Pulse recording college

DamagedTrax

studiorat wrote: »

I don't think them having or not having qualifications would make any difference to their current success tbh.

i dont know either way. i was just pointing out that they have walls of qualifications on display for anyone to see.

DamagedTrax

thegrove54 wrote: »

Was talking to someone who did this course said that there was alot of internal polotics. For the price their charging id expect more studio time than lecture time i mean you can rote learn off the entire manual on this stuff and then get to a mixing desk and just think wait what does this button do. Best to learn on the Shi ttest piece of equipment you can find and make that sound amazing that way when you get to using the good equipment you can make the good stuff sound even better.

whoever you spoke to was talkin out their arse.

im a student there and can tell you now that we have a lot more hands on time than lecture time.

heres a run down of my typical week

monday - live sound (hands on a midas desk down in radio city)
tuesday - recording in the engine room (hands on amek rembrandt aswell as lots of outboard)
wednesday - post production in area 51 (hands on with a digi desk)
thursday - lectures all day
friday - mixing in studio 2 windmill lane (hands on with ssl 4000 g+ aswell as lots of outboard)

thats not exact but its a rough idea and as you can see unless we started going in at weekends we couldnt get any more hands on time.

we also have sessions in windmill 1 where we get to assist with major artists.

personally ive had 2 weeks with one of irelands biggest selling bands, aswell as 1 week with a top uk producer who has worked with many of my fave bands and who had his own room at olympic in london.

dumbledee

No-one seems to have mentioned about the degree course they offer...
I was thinking of doing this but was wondering if it was worth the money, it works out at nearly 9 grand a year, three year course, so 27 grand?!?!

Its alot of money to spend, is it worth it really??

PaulBrewer

dumbledee wrote: »

No-one seems to have mentioned about the degree course they offer...
I was thinking of doing this but was wondering if it was worth the money, it works out at nearly 9 grand a year, three year course, so 27 grand?!?!

Its alot of money to spend, is it worth it really??

I guess there's two ways of looking at it.

1. Perhaps a more populist view is that 'Ya could buy a whole heap of gear with 27 grand' .
I as an Equipment Supplier would be pleased with that !

2. From my observing the Pulse 'thing' in Windmill is that money buys you more than just a piece of paper.
Windmill is a very cool set up with some top level clients.
It seems to me you'll definitely get an education there - but , perhaps more importantly, you'll get experience with pros. The stuff that really counts.

Even with the amount of time I've been in the biz I take every opportunity to meet with and quiz the top guys when I can
(Cenzo Townshend in Metroplolis Studio London last week! http://cenzotownshend.com/) .

I still find I learn more in an hour chatting to them than I do in 20 on my own.

I should point out Pulse isn't a customer of mine.

DamagedTrax

also the gear arguement doesnt really apply to the degree course as its performance based with very little actual engineering involved (as opposed to the diploma which is an engineering course thru & thru).

it seems to me to be geared towards those that want to be producers/arrangers/composers in the trueist sense of the words. although im not 100% aware of the course work so if anyone else knows for sure then please correct me.

Niall - Dahlia

PaulBrewer wrote: »

2. From my observing the Pulse 'thing' in Windmill is that money buys you more than just a piece of paper.
Windmill is a very cool set up with some top level clients.
It seems to me you'll definitely get an education there - but , perhaps more importantly, you'll get experience with pros. The stuff that really counts

How many days would 27k buy you in Windmill where you could experiment and learn hands on to your hearts content!

Having talked a little with Tony when he was last down in Salt I got the impression that the degree course isn't geared towards those looking for a job in studio engineering and live sound, it's alot more acedemic and theory/science based.

PaulBrewer

Niall - Dahlia wrote: »

How many days would 27k buy you in Windmill where you could experiment and learn hands on to your hearts content!

.

True !

But it's what you learn from guys who do it everyday that fast tracks learning.

My understanding was that a significant part of the course was sitting in on 'big' sessions as an assistant.

DamagedTrax

PaulBrewer wrote: »

My understanding was that a significant part of the course was sitting in on 'big' sessions as an assistant.

true of the diploma course. i was lucky enough to sit in with steven street for a week but im unaware of any degree students doing this. i dont think its applicable on that course.

Niall - Dahlia

PaulBrewer wrote: »

My understanding was that a significant part of the course was sitting in on 'big' sessions as an assistant.

So I've heard. When I was in Pulse 3 or 4 years ago I was a little disappointed by the hands on aspect, but from all accounts I've heard this has changed, especially with the inclusion of Windmill.

