Submitted by Berry College
ROME — Berry College music students are playing a new tune thanks to state-of-the-art equipment capable of providing a more enhanced recording experience.
The new equipment consists of a Pro Tools LE system with keyboard, mixer, headphone distribution center and hard drive for storing compilation files. Together, these tools enable students to achieve a better quality of recording than was previously possible.
“The studio allows each student’s own style of putting music together to evolve,” said Brian Worley, the Berry alumnus who installed the equipment in a studio in the Ford Complex. “It also makes it possible for them to record up to eight tracks simultaneously and allows detailed editing and mixing of many tracks.”
The Pro Tools LE system is designed to be user friendly and is similar to the Microsoft Office suite. The equipment features more than 1,000 built-in instruments that can be used for any project, allowing students to create works of music in any style they desire. Thanks to the new system, students, faculty and staff now have the ability to record independent projects, including vocal auditions for graduate school as well as original songs to be placed on a CD or other audio format.
Dr. Stan Pethel, longtime faculty member and chair of fine arts, is offering a training course this spring for students looking to gain a more in-depth knowledge of the system and how to maximize its effectiveness.
“The new studio represents a great leap forward for our department,” Dr. Pethel said. “Students are able to record projects in the latest techniques using real and virtual instruments.”
Replacing the old equipment was Worley’s task this past summer. During his years as a student, the 1998 graduate experienced firsthand the challenges the old studio presented.
“I learned a lot from the old system; however, it was not user friendly,” Worley explained, noting that the old equipment was limited in its editing capabilities.
Seeing the need for a more revolutionary studio, alumni and faculty donated funds to augment the department’s budget.
Though the new studio is primarily for use by music majors, students in other disciplines, as well as members of the local community, may contact the Berry College music department for more information.
