Into audio? Resources!

Written By BECA senior Garrett Roads

As a student with an audio emphasis here in BECA, it’s easy to feel like an outsider in a building that is only three-percent audio facilities. When you’re aren’t in the basement enjoying John Barsotti’s infinite knowledge of all things audio, there are a few other places to go for enhancing your audio wizardry.

Blogs!

There are thousands of quality blogs out there. I have found SonicScoop to be a totally excellent resource. While you are there, sign up for the weekly contest and check out their sister site, The Deli. There is another totally excellent audio blog called Prosoundweb

Mags!

Most audio magazines are just glorified ad rags. Quality magazines do exist! And one is totally free! Tape Op is a fantastic magazine featuring a ton of reviews, interviews and ads from smaller companies. Sound on Sound is another quality magazine with a ton of online articles as well. However, this magazine is not free and rather expensive.

 Forums!

If you can get through the silly internet egos, there is an abundance of information on forums. Gearslutz has so much information on reviews, opinions and interviews (not to mention a totally rad name). Harmony Central is an audio page that is nearly as old as the internet itself. They offer the same as the rest with an old school feel. And lastly — The Reddit! There is an excellent subreddit for audio engineers with discussions, interviews, links, etc. Join up and contribute!

DIY

If you are feeling handy, there are so many resources for building your own cables, mics, preamps, etc. Monoprice is an excellent retailer with quality parts for building cables, adapters, etc. They also sell quality adapters and cables. For those with a bit of money, Seventh Circle Audio offers kits for 500 series pre-amps, compressors, eq’s and racks. Totally rad if you have a bit of cash. This next link is only for the mega-handy! DIYRIBBONMIC! Build your own mic?! Sounds rad to me. And last, but certainly not least, DIY Audio Projects has links to all sorts of schematics, kits, mods and anything you would want to check out!

If I missed anything, please share! Hope to see you around!

Garrett Roads is a BECA senior who is in love with multimedia. He is currently producing records, blogging and trying to get paid. Holla!