NOVEMBER 2011 REVIEWS FROM OUR STUDENTS AND GRADUATES

November 18, 2011 Success Stories

Work along side the music professionals.

“This week with my mentor has been amazing. Actually, every week so far has been. The first week I had very little confidence in what I was doing due to all the technical jargon, as well as just overall complexities within a professional recording studio. However, my mentor seems to be one of the best teachers I’ve ever had. He is attentive to all questions I have and thoroughly explains any concept I even remotely don’t understand. Even though everything there is fast-paced and precise, my fellow externs have helped push me along the way. I find myself fortunate that I have fellow classmates on the same lesson as myself because every step along the way I learn something new, even if it’s someone who is further in the program that is teaching me. We all have a unique, yet uniformed ways of looking at the common goal and it seems to be helping me more than I ever thought it would. Every week I become a little more confident. The Recording Connection has been such a great experience in general. I am ecstatic for every lesson I have.”
— Rhett Lloyd, Long Island City, New York

Become part of a professional recording team.

“My session with my mentor went very well this week. My mentor went over the reading assignment with me, as well as another extern from the Recording Connection who sat in on our session. It was a great learning environment because with two of us asking questions together, as I feel like I got twice as many answers. The other extern would ask certain questions that wouldn’t come to my mind, and vice versa. My mentor next moved on to give me an overview of the microphones in the shelves, then went into great depth about all the vintage microphones they have, which are not even made anymore. I thought that was very cool, especially because I was able to see them. My session today was great, very enjoyable, and extremely productive. Then later that week I went into the studio again and it was awesome! There were a couple of clients in the studio today and I got to meet an amazing engineer with a lot of big names in his book. It was quite intriguing to watch an engineer like that at work. Also, I had my first touch of being able to help setup a recording session. Although it was a small part it was great! I assisted my mentor in the setup of some speakers in the live room, helping with the sound check on them as well. It was a very cool experience, as I felt like I was a part of a working studio. I was very included in the mix and really had a feel for the whole hands-on learning experience. Overall, one of the best days so far in the Recording Connection. I am looking forward to more sessions to help out on!”
— Thomas Gentil, Bremerton, Washington

Learn all that it takes to become successful in the music industry.

“I have been getting in a lot of good sessions with my mentors clientele, as well as observing my mentors mic placements and techniques. Moreover, I am meeting very nice people of different musical tastes, including rock, country, and hip-hop scenes, and I am definitely learning a lot each time. It’s also good to have another extern, that just joined the Recording Connection, to talk to about his experiences with live sound and is just a great contribute to my learning experience! During my lesson with my mentor this week I learned about different plug-in types in great detail. My mentor gave an example on Pro Tools using an Audio Suite gain on an acoustic guitar take. I recorded him on guitar three times using different compression and gain techniques and learned different ways to look for when I record.”
— Landon Bingham, San Antonio, Texas

Receive clear answers for all of your questions.

“This week with my mentor we first started out by going over the quiz that Recording Connection had assigned me, as well as the questions I had, which were really requests for examples of things like dither, jitter, aliasing, and compression. My mentor described dither as a catalyst, contributing to the enhancement of sounds that otherwise would not have been able to be perceived. I was then shown examples of jitter and aliasing. Also, we really spent a good amount of time on compression, and how it related to the ceiling. Compression used in moderation can help to round off some high peaks while bringing out more fullness in the midrange. However, overuse of compression will lead to cutting the ceiling off for the highest frequencies and making the whole song or sample seem to be heard through a wall or sound less dynamic. My mentor gave me an extra assignment this week, which is to research the loudness wars on YouTube and we will discuss it next week. Also I was invited to sit in on a recording session with a band this weekend and I am excited to already be invited to participate!”
— Dillon Bragg, Alachua, Florida

Learn by doing.

“Last week I went into the studio for lesson 14 this week, then got to hang out while one of the engineers worked on Melodine and editing. I also spent time working with the Pro Tools midi controls and EQ plug-ins on my own time at my apartment. Then this week my mentor and I went over assignment 15 from the Recording Connection, talking about the structure of the studio, as well as what I can expect to be doing for my mentor after I graduate the Recording Connection. He told me I’ve caught on very quickly to the lessons, so he hasn’t minded our steady pace through the curriculum cause I’m getting it! And I really am. I spent about 10 hours this week at my apartment recording stuff onto Pro Tools, really grasping signal flow to get a solid sound. I also bought a mixing board and recorded full band minus the drums last night with one of my buddies. It was awesome. I worked on setting levels and editing, and I engineered his guitar licks really well, copying and pasting and doing multiple takes and stuff. Basically, I got really good practice laying down my friend’s song and then messing around with some more rough, full band demos, all of which I’ll be working on mixing.”
— Benjamin Bartel, Glendale, California

Progress in your knowledge of the recording industry with the assistance of your mentor.

