USSS Equipment

USSS comprises six studios with a wide range of hardware and software for use in composition, sound recording, production, editing, design and performance.

Music studio with speakers and desk in the middle
On

Studio Hardware and Resources

The USSS has a wide collection of microphones from leading brands such as Neumann, DPA, AKG, SE, Shure, AudioTechnica and Sennheiser.  

The six studios are designed with different approaches to sound creation in mind:

USSS 1 Control Room

  • Mac Mini M2 Pro
  • RME Fireface UC
  • Octopre microphone preamps
  • Genelec stereo monitoring

USSS 2 Live Room & Foley Studio

  • Foley pits and materials
  • TV with connection to USSS 1
  • Upright Piano

USSS 3 Surround Sound Composition and Playback Room

  • Mac Mini M2 Pro
  • RME Fireface UFX
  • Genelec 5.1 monitoring

USSS 4 Stereo Composition and Playback Room

  • Mac Mini M2 Pro
  • RME Fireface UCX
  • Genelec monitoring

USSS 5 Large Live Room

  • Live room variable acoustic
  • Yamaha Stage Custom drum kit with Sabian AAX cymbals
  • Marshall, Ampeg & Orange amplifiers

USSS 6 Large Control Room

  • Mac M2 Studio Max
  • 5.1 & 8 channel Genelec surround sound monitoring
  • RME Fireface UFX II
  • Octopre microphone preamps
  • SSL Control Surface

Software 

  • Logic Pro
  • Sibelius
  • PureData & USSS Tools
  • Reaper
  • GRM Tools
  • Adobe Creative Suite
  • Supercollider
  • Csound

Concert Sound System

An audience at a concert surrounded by loudspeakers

The USSS Sound Junction concert system is a 32-channel 3-dimensional diffusion system with custom software and hardware. The majority of the 32 loudspeakers are Genelec (10*8040A, 1032, 1031, 8030, 7070subs). Playback is from a dedicated PC running the SuperDiffuse software (written by James Surgenor in Supercollider) through a control voltage fader-box. Audio interfaces are MADI RME (MADIface and M32DA).

See the Sound Junction pages for a history of diffusion and projection of acousmatic electroacoustic music at Sheffield.

The development of the concert sound system has been made possible by the generosity of alumni and staff through contributions to the University’s Alumni Fund. https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/giving/home

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