Pro Tools the Ultimate Digital Audio Workstation (DAW)

Capture. Contour. Edit. Combine. Collaborate. These are just a few of the words that we use to describe the process of dealing with audio, at the professional level.

Historically, the “sounds” we’ve heard were captured in the traditional environment of a large recording space, connected to a control room with tons of equipment, that allowed Audio Engineers to commit those sounds to an analog tape recorder, and played back, repeatedly, until the client was satisfied with the sonic result. That “result” may have been a song on an upcoming record, the score for a certain scene of a theatrical release, pre-recorded audio for television broadcast, and maybe even the sounds of footsteps in a creepy scene of a movie.

Although that romantic notion of being in that kind of “environment” still exists in large scale, the times have changed, and technology has made massive progress in the ease of dealing with professional audio, from the convenience of your personal computing device, like your computer… and, even your phone! That’s right, it is possible to be an audio professional in today’s day and age, if you’re using the “right tools.”

The modern day has allowed us the use of Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs). While there is still time and place for the large recording studio, with all the “big gear,” DAWs have become a go-to for the Audio Engineering world. Working Audio Engineers, alongside utilizing their know-how of the “classic gear, have adopted DAWs so that “work” can continuously be done without amassing huge studio costs. Imagine how cool it is to be able to take a project that you’ve been working on, and be able to edit vocals while you’re on a flight, or “chop” up a guitar performance to make it unique, or making sure the tv commercial’s audio is only as long as what the client has paid for! Such a COOL WORLD for Audio Engineers!

The DAW that has become the sweeping choice amongst Audio Engineers is ProTools. Throughout its many versions, ProTools has become one of those “big gear” devices. Living in Professional Audio, ProTools has become a constant in the studio, and has proliferated all other aspects of Audio Engineering.

ProTools is, for the most part, an “all-in-one.” It is a “console,” in that you can route your signal any which way you can imagine. It is your “recorder,” where you capture/playback your committed audio. It’s you “editor,” where you can chop up your performance to your client’s content. It is your “manipulator,” where you can access TONS of plug-ins (Dynamic Processors, FX Processors) to get experimental with your sounds. It’s your “distributor,” so you can send these “audio files” around the world at a moment’s notice through the internet!

Even so, the “user” has to have a strong background/understanding of what “real” Audio Engineering is. You must know about MICROPHONES and POLAR PATTERNS, in order to capture sounds accurately. You must understand how to “route” signal, so that you can move your audio fluidly from device to device. You must understand Dynamics/FX Processing, in order to get all your combined sounds to sound like an “result,” not just a collection of sounds. The list of things you must “know” is massive, and only an INCREDIBLE education will get you there.

The Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences (CRAS) is a longstanding tradition in education, that specializes in turning STUDENTS into Audio Engineers. In 36 weeks, CRAS trains students in the entire width of the Professional Audio Engineering world. In each of its’ 5 Disciplines (Record Production, Live Sound Reinforcement, Post Production, Video Game Audio, and Broadcast Audio), students learn the virtue of working with all stages of technology, so as to become the candidate that enters the employment field with a “yes, I am trained to do this job” mindset.

As well as learning all of the “big gear,” CRAS students are immersed in ProTools, and can achieve up to 6 ProTools Certification, which tells the industry that not only are YOU capable of doing the work, YOU ARE READY TO DO THE WORK! The Audio Industry has concluded that a CRAS education (especially with the ProTools training) creates the most viable employees, post-education. For this reason, CRAS celebrates the opportunity of taking people just like you and training them so that they can take their PASSION in Audio, combine it with their new-found knowledge/ability, and LIVE OUT LOUD with a career in Professional Audio!

We’re ready to help YOU LIVE OUT LOUD! Connect with CRAS, so that we can CONNECT YOU TO YOUR DREAM IN AUDIO ENGINEERING! Reach us cras.edu or at (800)562-6383.