| The
music industry program at Oneonta State College has been viewed
as one of the best in the nation since its creation. Its very
experienced professors and the contacts they have with the
industry's heavy hitters have given aspiring students opportunities
of a lifetime. Now, there's a new aspect of the program that
makes the future for music industry majors even brighter.
After
years of anticipation, and even some doubts by faculty and
students, what was referred to by many as just a dream is
finally a reality. A brand new professional quality recording
studio is currently being completed on the second floor of
the Fine Arts Building.
"Not
only do we now have a new teaching facility," said Orlando
Legname, audio arts production professor and major contributor
to the construction project, "but we have a professional
recording studio with state of the art equipment."
The
studio includes a recording booth with sound proof glass,
state-of-the-art acoustical techniques, a new sound board,
new computers equipped with Pro Tools software (a professional
recording program), a sound lab/classroom, and an intriguing
feature that has baffled everyone in the industry: tunable
walls, Every wall in the studio is made up of separate cherry
wood panels that each have a bolt in the center, This bolt,
when tightened or loosened, along with the other panels, allows
the studio's user to change the way sound waves bounce off
the walls, which in effect allows for the entire sound of
the musical group to be refined before they even start recording.
For example, if a group's sound is too brassy or has too much
treble, it can be adjusted making the entire room itself a
sort of musical instrument. OSC is the first school in the
world to have a studio with this breakthrough technology and
it is expected that tunable walls will soon become the standard
in every studio. |
|
The
old studio limited students' creativity because the equipment
was outdated and on occasion wouldn't work properly.
"It
would get pretty annoying when you'd be in the middle of the
project." said Neil Ochal former Audio Arts II student,
"and something small but significant would go wrong and
there's nothing your average student could do about it."
This
was the biggest problem for the students who had personal
studio time very early in the morning or late at night when
nobody could be reached to help out. The all new equipment
in the new studio should make this problem virtually non-existent.
"Furthermore."
added Legname, "the whole studio is equipped for digital
audio, which is another aspect that keeps us on top of the
latest technology,"
Digital
audio had become a must in every recording studio in the world,
as it provides the best sound quality, and gives the producer
limitless capabilities as far as adjusting or changing recordings.
Professor
Legname is a fairly new addition to OSC's faculty. He joined
the Music Industry Department at the beginning of the fall
semester. Along with his students, he is very excited about
getting into the new studio, which is set to be officially
opened for Audio Arts Production III students any day now.
Legname
optimistically explained, "Our students can now learn
in an atmosphere in which many of them will eventually be
working in the real world." In actuality, these students
may never see a better atmosphere. |
