Kansas City (June 2, 2016) - Kansas City Kansas Community College has been a proud owner of an Audient ASP8024
for over 6 years, a decision that Professor of Audio Recording &
Music Technology, Dr Ian Corbett still stands by, having seen hundreds
of students hone their audio engineering skills on the large format
analogue mixing console. The notion to add an iD22
to his teaching arsenal this year was born out of that trust in
Audient. Dr Corbett uses his new audio interface in his office to grade
assignments, as well as with his laptop, which he uses extensively
throughout the curriculum, at various places throughout the campus and
also when travelling and representing the college, presenting at
conferences and conventions.
He explains, "Tired of
carting around a full rack unit interface, or suffering the hums and
buzzes of the laptop's built-in audio output, the iD22 was a small
solution that also sounds better than the smaller 'budget' interfaces
available - particularly important when I'm giving a presentation on
audio quality! It also gives me the flexibility to be able to make great
sounding recordings directly into the computer, and get reliable
readings from a test mic when pinking or sweep-tone analyzing a room.
The fact that the iD22 can function as a playback device without
external power was an unexpected plus point and convenience."
"A curriculum with
extensive study and hands-on experience of the analog signal path,
promotes essential signal flow and troubleshooting skills that will
transfer to the widest variety of potential employment situations." - Dr
Ian Corbett
ASP8024 at Kansas City Kansas Community College with Dr Ian Corbett
Three years ago the
Audio Engineering Program moved premises, more than quadrupling the size
of the facilities to a staggering 4000 square feet and now includes a
multi-station classroom/lab, three control rooms and four recording
rooms plus admin areas. Dr Corbett says, "The Audient desk made the move
with us and went from being the mixer that first semester students
learned on, to the mixer used in the second semester of audio classes.
There was no need to upgrade it - it was purchased with the capabilities
needed upon future expansion, and being a great sounding analog board,
it is of course fairly "future proof" as the technology changes around
it."
Dr Corbett points out
that this second semester is a hardware based class. "No DAW," he
confirms. "The students use the ASP8024 with a hardware multi-track
recorder and outboard gear, refining their skills and knowledge of
patching, routing, effects processing, dynamics processing, and later in
the semester recording and mixing a music project. We do this with the
multitrack recorder in 'destructive mode' so that they have to
confidently perform operations, make decisions and commit to them with
no 'Command-Z' to undo if they mess up." Important lessons to learn,
especially if graduates want to have the best chance at finding work
after leaving college.
"One major 'gripe' I've
heard from employers, concerns schools who are producing graduates who
are great DAW operators, but struggle to quickly troubleshoot problems
outside of the DAW," continues Dr Corbett. "Given the state of the
industry today, few graduates are going to end up using a DAW in a music
recording studio as their main source of income, so it is important
that we prepare them to easily transition into the widest variety of
potential employment opportunities - and only extensive training and
understanding of an analogue signal path can give them this
flexibility."
And it was this analogue
console from British audio manufacturer, Audient that caught the
attention of Dr Corbett. He lists a few of the reasons why: "The
features for the mid-price-point: the in-line design with a fader on
both input paths, the flexibility to switch most sections of the channel
strip between each input path, the design and layout of the console (it
is not cramped or cluttered, and it is less intimidating to new
students than more compact consoles). It is very easy to understand and
teach on, and a good preparation for students moving on to less
intuitive consoles or digital consoles. I was 100% comfortable teaching
beginner students in their first semester audio recording classes on the
ASP 8024 - it's THAT easy to understand and get around."
"The fact that just
about every section of each channel is switchable between the long fader
and short fader paths is very useful."
Dr Corbett believes
Kansas City Kansas Community College, centred around analogue consoles
as it is, to be "...well prepared for the future. Unlike large control
surfaces built by the DAW software company, there is no worry about the
board or its audio quality standard being obsolete in 5 years, or being stuck with a partially functional control surface when the favoured DAW changes.
"So far the console has
stood up to years of hard student use (and the mistakes that are part of
learning!) and a major facility move, with only a couple of minor
repairs," he continues. "As a community college, our tuition rates are
very low, and that combined with the type of equipment the students get
to be hands-on with from day one, results in an educational experience
unrivaled in the area."
