The Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences (CRAS) and its AES Student Chapter, recently opened its doors at its Gilbert, Arizona. campus to Waves Audio for WavesLive, an in-depth workshop for CRAS students and local audio pros.
“The live sound workshop was incredibly informative and insightful for our students,” says Kirt Hamm, CRAS administrator. “Waves designs and produces top-shelf pro audio gear. Having them come in and train our students is real-world knowledge they can take with them into the field, which is invaluable at this stage of their education. The CRAS AES Chapter is incredibly active, and it was evident here during the WavesLive workshop.”
The session was a CRAS AES event that was developed and presented by Waves and David Kohr, a CRAS instructor and faculty liaison for the AES Student Chapter. In all, approximately 200 students and local audio pros participated in the workshop.
The event began with introducing CRAS AES, where co-presidents CJ Smith and Josh Badger spoke about student AES activities. That was followed by Waves artist’s Ken ‘Pooch’ Van Druten (Linkin Park, Kid Rock, Kiss) and Eddie ‘El Brujo’ Caipo (Enrique Iglesias, Gwen Stefani) demonstrating how they mix their artists on tour using Waves plugins. Waves Live product specialist Kent Margraves also gave an overview of SoundGrid and DiGiGrid products as well as demonstrating some of Waves’ most useful plugins in a live sound setting.
“Education and audio instruction have always been a Waves priority and as such, we are delighted to cooperate with CRAS where students can explore the latest in cutting-edge audio technology and hone their craft,” says Mick Olesh, Waves EVP of Sales & Marketing. “CRAS is the perfect vehicle for training the next generation of sound engineers and musicians.”
There were open dialogues between instructors, and students throughout the workshop. The students were encouraged to be involved as much as possible so they could learn every facet of live sound recording.
“Waves has some of the best plugins available and now, with the Waves LV1 software mixer, they have an amazing console as well. Waves has always been involved with the Conservatory, providing a valuable platform of education for our students,” says Kohr.
Besides being trained on gear, Waves educated the participants on how far live sound has come over the decades, as well as how to get established in the live sound industry and recommended reading to get ahead.
“The event was very well rounded,” adds Hamm. “Being successful is not just about how to work the gear. It’s about relationships and how to work well with the artists. Waves did a fantastic job educating our students with their first-hand knowledge and experience.”
