Author Archive

Tuesday, May 8th, 2012

Mixing In Mono

Stereo simply means the mix has two channels (left and right). A mono mix is simply one channel. You combine (or sum) the left and right channels into a single channel. Listening to mixes in mono can be very helpful. I’ll explain why. READ MORE

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Monday, May 7th, 2012

CRAS Digital Lab: Alesis QS 6.2

The QS 6.2 is nuts and bolts keyboard which generates its from samples stored on ROM chips. Its 4 parameter faders are assignable to transmit any continuous control number. The 61 note keyboard also features polyphonic aftertouch, a rare feature that allows pressure information to be tracked an transmitted individually for each key. 16 part [...]

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Friday, May 4th, 2012

CRAS Hosts Studio Managers

Studio managers from three of the most successful studios in audio recently came to the CRAS to talk to students about the realities of a career in audio. Paula Salvatore (Capitol Studios, LA); CRAS graduate Crystal Olsen (GrooveMaster Studios, Chicago) and Candace Stewart (East/West Studios, LA) talked to a large group of students, then later [...]

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Friday, May 4th, 2012

CRAS Digital Lab: Akai Miniak

The Miniak is Akai’s take on its sister companies Alesis Micron. It features a double-modwheel design with vocoder, drum machine and sequencer. Even better, it has audio inputs that can feed any sound you like through its powerful synth engine. Check out this demo showing what the Miniak can do. The CRAS Digital lab is [...]

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Thursday, May 3rd, 2012

Know When to Trash Your Mix

WHAT’S WRONG WITH IT!?! Have you ever mixed the band and felt something was wrong with the mix?  You tweak and tweak but the sounds just don’t gel. Time to trash your mix and start over. READ MORE

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Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012

Recording a Band with George Massenburg

It’s possible to record a band live in studio, even with vocals, and still get the necessary isolation to have the elements you need for a successful mix. This video from George Massenburg explores a variety of techniques to make this possible. READ MORE

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Tuesday, May 1st, 2012

Recording Guns for Bioshock Infinite

The audio team at Irrational Games have posted part one of a developer diary detailing their recent gun recording sessions on the Irrational Insider blog. READ MORE

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Monday, April 30th, 2012

Making Magic

In addition to regular classes, the Conservatory hosts extra-curricular technical DIY events where students build mic preamps, mod microphones and in this case construct live sound instructor Keith Morris’ Magic Box for the AES student chapter. The Magic Box is a passive dynamic processor that delivers a “warmer” sound by emulating tube circuitry and it [...]

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Friday, April 27th, 2012

CRAS Digital Lab: Moog Slim Phatty

  Slim Phatty is a true analog synthesizer. It doesn’t have built in effects, it only has a mono output and you can’t play more than one voice at a time (monophonic) but that note you hear sounds amazing and totally PHAT! Check out this demo video showing what the Slim Phatty can do. The [...]

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Thursday, April 26th, 2012

Buford Jones Visits the CRAS

pictured l to r: Kirt Hamm (CRAS Administrator), Keith Morris (CRAS Live Sound Instructor), Jason McCarrick (Meyer Sound), Buford Jones (Meyer Sound), Peter Bish (CRAS Live Sound Instructor) Two representatives from Meyer Sound’s educational division, including longtime FOH mixer and recording engineer Buford Jones recently visited the CRAS. Buford’s credits include mixing for Eric Clapton, [...]

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