11-SEP

September 30, 2011 Success Stories

Work with your mentors’ famous clientele.

“At my lesson today with my mentor we arrived at my 4th week in the Recording Connection program. This lesson was on patch bays and signal flows. While going through the quiz assigned to me by the program, my mentor would repeatedly go to the console and would show me examples of what patch bay actually was. I even step-by-step did a patch bay a signal and go it onto the computer, which was a lot of fun. The next day with my mentor we went I took a microphone quiz the Recording Connection had assigned me. I am now already familiar with the console he uses in the studio, and how it works, so this lesson went pretty smoothly. Afterwards, clients of my mentor came in and I helped him set up and record them. I set up the microphones and miked the guitar amp and we recorded the clients. It turns out the one of the clients was once the keyboard player for Aerosmith, did the current theme song for sesame street, and also worked with many other artists so that was fun to do!”
— Stephen Krause, Mahwah, New Jersey

Fine tune your skills with the training received from your professional mentor.

“This was a very exciting lesson for me with my mentor, as I just got my MBox from the Recording Connection. I had been experimenting with it at home prior to this lesson, and had a few audio routing questions for my mentor. My mentor answered all of them, and now my home studio is a fully functioning recording studio! We spent majority of the time messing around in Pro Tools and my mentor showed me a few helpful tricks and tips when working on a smaller scale, such as myself in my own home studio. He is very impressed with me and has told me so many times and I’d LOVE to work for him one day. The next subject I trained on was an in-depth look at EQ. EQ is something I have been familiar with for a while, but not to the extent that he showed me. He went through the trouble of personally creating a graphical guideline of the entire sound spectrum and which instrument should be adjusted where, and how those adjustments will affect the sound. It was quite possibly the most beneficial thing I have received thus far, seeing as I now have a professional’s guideline to EQ, and since I am currently mixing projects for friends of mine, I’m sure they will be blown away when they hear the final product! I definitely learned a lot this lesson, and have already implemented it into my own independent work.”
— Kyle McPherson, Wesley Chapel, Florida

Learn how to record using professional recording equipment.

“Throughout my very first week at my mentors’ studio, I met a few of the other externs, as well as all the engineers I will be mentored by while I am enrolled in the Recording Connection. I first spoke to a few of the other externs in the program, who shared some of their experiences within the studio and gave me an idea of what to expect in the upcoming weeks. I was able to man the entire office all by myself, as my mentor left me in charge when he left to run some errands. I have already learned how to startup Pro Tools, “Bounce” a track and the importance of key commands rather than using the “mouse.” Also, I learned how to set up a mic for a client in one of the studios and knowing the exact equipment being used. When my mentor and I have our one-on-one time it is truly an experience. Observing his process when creating a Hip-Hop or R&B beat from scratch is amazing. My mentor understands that I’m only familiar with Reason, so for the time being, he wants me to show him what I’m capable of with what I know. So when a studio room is not occupied, my mentor actually gives me a few hours to create what I can. Since I have Reason at home, I’m able to bring projects started at the studio back at home via flash drive. However, I will want to tear myself away from the comfort of Reason and start to really get into programs like Logic Pro and Pro Tools.”
— Jonathan Clever, Larchmont, New York

Learn what it takes to work in a professional recording studio.

“This week my mentor continued to work on his track for the thirteen year old girl that is his client. He and the engineer in charge of the project brainstormed over the phone. They were going through and refining the lyrics until they were both satisfied. They’re primary focus was to make it sound “in the moment”. They wanted the lyrics to sound young and fun, without making it too complicated. There are tons of catchy hooks and ear candy throughout the song and I can’t wait to hear how the actual vocals will sound with it. For my one-on-one lesson review of the reading assigned to me by the Recording connection, I learned that most microphones are dynamic, and the most approved microphones are the vintage types and mostly none of the newer microphones that have come out today. My mentor said that most microphones are made to look like the great microphones so the consumer will know what to use it for. He also said that it is important to not get too mixed up in the technical terms when with a client. It can give off a bad vibe, which makes sense. Perhaps the most important advice he gave in this lesson was that we need to do our job without trying to be the best. When you have the mindset of wanting to be better than everyone else, it sets you up for failure. It is important just to focus on the task at hand. This is hard for me, and I’m sure for most, because we all want to be the best. However, I trust it coming from my mentor, seeing how successful he is. My state right now is being modest, but secretly wanting to be one of the best. So, I will have to change that way of thinking when I’m ready to apply for jobs upon graduation of the Recording Connection. It’s helping me now and really continuing to push me to learn more.”
— Heather Esplain, Elko, Nevada