Seems like a great course now, and I know that there are plans to extend the post production and multimedia qualifications (maybe that's already happened), which is great from an employment point of view for anybody finishing the course.

Wonder what kind of equivalent course 27k could get you in the UK or further afield?

PaulBrewer

DamagedTrax wrote: »

true of the diploma course. i was lucky enough to sit in with steven street for a week but im unaware of any degree students doing this. i dont think its applicable on that course.

I believe it's only Degree guys who are in Windmill. I'm open to correction on that though.

Either way, I thought they were a very helpful enthusiastic bunch when I was down there.

Perhaps there's a Boards Member on that course ?

DamagedTrax

nope, us diploma folk are in windmill all the time too. studio 1 for "real world" sessions and studio 2 on the SSL G+ for project mixing etc.

PaulBrewer

DamagedTrax wrote: »

nope, us diploma folk are in windmill all the time too. studio 1 for "real world" sessions and studio 2 on the SSL G+ for project mixing etc.

Cool

dumbledee

What I want to pursue is a career as a songwriter/producer, try and get songs I write cut by artists or placed in tv/film, im not really into working on other peoples albums, i just want to work from home at my little home studio...

Do you think this degree course would be a waste of time for me personally as it seems to be more geared towards working with other bands and live gigs etc..

has anyone done the protools 101, 110 courses at pulse? are they any use?

DamagedTrax

dumbledee wrote: »

Do you think this degree course would be a waste of time for me personally as it seems to be more geared towards working with other bands and live gigs etc..

has anyone done the protools 101, 110 courses at pulse? are they any use?

i think you're confused. the degree course is what you're looking for. the diploma is for the engineering end.

the protools courses are the protools courses. they follow the set curriculam from digidesign books. they shouldnt be any differant no matter where you go.

OK so from what I am reading the degree course is for working with bands, live gigs etc. and the diploma is for... what exactly? People seem to be saying different things. Also those of you who said you are doing the diploma is that the full-time or part-time? What would be the major differences between each?

studiorat

Deleted User wrote: »

OK so from what I am reading the degree course is for working with bands, live gigs etc. and the diploma is for... what exactly? People seem to be saying different things. Also those of you who said you are doing the diploma is that the full-time or part-time? What would be the major differences between each?

Both are for what ever you want them to be for I'd imagine, people do these courses for many reasons.

It only takes a certain amount of time to teach someone enough to run a little session, you can go as deep into the understanding of the process as you want but either course should give you enough to get started quite early on. The rest is just time and experience, stuff you learn on the job as it were.

I was talking to a guy yesterday who did a one year course in one of the VEC schools and he's running his own little studio and doing sound for bands around the place and doing pretty well by all accounts.

A degree will certainly help if you are looking at say the games industry or further education after that, if you want to do sound for bands I'd suggest just starting to look for bands to work with... I don't really think any bands will care if you have a degree or a diploma or whatever as long as you can do the job.

DamagedTrax

Deleted User wrote: »

OK so from what I am reading the degree course is for working with bands, live gigs etc. and the diploma is for... what exactly? People seem to be saying different things. Also those of you who said you are doing the diploma is that the full-time or part-time? What would be the major differences between each?

no offence intended but go back and re-read the thread

you seem a little mixed up.

im a student in pulse and ive already said twice which course is which.

LeBash

Hoover wrote: »

Hi has anyone taken a course at pulse recording college, the course i'm interested is a full time advanced diploma over 2 years in music tech and sound engineering see here http://pulserecording.com/college/c1.asp as you can see it quite expensive, just wondering how this course compares to the music tech courses available at bray or ballyfermot higher education centres or with fas, and what might the job prospects be after completion of either course.:)

Im just finished in bray and one of the lads teaching is out of Ballyfermot, 2 others out of Pulse.

The lads from Pulse were saying the gear was amazing, but it was a look and dont touch thing going on.

The gear in bray is basic, but you get to use the equipment. We even got plenty of time on the equipment alone at lunch time and after we finished. As for jobs, if you find one, your lucky. It is easier to start out small yourself.

DamagedTrax

LeBash wrote: »

The lads from Pulse were saying the gear was amazing, but it was a look and dont touch thing going on.

more BS.

we use gear hands on every day of the week.

who are these people and what planet do they live on?

noodle650

Would recommend pulse anytime. Tony knows exactly what hes on about, (would eb int he top 30in europe for knowledge on Protools).

heading there in september, cant wait.

there is BUCKET loads of work there for those willing to do it.