“This week my mentor and I discussed surround mixing. He told me about the different kind of uses for surround sound systems. We talked about how it evolved from old movie theatre’s sound systems to what is used today. He explained to me how stereo mixing is different from surround sound mixing. And more importantly when it is appropriate to mix in such away. Since I had no experience at all with mixing in surround sound, I got a lot out of this lesson. We discussed disc duplication for finished products and my mentor told me about his experiences with duplicating CD’s for his clients. He told me about how important it is to get proofs before sending the project into final production. Having a little experience with this myself we talked about the best ways to get the most for your money and still get good quality product. The part of the lesson I enjoyed the most was when we got to discuss volume changes and power. I didn’t know that if you cut the volume in half on a PA system you actually double the power of the system because the speakers require less power at lower volumes, and there is more power available to push the speakers. It amazes me how much I didn’t know about equipment I have been using for years. This was a very informative lesson and I expect we will discuss this more in the future.”
— Jeremie Killinger, Albuquerque, New Mexico

November 4, 2011 Success Stories

Receive hands-on training by multiple mentors.

“My official third week in the studio was a little difficult for me, as all the different types of microphones were really quite hard to memorize. However, both of my mentors’ took the time to bring me in the studio, taking an entire day to go through all the different kinds of microphones. We took the guitar amp and they had me, by myself, play the same guitar riff over and over again. Each time I would set it up with a different mic so I could actually hear the difference between all of them. Out of everything I have done so far, this has taught me the most, it was a great lesson. On top of this, I also got to sit in on a recording session. This was very cool, as it was one of my mentors’ friends, who happens to also work at my mentors’ recording studio, but as a producer. He happens to be a great musician, and the studio drummer they brought in was very skilled. During this entire recording session I even got to be in charge of the track sheet, as well as the microphones. So far this lesson has been my favorite on in the Recording Connection!”
— Adam Stevens, Longmont, Colorado

Learn from the professionals.

“This has been week two of my journey through the Recording Connection, so building my knowledge is a work in progress. I have learned so much this week from my mentor. What we did is focused on digital audio basics. With that came sample rating, bit depth, Nyqust frequency and much much more. So my focus has been primarily on those three areas. Although I have to say that while I was reading up on Synthesizing digital audio it caught my eye. To me it is so interesting that you can take sound and turn it into voltages, making the sound of the synthesizer. I have truly enjoyed working with my mentor and teacher throughout this process, they are both great and have so much knowledge in this industry as a whole. The Recording Connection could not have picked me a better environment to work in and learn in. I am truly excited to become more and more involved as the program progresses.”
— Katie Glynn, Birmingham, Alabama

Work on your own songs with the assistance of your very own personal mentor.

“This week at the studio with my mentor was great! My mentor and I first went over the lesson in the Recording Connection book assigned to me by the program, and then we jumped right into the song I have been mixing for the last few weeks. My mentor said my mix this week was much better than the one I showed him last week. Then my mentor offered to mix my song in the studio together. I said, “Of Course!” Then he asked if I wanted to mix in the box with all plug-ins and software, or out of the box with all the outboard gear. I chose the outboard gear because I haven’t had a chance to use it very much. I have never used such expensive tools or have been able to use that huge Euphonix console. We worked for hours on my music, also even briefly discussing the new release of Pro Tools 10. Excellent training in the studio today, and after that, I shook my mentors’ hand and left for the day.”
— Jordan Hanson, Thornton, Colorado

Work in a real studio with your very own mentor.

“Today in the studio with my mentor was wonderful!!!!!! So much knowledge in the training lessons that it’s so unbelievable. I am having my second in the studio ever with my mentor, which will be a “hands-on” session. I can’t believe my mentor already wants me in at least twice a week so far and I’m very excited!!!!!!!!! Thank you goes out to the Recording Connection. You guys are so awesome!!!!!!!!”
— Charles Kirkpatrick, Kyle, Texas

Learn what it takes to create a successful music video.

“Today at my mentors’ studio I was able to sit in during a live recording session. Quite a few people crowded the studio, from the producer, to the camera man, to the audio technician, all the way to the musician. I was able to see the preparation and recording process of a single, which was very beneficial. I was also able to get a look at what “making the video” requires from the studio and the artist. It was a big process just getting everything patched in correctly and to have the sound checked. Once everything was properly hooked up it took about two hours of recording to land the perfect tracks needed to produce and engineer the single for the next phase of editing. It was mostly an observation learning experience, where I was able to see the job description in action for a studio manager. It was also a great experience to sit in and watch a live recording in the studio for the first time. I now understand that live recording and sound is a very large and sometimes problematic arena that requires quick thinking and fast action.”
— Daniella Hirt, Seattle, Washington

Continue to prepare yourself for a successful career in the music industry.

“Today’s session went great. My mentor and I went over the lesson in great depth, where I got a full explanation on a certain topic called phase, when it comes to working on a mix and recording. It was a topic that I didn’t really understand too well and where my mentor did a great job of explaining. I also got to meet another extern who is also doing the Recording Connection Program. It was nice to talk to someone else who is reading the same material as me. I also was able to read a few more books that my mentor had actually brought to the studio for me and I really found them very helpful in the sense that they gave me a better understanding for jitter and Phased Locks Loops. Overall today’s session went great! It was also very calm in the studio today so I decided to read a little into microphones. My mentor had me read a PDF file that they have here at his studio based on all their mics. I found this very helpful and I now have a better understanding of the equipment in the studio. Also I even had the other extern I had met earlier in the day help me with some more Pro Tools functions, Now I’m really starting to get an early feel for the DAW system and feel like I will be well prepared come when my mentor and I reach this lesson.”
— Thomas Gentil, Bremerton, Washington