September 23, 2011 Success Stories

Learn by doing.

“For my first official day with my mentor I got to meet a professor from a Sacramento community college, who is also a producer and engineer. I was able to see that not everything runs smoothly, and that even the smallest things can make everything be held back. Also, during my first night in my mentors’ studio I was taught how to tune a drum, where I got to ask questions about all the different drum types as we were setting up for his morning recording session set for the next day. A cool trick I was taught was how to wind cords back up in a certain way so they don’t get tangled up as you throw to unravel, which I still haven’t gotten it down, however, I’m determined to. I feel it’s much needed, as well as being well organized. I must have done well the first night because I was asked to come back for his morning recording. The next morning I was able to help set up mics, wires, put other instruments in place, ensuring everything was a bit more organized. I never knew in the past how much wiring was involved, so I’m now trying to get it into my head that organization is the key, as it will help run things smoothly.”
— Evelyn Hernandez, Napa, California

Go up and beyond to ensure your continued success within the music industry.

“Today I helped my mentor build his mastering desk. It adds to the fact that this is really a do-it-yourself business. I have to commit, and take the extra steps to do something. I can make my own in-home studio or something for recording, I just have to do it. So, I’m doing more research on my own for the music business. I bought a book to read that was recommended. I’m going to learn the business/film side on my own. My goal is to be able to speak intelligently, and seem like I know what I’m talking about when it comes to searching for jobs. The next day with my mentor was actually very long. My mentor let me stay for a guitar session for the new songs he is working. We also went over the reading the Recording Connection has assigned me. I found the reading confusing, but I reread it and got a better understanding. For the most part, I had the general idea of what the concepts were, but when it came time for me to explain it, it took me awhile to formulate the words. After we reviewed the quiz, my mentor drew me a picture of what the text was trying to say, and it cleared up so much in my head. A light went off and I fully understand it now. It was great to be exposed to the lessons ahead so I’m familiar with them before I get there. Hearing what my mentor was doing helps me to be prepared for what’s next and helps him review what I’m doing as well. Next, my mentors’ guitar friend came over afterwards, and worked on two new tracks with him. It was cool to watch them flow with each other, they really worked well together. They tried to be on the same wavelength while at the same time, being open to the suggestions that each was offering. They weren’t afraid to mess with the various devices on the pedal board to change up the sound. Steve mostly knew what he wanted the guitar to sound like, but the guitar guy also had some ideas that Steve was more than willing to experiment with. They really had a groove going and I liked what they came up with.”
— Heather Esplain, Elko, Nevada

Prepare yourself for a successful future within the music industry.

“For my sixth and seventh week with my mentor, it was definitely the lessons helped me as an audio engineer. It is great information to help me become a better producer, as well as artist. A lot of times I find myself over thinking questions, and my mentor helps me understand it in a very casual fashion. Understanding amps and all the mic placement techniques really gives me an edge over mediocre project studio producers. The signal flow concept was fairly easy and my mentor helped me out by going over the routing maps step by step. We discussed practice rundowns, mic placements and the practicality of it all which was very interesting. I’ve always had a rough idea of it all but now I know what I’m actually talking about. I really will make this into a career because I enjoy every second of it.”
— Albert Flordeliza, Burlington, New Jersey

Work one-on-one with your mentor.

