How many of you guys went to school for Audio Engineering?

OzNimbus said:
I get asked this question a fair amount. Usually I'lll tell kids to stay the hell away from engineering school. Take the money you'd spend, buy some gear, and learn on your own. At least you won't have time limits or have to share it with 30 other people.

Recording schools are in the business of selling bullshit. As mentioned before, they will not get you a job when you graduate. Not recording bands, anyway.
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I know what you're talking about Oz but I really have to disagree quite a bit. You can get contacts from school and don't forget about the internship -period. If I wouldn't have went to the school I'm in right now, I'd never be writing this post from the biggest and oldest studio from Finland, Finnvox. They've done stuff like HIM, Nightwish and a million other big projects.

My intership period here is from August 15th - January 14th. I can use the studios whenever they're free to record, mix and what not. Till now I've recorded 2 demos of my bands and now I'm recording an EP for a band that has liked my stuff I've done with my own bands.

School can help you get to places you couldn't go before :). No way I could've gotten in to this place without my school.
If you like to know more about Finnvox go to www.finnvox.fi
 
I recently graduated from college with a degree in construction economics and management (Quantity surveying) and for a while i was thinking about going back and doing something in AE that was until i met some guys that had done this and listened to their work :puke:.

So now i am just hanging round this fourm and reading books on the subject in my spare time and iv just set up a free recording service for bands in my area so i can get some experience with bands (other than my own) and build up a portfolio. This is all done in my spare time as i have my main carear to worry about as well.

But i am learning tons. I am working my 40 hour week and still putting in about 24 hours of time into recording and music and if i dont know someting there is this thing called google which rocks and this fourm which rocks.

The only downside to this is my social life has taken a back seat to my audio passion and my wallet has been raped by gear lust (this is where my degree comes in handy).
 
Keessi said:
I know what you're talking about Oz but I really have to disagree quite a bit. You can get contacts from school and don't forget about the internship -period. If I wouldn't have went to the school I'm in right now, I'd never be writing this post from the biggest and oldest studio from Finland, Finnvox. They've done stuff like HIM, Nightwish and a million other big projects.

My intership period here is from August 15th - January 14th. I can use the studios whenever they're free to record, mix and what not. Till now I've recorded 2 demos of my bands and now I'm recording an EP for a band that has liked my stuff I've done with my own bands.

School can help you get to places you couldn't go before :). No way I could've gotten in to this place without my school.
If you like to know more about Finnvox go to www.finnvox.fi
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Actually, I've worked with Mika Jussila (damn I hope I spelled that right!) on a small project.

You do have a point about the internship, but is it really worth the $$$ for recording school? Couldn't you accomplish the same by banging on a few doors?


FWIW, yes, I went to school too. I graduated Sheridan College's Media Arts program in 1992. Did some recording, did some photography, worked my ass off as an intern, the works. Went into business for myself because the School couldn't do shit for me when it came to finding a job..... regardless of the contacts I made. That being said, I learned how to record drums on my own, & heavy guitar by hanging out here.
 
well i'm studying music tech at college, and i'm learning nuthing. i'm learning far more just from reading these forums. this year is dragging because you guys taught me a lot over the summer. and the teachers are just repeating it all. and they cant teach me what i want to know because the other kids in class wont understand.
 
Oz: Well I'm not sure, my school for sure helped me getting there(I still had to get the place myself, I only stated that I go this school and internship is a part of it), but I think the main reason was the interview and that I brought some cd's I've done to them. Risto, the guy in charge, said "well you have potential, so we might even have some time for you here". I don't think I could've got in with crappy c-cassette recordings or similar hehe.

I have to learn stuff on my own here, there's no one holding my hand and teaching how to record. I've asked simple questions about the signal path here and stuff like that but that's basic stuff that's individual from studio to studio. I've learnt by doing shit myself mostly and this forum, it's just that I've got "a bit" better place to do it. My 9 squaremeter storageroom box at home is quite a challenge to record drums for example compared to the 200 squaremeter B-studio here. Or the super cozy A-studio for mixing and vox/gtr/bass recording.

I've learned quite some bit about mastering from Mika actually, been watching him work for a few months. He's said multiple times that he hates the "loudness war" a lot. "well this could've sounded good 4 db's quieter"...

And yeah you spelled his name correctly :)

ps. I've started to love Yamaha NS-10's. fucking great for mixing IMO
 
Melleva said:
Here in Finland most of the schools are free. So they don't cost us anything. Actually we get paid for being in a school. Not much but it's something...

