Jake Perrine will present a Live Sound Basics workshop over three Saturday mornings at Orcas Center 12/8, 15, and 22 from 10am-1pm. The workshop is open to the public, and designed for audio hobbyists who want to improve their understanding of how audio works, and how to work with it. Tuition is a suggested donation $30-100 donation to Orcas Center, and an interest in volunteering at Orcas Center in the future!  No one will be turned away for lack of funds. No signup required: simply come to the first class.

Curriculum:

Week 1: Theory

What is sound? How is it measured? Decibels and Hertz. Frequency and amplitude. Cables and connectors. Microphones – types and uses. Levels and level setting. Equalizers: types and uses. Basic audio mixers and how to use them. Analog vs. Digital audio. 

Week 2: Skills

Sound reinforcement concepts. Sound system layout & speaker placement. Power on / off series. Monitoring. Mics and mic placement for various instruments. Direct boxes. Gain stages. Snakes. Mixing boards – from small to large. Inserts. Sub groups. Talkback. What is feedback, and how do you minimize it? EQ, compression, limiting, gates, reverb, delay. Running a sound check for one or more bands. And much more!

Week 3: Application

Apply all that you have learned on an actual show! Set up for Stormy Hildreth’s band which loads in, soundchecks, and performs at 7:30!  

Jake Perrine is the Technical Director of the Orcas Center, and a 30+ year audio professional. He taught audio production at the Art Institute of Seattle for over a decade, at WarpAcademy.com, an online school he co-founded, and is author of three published books on audio.

Bring a snack, water, and paper & pencil if you want to take notes.

Questions?  Email jake@orcascenter.org.