The Music Production Association is excited to announce the addition of several pieces of recording gear have been added to the collection in the recording studio as of, November 9, 2012. The addition of this gear is hoped to bring a more professional grade workflow to students hoping to learn techniques of recording and mixing music.

 

        Under the new leadership, the Music Production Association has increased fundraising to bring money towards upgrading the recording studio. The club was sucessful in finding support; and under the careful tutelage of Darin Pierce, the club has purchased several new pieces of gear to aid in acieving sonic bliss. The added gear encompasses many facets of the recording and mixing processes starting with something to generate sound to be recorded. A brand new, studio-grade, drum set was the first itme purchased to ensure that any class or clubmember could be ensured of having a quality kit at thier disposal for any project. Next in line in the recording process after having a sound to record is having a microphone to pick the sound up. Three different kind of microphones were purchased for different purposes in recording. Four Sennheiser 421s were bought for their versitility in capturing a very accurate picture in a close field of range. One Shure Beta 52 was aquired to capture the intense sound of the kick drum. Finally, a matched pair of Shure KSM 141s were obtained for thier bright and clear top end and small frame for a condenser type microphone. After using a microphone to capture the sound, there needs to be some type of preamp to amplify the sound going into the interface being used such as tape or in the MPA's case: ProTools. Two preamps were begotten from a deal stuck with Vintage King Audio©   where by the club paid money to them in exchange for two preamps the first of which is the Vintech Dual 72 tube mic pre. This preamp lends to warmth and a rich content of harmonic value that sharply contrasts the second pre: the True Audio P2. This pre is very clear and precise sounding with little warmth added. All these devises combined are sent into ProTools 10 HD. This interface is compatible with many digital plugins that can enhance the sound in the project. Several of these plugins were purchased from several companies and all can work simultaniously on all tracks.

 

        Today, The recording studio is one to rival many professional studios around the country with all the additions to because of the efforts made by the MPA.  After these upgrades were made, the Principia decided it was feasible to create a minor in the field of music recording. Anyone interested in joining the MPA, email Darin Pierce at darin.pierce@principia.edu.