Established as part of the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair awarded to folklorist Richard MacKinnon, the Centre for Cape Breton Studies is committed to promoting and preserving intangible cultural heritage. Unique in Atlantic Canada, the Centre is a valuable addition to Cape Breton University. The Centre for Cape Breton Studies reaches into our community and extends into national and international arenas through visiting scholars, research, workshops, and programmes of study. The Centre’s capacity has been expanded and updated through Tier 2 Canada Research Chairs Heather Sparling and Lachlan MacKinnon.    



The Centre for Cape Breton Studies houses both the Rotary Music Performance Room and the state of the art Digitization Lab. These rooms are used for ethnographic and performance research, provide a venue for the dissemination of that research, and prepare young scholars for graduate research in ethnomusicology, folklore, history and intangible cultural heritage. The Centre includes seminar and research space for the Folklore, Ethnomusicology and History programmes as well as offices for faculty and researchers. 

The Rotary Music Performance and Analysis Room is a multi-functional space that can be used to:

  • Record music and other performances for both research and archival purposes
  • Playback audiovisual recordings in a sound-proofed, high-quality acoustical space for the analysis of sound, movement, and other aspects of performance
  • Serve as a community rehearsal and performance venue
  • Provide an appropriate venue for disseminating research to the local community.

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    For booking inquires, please contact:

    Christopher Jones (Digitization Lab Technician)
    Cape Breton University
    Tel: (902)-563-1912
    email: christopher_jones@cbu.ca  

    Centre for Cape Breton Studies’ Digitization Lab was designed by Pilchner Schoustal, a firm specializing in acoustic design. The lab supports research into Cape Breton’s cultural heritage, conducted by faculty, research assistants, graduate students, undergraduate students, and is further supported by a technician who works on a variety of preservation and digitization projects, using the latest in audio and video digitization hardware and software.



    The digitization lab is capable of recording performances, audio and video, and can digitize photos and other records. It is outfitted with sound equipment such as microphones, speakers, monitors, mixing boards, reel-to-reel machines, cassette decks, adn record players. It is equipped with video cameras, stereo equipment and playback units in a variety of formats. It also houses computers, CD and DVD burners, older format audio and video machinery, audio and video editing software, as well as encoding hardware and software. The Centre has 300 terabytes of server storage to maintain the digital archives. The Centre has transcription hardware and software to facilitate musical analysis and transcription. This state of the art facility complements Cape Breton University’s degrees in Folklore, Ethnomusicology and History.

    Microphones & Direct Input Boxs:

    • AKG C 391 B (Cardioid Condenser Microphone)
    • AKG C 535 EB (Cardioid Condenser Microphone)
    • Electro-Voice 635A (Cardioid Dynamic Microphone)
    • Sure SM 58 (Cardioid Dynamic Microphone)
    • Fender P-51 (Cardioid Dynamic Microphone)
    • Fleco SD300 (Cardioid Dynamic Microphone)
    • Sennheiser MD 46 (Cardioid Dynamic Microphone)
    • Audio-Tecnica AT831b (Cardioid Condensor Lavalier Micropheone)
    • Sony URX-P2 Wirless system with Sanken COS-11D Mics (Omni directional Condensor Lavalier Microphone)
    • Sennheiser EW G4 Wirless system (Omni directional Condensor Lavalier Microphone)
    • AKG C 414 B XLS(5 Polar Pattern Condensor Microphone)
    • AKG D 112 (Large Diaphram Microphone )
    • Neumann KMS 105 (Cardioid Condensor Microphone)
    • Neumann TLM 103 (Large Diaphram Cardioid Condensor Microphone)
    • Neumann U 87 Ai (5 Polar Pattern ,Large Diaphram Cardioid Condensor Microphone)
    • Sennheiser MKE600 (Hyper Cardioid Condensor Microphone)
    • Pro 48 (Active Direct Input Box)
    • Pro D2 (Stereo Passive Direct Input Box)

