As of February 13, 2012, Pro Tools 10 has been integrated into the curriculum and student laptops at the Conservatory. The new software brings a long list of new features including:

• Clip Gain:  easily adjust and match gain levels, pre-mixer.
• Easy integration of multiple audio formats in a session—including interleave—without file duplication
• Recording and mastering at higher resolution  with more headroom in 32-bit floating-point format
• Better responsiveness on slower hard drives with the enhanced disk handler
• Recording in low-latency mode, with direct monitoring when using third-party audio interfaces
• System 5 console EQ and dynamics with the Avid Channel Strip plug-in
• More voices (for HD Native and HDX)
• Support for 32-bit floating point files and mixed bit depths within sessions
• The ability to play sessions from network drives and RAM (HD only)
• Direct bouncing of mixes  to SoundCloud or iTunes

CRAS students may qualify for our multi-tiered Pro Tools 10 certification which better prepares them for real-world workflows and applications.

In this special webcast, produced by Mix, technical editor Kevin Becka will host a discussion with Avid representatives to talk about a range of Pro Tools-centric topics, including facts about the new gear, cost of upgrades, viability of Pro Tools in the pro and prosumer studio and more.

After the presentation, there will be a live Q&A, straight to your desktop, where audience members can ask the moderator and participants questions directly. If you’re looking to clear up the mystery and get to the truth behind what’s in store for users of Pro Tools 10 and beyond, be sure to tune in to this important webcast which takes place live on February 9, 2012 at 2pm EST time and will be available for viewing on demand for a year. Register here.

The Conservatory likes to be in touch with all our grads and incoming students, or just anyone into audio. Our Myspace page gets a lot of traffic and we encourage you to get involved. Log in and hook up to all the latest news from CRAS, listen to tracks recorded in our studios and get to know the staff and students that make us what we are: one of the best audio schools in the industry.

photo caption: Ethan Willoughby mixing at the Record Plant

Audio engineer and CRAS grad Ethan Willoughby was killed by a drunk driver in Los Angeles on February 18. Willoughby graduated from the Conservatory in 1999 and went on to work under engineer Dave Pensado at the Enterprise in Burbank, CA. After 2 and 1/2 years, Willoughby struck out on his own and worked with the Rolling Stones, Busta Rhymes, the Game, Fergie, Sergio Mendes, Macy Gray, John Legend, Kelis, Common, and more.

Ethan is survived by his wife, Stephanie Cooper-Willoughby; daughters, Ava and Mycheala; sister, Catherine; and parents, John and Barbara Willoughby. You can learn more about Ethan on his Myspace page and see his discography at Artisdirect.

The Conservatory’s Instructors and staff wishes everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday