TRACtalk

Countdown to the Degree Program - A Pictorial

2011-12-27T13:24:00.000-08:00

We're very excited for January 9, 2012, when we will welcome 9 students to The Recording Arts Center for a 10-month Associate Degree Program in Recording Arts! We'll be posting 1 photo per day to show you all what we're doing to get ready...follow us on Twitter at @TRACSanDiego to see the pics!

Pro Tools 10 classes start on January 7, 2012!

2011-12-05T11:11:00.000-08:00

We're excited about all the new features included in PTX! Here are just a few of them...

• The option to use 32-bit floating point processing
• Multi-format audio and multi bit-rate audio in the same session
• Significantly improved audio cacheing via RAM - allows for record and playback from network drives, raids, and previously unsupported USB drives
• Realtime fades and the integration of stereo interleaved files
• Regions are now referred to as "clips" throughout the program
• Avid Channel Strip plug-in included on all Pro Tools X systems
• Dynamics and EQ processors from the renowned Euphonix System-5 Console
• Clip-based gain, up to 36db change per clip in the edit window
• Improvements in Audio Suite functionality (handles now included when processing and multiple Audio Suite plug-in windows open at a time)
• Built-in iTunes and Sound Cloud support

We've scheduled an accelerated session of Pro Tools training for the first of the year, starting with Pro Tools 101 on January 7 - 9. Click here to see the full schedule or here to register!

4 Basic Tips For A Better Recording

2011-10-27T12:27:00.000-07:00

Have the entire band tune with the same tuner
Tuners can vary in their accuracy, so having the entire band tune with one tuner is a great way to ensure A = A for everyone. A hand-held tuner is about $30 bucks, but in a pinch Pro Tools comes with “TL InTune”, a plug-in tuner that can suffice. Have your musicians tune every 30 minutes to be sure tracks stay consistent.

Tune the drums before recording
Drums can – and should – be tuned. It isn’t difficult to Google your drum kit model and find out the “default” note to tune each drum. Drum Tuners can cost as little as $60 bucks and can stop a $700 kit from sounding like a $200 one. Without a tuner, drums can be hand-tuned by ear and feeling the amount of tension around the circumference of the drumhead.

Record to a click track
A performance that’s very close to perfect can easily be edited to perfection with built-in Pro Tools editing power to snap the performance together. Beat Detective and/or Elastic Time can help maintain the groove of drums and align the beats with the click and tempo meter. Then Elastic Time can be used to warp the bass performance to the drums. Basic editing – simple copy and pasting or nudging – can always be used to ensure the entire band hits on a downbeat or finale of a track.

Use a DI with your guitar and bass
Some amps don’t translate well through any microphone. Recording through a DI allows you to mix amp modelers like Eleven or Chrome Tone with your amp signal to beef it up. This helps to minimize the bleed from other instruments or the buzz from a noisy amp.

Brandon Papsidero
Engineer, Studio West of San Diego
Instructor, "Signal Processing with Waves"

Congratulations to Our First Avid Media Composer Certified User!

2011-10-25T12:17:00.000-07:00

Michael Gervais, a TRAC student from Los Angeles, recently attended our Avid Media Composer Certification course. At the end of 5 intensive days he took the Certification Exam and passed it with flying colors! Congrats, Michael!

How to Clean Up Drum Recordings

2011-10-17T13:35:00.000-07:00

This article outlines a few ways drum tracks can be cleaned up and better prepared for a mix.

Kick
Placing a gate on your “kick in” microphone (the mic inside the kick drum) is useful, but many times the snare still bleeds into the track. Gating the kick in track to open and close off a side chain input can fix this problem easily.

If you have a subkick track (using the Yamaha Subkick microphone), make a mono aux send from that track into in internal bus. If you don’t have a subkick track, duplicate your kick in track and create an aux send from that. Be sure that this track doesn’t contain any snare bleed using an EQ if needed.

On the original kick in track, use a C1 Gate plug-in, or another gate that has a sidechain option. Select the internal bus that correlates to the aux send previously made.

Now the kick in track will only open when the gate is triggered by the alternate track, and since that track has less snare bleed than the kick in track, the snare bleed no longer comes through the gate.

Toms
The toms are notoriously problematic when it comes to bleed from cymbals and snares. Using a gate with a sidechain can be helpful, but sometimes manually editing the track is the best option. Solo each track and gently create fade ins and fade outs around tom hits, making sure the transition between hits is natural. Any unnatural side effect from the editing should be avoided.

Cleaning up tom tracks will help give the cymbals (from the overhead and rooms) much better dimension and clarity. It will also allow for significant compression on the toms without changing the overall snare and cymbal levels in the mix.

Time-aligning tracks
When a drum is hit, the direct microphone picks up the signal first, and the overheads pick up the signal just 3 to 4 milliseconds afterward, since the sound takes longer to arrive.

For a mix with significant overhead level, nudging your snare and tom tracks just enough to align with the overhead signal might improve the sound of the mix, just by correcting small phase correlations. Zooming into the tracks can confirm the measurement in milliseconds.

You may want to try another stylistic technique, adjusting the timing of the room microphones for effect. How do they sound aligned directly with the overheads, versus 20 milliseconds later? Or 40?

Brandon Papsidero
Engineer, Studio West of San Diego
Instructor, "Signal Processing with Waves"

VENUE D-Show is in the house!

2011-09-06T10:33:00.000-07:00

VENUE D-Show has arrived at TRAC!

VENUE 110V and 210V classes start on November 1st, 2011.

Mark and Gary are at Avid HQ in the Bay Area this week to pick up another console, the VENUE Profile, so we'll soon have two full VENUE systems here in San Diego for your hands-on instruction. Find out more about Venue classes at TRAC here.

Avid Media Composer and Pro Tools for Game Audio

2011-08-03T08:25:00.000-07:00

Avid Media Composer - TRAC is now an official testing location

Jesse just finished up another session of Avid Media Composer, leading his students through exercises on capturing media, enhancing audio, creating motion effects and more. He was also able to administer the certification exam at the end of the course, since TRAC is now an authorized testing location (and, for a limited time, we can offer the exam at no extra charge!)

Pro Tools 130 - not just for Gamers anymore!

Anyone interested in improving their editing techniques in Pro Tools will benefit from this class. If you've taken Pro Tools classes with us in the past, you know that we run at a pretty fast pace to get through all the material covered in each book. While Pro Tools 130 does expose you to the workflows involved in producing audio elements for the video game environment, much of the class focuses on editing techniques. This makes it a perfect way to reinforce the Pro Tools editing skills you learned in 101, 110, and even 201.

TRAC Alumni Do Full Live Record for Johannes Linstead

2011-07-05T14:50:00.000-07:00

On June 22, TRAC alumni (and current Studio West interns) Hunter Levy, Henrique Landim, Joel De Witt and Alfonso Wong set up and ran a live sound session for spanish guitar virtuoso Johannes Linstead. The guys ran the FOH (front of house sound) and did a full live record of Johannes' show with Pro Tools HD. They took one Digi 192 that had 16 inputs and 16 outputs, 2 Digi pres (for a total of 16 pre amps), a 4-channel headphone amp (for monitoring), a few select mics from Studio West's mic locker, four DI (direct input) boxes for the guitars and bass and a Mac Pro Computer.

Here's what they had to say about the gig:

Recording live shows has an added edge to it because you can't afford to have anything go wrong during the record. There are no re-takes or punch-ins. You are also in an environment that can lend itself to surprises! For example, feeback in the house sound would mean you have feedback in your recording as well. In this case, we were recording a full band all standing within a few feet of each other, so mic placement was very important to reduce bleed from other instruments as much as possible. This record went very smoothly, and I think everyone had a lot of fun and worked really well together. -- Hunter Levy, TRAC alum and Studio West Intern Program Manager

For this live record we utilized a nice selection of mics from Studio West, including SM81s for cymbals, SM57s for snare and congas, a spaced pair of AKG 414s as drums/percussion overheads, a couple of KMS 105s as audience mics, a Sennheiser 421 for the bass and a SM58 for the vocals. We also utilized a couple of JDIs for the acoustic guitars and a Countryman DI to get a clean signal from the bass. All the microphones were plugged into a splitter, which sent the mic signal both to the live mixer and to Pro Tools. The live performance was recorded through a couple of Digi pres into a Pro Tools HD9 system. The Pro Tools HD rig (Digi pres, 192, Mac Pro, Headphone amp, etc.) was set up at one of the corners of the stage, behind black curtains that separated it from the backstage area, and was only illuminated by the computer screen and one blue lamp, so we dubbed this area "The Blue Room". After setting everything up and doing the mic and sound check we were able to press "record" and enjoy Johannes' amazing show. I was really impressed with the group's ability to tell the stories of the places they'd traveled through their music, making us feel like we were actually in those places as they were playing. All the band members were very nice to us and seemed pretty happy with the gig, not only because of the enthusiastic audience response but because of the sound quality, which made us proud of a job well done. It was a really enjoyable experience for me as a live music enthusiast and as an aspiring Recording Engineer! -- Henrique Landim, TRAC alum and current Studio West intern

I really enjoy live sound so it was a great experience to set up for the show as well as record it. The musicians were all very easy going and extremely talented so it was great working with them. Johannes was also kind enough to give each of us a signed copy of his CD. -- Joel De Witt, TRAC alum and current Studio West intern

Congratulations to Our Newest Pro Tools 9 Post Production Experts!

2011-06-29T10:10:00.000-07:00

Congratulations are in order for Martin Fitrzyk and Sal Agostino, our two most recent Pro Tools Expert Certification graduates. Both Sal and Martin completed the 310-level Post Certification in Pro Tools version 9.

(Pictured at right, L-R: Sal Agostino, TRAC Instructor Mark Kirchner, Martin Fitrzyk)

Sal is a long-time TRAC alum who started his classes with us back in August of 2007. He is the Media Studios Supervisor for audio and video at Sea World here in San Diego and he has been putting his Pro Tools chops to good use on new summer shows such as One Ocean, Believe, and Blue Horizon.

Martin is an independent sound designer, post production editor and production sound recordist based in Los Angels. Having composed music for years, Martin is no newbie to audio production. Recently, however, he's been using the skills acquired in his post certification training to land jobs in film and television commercial work.

TRAC Goes Video

2011-03-17T16:11:00.000-07:00

Mark, Gary and Jesse retuned from Avid HQ recently...a little tired, a little battle-worn, but all proudly waving their Media Composer Instructor certificates! Which means...TRAC will begin offering video editing classes in April 2011!

Avid Media Composer is the industry standard video editing application used in making Hollywood film and television shows..and now you can use it t home. If you've wanted to learn the art of video editing, this comprehensive 5 day class covers all the fundamentals. And as a registered TRAC student you can purchase a full-featured copy Avid Media Composer software for $295!

Pics and Tunes from Audio Recording Techniques

2011-01-25T12:03:00.001-08:00

For the last round of Audio Recording Techniques we recruited the talent of TRAC Alum Sarah Dorrian, who sang and played guitar as students and interns from Studio West learned about micing, routing, patching and more. Listen to her track here. Next, they were joined by our "house band" (Peter Dyson on drums, Henrique Landim on bass, Hunter Levy on guitar and vox) who covered The Undertones' "Teenage Kicks". Listen.

News from NAMM

2011-01-17T10:20:00.000-08:00

Peter and Mark visited NAMM yesterday expecting smaller crowds...only to find the place was still packed! Mark took a beta version of Avid's new User Certification Exam and got through the 100 questions in 30 minutes (the bar has been set!). Avid's plan is to redesign the certification process so both the video and audio sides of the house follow the same rules...we'll be posting news here and on the site about the new criteria and new levels of certification, so stay tuned!

TRAC Alum Records Debut EP at Studio West

2010-12-20T12:23:00.000-08:00

TRAC Alum Hunter Levy is the singer/guitarist of San Diego-based heavy rock band Chanauk, who recorded their debut EP in Studio A of Studio West last week. The band chose engineer and TRAC instructor Kellogg Boynton to record and mix the project, based on his reputation and extensive Pro Tools expertise. Here’s what Hunter and the band had to say about the recording process:

“While most engineers use a direct signal for recording, Kellogg utilized a collection of microphones that gave me a great sound - big, growly and thick, it really provides a solid foundation for our songs.” -Rob Jones, bassist

“The best equipment combined with Kellogg’s knowledge at the helm enabled me to really dial in great clean and overdriven tones. This was definitely the most comfortable and non-intrusive recording experience I’ve ever had.” -Tyler Alvord, guitarist

“Kellogg was a very compassionate and welcoming engineer. It really helped having an engineer that understands the difficulty of having to record first out of the whole band. I also didn’t expect to be able to get such a great sound from my kit, which is optimized more toward a live setting.” -Nic Gentilella, drummer

“I love recording guitars at Studio West because they always turn out professional, especially compared to recording at home. You know you’re at an awesome studio when the studio owner’s wife brings you pastries in the morning.” -Hunter Levy, singer/guitarist

This Holiday Season...

2010-12-13T16:25:00.000-08:00

...is in full swing! TRAC is celebrating 5 fantastic years of training and our home base, Studio West, is about to turn 40!

This past Friday, Our Man Jesse got the chance to watch a live set by Plain White T's in Studio A (that's him in the back row, 3rd from left). Here's how it went:

The band performed a 3-song acoustic set for an intimate gathering of 40 fans, closing with their biggest hit, "Hey There Delilah". The session was also streamed live over Slacker Radio and recorded for a potential future broadcast.

The five-member band brought in three acoustic guitars and a ukulele, and shakers and tambourines for the percussionist. All of the instruments and voices were recorded in to Pro Tools HD 8 at 24 bit/96Khz and returned to Studio A's SSL 4064E Console for mixdown. Each vocalist sang through an SM7b microphone except for lead singer Tom Higgenson, who sang through a U87 into a Teletronix LA-2A. Every microphone was routed through a Neve 1073 Preamp before being sent into Pro Tools.

Check Studio West's site for more photos and info!

TRAC alum returns to help fellow students

2010-11-02T13:44:00.000-07:00

Dan Stelter, who joined us for several Pro Tools classes, Audio Recording Techniques (ART), Signal Processing with Waves and The Art of Mixing, will come back in this week to play for our latest group of ART students. The students will prep Dan's session, practice micing techniques and routing, and track some tunes. Stay tuned for photos!

TRAC catalog now available for download

2010-09-30T10:04:00.000-07:00

Click here to download a .pdf version of our catalog, or give us a call at 858 592 0556 and we'll snail mail a hard copy to your door!

Classes added for October

2010-09-28T13:46:00.000-07:00

Additional sessions of Pro Tools 210M and Pro Tools 220 have been added to the schedule for October....

If you got your Operator Certification in Pro Tools 6 or 7, PT220 is the course you need to get up to speed with version 8! We'll be meeting October 29 & 30 to discuss both Music Production and Post Production topics.

And if you're looking to get your Pro Tools Operator certification quick, we put another PT210M on the schedule for October 26 - 28 so we still have room for you!

New Photos from "Audio Recording Techniques"

2010-09-10T10:56:00.001-07:00

One of the major benefits to having our school reside within a working commercial studio is getting to use the rooms for training! Last week, students in "Audio Recording Techniques" got to spend some quality time in Studio A, learning about the SSL, routing, patching, micing and more....

Nothing so constant as change....

2010-07-27T09:34:00.000-07:00

TRAC has seen it's share of changes - ahem, upgrades - over the past few years and 2011 will be no exception! As we prepare to offer new and expanded training services we've brought on a Director of Admissions, so the next time you hear a friendly Texas drawl on the other end of the line you'll know you've met Jesse Maxson! We're very pleased to have Jesse on board and know our students will really like working with him, so stop by the studio the next time you're in the neighborhood....

So...as for the new stuff: Media Composer, VENUE, Waves Gold...see anything you like? New classes will be added to the schedule over the next few months so keep an eye out. We'll also be picking up where we left off with the San Diego Pro Tools User Group meetings, each focusing on a particular element of Pro Tools which deserves further exploration. You can get in on the action by heading over to sdptug.org and letting us know exactly what you want to learn more about.

And...the expanded stuff: The TRAC staff is currently pooling our talents and resources to build a 9-month degree program in Recording Arts! Look for updates here or on the site, and let us know if you'd be interested in enrolling....

More talent!

2010-07-12T15:07:00.000-07:00

TRAC students attending Audio Recording Techniques this week will get to step into the studio with Soundescape and Jordan Reimer and get hands-on experience tracking these artists in Studio A and Studio C at Studio West of San Diego

New photos!

2010-04-29T11:51:00.000-07:00

We've updated our original training room and built a brand new one - check 'em out!

TRAC Student Testimonial

2010-04-19T12:06:00.000-07:00

A few kind words from a former student and current intern at Studio West....

"I began playing music when I was in the second grade. It came fairly naturally to me and I always had fun playing whatever instrument I was into at the time. As a youth it was mostly a hobby for me and it wasn’t until I moved to California and picked up a guitar that I really started to get serious and passionate about pursuing music as a career.

That was six years ago, when I received my degree in hospitality management and began working in hotels and restaurants. Early on, in the back of my mind, I knew it wasn’t what I wanted to do with the rest of my life, but I didn’t really know how to go about breaking into the music business. After playing in a few different bands and writing some of my own music, I began to realize that I wanted to learn about music recording and production to really diversify my skill set and better prepare myself for the future.

I spent months looking into all sorts of different programs, from community colleges, graduate programs, the Musicians Institute, and local studios as well. It seemed like an impossible decision until I made a visit to The Recording Arts Center at Studio West. Immediately after taking a tour and meeting with the staff, I knew it was the program I wanted to get involved in.

As a student I had access to state of the art equipment, expert instructors, small class sizes, and networking opportunities with other music enthusiasts from Californians, east-coasters, and folks from as far away as Mexico City. Most important for me was the level of personal attention that I received as a student. No matter how busy things were at the studio, whenever I called with a question, someone would take time out of their day to speak with me. That made a lasting impression with me. The other great part about the classes is that you can tailor them to your goals, whether it’s to learn how to work your own project studio or to become a certified Pro Tools Operator.

Once I received my operator certification in music production, I started working as an intern at Studio West. The welcoming and family-like environment I enjoyed as a student has continued and it feels like I’ve been there for years, even though it’s only been months. The smaller size of the studio has given me many more opportunities to work on a variety of projects in a short amount of time, which I feel would be considerably more limited in larger facilities in cities like L.A. and New York. These have included tracking, session set-up and break-down, mixing, working on a weekly radio call-in show, and I’ve even had opportunities to work off site with film and music celebrities.

The program allows you to progress at your own rate while challenging you to become creative and resourceful by working autonomously on projects. Problem solving is an essential skill for engineers to be successful and the staff is there to support you 100 percent. They genuinely want to see you realize your goals and I feel like I am getting the best possible preparation for a tough industry.

Having a career in music seemed like an unattainable dream for so long and my internship is making that dream seem more like a real future every day. I feel truly lucky to be a part of the team at TRAC and Studio West and for all the skills that I have learned and will continue to learn for as long as I can."

Coming this fall...live sound and VENUE!

2010-04-02T10:11:00.000-07:00

Starting this fall, TRAC will be offering classes and certification in VENUE. Pro Tools 110V and Pro Tools 210V will focus on the essential skills required to operate a VENUE system in a live sound environment through comprehensive, hands-on training on a VENUE D-Show or Profile control surface and cover system hardware as well as software configuration. Stay tuned for dates!

The Tuesday Tutor Series

2010-03-16T14:23:00.000-07:00

February's "Tuesday Tutor" was a success! Caleb helped the group break Elastic Audio down into its basic components, and explained how to use it in everyday sessions. They learned how to fix the timing of drums, match loops to a session’s tempo, align vocal tracks, and change the phrasing of audio sections, all non-destructively with Elastic Audio.

Interested in joining us for the next meeting? Head over to sdptug.org and sign up!

New Music From The Latest Audio Recording Techniques Course

2010-02-01T15:01:00.000-08:00

We just recently finished up our most recent Audio Recording Techniques (ART) course which meant we brought in a local band for the students to record. Once loaded into Studio A at Studio West, the boys from Echo Revolution wasted no time laying down the basic tracks for their song "Spring Time". The students did a fantastic job of tracking the band through the SSL 4000 series console into Pro Tools HD. Here is the rough mix of the song. You can check out the band on their website at www.echorevolution.com or on Myspace at http://www.myspace.com/echorevolution.

Spring Time by Echo Revolution

The Tuesday Tutor Series

2010-01-08T13:19:00.000-08:00

Starting in February, TRAC will hold bi-monthly "mini-training" sessions focusing on specific topics like Beat Detective, Elastic Audio and Keyboard Shortcuts, to name just a few. These sessions will be open to any interested parties and we expect them to fill up fast! For more info call Caleb or Amy at 858 592 0556.

Happy New Year from TRAC and Studio West!

2010-01-06T11:18:00.000-08:00

Our favorite little bits of 2009...

2009-12-15T13:41:00.000-08:00

January -- A member of our staff celebrated a milestone birthday and we all gathered at the party, which turned out to be a private concert by Glen Phillips (Toad the Wet Sprocket, Works Progress Administration)
February -- Pro Tools grads booked time in Studio West's edit suites, Studio C and Studio A, flexing their newly formed engineering muscles
March -- TRAC and Studio West kicked off the first meeting of the San Diego Pro Tools User Group and we spent the evening finding out "What's New and Great in Pro Tools 8"
April -- We closed the downtown room and refocused on our North County space, upgrading all the systems and giving the room a little more "vibe"
May -- Two more Pro Tools grads accepted internship positions at Studio West
June -- TRAC graduated it's first father/son Certified Music Operator team
July -- Another member of our staff proposed to his lovely girlfriend...and she accepted!
August -- We gathered two more outstanding engineers into the training fold and watched the stellar reviews come pouring in
September -- Audio Recording Techniques got an overhaul and an upgrade and eager students poured into Studio A to track live
October -- We logged our 150th Pro Tools class
November -- The new D-Control console was installed in Studio B, ICON Mixer classes started rolling, and everyone coveted the comfy new control room chairs
December -- We finalized plans for an all-HD training space and set the date to break ground.

Hope you have many of your own favorite moments of 2009 to recount...we'd love to hear about them!

Happy holidays from your friends at TRAC

The Top 10 Reasons to Train at TRAC

2009-12-10T12:56:00.000-08:00

10. Learn all about recording audio in a working commercial studio.

9. Network with audio engineers, producers, artists and professional DJs.

8. All enrolled students get a discount at the Digidesign online store: 40% off Pro Tools LE and 50% off selected plug-ins. This discount is effective as soon as you register, and has no expiration date.

7. TRAC students are eligible for student discounts on McDSP plug-ins and bundles.

6. Pro Tools 110 includes a free Digidesign plug-in, and there are 5 to choose from.

5. Edit Suites at Studio West are available to students to use for practice or to work on their independent projects.

4. Signal Processing with Waves includes 5 free plug-ins: Renaisance EQ, Renaissance Compressor, C1 Parametric Compander, Renaissance Reverb and Super Tap.

3. TRAC students enjoy deep discounts on studio time at Studio West.

2. When an internship position needs to be filled at Studio West, TRAC students are considered first.

...and the number one reason to train at TRAC:

1. Didn't get it the first time around? Come on back and take the class again...for FREE.

Pictures of the Reconstruction

2009-12-09T15:41:00.000-08:00

Studio B is complete and fabulous, sporting a shiny new D-Control...

...and Studio C is next! Then we break ground on our second, HD-dedicated training room. Nothing so constant as change! More pics coming soon....

Now enrolling! Pro Tools 205: D-Command

2009-09-24T10:55:00.000-07:00

This 1-day course covers techniques for mixing, routing and monitoring through a D-Command control surface.

Here's what you will learn:

- Control surface basics: configuring the control surface, track display control and dedicatedcontrols for Pro Tools functions
- Track basics: track elements and controls, Digidesign PRE and the control surface
- Displays/scribble scripst, encoders, pans, sends and inserts: pan contraols, assigning inserts, sends and I/Os, send control
- Controlling plug-ins: viewing and editing plug-ins, plug-in mapping
- Automation: enabling automation modes with the control surface, writing autiomation with the control surface
- Advanced operation and editing: creating and adjusting selections with the control surface, edit functions, soft keys
- Groups and VCAs: grouping tracks, VCA control, VCA Master Track attributes
- Custom faders: Custom Fader Groups mode, Mix/Edit Groups mode, Masters (Tracks) mode
- Advanced automation techniques: Preview and Capture modes
- Monitor controls: inputs and outputs, cue section, monitor control switches and indicators, talkback section

Coming soon...ICON certification!

2009-09-11T13:34:00.000-07:00

From the Digidesign website:

The Digidesign® ICON integrated console environment has become the most in-demand mixing platform at major post-production and music recording facilities around the world, and if you’re looking to move your ICON skills way ahead of the pack, now’s the perfect time to become a Certified ICON Mixer.

Digidesign is introducing a new educational program that offers in-depth, hands-on ICON D-Control™ training by Digidesign-certified ICON instructors (that's us! :). Pro Tools® 310I: Advanced ICON Mixing Techniques provides proper comprehensive training, allowing you to gain invaluable insight and knowledge of ICON, the D-Control worksurface, and its integration with Pro Tools. It will also quickly elevate your ICON skills to a level that typically takes much longer when self taught. Plus, you’ll acquire all of the expertise necessary to unleash the creative power of ICON as you shape and sharpen your skills for prime time in the industry.

Stay current with industry trends and technologies by signing up for ICON training today.

Check the schedule at tracsd.com for course dates!

New Pro Tools Bundles Announced

2009-09-10T13:35:00.000-07:00

Check out this announcement from Macworld...

Avid releases Pro Tools Essesntial bundles

a closer look at Audio Recording Techniques

2009-09-03T10:19:00.000-07:00

We've recently revamped our Audio Recording Techniques class, making it more hands-on and detailed than ever!

This past weekend, TRAC students learned all about the fundamentals of recording audio...they talked about sound waves, microphones, amplifiers, Pro Tools and more. If it can be found in a recording studio, these folks learned about it! They were also invited to bring in their own gear for demos or troubleshooting.

After Labor Day, the group will meet again and this time they will spend their days in the state-of-the-art studios of Studio West! They'll track a local singer/songwriter in Studio C and then step into Studio A to record drums, guitars and vocals for an up-and-coming local band.

The ultimate pledge of love....

2009-07-07T09:56:00.000-07:00

It's so rewarding to watch a student move through each level of Pro Tools training, learning new skills, honing their craft. But when, after countless hours of study and finger-cramping shortcut practice, one of those students makes a bid for Expert Cerification, well...it's downright exciting.

The Expert Exam at TRAC is a day-long, one-on-one intensive and practical demonstration of Pro Tools skills. In many ways, it is a rite of passage. But those who manage to pass it are deemed worthy of Expert Certification and wear their status proudly.

Some more so than others.

Congratulations, Mr. C. Your dedication paid off and your devotion is unquestionable.

June McDSP discount for TRAC students

2009-05-28T13:25:00.000-07:00

Get yer gear here!

McDSP has just announced a June special, which will give TRAC students 20% off Emerald Pack HD and Native, Classic Pack HD and Native, and upgrades to those bundles. Enroll with us anytime between now and June 30 to take advantage of this discount!

New Pro Tools Forum

2009-05-22T10:39:00.000-07:00

Check out Caleb's Pro Tools forum at http://sdptug.proboards.com!

The next SDPTUG meeting...

2009-05-16T13:51:00.000-07:00

The latest from the San Diego Pro Tools User Group board:

Dear Pro Tools Friends,

Have you ever had one of those months where sleep is not an option because your to do list occupies all 24 hours of every day? In my dictionary, that is called April. Rest assured though, that the SDPTUG is alive and well, and growing!

We are working out the final details for our next meeting. We are shooting for sometime near the end of May or beginning of June. The location and topic details will follow soon.

Thanks for standing by!

- Caleb

TRAC grads get a summer gig....

2009-05-13T10:08:00.000-07:00

Two TRAC graduates have accepted a summer gig with the San Diego County Fair putting their Pro Tools skills to use! Operating a mobile recording studio, the grads will make it possible for fairgoers to go into a sound booth, record vocals over a song of their choice and leave with a CD. Both candidates were selected based on their skills with Pro Tools and with people...(sniff!)...we're so proud....

TRAC congratulates Pullman Standard on winning the Your Song for San Diego contest

2009-04-03T12:19:00.000-07:00

San Diego – XETV San Diego 6 – Home of the CW announced the winner of the Your Song For San Diego contest on Monday, March 15 on their morning news show. Local band Pullman Standard penned the winning song, “Our Town.” The song was chosen from nearly 150 entries, and it will be the musical cornerstone of San Diego 6 TV’s new image campaign for the station. Pullman Standard received a prize package for their winning song, including $2500 worth of studio time at Studio West, interviews and airplay of the song on 91X Loudspeaker and KPRI’s Homegrown Hour with Astra Kelly, acknowledgement in San Diego CityBeat, appearances on San Diego 6 in the Morning and San Diego Living and starring roles in a music video shot for the song. The music video, which will feature the band and San Diego 6 on-air personalities will debut sometime this month on air and on the station’s website at: www.SanDiego6.com.

“We are thrilled with this song,” says Judy Albrecht, Creative Services Director for San Diego 6. “It perfectly captures the feel and vibe of our beautiful city, and it’s really hooky. Everybody loves it and can’t stop singing it.” The contest, Albrecht’s brainchild, was open to San Diego based bands and solo artists who wanted to write an original song about San Diego. It was launched late last fall and yielded almost 150 song entries. Judges from San Diego 6, Studio West, 91X and KPRI selected “Our Town” as the winner based on criteria like memorability, universal appeal, lyric content, and quality of the artists. “We listened to a lot of entries that were good,” says producer Marti Amado, who helped the band produce the final studio version of the song at Studio West, “but ‘Our Town’ had something special. The lyrics were fun, the music felt good and we all agreed that Pullman Standard was a really talented band.”

Pullman Standard is Timothy Daniels on guitars and vocals, Dale Peters on drums and Austin Smith on bass and vocals. “This has been an amazing experience for us,” says Peters. “It has been a really great couple of weeks. We’re so excited about the exposure we’ve gotten and people we’ve met through the contest,” he adds. Peters and Daniels played in another band
together (Getty City) before joining forces with Smith and forming Pullman Standard. Six months young, the band intends to use the momentum from winning the contest and the media appearances to perform and record more. “It’s given us a boost for sure,” says Peters. Much of the bands’ writing has been in a heavier rock genre, but they felt that the contest called for a song with a lighter touch. “It was a good challenge to write something for a specific purpose about a specific subject,” adds Peters. “We thought that happy, feel good music fit San Diego’s endless summer vibe!”

The final studio version of “Our Town” was recorded and mixed by Kellogg Boynton IV at Studio West and co-produced by independent producer Marti Amado and Pullman Standard. The “Our Town” music video shoots were directed by San Diego 6 TV’s Issac Cadriel, Chief Photojournalist, and were shot on location at Studio West during the music session, and around San Diego at local hot spots and hangouts. The San Diego 6 camera crew included Chris Pheil, Senior Promo Producer, Darris Cooper, Jib operator and Sean Dailey, Jib camera specialist. Pheil and Stephanie Yang will handle video post-production for the station’s image campaign and for the music video. “This has been a great project all around,” says Albrecht. “Our crew got to stretch out creatively on the music video, we’ll end up with a fabulous song driving our campaign and we feel really good about being able to help launch a really talented local band.”

Additional session added...

2009-03-31T13:26:00.001-07:00

If you're ready to go for your Pro Tools Operator certificate in Music Production and were thinking that April would be the perfect month to do it and then you stopped by our site and exclaimed, "(GASP!) The class is full!", do not fear.

We have added a second session, from April 20 - 22, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. each day. The class will meet at Studio West and will be taught by the inimitable Mr. Caleb Keiter.

Hope to see you there!

(Quick! Three seats have been taken already!)

Success!

2009-03-27T10:02:00.001-07:00

On Tuesday, March 24, TRAC and Studio West hosted the very first meeting of the San Diego Pro Tools User Group! There was a great turnout - a very diverse group of industry professionals, retailers, educators, new users and old pros. Caleb did a detailed demo of Pro Tools 8 with a focus on Elastic Audio and Elastic Pitch, Mark introduced the group to engineering luminary Eric Thorngren, and we even got to give a way some cool swag from McDSP and the grand prize...a copy of Pro Tools 8! You don't want to miss the next meeting - go to www.sdptug.org to sign up!

SDPTUG meeting

2009-02-24T13:12:00.000-08:00

The first meeting of the San Diego Pro Tools User Group is officially on the calendar! Come join Instructioneer Extraordinaire Caleb Keiter for an evening of news, tips and general Pro Tools geekiness!

When: Tuesday, March 24 @ 6:30pm
Where: Studio West "Studio A" - 11021 Via Frontera Suite A, San Diego, CA, 92127
What: What's New & Great in Pro Tools 8

SDPTUG

2008-12-03T22:06:00.000-08:00

Hey Gang!

I know Amy posted this earlier but I have to repeat it.

You simply MUST head over to www.sdptug.org and sign up. This is something that we are EXTREMELY excited about! How cool would it be to have a room FULL of Pro Tools lovers, both experienced veterans and newbies alike, swapping tips, tricks, and general PT love?

I think it would be rather cool! But, you don't want to miss the party do you? So go sign up!

(why are you still here?)

www.sdptug.org

-Caleb

San Diego Pro Tools User Group

2008-12-02T13:40:00.000-08:00

SDPTUG (or, the San Diego Pro Tools User Group) is up and running at sdptug.org! Stop by and trawl for tips and tricks, or join in the discussion....

Dynamics Processors Side-Chaining...Oh My!

2008-11-19T17:04:00.000-08:00

Hey folks. In my quest to educate the masses on how to make music sound better, I have posted an in depth tutorial all about side chain processing on my website:

Pro Tools Tip - Side Chaining

I think you should check it out. Heck, go crazy even and leave some comments!

Caleb!

P.S. For Christmas this year, I am giving you... PRO TOOLS 210M from Dec 16-18 at our Downtown San Diego TRAC location. Give us a call if you want a Pro Tools Operator certificate under your Christmas Tree!

A sneak peek at Pro Tools 8

2008-11-18T10:55:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, December 2, 7:00 p.m. at ProSound...

Professional Sound and Music of San Diego will present a first look at the upcoming Digidesign ProTools 8 release. Digidesign will be releasing this major new upgrade to their market-leading Digital Audio Workstation software on or about December 10. Come to the seminar and learn why this will change your music production life! Digidesign Factory experts will be there demonstrating the amazing new feature set and can show you how to pre-order your upgrade.

Call (619) 583-7851 to reserve a spot at the seminar...and tell 'em TRAC sent ya!

The 003 Rack+ Factory is Here!

2008-11-11T21:20:00.000-08:00

With Pro Tools 8 just around the corner (I'm so excited!), Digidesign has done it again by releasing the 003 Rack+ Factory. I have been a 002 Rack owner for many years now, and like most owners of that system, all we ever wanted (aside from a Word Clock connector) was MORE PREAMPS! Well folks, now you can have your cake AND eat it too. With the new 003 Rack+ Factory, you have 8 analog inputs with mic preamps, 8 analog outs, 8 I/O via an ADAT cable, 2 I/O via S/PDIF, Word Clock, AND MIDI! How do they squeeze all that into one box? I dunno, but you should take a look!

Digidesign 003 Rack + Factory

Stay tuned for Pro Tools 8!

-Caleb

YOUR SONG SAN DIEGO - songwriting contest

2008-11-05T10:32:00.000-08:00

San Diego – XETV San Diego 6 – New Home of the CW, Studio West/The Recording Arts Center and San Diego City Beat, a weekly alternative newspaper, are partnering with KPRI Radio/The Homegrown Hour and 91X Radio to promote a city-wide music contest for an original song about San Diego – the “Your Song for San Diego Contest.” The winning song will be used by XETV as a Theme Song for San Diego 6 (SD 6) and the prize package for winning writer(s) includes $2500 of recording studio time, radio air-play and appearances on SD 6 TV. Original songs may be submitted in person or by mail, on a CD, between 5:00 am, October 27th, 2008 and 5:00 pm, January 30th, 2009 (PST). Winner will be announced in February, 2009. For more details or to download an official registration form, visit: www.SanDiego6.com.

Click here to check out the promotional spot being run on SD6!!

More winners!

2008-11-05T10:24:00.000-08:00

Congratulations our 100th Pro Tools Class contest winners! Gil Munoz won a FREE Pro Tools 101 class and Kevin Mankins won $100 off his next enrollment. Thanks to everyone who made our week so special and successful!

Our 100th Pro Tools class!

2008-10-17T12:28:00.000-07:00

On October 27 we will start another session of Pro Tools 101 - but it's not just any session...it's our 100th class! And it wouldn't be a party if there weren't a big ol' cake, balloons, and someone in a giant dinosaur costume. Well, maybe we'll skip that last bit...but we will be partying like its 2009, so stop by the studio, join in the festivities and put your name in the hat to win a FREE Pro Tools class courtesy of your friends at TRAC!

(directions to the party here)

We have a winner!

2008-10-10T10:55:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Christy Gilardi who won a free Pro Tools class at TRAC! Christy is the frontwoman of DarZana and also the Director of the San Diego Day Jams Rock Music Day Camp, a 2 week summer program through the National Guitar Workshop. She's excited about her prize and so are we! Keep an eye on the site for more contests....

Loudness Wars & General Digital Geekiness

2008-10-01T13:46:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone in internet land! Thanks for keeping up with the TRAC blog. I just wanted to let everyone know that I just posted a rather lengthy article on my personal site that discusses the loudness wars and has a good deal of digital information included. Be warned, this article has binary code involved. Read at your own risk (enjoyment).

Here is the link:
Caleb's Site

Caleb!

TRAC on musicconnection.com

2008-09-26T11:12:00.000-07:00

Music Connection is featuring TRAC this week for their Friday Freebie! Want to win a free Pro Tools 101 course?

McDSP discount for TRAC students

2008-09-06T12:51:00.000-07:00

McDowell Signal Processors (McDSP) has just announced their September Specials: for this month only the Academic Discount will bring their Project Studio bundle down to $95 (regularly $495), Emerald Pack Native will be $495 (regularly $1495), and Emerald Pack HD will be $995 (regularly $2795).

This is just one of the many great discounts TRAC students enjoy; if you've been thinking about getting some training let us know so we can share this discount with you!

Pro Tools Tips from TRAC

2008-09-05T09:33:00.000-07:00

When he's not busy recording, mixing, instructing, running, biking or swimming, our own Caleb Keiter hunkers down for some quality time with his laptop and shares his pearls of Pro Tools wisdom with the rest of us....You can check it out here.

Now enrolling...the Music Creation program

2008-09-02T14:42:00.000-07:00

We're getting ready to roll out another session of our Music Creation program and hope you can join us!

Four courses make up this program, perfect for the home studio owner or music hobbyist:

Audio Recording Techniques, focusing on the key principles of sound, hearing and acoustics...

Pro Tools 101, an introduction to and hands-on experience with the industry's leading recording software...

Signal Processing with Waves, a complete interactive training program for mastering Waves processors that includes $500 worth of plug-ins, and

The Art of Mixing, designed to give you a thorough understanding of the art of mixing: the overall process and the specific software and hardware tools used to achieve professional results.

The program starts October 11 and space is limited, so go to the TRAC site or call toll free 866 915 5835 to register!

Check out our ad in Music Connection....

2008-08-28T11:15:00.001-07:00

Click on the image to enlarge it and read the "fine print" (a coupon!)

Great turnout for the Raise Your Level tour

2008-08-20T11:18:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who came to Studio West / TRAC last night for Digidesign's San Diego stop of the Raise Your Level tour! We all got an eyeful - and earful - of the D-Command, as well as a Transfuser demo. The folks from Digi gave away a copy of Transfuser to one lucky attendee, and we provided a gift certificate for $100 off training or studio time (winner to be announced on tracsd.com later today!).

(For a user review - or preview - of transfuser check out this ProToolerBlog post.

Come visit us during Evenings in East Village

2008-08-14T13:19:00.000-07:00

TRAC is throwing a party at our downtown room complete with an acoustic set by local San Diego band, Crash Encore! Saturday, August 23rd --we'd love it if you could join us. Here's where to find out more.

TRAC loves the B-Side Players

2008-08-13T20:56:00.000-07:00

...and you should, too. Here's why:

B-Side Players

and here's where:

B-Side Players at The Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach

Digidesign's Raise Your Level Tour

2008-08-11T13:48:00.001-07:00

Digidesign will make a stop at TRAC's North County campus, Studio West, during their Raise Your Level Tour on Tuesday, August 19.

From the Digi site: If you’re looking to be the best in the audio industry — whether you work with music or sound for picture — raise your level to Pro Tools|HD®. No other digital audio workstation (DAW) is used more in top music recording, post-production, and broadcast studios around the world. Find out first-hand how Pro Tools|HD gets you from mic to mix (and everything in between) by catching free Digidesign’s Raise Your Level tour.

The downtown iso booth...is complete!

2008-07-31T13:34:00.001-07:00

The little polaroids you see lining the windows are pix for our Wall of Fame - all the fabulously talented people who've passed through the loft doors....

Many thanks to Bryan and our friends at Capricorn Studios for their excellent work!

Pro Tools Summer Graduates

2008-07-30T10:04:00.000-07:00

It's been a productive summer! Congratulations to the newest TRAC graduates:

John Marinshaw - Operator (Music, Post)
Luke Parkin - Operator (Music, Post)
Dylan Watson - Operator (Music)
Edgar Robledo - Operator (Post)
Sal Agostino - Operator (Post)
Patrick Shea - Operator (Music)
Gary Miranda - Operator (Music), Expert (Post)
Willie Lee - Operator (Music)
Garrett Wysocki - Operator (Music)

TRAC is on Facebook!

2008-07-18T13:01:00.000-07:00

The Recording Arts Center now has it's own spot on Facebook! Give us your feedback...or become a fan!...and we'll send you a little giftie.

More Pro Tools Graduates!

2008-04-16T11:11:00.000-07:00

Congrats to Brian Rumsey, Jon Imel and Matthew Lindblad for completing the Pro Tools Operator certification!

Come Experience ICON at TRAC!

2008-04-04T11:37:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay in bringing the good news to the masses but The Recording Arts Center just got our hands on the Digidesign D-Command! This new work-surface offers unbelievable control of your Pro Tools sessions without having to use the mouse.

Come by to take a sneak peak or sign up for a 200 or 300 level class to get your hands on this latest and greatest treat from TRAC!

Take Advantage of Our McDSP Discount

2008-03-28T12:34:00.000-07:00

Register for any training course or package during the month of April 2008 and you can get a HUGE discount on the McDSP Project Studio bundle - just $95.00 for TRAC students. And we thought the regular discount ($295.00) was something! This promotion ends April 30 so if you've been thinking about signing up and you're in the market for some plug-ins, let us share our discount with you!

Win a Free Class!

2008-03-24T10:57:00.000-07:00

Sign up to get the latest TRAC news and you could win a FREE training course. Use our Contact Form and enter CONTEST in the comments section and we'll throw your name in the hat for a free Pro Tools 101 or Audio Recording Techniques class. Contest ends April 30, 2008.

February Pro Tools Operators and Experts

2008-02-28T13:26:00.000-08:00

We were proud to administer both Operator and Expert Pro Tools certifications this month! Introducing this month's accomplished Pro Tools users:

Andrew Bonica - Operator, Expert (Post)
Justin Carlson - Operator (Music)
John Deskovitz - Operator (Music)
Hope Dippel - Operator (Post)
Anthony Mantz - Operator (Music)
Gray Miranda - Operator (Post)
Andy Oswald - Operator (Music)
Lohit Pattanaik - Operator, Expert (Post)
Jonathan Powell - Operator (Music)
Bret Rouse - Operator (Post and Music)

Congratulations to the First Graduates of 2008!

2008-01-29T14:47:00.000-08:00

This year's first group of Pro Tools Certified Operators are:

Anthony Jardin (Music)
Zabie Mansoor Sharify (Music)
Jack Gunn (Music)
Brian Peters (Music)

We'd like to offer our congratulations and thanks for helping us get 2008 off to a great start!

Make 2008 Your Year to Get Pro Tools Certified!

2007-12-19T05:18:00.000-08:00

Want it quick? Choose the intensive 11-day Music Operator package starting January 13 at our downtown training location.

Still need to keep the day job? Not a problem. Our weeknight Post Production Operator package runs from January 14 to February 8 at Studio West of San Diego.

Want a side order of mixing with that? Select our Advanced Music package and round out your Pro Tools skills with “The Art of Mixing”.

Just getting started? Combine “Audio Recording Techniques” and “Pro Tools 101” for a great foundation and a great discount.

Get on TRAC with your New Years’ Musical Resolution!

Free Training Seminars at TRAC

2007-12-03T10:48:00.000-08:00

The Recording Arts Center will be conducts FREE training seminars each month!

The seminars take place at TRAC's North County home, Studio West, where we will take you through two state-of-the-art studios and demo real-time recording with Pro Tools. You'll be able to chat with our instructors, get an overview of our training courses and packages, and network with other music enthusiasts like yourself!

Next seminar: Saturday, February 16, 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Space is limited - call 866 915 5835 to reserve your spot!