    Field Audio Recording Equipment:

    • H5 Zoom (Stereo Digital Audio Recorder)
    • H2n Zoom (Stereo Digital Audio Recorder)
    • H2 Zoom (Stereo Digital Audio Recorder)
    • Edirol R1 (Stereo Digital Audio Recorder)
    • Edirol R4 (4 Channel Digital Audio Recorder)
    • Sound Device MixPre-3 (3 Channel Digital Audio Recorder)
    • Fostex T40RP MKII (Headphones)
    • K-Tek KE89CC Avalon Aluminum Boom Pole W/ XLR

    Field Video Recording Equipment:

    • Sony HVR-Z1U (Digital HD Video Camera Recorder)
    • Panasonic AG-DVC60P (Digital Video Camera Recorder)
    • Miller Ds 10 (Video Camera Tripod)
    • Sony HVR-M10U (Digital HD Videocassette Recorder)
    • Sony HVR-M25U (Digital HD Videocassette Recorder)
    • Sony PMW 300k1 (4K Video Recorder)
    • Sony FS7 (4k Video Recorder)
    • Sony FDR-ax700 (4k Video Recorder)
    • Lowell DV-902Z (Lighting Kit)
    • Dracast X100k Color (Lighting Kit)
    • Fostex T40RP MKII (Headphones)

    Digitization Lab Primary Workstation Hardware

    • Mac Pro 2.7 GHz 12 core Intel Xeon E5
    • AVID HDX Card
    • AVID HD I/O 8x8x8
    • Furman PL-8 Series II (Power Conditioner)
    • Genelec 8030c with 7050c sub
    • Dorrough 280-DE (Digital Loudness Meter)
    • Apogee Rosetta 800 (AD/DA Converter)
    • Focusrite Platinum Octopre LE (Pre-Amplification)
    • Focusrite ISA 828 (Pre-Amplification)
    • Furman HDS-6 (Audio Distribution System)
    • Avid S3 Digital mixer
    • Tascam DV-RA1000 (High Definition Audio Master Recorder)
    • Neutrik NPPA-TT-S (2 x 48 TT Patch Bay)
    • Viewsonic N3751w (37" Wide Screen Monitor)
    • Apple Thunderbolt 27" Display
    • Black Magic 4K Extreme (HD Video Capture Card)

    Digitization Lab Secondary Workstation Hardware

    • Mac Pro 2 x 2.66 GHz Quad-core Intel Xeon
    • Digidesign 002 Rack (Pro Tools LE Audio Workstation)
    • Mackie 102-VLZ3 (Anologe Mixer)
    • KRK Rokit 6 (Studio Monitor Speakers)
    • Sony LMD 1410 (14" Professional Series LCD Monitor)
    • Sony HVR-M25U (Digital HD Videocassette Recorder)
    • Viewsonic N3751w (37" Wide Screen Monitor)
    • Apple Thunderbolt 27" Display
    • Black Magic Decklink HD Extreme (HD Video Capture Card)

    Digitization Lab Support Stations

    • Mac Pro 2 x 2.66 GHZ quad Core Intel Xeon (Backup/Student Workstation)
    • Windows 10 Intel Core i9-10900K CPU @3.70GHz (Scanning/ArcGis System/Student Workstation)
    • Minolta Dimage ScanDual II AF22820U (Dual Format Film Scanner)
    • Epson Perfection V500 Office Scanner
    • Brothers MFC-L8900CDW (Printer)
    • Brothers HL-L5200DW (Printer)
    • 45Drivers 300TB Server
    • Tandberg Data Storage Library T24 LTO
    • Bravo Se CD/DVD/BD Duplication System
    • Epson Perfection V500 Office Scanner