“The lesson with my mentor was on the Console, which consisted of basic routing and mixing amplifiers. My mentor and I worked on signal flow and all different components an amplifier may have, such as to amplify, Eq, and combine. We went into the studio and listened to the differences between amplifiers and effects. I am very happy with the Recording connection program and with the education I am receiving from my mentor. Being in a one-on-one environment pushes me to be prepared and makes it a very comfortable environment to learn and be a part of.”
— Tim Vorderstrasse, Midland Park, New Jersey

September 16, 2011 Success Stories

Receive fundamental training needed to succeed in the music industry.

“Today was my first day with the Recording Connection. I figured that going through the basics of sound was going to be boring. Learning all kinds of vocabulary words and other technical stuff involving numbers is really not my strong suit, but my mentor made it fun and interesting for me to learn. I had been staring at the pages in my books the Recording Connection assigned me for hours the night before and wasn’t getting any of it. It was all Greek to me, but my mentor was able to translate it into words that I could understand. Now I know exactly what the books are telling me and what I had been trying to understand. It was also cool to find out that some of the stuff that I was learning were things that I had been using all along in my own small home studio setup without even knowing it, or even more, without even knowing what it truly did. I learned the basics of sound itself. All I knew about before I went in for my training with my mentor was how to plug a guitar into my interface, start playing, add some effects, and call it a recording. My mentor also showed me a couple of small things in Pro Tools that has helped me understand sound better. Even just learning about the basics of sound has already improved my own recording quality. It makes me want to go to the studio for my next lesson even more. I can’t wait for my next lesson, where I get to start learning about Digital Audio next.”
— Wesley Waibel, Royal Oak, Michigan

Build your confidence with your one-on-one training with your mentor.

“Since starting the Recording Connection program, a lot of my mindset has changed about the audio engineering field. I now have a better understanding of not only the technical aspects of the way things work in the audio industry, but also the aspects involving working with clients and artists. The techniques I have learned that deal with mixing and general audio engineering practices has greatly improved my ability to work with, not only my own personal music, but others’ music as well. It’s also much easier for me to identify problems with mixes and the right ways to go about correcting them. Furthermore, my attitude towards professionalism has been greatly enhanced due to working with very important persons in the business, as well as up and coming artists and clientele. My mentor has told me that I have the right attitude for the business, and that motivates me to be more outgoing when it comes to meeting new clients and artists to work with. All in all, this course has really made me feel confident in my decision to attend, and makes me feel that my future in audio production will be very rewarding.”
— William Szent-Miklosy, New York, New York

Receive one-on-one training from the experts in the audio industry.

“Today was my official forth week with my mentor, where we covered Patch bay and Signal flow. He answered the questions I had from the reading the Recording Connection assigned me, as well as went over the microphone types and patterns quiz. Today was the first day we actually went over components in the studio. We went over the mixing board and the patch bay and how it connects to the studio. Also we started elaborating on different microphones, microphone types and microphone brands. And to finish the lesson, I patched through various equipment and preamps and recorded to pro-tools. I’m just enjoying the fact I get the use the equipment now and starting to learn in detail what everything does. Everything is great and moving how I expected it to within the Recording Connection program.”
— Zachery Green, Laurel, Maryland

Fine-tune your skills with your one-on-one training.

“My session with my mentor this week was a fun one for me because of my hip hop background. I’ve done a lot of sampling and have observed the differences in sample rates in the past, and how it affects the sound quality and the overall feel of a track. So I was intrigued to hear about the Nyquist theorem and low pass filters and to see them represented graphically. This training with my mentor has increased my understanding of these subject manners very much. Also this week I got to help mic the drums for a recording session in my mentors’ studio. This, on the other hand, was a little bit overwhelming since I know almost nothing about microphones. However, I know this is coming in the next session with my mentor so it was great to get a preview and see what I know and what I need to know.”
— Vincent Williams, Palatine, Illinois

Learn how to enhance your own tracks with the help of your mentor.