So I think here in Finland it's worth going to a school of AE.
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The educational system in Finland definitely rocks ! (and that's not the only great thing about Finland)
 
Finland is waaaaaay ahead in many ways. Been there quite a few and I already considered about moving there if the language wouldn't be so fuckin' $%!"(§
I guess it's their tactic of keeping immigrants away... haha!! Actually, even THAT is sophisticated...pretty intimidating...
Doesn't surprise me that the Finns here are pro school.
 
abyssofdreams said:
Finland is waaaaaay ahead in many ways. Been there quite a few and I already considered about moving there if the language wouldn't be so fuckin' $%!"(§
I guess it's their tactic of keeping immigrants away... haha!! Actually, even THAT is sophisticated...pretty intimidating...
Doesn't surprise me that the Finns here are pro school.
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haha

but the good thing is that if you're just there not as a permanent immigrant you can speak English and EVERYBODY understands... even the 60-year-old cashier or the 8-year-old skater kid

go in France without knowing any French and you're completely fucked :)
 
Connections and basic knowledge of this stuff is the best thing I got out from the school. But one shouldn't go to school thinking "Now I'll know everything!", since I've found that after that three years, I had enough knowledge and education to start asking the right questions! When you start from nothing, AE schools are the way to go! You can - and will - learn all kinds of thing by yourself, but you get pretty damn good "tools" to work in this industry. Afterwards, sites like this (and gearslutz!) are important, not only for asking about new stuff but also maintaining that same sort of .. atmosphere that was in school (at least we had). I interned with Samu Oittinen at Fantom Studio (Diablo, Korpiklaani, etc..). Since then we've maintained a professional relationship as well as a social. You never know what kind of opportunities rise from meeting new people! Uh.. I'm rambling.
Anyway, I wouldn't trade one day from that experience! I had a blast!!
 
Thanks for all the input guys... I think I might pass on school and spend all the money on gear instead, although I could still afford a modest studio going to school, but yeah, it seems like I would benefit more spending that $40k on a really nice setup and building a nice space and just learning on my own.

Really, the benefits of going to school for me were more about learning how to use all of the equipment properly and just accelerating the pace at which I could learn all of the technical info vs doing it on my own. I know at the end of the day being a recording engineer comes down to your ears and the skills you develop with experience, but I don't know anything about setting up a patch bay, or patching in different hardware processors, etc. I also am curious about the physics involved with building a room and whatnot, which I COULD learn on my own but I think I would do a better job of it being immersed in an actual educational environment.

Still though, it doesn't seem like it's worth the trade off. Anyone able to recommend me a big handful of books that cover the technical and practical aspects of being a recording engineer? I was thinking of picking up "The ******* Engineer's Handbook" series of books for recording, mixing and mastering... Will that cover the technical aspects I'm talking about? What about books on studio construction and ways to influence sound in a room? Anything would be appreciated!
 
Modern Recording Techniques is a great read, with a whole chapter on studio construction, and I've gotten some good info from the Mixing Engineer's Handbook as well. But I figure once you read them to get a basic understanding of most of the concepts, it's hard to beat this forum! :headbang:
 
Keessi said:
I've learned quite some bit about mastering from Mika actually, been watching him work for a few months. He's said multiple times that he hates the "loudness war" a lot. "well this could've sounded good 4 db's quieter"...
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Could have fooled me! On that project, I actually had to reject his first master (and felt like a dick for doing it, considering his credits!) and said, "the frequency balance is good, but it's just too damn loud! Can you turn it down a few notches, please?" The drums had been annihilated. The band was very happy with version 2, though.

-0z-
 
actofvengence said:
Did Andy go to college?
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Not sure if Andy did, but I know that George Massenburg didn't.


Anyway, if you're spending your own cash, I still wouldn't recommend it. Nothing like blowing tens of thousands on Recording School only to wind up at Taco Bell with nothing to show for it but debt. Buy gear instead! Learn on your own! But if you live in one of those socialist paradises that pay for post-secondary, go for it! ...and enjoy paying those insane taxes! ...I should know, I'm from Canada. The place where insane tax laws were invented! (school still costs you here, though. nice trick.)
 
Man, pretty much everything about recording and/or mixing in general you'll find here. Gear can be learned about here as well, but if you want a snobby "tr00" opinion on gear, go to gearslutz, lol. For tons of amazing information on room design and acoustic engineering, check out john sayers' site.

The aforementioned literature is a great help too. A lot of people can't get into the books, which is understandable. I couldn't either, I'm more of a visual learning type of person...but I still got some useful info from my copy of MRT.

~e.a
 
I had the same struggle but i did not get in so i went with my second choice game design.

Somedays i really feel i should be doing something with a guitar in my hands but i cant quit now( i needed to buy a macbook for the course)
 
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