Mike Sokol of Fits & Starts Productions brought his No-Shock-Zone clinic to the Conservatory’s live sound room on June 3rd, 2010. Sokol, an electrical and sound expert, used various metering devices as well as his own custom built tools to demonstrate why people get shocked on stage or in studios and how to avoid it. He also shared why hum and buzz plague so many sound systems with tips to easily identify and fix those problems.

The 2010 NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) trade show took place in Las Vegas in April. CRAS instructors Kevin Becka and Robert Brock attended to keep CRAS’s finger on the pulse of sound in the broadcast world. While much of the NAB show is oriented toward the visual side of broadcast, it’s important to remember that video without sound is called “surveilence” That’s why companies like AVID (Pro Tools), SSL, Studer, DPA and many more are found at the show demonstrating the latest in audio for video technology. Many CRAS graduates find their way into the broadcast market working with sound for television shows ranging from sitcoms to sports oriented programming. Check out photos from the show here.

Chris Estes of Endless Analog

Chris Estes of Endless Analog spent a few days visiting CRAS at the end of March 2010. While on cacmpus Estes provided hands-on demonstrations and discussions about his companies innovative product CLASP. CLASP is a sytem that bridges digital audio workstations and analog multi-track recorders to take advantage of the best of what both technologies have to offer. Working with Conservatory technician Jeff Harris, Estes used CLASP to merge Studio A’s Studer A827 analog recorder and the Pro Tools 8 HD system to work as a singular system. See photos from the visit here.

The Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences hosted its spring open house on Satruday March 27th 2010. The event featured an opportunity for anyone to learn more about the Conservatory and a career in pro audio. Attendees were able to interface with instructors, current students, as well as product representatives from major manufactutrers who were showing the latest in audio technology. A live band played and a catered lunch was served during the after party and gear giveaway. Prospective students were also able to meet with housing and financial aid representatives. For more information about the Conservatory, please visit www.audiorecordingschool.com. See photos from the open house here.

Paul Hugo from Marshank Sales Co. shows off the EAW NTL720 line array speaker system in the CRAS live sound room.

Wednesday March 25th, CRAS hosted Marshank Sales Co. as they provided product demonstrations of high-end sound reinforcement equipment to CRAS students and outside clients. The Conservatory’s large live sound room provided the perfect place to show off the state of the art gear from EAW, Martin Audio, Mackie and more. Check out more photos from this event here.

On March 20th, 2010 CRAS instructors Dave LaBounty  and Jeff Thomas hosted a guitar setup clinic. While both LaBounty and Thomas are experienced audio engineers and educators, they also love to share their knowledge and love for the six string. LaBounty is a trained luthier, a graduate from the Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery and has utilized these skills touring as a bass guitar technician for the late jazz bassist Wayman Tisdale. Thomas is the ultimate closet guitar hero and can usually be heard practicing through one of the amplifiers he’s built from scratch. Because over half of students enrolled at CRAS happen to also play guitar it was no surprise there was a great turnout to the event where attendees learned to setup an electric guitar and install pickups. Click here for more photos from the event.

The Conservatory will be hosting a no-cost, 2-hour class (1:30pm to 3:30pm) on January 16th at the NAMM Convention in Anaheim California. The H.O.T. Zone (Hands On Training) is in collaboration with SPARS (Society of Professional Recording Services) and will be taught by CRAS instructor Robert Brock. H.O.T. Zone attendees will have access to the NAMM show floor and can register for a gear giveaway including a Sennheiser microphone, Sennheiser headphones and an M-Audio Fast Track Pro. Registration is free through the SPARS website.

Over 250 visitors from sixteen states attended the Conservatory’s open house on October 17th, 2009. Aspiring students toured the Gilbert facility receiving a sneak peek into what a career in the audio industry would entail. They experienced recording and mixing sessions, a Pro Tools demo, an introduction to the Conservatory’s exclusive internship program, and a performance in our live venue by the local band ‘Sinsation’.  Conservatory graduate Evan Samurin from GC Pro came down with representatives from speaker manufacturer KRK who provided a product demonstration of their ERGO Room Correction System which analyzes phase/frequency problems within a listening environment.   It was an exciting day with record attendance. Several lucky attendees even took home microphones, headphones and other prizes they won from the raffle sponsored by CRAS.  Check photos of the event here.

On September 23rd, 2009 The Conservatory’s student Audio Engineering Society (AES) chapter arranged a visit to the anechoic chamber at Arizona State University.  Anechoic chambers are designed to absorb all frequencies across the sound spectrum and are used to test equipment such as speakers and microphones.  Thanks to ASU’s Craig Birtcher for giving CRAS students the opportunity to hear “nothing”.  Click here for photos.

This month two Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences (CRAS) instructors headed in different directions to share their knowledge as guest instructors at special training events.

Sound Reinforcement department head Keith Morris headed east to St. Louis to join 6 time TEC award winning live sound engineer Robert Scovill for The Complete Front of House Engineer seminar and workshop.  Keith led attendees through the fundamentals of the industry standard Smaart audio analysis software.

Digital Dept. head Robert Brock headed west to sunny California to deliver a day long immersive training on Apple’s Logic Pro 9.  The event was held in Bob Clearmountain’s private Berkeley Street Studio located within Apogee Electronic’s headquarters in Santa Monica.  Attendees included nearly all of Apogee’s employee’s as well as invited friends of Apogee.

CRAS offers certifications on both Smaart and Logic Pro as part of enrollment in its Master Recording Program II curriculum.