Blue’s Regional Sales Manager Ben Thompkins and Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences (CRAS) Graduate and Current Blue Product Support Clerk Tyler Barkley Joined CRAS Instructors in Training Students on Proper Mic Techniques & Placement
Gilbert, Ariz., June 22, 2016 – The Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences (CRAS; www.cras.edu), the premier institution for audio engineering education, recently hosted Blue during a training clinic on proper microphone techniques and placement during recording sessions for the school’s students at its Gilbert, Ariz. campus.
“We joined a class being led by CRAS instructors Mike Jones and Tony Nunes,” explained Blue Regional Sales Manager Ben Thompkins, who has been with Blue for more than seven years. “Specifically, we worked with the students on mic placement and choosing what mics would be good for a band consisting of a drummer, electric bass, singer, saxophone, acoustic guitar, and piano/organ player. We held this recording session to support CRAS and work with the students to hear and experience all the different options of microphones and headphones Blue has to offer.”
During the session, CRAS students got to work with a number of Blue microphones and gear, including The Bottle, Bottle Rocket Stage 1, Hummingbird, Baby Bottle, Mouse, and Lola headphones.
“CRAS has an extremely knowledgeable staff, incredible facilities, forward-thinking classes and programs, active students, and an overall great environment for audio students,” Thompkins continued. “There are many advantages to working with CRAS, including seeing the next generation of audio professionals and giving them an opportunity to work with our products. We have an internship program that CRAS students have participated in and, in many cases, have been hired to work at Blue.”
Accompanying Thompkins during the training session was CRAS graduate Tyler Barkley, who is now employed with Blue as product support clerk.
“The session was very informative for our students, and having Tyler participate as a CRAS graduate also showed our current students the opportunities available to them both to intern, as well as full-time employment after graduation,” said Kirt Hamm, CRAS administrator. “Blue designs and produces top-shelf pro audio gear. Having them come and train our students is real-world knowledge they can take with them into the field, which is invaluable at this stage of their education.”
The Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences is composed of two nearby campuses in Gilbert and Tempe, Ariz. A CRAS education includes live sound, broadcast audio, film and TV audio, music, and video game audio, all taught by award-winning instructors who have all excelled in their individual fields, including sound reinforcement, audio recording and production, digital recording, troubleshooting/maintenance, and music business.
CRAS structured programs and highly qualified teaching staff provide a professional and supportive atmosphere, which is complemented by its small class sizes allowing for individual instruction and assistance for students in engineering audio recordings. The 11-month program is designed to allow every student access to learn and train in all of the Conservatory’s studios which are comprised with state-of-the-art audio recording and mixing gear, the same equipment used in today’s finest studios and remote broadcast facilities, including Pro Tools 11, API Legacy consoles, SSL AWS consoles, Studer Vista consoles, and much more. All students must complete a 280-hour industry internship to graduate from the Master Recording Program II that may ultimately lead to industry employment. Recently, two CRAS graduates won 2016 Grammy Awards, and, in addition, 13 graduates received credit for their work on 17 Grammy-winning categories. Overall, 38 CRAS graduates worked on numerous 2016 Grammy-nominated albums and songs across 36 categories.
About Blue
Blue continues a 20-year legacy of innovative, cutting-edge design and performance across award-winning microphones and the critically acclaimed Lola Headphones and Mo-Fi Powered Headphones. Named one of the fastest-growing companies by Inc. Magazine for six consecutive years, Blue offers a range of recording tools for almost any application in both professional and consumer markets. From Blue’s flagship studio Bottle microphone, to Yeti the world’s #1 USB microphone, to the award-winning headphone line, Blue has tools that inspire creativity.
