Lesson 1 - First Thoughts - Posted on 2013-04-12 by John Tanico

Dates of Sessions: 4/8-4/9
Time In: 10AM
Time Out: 2PM
Lesson #: 1

     So I've started my schooling in the recording industry for the second time. I can feel already, after only one week, that this is going to be a completely different experience than my previous one. The last time I was in school for recording was in 2007 when I graduated from high school. I was still young and naive, with little thought to my future. I completely disliked how it was a giant classroom with one mixing console all the way at the front of the room. The main goal was to compete with sixty other students, all trying to learn the same thing as me, just to get up to the console to look at all of the buttons and faders. Recording Connection is completely different.

      I arrived at Quad Studios on Monday morning with an incredible amount of excitement and nervous energy. The first day of anything important always makes a little jittery but as soon as I got upstairs and looked around the studio, I immediately relaxed. My mentor, Sax, asked me to come in an hour earlier than the rest of the students to get myself acclamated with the studio and to go over my first lesson assignment in detail, without having to worry about the other students. Once we started getting into the content and going over the questions and answers, it felt as if I had been talking to a long time friend, rather than a teacher who I've known for less than two hours. 

     Day one was a lot of watching the surroundings and other students interact with each other and with the gear; just really getting a feel for how the students operate within the studio. I helped setup microphones on a full drum kit along with a saxophone. We recorded many takes on different riffs with the drums and sax. I just kept watching the engineer work the console, taking notes on certain button functions and where they are located on the console. By the end, I helped break down the microphones we setup, wrapped up the microphone cables, put the stands back in height order along the wall, and finally returned the microphones we were using to the equipment room. End day one...

     Day two came and I was just as excited as the day before with absolutely no nervous energy. I got into the city early, bought a breakfast sandwich and a coffee, and sat at a table in Times Square and just took everything in. When it was time to go up to the studio I waited outside for a few other students to show up so I could talk and get to know them a little better. On day two, I learned a lot about the different racks and outboard gear. Everything from the patch points, mic-pre's, compressors, distressors, limiters, etc... For this lesson, Sax asked one of the other students, Max, to come up with a beat that we could record some live saxophone over, performed by the other teacher, Kevin. Again, I sat and took notes about the console and all of the other gear that was being used. When the class was almost over, Sax and Kevin sat down at the console and gave all of us great tips about mixing tracks on different speakers and at different volumes. End day two...

     Now that my first week at Quad Studios is finished, I can honestly say that I cannot wait to get in there again and learn more. I'm scheduled to go in every Monday & Tuesday from 10am-2pm. The way the class is setup is so much better than a traditional classroom. Learning all of the gear completely hands-on changes everything. The people who work at the studio are very nice and always accomodating. I couldn't ask for better students to learn with. All of us vary in our musical backgrounds and knowledge, which just adds to this experience. My mentor is a wildman but I love it. His knowledge about the business is absolutely mind-blowing. I can't wait for Monday...