"There's nothing like learning from a real human being—especially an experienced, articulate, and humorous human being!"

Peter Viscarola (above left) about David Moulton

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"The opportunities to study with someone of Tom Bates' caliber are few and far between. The courses exceeded my every expectation. Tom's vast knowledge and experience, coupled with his dedication and preparation of the course materials, make for a profound educational adventure in audio. Even more impressive is the commitment, concern and generosity he extends to each and every participant, that makes him an ideal mentor in every sense of the word. Many thanks!"

Joe Ierardi, Sound Designer, re Signal Processing I & II

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"Tom Bates is a great teacher. He is able to explain and illustrate the most difficult concepts with ease and wit. For some audio professionals, the idea of taking this class may seem like a simple refresher course. It is not! Within ten minutes into the first class, one knows it is not only a explanation in detail of audio signal processing devices, but a very personal look at the last 30 years of audio signal processing development.

"This is a very “hands-on approach” course. Tom goes over specific pieces of gear in common use today, showing how he approaches each tool, what reasons he uses them, and what he does to make his beautiful, warm, rich sound. Students have the opportunity to try his approach to mic placement, EQ and compression.

"Tom Bates is open about sharing his "secrets" to making a wonderful sounding CD. He volunteers outside class time to listen to your work, and offers specific comments on ways to improve your sound. No matter what your skill level, you will walk away from the class having picked up some very useful tricks of the trade to improve your mixing, plus some inspiration, and more knowledge about what you thought you already knew. It is clear why he has won so many Grammies, and is considered a master in his field. We are lucky to have his teaching available to the New England audio community."

Jane Pipik
Staff engineer, WGBH Radio, Boston

re the Signal Processing I & II courses

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"You can't imagine how much I enjoyed every second of every class. In my professional radio life, there is not a lot of time to think about production techniques and audio quality because there is always another job that has to be done immediately. The classes at Parsons gave me the freedom to think about different important production topics in a professional environment. In addition, they expanded my production knowledge tremendously. The courses helped me to speed up my work process, and to raise the quality of my productions at the same time - just awesome! I learned more in ten classes than in four semesters of college. Tom Bates is not only a Grammy Award winning engineer, but also a great teacher and mentor.

Michael Stuber
Imaging Production WBOS, WMJX and WTKK, Boston

re Signal Processing I & II

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"Tom Bates' credentials stand as part of recording history's record, but my experience as his student was something quite unexpected. Tom communicated the unwritten rules - the stuff that everyone needs to know and no one tells you - the technique, etiquette and business of being a producer/engineer. I wish we could do a brain upload because I know I only scratched the surface - I intend to take every course he ever runs (sorry, Tom - you'll get used to me!). And just for the record, Tom, I'll read your book of music business stories when you write it.

"Dave Moulton helped me hear sound in a way I never had before. I will never be the same producer again. He is an amazing teacher, who has a way of communicating the most subtle details with an accessible simplicity I hadn't experienced before.

"Both of these men have helped me hear deep into the sound through the art, beyond the music, right into the decisions and style of the producers and engineers, and further, to glimpse the compromises and conflicts in the studios of the recording industry.

"This is the stuff for the real world. Don't waste your time and money going to college. This is where it's at!"

Steve Herbert
Founder, Frogpond Studios
Littleton, MA

re Golden Ears, Principles of Audio, and Signal Processing I & II

Then there's this about Total Recording, David Moulton's definitive textbook, required for a number of the Center's courses:
 
Dave,
 
I have worn out a CD player listening to your audio examples that came with the book "Total Recording" and the "Playback Platinum Series" of audio lectures. I have nearly 100 books on audio and recording and yours are, always, the ones that I keep coming back to, time-after-time.  To say that the materials you write are "informative" would be a rather significant understatement.

Darwin Kornowske

At the start of the first session of each multi-session course (i.e., except the Golden Ears seminar), the Center for Audio Studies asks participants to fill out an entrance questionnaire, to state their background, needs, hopes, and expectations for the course. At the final session of each course, in addition to awarding each participant a Certificate of Completion, the Center passes out an evaluation form, to get feedback—likes, dislikes, suggestions, etc.

The post-course evaluations give a good impression of each course's content and style, and its value to participants. A representative sampling follows below.

PRINCIPLES of AUDIO for AUDIO PROFESSIONALS, taught by David Moulton

Met your expectations?: "Very well" / "Fully and beyond." / "Max!" / "100% everything I wanted to learn was taught." / "My cup runneth over with filled expectations" / "completely and more"

Favorite topics: "I particularly appreciated the abundant anecdotal examples of audio principles based on real experiences." / "signal flow, setting levels, EQ, signal processing, miking, acoustics, consoles, mixing, loudspeakers, digital process, Pro Tools in action..." / "...waveform stuff, live microphone demo...The EQ and compression stuff was a real eye opener..." / "mixing — how to set up and do a mix with EQ, comp, reverb"

Favorite attributes of the course: "Interactive environment, both with equipment and people" / "the relaxed, open, and supportive environment" / "...easy going and deeeeeeeep (in knowledge!" / "Dave's unflappable patience and clarity of teaching. His textbook is wonderful." / "Dave's experience — the fact that Dave's knowledge is broad yet authoritative — absolutely definitive. This is sooooo rare, and to find somebody who can also explain this stuff well. Wow!" / "...free coffee and donuts, and the practical information and examples. It is very helpful to hear an example of a theory or concept as opposed to just trying to grasp the idea of something."

PRINCIPLES of PRO TOOLS (originally Pro Tools: Getting Started), taught by Lauren Weinger

Met your expectations?: "Yes!" / "Completely and more!"

Favorite topics: "getting audio into the computer, compatibility issues..." / "plug-ins, mixing" / "aux tacks and elusive Pro Tools features" / "bussing and aux tracks, working with my own computer and the hands-on approach"

Favorite attributes of the course: "Energy level" / "non-linear topical presentation" / "All" / "The whole class brought up my level of understanding"

PRO TOOLS for PROS, taught by Brian Doser

Met your expectations?: "The course met and exceeded my expectations." / "...surpassed my expectations" / "I learned tons of useful things that I have instituted (in my studio) immediately."

Favorite topics: "...audio for video, plug-ins, soft synths, etc. all were great!" / "Beat Detective, Sound Replacer, Digibase, dither, DSP management, OS X benefits..." / "...short cuts, mixing techniques, checking out plug-ins" / "TV post, mixing, mastering" / "Watching Brian work with students' mixes was great. Seeing how to set up groups and subgroups, and how and where to use plug-ins." / "I enjoyed all of it."

Favorite attributes of the course: "The open feeling to ask anything -- great job, Brian!!" / "Brian being open to discussion and questions" / "...relaxed environment...Brian's ability to handle my dumb questions; Brian's experience using third party products." / "Great blend of different ways of looking at concepts."

To see photos of recent classes, visit the Photo Gallery.

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