Going into Weeks 3 through 6 - Posted on 2015-06-10 by Nick Drakos

Headig into weeks 3 through 5, I was beginning to be more help with the studio prior to when I started.

Week 3 

It was fairly short but important; we discussed in depth the importance of mastering tracks with correct bit depth and sampling rates and the reasons behind why different measurements would be used whether for digital downloads or compressing into cd format. I also sat in on a 7 hour session with Larry Luther as he produced/mixed a series of tracks from a hip hop group from West Virginia. There were no instruments involved; the clients simply brought in already mixed beats they purchased from various online resources and Larry proceeded to mix their vocals overtop of the recordings. 

Week 4 

This was probably the most in depth week thus far. We breezed through the chapter which basically summarized signal flow & connectivity. My mentor & I went over the chapter answering my questions when asked & then walked me through the studio going over which cables they used & why. We took the backside of the patch bay apart to see the wiring layout and the way it connected to the floor out to the studio - out to the mics. He familiarized me with how they get sound from their mics, into their floor panal, the floor panel to their patch bay, where the patch bay took the signal from the mics into their necessary preamps and back into ProTools. All terminology was reviewed. After this class, I helped my mentor come in on a weekend to setup mics for an upcoming band, so the class that was taught was actually applied hands on.

Week 5 & 6

These weeks I had to go out of town for a family trip as well as my mentor so not a lot was reviewed. I sat in on some more sessions and my opinion on the way tracks were being mixed was even taken into consideration. At this time though, I am more confident in speaking to clients & musicans that come in on whatever the subject. 

More to come.