In March 2017 we were thrilled to welcome Grammy Award-winning producer Andrew Scheps to Metropolis Studios for an exclusive masterclass.
Held in the iconic Studio A, Andrew spoke about his career to date, answered questions and showed students an array of production techniques.
Hosted by ACM tutor John Gallen, the masterclass kicked off with an overview of Andrew’s career in the music industry so far, including his work with The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Adele, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, and Metallica, to name just a few!
During the class Andrew revealed that, much like our students, he started out by studying for a degree in Sound Engineering. Following his education, Andrew moved to New England Digital (makers of the Synclavier) to work in manufacturing. After making the move to the UK, Andrew explained how he became a trouble-shooter which enabled him to sit in on fantastic sessions with bands such as Dire Straits.
He spoke to the Music Production students about changes in the routes to becoming an engineer. Whereas previously there were many different roles within a recording process which you could work your way through the ranks in, now often it is left to just one person to take responsibility for the entire process. When speaking about his own route into the business, Andrew said it was his knowledge of Pro Tools that got him ahead as it was, and still is, a vital skill-set for the production of rock music. A key piece of advice that Andrew shared with the students was that there is no right or wrong way of producing or mixing: “Everyone hears music differently.”
When discussing equipment, Andrew shared: “There’s no magic plug-in to make it sound amazing”, and that, aside from the maths and physics of sound engineering, it’s knowing which take has the right vibe that is where the true talent lies, adding: “my own mixing setup is really simple, just a laptop, speakers and some headphones – it’s not expensive equipment that makes a great track.”
Questions were encouraged throughout the class and Andrew was clearly impressed with the students: “It seems everyone here has a really good grounding and understanding of the process and what making records is, so yeah really impressed actually.”
We were honoured that such an established producer took time out of his busy career to share his experience with our students. The masterclass was a complete success and everyone left clearly feeling inspired to put what they had learnt into practice in their own productions.
If you’d like to study at ACM and learn from the best producers the industry has to offer, please call our Admissions Team on 01483 500 841 or visit www.acm.ac.uk/open-days/ to book a place on an ACM Open Day today.
