Students at The Recording Conservatory Of Austin were recently treated to an evening of epic audio geekdom with the Audio Alchemist andGuitar Center .

Kicking things off was an insightful talk by mastering engineer Chris Athens, whose mind bending list of credits include Drake, Lupe Fiasco, Of Mice and Men, Willie Nelson and a virtually unending list of A list acts.

Congregated in the beautiful live room at Stinson Studios, Marek Stycos (Audio Alchemist) led a room full of emerging engineers and producers through an in depth examination of the wonders of analog audio. Highlighting 3 of the top brands on the market, Stycos brought in a staggering array of gear from Manley Audio,Dangerous Music and Phoenix Audio for the students to play with. Even though the students at TRCOA are spoilt for choice in regards to gear, the opportunity to play with and run signal through the towers of compressors, EQs and preamps brought in by Guitar Center and Audio Alchemist proved an invaluable experience.

Three massive racks of gear towered in the middle of Stinson Studios as Marek the Audio Alchemist seamlessly switched from one compressor to another. The students at TRCOA were able to get hands on experience with all the gear on site which is always THE BEST way to get a feel for what a particular piece of gear actually does.

At the heart of the evening was a mutual love for music that was echoed over and over again during the presentation. Everyone who attended the event left with a much deeper knowledge of the analog pieces of gear (and a couple of goodies from some very generous sponsors).

Thanks to Guitar Center and The Audio Alchemist, Chris Athens, Manley Audio, Dangerous Audio and Phoenix Audio for a fantastic night of music and gear fun!