NHTunes is proud to offer one-on-one Audio Engineering training classes. These private training classes are run by NHTunes head engineer Bob Desmarais, and are designed for beginner/intermediate students who record and mix at home and want to better their skills, or for those considering a career in the audio industry. The classes are held in our Manchester NH recording studio.
The goal of these classes is to shave several years off of an individual’s learning curve by both teaching a student about the most important audio tools, and by demonstrating their use. The student will sit at the mixing console with Bob and acquire a full understanding of these tools, which will undoubtedly change the way that they record and mix. Armed with this knowledge, a student can revisit their previous mixes and achieve much better results.
The book for these classes is “Home Recording: Need-To-Know Essentials To Improve Your Mixes“, written by Bob. This book is included with the tuition. The class is open to students 16+ years old. Once you purchase one of these classes, you’ll be e-mailed promptly to set up the class time.
We offer two class options:
1) Audio Engineering (3 hrs) $129
This three hour long session (broken into two 1 1/2 hour sessions) will teach students basic recording best-practice, and the tools needed to achieve a professional mix: gates, compression, and EQ. Bob will demonstrate each tool and it’s controls, and the student will not only understand how to use them, but why they are an important component to achieving a mix that sounds great and translates well. The use of these tools will be demonstrated on actual session mixes. We will also discuss various effects (reverb, delay, etc) and their purpose in a mix.
At the conclusion of the training, the student should have a good grasp on the following tools and techniques:
- Rooms and mic placement
- Using inserts and sends
- Compressors (threshold, ratio, attack and release times)
- Noise gates (threshold, release time)
- Parametric equalizers (low and high pass filtering, selective filtering)
- Reverb (time, pre-delay, filtering)
- Delay (time, feedback).
To reinforce the knowledge, we will perform a mix together using actual session files, and use the tools studied in the class. Note that this class can be tailored to a student’s particular area of interest (for example, vocal recording).
You can sign up for this private training class here (note: you will schedule your first class below, and your second at the conclusion of the first. The cost of $129 covers TWO 1 1/2 hour sessions):
2) Mixing (1 1/2 hrs) $79
This class is designed for the student that has either taken the Audio Engineering training class, or is already well-versed using compression, gates, and EQ. We’ll spend an hour and a half mixing various genres of music, which like the previous class can be tailored to the student’s area of interest. The class will reinforce the use of compression, EQ, and gating, and demonstrate how each tool’s controls should be set to achieve the desired results.
Also reviewed in this class are advanced mixing techniques such as: serial and parallel compression, using distortion, comping and multing, cross-fading, and more.
You can sign up for this private training class here:
Bob with R&B superstar Aloe Blacc
About Your Instructor
Bob Desmarais has been recording and mixing music for over 35 years. He has worked with artists of all levels; from local bands to national headliners. Bob has also taught audio engineering for Manchester Community College. Bob’s book “Home Recording: Need-To-Know Essentials To Improve Your Mixes” is available on Amazon.com.