“Today I began to learn from my mentor about the basics of Digital Audio. My mentor proceeded to teach me about how sound is recorded and played back by samples. I also got to learn about the different file types for audio, as well as teaching me about the different kinds of noise that can get into a recording. The list really goes on and on. It’s only been two days since I have been in the Recording Connection with my mentor and I’ve already taken what I’ve learned and put it to good use with my own recordings, where I have significantly increased my recording qualities. Next week with my mentor I get to learn about microphones. I really do like working with my mentor a lot. He is a really funny and laid back mentor, which makes it easy for me to work with him.”
— Wesley Waibel, Royal Oak, Michigan

Work with all the microphones within a professional recording studio.

“I start my first official lesson with my mentor this week. There was lots of reading that was assigned to me by the Recording Connection, which had a there was a large amount of information including stats and charts in the reading. I was quick to find out that most of the information was not crucial, just provided a background of how sound and digital recording work. My mentor showed me exactly what I needed to know and what information is the most important. I was excited to hear that the upcoming lessons with my mentor will be more hands-on, where I will be learning about microphones. Started the lesson on microphones. My mentor and I reviewed the first chapter of reading my mentor assigned me, and talked about patterns and different types of microphones and how they are used. He then showed me his various types of microphones and how they are all used in different scenarios. The microphones were very unique and very nice looking. I was surprised as how much gear my mentor had in his studio. Since the beginning of the course, I have definitely improved on my skills with the production and recording of music. I have a better ear now for how things are supposed to sound, and a better idea on how signal flow works. My mentor and I have gotten to know each other and we get along very well.”
— Tyler McCarthy, Landenberg, Pennsylvania

September 9, 2011 Success Stories

Prepare yourself with the future with one-on-one training received from your mentor.

“This week my mentor and I went over different power sources and how they work. This is an area I previously already knew a lot about, given that my father is an electrical engineer and that I am a currently a musician. We talked a lot about the different monitoring systems for artists, as well as how they work. We also went over the different kinds of summing amplifiers. I also got to watch one of the independent guys do some hip hop work in one of the studio rooms, which was awesome for me because that’s exactly what I want to do when I graduate.”
— Kyle McPherson, Wesley Chapel, Florida

Learn by doing.

“I am officially in week five with my mentor and we looked at every mic, discussing the polar patterns of each. He proceeded to give me information on what mics he chooses to record specific instruments, as well as the mic placements to do the job. My mentor then had me hook up two mics into the board and several other mic pres through the patch bay. He went into the studio and I actually got to stay on the console to do sound checks on his vocals and acoustic guitars. This was fun and very informative in regards to what the process of recording should end up being. We compared the two mics on the pres and gave our thoughts on how they sound. There were some sound issues to where we couldn’t hear out of a certain microphone so we looked over our signal paths and quickly found the error. I found this to be important to keep in mind that you’ll come by mishaps like these in the future and to learn from them. I really like the advice my mentor gave me and it was very helpful on my tracks. During this training week he also showed me some of Pro Tools drum kit plug-ins and I really enjoyed it. He saved them to my file and we are going to use them as examples in the future!”
— Landon Bingham, New Braunfels, Texas

Make your dreams a reality with the help of your very own professional mentor.

“Today with my mentor I got to observe him creating a track in his home studio. This track was for a thirteen year old girl, so my mentor wanted to make the sound around that age group. He wanted to make it less edgy and more teen pop. I was very fascinated at the unlimited sounds that you can make with Pro Tools. The system is incredible, and I can’t wait to start messing around with the tools myself. First though, I need to work on training my ears to be able to separate different sounds in the song. I started to pick up the sounds my mentor was working with, but it’s clear that I need more practice. I left the session in complete awe; I am very excited to delve into the Recording Connection program. For my one-on-one training with my mentor the following day, my mentor was finishing up his track from yesterday as I arrived. The session turned into an in-depth conversation on the music business. I really like how he is straight forward when he talks, he doesn’t sugarcoat anything. I lea