Better Sound Through Training

  Hello and welcome to my web of sound and production arts info! You can follow the links on the left to different areas within this domain. For those that are wondering, a Souneme is concept that I've developed to teach young engineers about live sound and PA systems. A Souneme is a fundamental unit of a non vocalized sound. Just like a Phoneme is a sub-unit of a spoken word. Sound Engineers need to be able to distinguish very esoteric qualities in the nature of natural and reinforced sounds and comunicating these techniques can be like trying to teach someone to wiggle their ears.

Training to be Successful!

   There are a lot of schools and web sites out there that would have you believe that they can teach you how to mix studio or live audio. It seems as though what's advertised and available are primarily studio operation schools with some live production thrown in somewhere along the line. And I really don't doubt that you might learn a thing or two at one of those schools. The Production Institute is all about teaching young sound engineers, LD's, system techs and A/V specialists about live audio and event production.

If you've ever seen this Gary Larson cartoon you will understand that in the hands of the uneducated, every knob on a mixing console or a lighting board can be a suck knob. What we're doing here is science after all, not art.The art part comes in later but you'll have to stay tuned to hear that story! A large, flown audio system and all it's attendant adjustments and controls is a far more complicated thing to operate than a studio, you don't have to unplug everything and take it to a new location and then rewire it all back together again with a studio everyday do you?  :)

The forums are going to be a good place to get your questions answered and the web site will eventually be chock full 'o audio goodness.

About Myself and the Production Institute!

 My name is Ric Wallace and I've been a sound engineer for nearly thirty years. And no, my hearing isn't bad! Despite mixing bands like the Butthole Surfers for years, my hearing is in very good shape. I worked hard to protect my hearing and the hearing of my audience throughout my career. I've always believed that it is my duty, to give my customers the best experience they can have. I always considered the band and the audience to be equally important when it came to achieving high quality results.

 I'm currently the Technical Director for Campus Life at the University of Georgia in Athens, GA. I'm also the Production Manager for the Georgia Theater. Athens is the original stomping grounds of the the B52's and the home of R.E.M., Widespread Panic and many other fine bands. I've pretty much worked for all of them at one time or another!

 My online courses are coming this Spring and I'll have hands-on classes in Athens and Atlanta beginning this Fall. Participants will learn how to setup a large portable PA systems. Setup as in; connect, test and tune the PA for the room and prepare the stage and monitor system for the band. Participants will do the same hands-on work in a small and large club PA system environment. Participants will mix FOH and monitors at the Georgia Theater in Athens and various other clubs in Atlanta. We'll be in the clubs all day working on different techniques and troubleshooting and then after load in, there will be stage setup, monitor tuning, advanced feedback suppression techniques and many other of the processes that I use to achieve fast, musical sounding results. Then that evening participants will mix all the bands! These will be nights with popular local bands and big audiences. It doesn't matter whether you work in a church or a civic center, participants will take away a new set of personal tools to deal with the challenges of modern audio systems.

Once again remember folks, get the science right, before you destroy the art.