The second METAlliance Academy event on February 19 and 20 at historic Avatar Studios in New York City was a resounding success.
“In Session with The Guys,” drew attendees from across the country and as far away as Argentina and Venezuela.
During recording sessions with jazz sensation Kat Edmonson and rocker Robby Sinclair, participants got a close-up look at basic tracking and mic techniques; in the separate mixing sessions they were engaged in the processes in significant detail and participated in critical listening.
Robby Sinclair, of Lazer Cake, commented, “I have never felt so at ease while recording. The energy during those two days was extremely positive and contagious, and the love for music was paramount.”
Kat Edmonson added, “Recording with Al Schmitt and Phil Ramone was the time of my life! I am entirely grateful to the METAlliance for allowing me such an immense opportunity. The experience was, of course, invaluable and would be for anyone with ANY interest in the recording industry. To work with them was a dream come true.”
“It’s very gratifying to have our work appreciated with such passion and dedication,” added Elliot Scheiner.
“Once again, this was a great experience for all of us,” commented Phil Ramone, “working with great musicians and a very diverse group of students, pros, educators and recording novices.”
“The talent this year was just outstanding,” said Al Schmitt.
METAlliance co-founders Phil Ramone and Al Schmitt recorded jazz sensation Kat Edmonson and her band in Avatar Studio A. Elliot Scheiner and Ed Cherney recorded Robby Sinclair and his band, Lazer Cake, in Studio C, both tracking and overdubbing.
Chuck Ainlay was in Studio B soloing tracks, processing and mixing analog from multitrack masters on a large format SSL console. George Massenburg and Frank Filipetti explored home studio mixing “in the box” in the spacious Studio B tracking area, taking great care in explaining how to make the most of new and past techniques in a world of current technology.
Attendee Slau Halatyn, who won the Nuendo 5 drawing, commented, “I can’t imagine any other scenario where I would have access to that calibre of talent under one roof at the same time—simply unbelievable.”
Other winners included Mark Kondraki, winner of the iZotope Ozone/RX/Nectar plug-in bundle, Marcel Fernandez, winner of the Lexicon PCM Native|Reverb Bundle, and Mike Grosso, winner of the Sonnox Native Essential plug-in bundle. A number of JBL RMC Room Mode Correction Calibration Kits were also given away.
Attendee Angelo Montrone said, “To be able to spend the weekend with seven masters of their field, learning how each of them does their magic was truly an experience of a lifetime.”
“The search for good recording is just a fever that drives you forward,” said Chuck Ainlay. “We were very impressed with the depth of the dialogue and discussion,” remarked George Massenburg.
“This event really brought the best of the old school and the new technology together,” said Frank Filipetti. Ed Cherney summed it up: “I feel we’ve inspired this Avatar group to see how important quality can be to the future of music.”
“Keeping the session groups small in number allowed for a very intimate setting. There’s nothing like it anywhere,” said Jim Pace, Exec Director of the METAlliance.
Attendee Angelo Montrone added, “This was a much more intensive situation than just being able to sit in the room with them on a session, which I’ve done, because you can ask them any question, grab a fader, solo a track and work on it with them.”
