“And been even more late to the certification course.”
Megs scoffed. “Not possible.”
“What isn’t possible?” Erik asked, but before either of them could answer, two girls who looked barely eighteen approached as they rounded the corner.
“Hey, Professor Adams.” The brunette in the duo flashed a shy smile. Gideon nodded and continued on.
“Students of yours?” Megs asked.
“No.”
“No? How do they know who you are?”
Erik cleared his throat. “I believe most females here know who Professor Adams is. Probably because he’s a musician and young women find that intriguing.”
Megs stifled a smile, then sobered when she remembered what she’d said to Gideon that night at the burger bar.Audio is sexy.
“Thank you for that, Erik.” Gideon’s face was unreadable as he led them to the studio—different from the one she’d first recorded in—and pulled out his key. Gideon knew she found him attractive, which made all of this more awkward. But didn’t she also know that he was interested? He’d texted her all weekend and he’d beenmore invested than she was in making sure her class was dropped.
Something swirled in Megs’ middle. What would’ve happened if she had successfully dropped Intro to Recording?What would’ve been Gideon’s next move?
Gideon opened the door and reached out to flick on the lights. Megs’ mouth went dry as she stood in the corner, as far from Gideon as possible, and let Erik move into place between them.The last time they’d been in here together, Professor Adams had been watching her voice two lovers.Gideon glanced up, and by the slight flush of his cheeks, Megs wondered if he was thinking the same thing.
“Alright, then. Anything you need from me, Erik?”
Erik shook his head. “Thank you, Professor.”
Gideon glanced up and briefly caught Megs’ eyes before turning and exiting back into the hall.
Erik opened his laptop and spun the screen to face her. “I told you half an hour, and while you were in your meeting, I analyzed the material we’ve already covered and determined these to be the points most in need of clarification. Let’s get started so you can leave as planned.”
Megs pursed her lips and nodded. Erik was a character, and every sentence out of his mouth surprised her. Without even meaning to, she was taking notes. Watching how he quirked his lips or blinked more than needed when someone asked him a question. The intonation in his voice, and the way his shoulders twitched right before he started to speak.
Megs scanned the mixing board. The studio's dim lighting cast a soft glow over the vast expanse of knobs, buttons, and sliders, each organized and labeled with strange initials.
Erik began without preamble. "This section," he said, pointing to a cluster of knobs on the left, "controls the microphone preamps. Turn to increase or decrease the sensitivity of your mic. Always watch the levels here. Red indicates clipping, and you never want that."
Megs held up a hand. “I’m going to need some definitions. What’s a preamp?”
Erik turned his head but didn’t look directly at her. "A preamplifier, or preamp for short, is a device that amplifies weak signals, making them stronger and suitable for further processing or amplification. Your voice, when you speak or sing into a microphone, is almost a whisper in electrical terms. The preamp takes that whisper and makes it louder, so the rest of the equipment can work with it effectively."
Erik pointed at the sound-level bars. "Without a preamp, you'd barely see any movement here, even if you sang at the top of your lungs. But with it, even a soft hum can be detected and amplified."
"So, for vocals, you boost the signal from the get-go."
Erik nodded. "Exactly. It's the first step in ensuring the sound is captured accurately and clearly." He moved his hand to the center, where a series of vertical sliders dominated. "These are your faders. They control the volume of each input. Move them up to increase, down to decrease.”
“Are these the same on every board?”
“I believe they’re similar.” Erik pointed to a row of small, square buttons above the faders. He was dedicated to keeping their deadline. “These buttons are your mute buttons. Press once to mute. Press again to unmute. Simple."
Megs pressed one for fun as Erik moved his hand over to a group of multicolor knobs. "These are your equalizers. Adjust them to modify frequency responses, like bass, mid, and treble.”
“For instruments?”
“And voice. You can also adjust this in your digital audio workstation after recording.”
“I assume knowing what to adjust will come later?”
