It's a chill day on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University. Not in terms of the weather (it's August and it's a hot one), but MTSU's campus and student body are still sleepy as they lumber towards the start of the Fall 2019 semester. Upon entering the MTSU Center for Popular Music, we meet with the Director of the Master of Fine Arts program, Bill Crabtree. He begins to explain some of the concepts behind the gear selection in the Department of Recording Industry. "Our philosophy is more about teaching framing, rather than teaching hammer," Bill says. "This is the mantra we stick to when selecting our equipment. It's most important to teach the concepts behind the equipment and not the knob turning or the specific equipment itself." In order to teach the basic concepts of recording, mixing, and mastering, Bill and the team at MTSU have worked together with Vintage King Audio Consultant Chris Bolitho to select gear for their numerous studios on campus. The latest upgrade at MTSU has been in Studio C, which is a mix room made available to students 24 hours a day. This particular room is never used for teaching purposes, allowing students to have full, unfettered access for completing assignments and learning through real-life experience. Designed by famed studio designer Carl Tatz, Studio C at MTSU offers an incredible set-up, including a Solid State Logic AWS 924 console purchased from Vintage King. "The SSL 924 format is really easy to learn and you can teach multiple concepts on that desk," Bill states. "We can teach students on these small format 24-channel consoles, which are less intimidating and then when they get in the room with the Duality, they've learned a lot of the architecture of the bigger console." Go inside the Department of Recording Industry at Middle Tennessee State University by watching our new video below and learn more about the recent renovation of Studio C. Continue on after the video to see more photos of the incredible studio facilities on the school's campus and gear purchased from Vintage King, including an Avid S6 control surface.
Chris BolithoAre you looking to upgrade the studios at your institution or university? Our EDU team is extremely knowledgable and ready to help you, no matter the size of your budget. Contact the Vintage King EDU Department via email or by phone at 818.237.9181