The Recording Arts and Media Technologies program at Northern Illinois University (NIU) in DeKalb, IL has recently upgraded its recording facilities with a Flock Audio PATCH XT digitally-controlled analog patchbay as the centerpiece of a new hybrid recording setup.
“The program has always been a passion project from its inception,” says NIU professor Kerri Chandler. “It’s very self-driven in the sense that everyone who has come into it has brought their own energy and drive to help it evolve. At the same time, it’s equally very community-driven because we’re constantly contributing to each other’s projects and learning together. That’s what’s special about us. It’s always about chasing that next project or that next goal, and finding the tools and talent to make it happen.”
Over the last four years, the department has overhauled its recording studio, consisting of a main control room, a live room, a dry room, and a smaller isolation booth, as well as the audio systems connecting the studio to the school’s concert and recital halls for recording and live streaming purposes. The collaborative effort to upgrade the studio spaces – which included design work by NIU instructor Dr. Mark Snyder and installation by recording services manager Kyle Strain and gradual assistants Ethan Patterson and Christian Baugher – was as much of a practical consideration as it was an educational one.
“We had some older gear that was starting to become outdated with newer applications,” explains Chandler. “Upgrading our facilities was timely, and it also provided our students with that learning situation of understanding how all of this equipment works together. They also could play a role in seeing what the right mix of tried-and-true and newer technology could be that would work for our purposes. Since we intended to push towards a hybrid mentality between analog and digital gear, the Flock Audio PATCH series was something we knew we wanted to have.”
The faculty saw significant advantages in maintaining as much of the existing analog infrastructure of their recording studios as possible. In addition to preserving sonic integrity, there were practical and budgetary considerations that factored into the decision.
“Given that we’re a state school, we couldn’t change everything all at once, but there were some serious educational considerations in how we went about it as well,” Chandler notes. “We want our students to understand how analog signal flow works just as much as how to operate a DAW. In my experience, there are just as many things in audio engineering that have stayed the same as there have been things that have changed. It’s finding that hybrid approach because you want to make sure people are learning things that are valid and applicable in both their immediate situation and their future careers.”
In addition to aiding the overall learning process, the accessibility of the PATCH interface and the added organizational features of PATCH APP DX can encourage students to experiment and make the hybrid setup their own. For Chandler, this gives them the opportunity to develop as independent artists as well as collaborators.
“PATCH XT has helped us find different ways to integrate our workflows for a wider range of projects than was possible before,” she says. “We encourage students to create their own recording assignments and really make the studio their own. Feeling like they have that ownership helps them to build confidence and independence as well as foster that life-long love of learning about what they do. Whether it’s recording the school ensembles or bringing in outside artists, it’s training them to think both as creators and as engineers which we believe is very important.”
