Alan Parsons’ The Art & Science Of Sound Recording (ASSR) have announced their latest in-person masterclass event, which will focus on recording difficult or unusual instruments. Attendees will be given the chance to work directly with the legendary engineer over the course of two days, and are invited to bring along a non-traditional instrument to play and record during the sessions.
The theme is inspired by recording sessions that Alan carried out in the Seventies for a Pink Floyd project named ‘Household Objects’, which was intended to become the follow-up album to Dark Side Of The Moon. As its name implies, the album was to be created entirely from sounds made by household objects rather than musical instruments. Alan recalls one session which featured “A drum kit made out of an aerosol can, broom on a wooden floor, and foot taps on carpet; accompanied by plucked rubber bands.”
During the session, Alan will discuss the principles of analysing and recording different types of sounds and instruments, offering a detailed insight into his approach to capturing sounds and using them to add character and texture to a track. There will also be a breakout session with composer and sample library developer Douglas Morton from Q Up Arts, who will offer some tips and tricks for utilising Native Instruments’ Kontakt sampling platform.
For the second day of the event, attendees are invited to bring along one of their own mixes for Alan to critique and, if necessary, help to fix. Projects can be brought as a Pro Tools session file, a folder of multitracks or a final stereo mix.
The masterclass will be taking place on 15 and 16 September 2023 at ParSonics Studios in Santa Barbara, California. Ticket prices are as follows:
- 15 September - Recording Day: $1199
- 16 September - Mix Day: $1099
- Both days: $2199
More information, along with a full schedule for both days can be found via the following link.