See you at the studio,

Amy

Get a Sneak Peek at the Most Flexible Pro Tools Ever!

2007-11-14T15:29:00.000-08:00

The Recording Arts Center, San Diego's only Digidesign Authorized Pro School, is proud to partner with Professional Sound and Music of San Diego to host the Digidesign Stretch Your Sound Tour!

On Tuesday, November 27th at 7:00 p.m. L.A. product specialists Sean Halley and Brian Carter will be at Studio West, the north county home of The Recording Arts Center, to give a special demonstration of Pro Tools 7.4.

From the Digi site:

"Digidesign® Pro Tools 7.4 software is now available, featuring all-new music creation tools and support for more systems and creative options — it’s the most flexible Pro Tools software ever!

Pro Tools 7.4 software features the time-manipulating power of Elastic Time, enhanced Pro Tools HD® integration with Avid® systems, Windows Vista support for Pro Tools LE® and Pro Tools M-Powered™, and much more.

Forget cutting up audio…Elastic Time lets you quantize and change the tempo and timing of loops, music, dialog and other sound files with some of the best-sounding algorithms in the industry.

Virtual instruments by the Digidesign A.I.R. group offer the ultimate in sound quality, feature innovation, and ease of use to cover practically every musical need."

Want to come check it out? You might walk away with a $200 gift certificate (good toward studio time or the training course of your choice)! Visit www.digidesign.com/stretchyoursound to register.

- Amy

TRAC in the San Diego Union Tribune

2007-10-29T13:18:00.000-07:00

A recently published article in the San Diego Union-Tribune provides some excellent background info on the Center and its North County home, Studio West. Click here to read the article: Expanding Studio West Escapes Fire

San Diego County Fires and Classes this week

2007-10-23T09:35:00.001-07:00

First of all, I hope this blog finds you in high spirits, and safe with your friends and family.

At this point, the Pro Tools 210M class that was scheduled to happen this week is postponed. We will update the students that were signed up with more information as soon as we can get back into the studio and make sure everything is OK. There is a chance we will continue classes later in this week but we do not know yet at this time.

TRAC and Studio West would like to wish everyone the best during this situation.

Caleb

Michael Ault pulls off the Pro Tools Expert "Double Whammy"!

2007-09-26T09:42:00.000-07:00

On Friday afternoon, the 21st of September at 5:45pm in the afternoon, Michael Ault passed the daunting Pro Tools 310P Expert Exam, his second successful expert exam in taken in just two weeks after having passed the Expert Music Expert Exam the Friday before. In all seriousness, Mike has completed something that very few people have even attempted. The Expert Exams compiled by the folks up at Digidesign are intended to be real-world stress tests to determine that you really know your stuff.

Michael was really well prepared for this set of exams. He came into the 310 classes having a very solid knowledge of his keyboard shortcuts and modifier keys. This is a major advantage as one third of the Expert Exam is comprised of a 90-question segment based on solely on quick-keys and control surface shortcuts.

Michael is interested in recording film scores. It was evident from watching him work in the Post class that he has a strong aptitude for the concepts of sync and working with audio to picture. He departed from the classrooms of
TRAC on Friday afternoon directly for the City of Angels. In L.A., he hopes to land a gig as an intern with Danetracks or NRG. We wish him the best of luck confidently knowing that he'll be a huge asset to any studio that takes him on.

Good luck Michael and job well done!

Mark Kirchner - Pro Tools Expert Instructor|Post

www.tracsd.com
myspace.com/therecordingartscenter

The TRAC Team

2007-09-18T17:00:00.000-07:00

Just a little info on our TRAC Team of bloggers...click on a name to see the "list of creds" mentioned earlier, if you like, or just post a question or comment!

Mark Kirchner
Post-Production Engineer, Producer, Pro Tools Expert (Post)
Instructor: Pro Tools 101, Pro Tools 110, Pro Tools 201, Pro Tools 210P, Pro Tools 310P

Caleb Keiter
Engineer, Pro Tools Expert (Music)
Instructor: Pro Tools 101, Pro Tools 110, Pro Tools 201, Pro Tools 210M, Pro Tools 310M

Bryan Stratman
Producer, Engineer, Musician, Pro Tools Operator (Music), Studio Owner (Capricorn Studios)
Instructor: Pro Tools 101, Pro Tools 110, Pro Tools 201, Pro Tools 210M, Reason

Paul Tye
Engineer, Producer, Composer
Instructor: Audio Recording Techniques, Signal Processing with Waves, Mixing

Patricio Pickslay
Composer, Songwriter, Arranger, Producer, Engineer
Instructor: Songwriting and Composition

Additional posts from Studio West owner, Peter Dyson and well, me, are bound to pop up....

www.tracsd.com
myspace.com/therecordingartscenter

Congrats to the first TRAC Pro Tools Music Expert!

2007-09-17T13:32:00.000-07:00

A huge high-five and congratulations goes out to Michael Ault, the first TRAC student to complete and pass the intense series of 310M Pro Tools Music Expert classes and exams! Michael came to TRAC already certified as a Pro Tools Operator in both Music and Post-Production all the way from Chicago, IL.
This week Michael is tackling the 310P Pro Tools Post-Production Expert classes and exams so we want to wish him the best of luck!

Way to go, Michael!

www.tracsd.com
myspace.com/therecordingartscenter

Welcome to TRACtalk!

2007-09-14T13:10:00.000-07:00

I know you've heard this one before..."Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach." A witty (and often too true) jab at the teachers, professors and self-proclaimed "experts" we all come across in our efforts to learn something.

Who are these experts? And at what point did they stop "doing" and focus solely on "teaching"?

When we started The Recording Arts Center we thought a lot about what makes a good teacher and an even better learning experience. The two recurring themes we found were:

1. Our teachers have to be working professionals - not just people with a list of credits, but those who are using their skills everyday and experiencing the dynamics of the recording industry.

2. Our students have to be teachers - they have to share their experiences with other students, with the person at the front of the room, and with others outside of the classroom.

We are very proud to say that we have made the first theme a reality - we've got a great group of people who are not only doing what they love but loving what they do, and it shows in their dedication, enthusiasm and creative approaches to training.

We have also been very fortunate to find and work with so many amazing "student/teachers": people who come to a course not just to learn something but to share their experiences, to network and collaborate, and to enhance the learning experience for everyone involved.

I hope this blog will help to support that enthusiasm and provide another forum for the expert in everyone! The TRAC Team of instructors will be posting regularly - to offer Pro Tools tips, discuss industry trends, review new software releases, and generally rant about stuff they love.

Join in! To all of you who CAN, and DO...here's your chance to teach.

www.tracsd.com
myspace.com/therecordingartscenter