TelePaul

noodle650 wrote: »

there is BUCKET loads of work there for those willing to do it.

Interesting, this is the first time I've heard that said here. Care to elaborate?

noodle650

well im booked up with gigs until august 3rd but more is sure to come after that. Thats involving Céilís, Festivals, venue engineering, local festival gigs and gigs for various bands my friends have going. All payed of course and callbacks are almost guaranteed.

noodle650

To be honest its Recording studios that are seeing huge dips in work flow unfortunatly.

which is a pity really, as we have quite a few good ones here.

DamagedTrax

TelePaul wrote: »

Interesting, this is the first time I've heard that said here. Care to elaborate?

i personally wouldnt go as far as to say bucket loads but im fairly booked up myself at the moment too between studio work and nixers at home..

could change in a blink of the eye though.

flyswatter

Been following the conversation here and am thinking about doing the part-time diploma along with an unrelated course in a different college.

Just wondering of how much benefit the course would be when I could spend say 6 grand on gear and learn it myself instead of going to Pulse.

Is it worth it or is the former option preferable? I've heard people on here advocating going (and learning) it alone.

DamagedTrax

flyswatter wrote: »

Been following the conversation here and am thinking about doing the part-time diploma along with an unrelated course in a different college.

Just wondering of how much benefit the course would be when I could spend say 6 grand on gear and learn it myself instead of going to Pulse.

Is it worth it or is the former option preferable? I've heard people on here advocating going (and learning) it alone.

both options are viable solutions but if you're a total beginner i would advise getting stuck into some demo software first and seeing if you actually like it as a career choice (and while you're testing the demos have some random people shout viscious abuse at you to get that authentic studio experience).

after that only you can make the decision. will you learn better by being thought or by teaching yourself is the question.

MilanPan!c

DamagedTrax wrote: »

while you're testing the demos have some random people shout vicious abuse at you to get that authentic studio experience

QFT

LittleRedFox

Hey DamagedTrax, just checked out your myspace, acidtechno sounds good:) As for a better band(and you've prob heard it a million times) I'd have to say, The Smiths!
Anyho, down to brass tax, I'm and aspiring DJ with dreams of producing my own tracks. I would like to know how much of your production skills you had before doing the pulse course? When you finished could you, say, make a house track and a psych-trance track(if you wanted)? Just trying to get a feel for the technical skills I would have once finished in pulse. Also, I'm keen on the recording side of things to its just electronic music production is the be all and end all:)

seannash

LittleRedFox wrote: »

Hey DamagedTrax, just checked out your myspace, acidtechno sounds good:) As for a better band(and you've prob heard it a million times) I'd have to say, The Smiths!
Anyho, down to brass tax, I'm and aspiring DJ with dreams of producing my own tracks. I would like to know how much of your production skills you had before doing the pulse course? When you finished could you, say, make a house track and a psych-trance track(if you wanted)? Just trying to get a feel for the technical skills I would have once finished in pulse. Also, I'm keen on the recording side of things to its just electronic music production is the be all and end all:)

when i did my course in pulse i figured id be making killer tunes after the course was done.truth is the pulse course i did was way more geared towards tradtional recording techniques.it taught me how to solder,splice tape and kind of mic instruments.

to be honest it wasnt what i expected and i learned more by buying software and making tracks in my bedroom

DamagedTrax

LittleRedFox wrote: »

Hey DamagedTrax, just checked out your myspace, acidtechno sounds good:) As for a better band(and you've prob heard it a million times) I'd have to say, The Smiths!
Anyho, down to brass tax, I'm and aspiring DJ with dreams of producing my own tracks. I would like to know how much of your production skills you had before doing the pulse course? When you finished could you, say, make a house track and a psych-trance track(if you wanted)? Just trying to get a feel for the technical skills I would have once finished in pulse. Also, I'm keen on the recording side of things to its just electronic music production is the be all and end all:)

hey, i had my label and releases long before i did the pulse course. pulse wont teach you to write music, thats sometving you have inside you, which you perfect by understanding your chosen genres inside out.

what pulse will do is teach you to use the tools to achieve this.

personally i didnt go to pulse to learn to produce my own music and unless you're looking at the degree course in production it would be a foolish move to go to learn to produce.

ill say it again:

higher diploma course for studio/live engineers.
degree course for theory/production.