Advice needed: building a small studio/afterschool program
- Thread starter Controller_7
- Start date
Great stuff and best of luck,c7!!
I don't know anythin bout the equipment but I recommend not being completely free formed. Even If every session you take two 5 minute breaks to point something out to the group/explain a key concept to build on.
Good luck and let us know if you need braek donations!
I don't know anythin bout the equipment but I recommend not being completely free formed. Even If every session you take two 5 minute breaks to point something out to the group/explain a key concept to build on.
Good luck and let us know if you need braek donations!
I was planning on setting up our projector so that all te computer work would be on the screen for them to see. Small teachable moments everywhere. I just want them to pick up things they might never experience otherwise.
Programming drums at the library...
Indeed
Programming drums at the library...
Indeed
Right now I think Avid can go back to eating donkey dicks after they announced the upgrade prices to PT11 but...
Avid does have generous educational discounts but there really aren't that many sounds included in Pro Tools and I would think something with more sounds built in and something a little more obtainable to the one kid in a hundred wants to keep going might be a better choice. From the little I know a lot of kids these days are using Reason which does have a lot of sounds built in and is laid out in a very analog fashion so anything learned in it should easily apply elsewhere.
I would try to get another of whatever kind of computer your library is already buying. It'll be cheaper and I assume there is some sort of IT guy occasionally around who could help you out when you realize the head-scratching things kids are capable of doing to computers.
I would also stay away from spendy interfaces like the UA thing stick to the lower end prosumer stuff. It'll be easier to replace and for your purposes it'll sound the same. If you end up on a mac MOTU makes some very stable stuff available in a lot of different flavors and the mic preamps that are built in will work fine for your needs.
It wouldn't surprise me if there were some SM57's or 58's microphones already around the library that you could liberate from some forgotten lecture series or something which would be all you really need. If you are in a library I can't imagine recording live drums are really going to be an option. Just make sure you get a mic stand or two. And as far as speakers go you might be better served with a Mackie headphone mixer and a bunch of headphones than by bigger speakers. Otherwise the 808 lecture might prove to be a little problematic.
When you do get the program running I would write letters to local studios/audio facilities letting them know about the program and that you'd greatly appreciate donations of unwanted gear. A post-production place I used to work at gave quite a bit of stuff away to Youth Radio when they moved and most of the facilities I've been at usually have a pile of unneeded equipment that they occasionally want to clear out. I wouldn't think of this as a practical way to start the program but I'd bet you be able to get a couple things that would help keep the program running.
Best of luck with it. It sounds like it could be a lot of fun for both you and the kids.
Avid does have generous educational discounts but there really aren't that many sounds included in Pro Tools and I would think something with more sounds built in and something a little more obtainable to the one kid in a hundred wants to keep going might be a better choice. From the little I know a lot of kids these days are using Reason which does have a lot of sounds built in and is laid out in a very analog fashion so anything learned in it should easily apply elsewhere.
I would try to get another of whatever kind of computer your library is already buying. It'll be cheaper and I assume there is some sort of IT guy occasionally around who could help you out when you realize the head-scratching things kids are capable of doing to computers.
I would also stay away from spendy interfaces like the UA thing stick to the lower end prosumer stuff. It'll be easier to replace and for your purposes it'll sound the same. If you end up on a mac MOTU makes some very stable stuff available in a lot of different flavors and the mic preamps that are built in will work fine for your needs.
It wouldn't surprise me if there were some SM57's or 58's microphones already around the library that you could liberate from some forgotten lecture series or something which would be all you really need. If you are in a library I can't imagine recording live drums are really going to be an option. Just make sure you get a mic stand or two. And as far as speakers go you might be better served with a Mackie headphone mixer and a bunch of headphones than by bigger speakers. Otherwise the 808 lecture might prove to be a little problematic.
When you do get the program running I would write letters to local studios/audio facilities letting them know about the program and that you'd greatly appreciate donations of unwanted gear. A post-production place I used to work at gave quite a bit of stuff away to Youth Radio when they moved and most of the facilities I've been at usually have a pile of unneeded equipment that they occasionally want to clear out. I wouldn't think of this as a practical way to start the program but I'd bet you be able to get a couple things that would help keep the program running.
Best of luck with it. It sounds like it could be a lot of fun for both you and the kids.
