offer, the creative product came only from the imagination, skill and endless patience of the composer.