    Digitization Lab Video Equipment

    • Sony EV-S900 (Hi8 Video Cassette Recorder)
    • Sony HVR-M25U (Digital HD Videocassette Recorder)
    • Sony RDR-HX730 (Hard Disk Drive & DVD Recorder)
    • Sony VO-5850 (3/4" U-Matic VTR)
    • Sony UVW-1800 (Betacam SP VTR)
    • Sony SVO-1620 (VHS VTR)
    • Toshiba M-625C (VHS VTR)
    • Sony PVM-1341 (Video Edit Monitor)
    • Neutrix Audio Patchbay
    • Neutrix Video Patchbay

    Digitization Lab Audio Equipment

    • AKAI GX 4000D (Reel-To-Reel Machine)
    • Revox A77 (Reel-To-Reel Machine)
    • Sony APR 5000 (Reel-To-Reel Machine)
    • Studer A810 (Reel-To-Reel Machine)
    • Studer A812 (Reel-To-Reel Machine)
    • Numark TT200 (High-Torque Turntable)
    • Tascam 322 (Double Auto Reverse Cassette Deck)
    • Tascam CC-222 MKII (CD Recorder/Cassette Deck)
    • Digidesign Mbox (Pro Tools LE Audio Workstation)
    • Apogee Mini-Me (A/D Converter)
    • Nesco Food Dehydrator (For Baking Reels)
    • Behringer  Powerplay pro-xl (Headphone Distribution System)

    Digitization Lab Software:

    • Final Cut Pro(Digital Editing Suite)
    • Adobe Creative Suite(Print, Graphics,Video editing and Webdesign)
    • Colorfinale 2.5.2 (Video Color Correction)
    • Sling Studio (Live Streaming Software)
    • Sibelius (Composing & Composition Suite)
    • Peak Pro (Audio Editing, Processing, & Mastering Suite)
    • Pro Tools Ultimate(Audio Recording/Editing Suite)
    • Hofa CD-Burn.DDP Mastering (CD and Online Authoring software)
    • X2Pro Audio Convert (For post producition Audio)
    • Waves Platinum Bundle (Plugin's Bundle for Protools)
    • UAD Satellite with Everything Bundle(Plugin's Bundle for Protools)
    • Breverb (Reverb Plugin for Protools)
    • SoundSoap Pro (Noise Reduction & Audio Restoration Plugins)
    • VueScan (Multi-Function Scanning Software)
    • Cambridge Cedar Noise Reduction system V10 (Noise reduction Hardware/software)

    Performance Room Equipment:

    • Manhasett Music Stands
    • Primacoustic Panels (Acoustic Baffles)
    • K&M Mic Stands
    • Apex Kick Drum Mic Stand
    • Furman HR-6 (Headphone Remote Mixing Station)
    • Korg DTR-100 (Digital Instrument Tuner)
    • Projection Screen
    • WhisperRoom 6' x 8' (Isolation Enclosure)

    Photography Equipment:

    • Nikon D7100 (Camera Base)
    • Sigma 17-70MM (Macro Lens)
    • Nikor 40MM (AF-S Micro Lens)
    • Manfrotto 005XPROB (Tripod)
    • Cannon Powershot G15
    • Cannon Powershot G15

    Instruments:

    • Dynasty Free Floater Marching Snare Drum 14x"10"
    • John Dorman Harp
    • Peavey KB2 Keyboard Amplifier
    • Steinway Concert Grand Piano
    • Yamaha CP33 Stage Piano
    • Yamaha Stage Custom Drum Kit

    Live Sound Equipment:

    • Mackie Onyx 1620 (Analog Mixer)
    • Yorkville NX 25p (200w Powered Loudspeaker)
    • Livewire 16 Channel 100’ (16 Channel Snake)
    • Lexicon MX400
    • Traynor Small Block 15" 200w (Bass amplifier)
    • Fender GTX 100 100w (Guitar amplifier)
    • Soundcraft Ui 24 (Wireless Mixer)
    • Mackie DL 1608 (Wireless Mixer)

    Presentation Equipment:

    • Bose L1 Compact
    • Epson Powerlite 1955
    • Sling Studio Live Streaming System