Cape Audio College Blog » Excursion to Space Out Sound.

Excursion to Space Out Sound.

Every now and then we get the opportunity to let some of our students loose in a working studio to gain a little experience of the outside world. As we all know, Audio Engineering is not something you can learn from books alone. This creative field requires a lot of time in the studio and without the right exposure, it becomes difficult to know the direction you should be heading in. This is why we find it so important for our students to experience how a pro get’s the job done. As well as get a feel for how a professional, working recording studio operates.

Spaced out Sounds Tully McCully was extremely kind in letting some of our guys sit in on a mixing demo. Although only a 3 hour session the students where amazed how quickly it took Tully to pull a reasonable mix. The band they were mixing was Cape Town’s Rosemary Townsend with their rough and ready rock anthem “Set Sail” (Recorded by Cape Audio Student Lyle Bennett) The mix came together very quickly as Tully shared some of his techniques with the eager rookies. Students got a taste of what is expected on a professional level as the time provided for most pro mixes is far less than they would have expected.

Spaced Out Sound Studios is hidden in Cape Town’s old district 6 (Now Walmer Estate / Zonnebloem), an area rich in culture and stories of a troubled past. The studio itself is full of audio toys new and old. With some extremely historical bits comfortably sitting around. As an analogue nut I was ecstatic to see Tullys Otari multitrack recorder, some of the oldest Neumann’s known to man and a very juicy looking Les Paul Gold Top. As used on many of Tullys well known productions.

It really is fantastic for Tully to let our guys come along and learn from someone with years of experience. They came away realizing that nothing replaces experience, instinct, and a killer pair of ears. In a talent orientated industry these lessons are vital for a young engineers development as audio professionals. And as I checked with everyone that attended I was not surprised that most of them got stuck into a mix of their own as soon as they returned to the college. They say inspiration is the mother of invention and I’m sure that this experience has helped provide a spark for their creative flame.