Alan Parsons in Munich for a rare mixing master class

Date: May 13th, 2020
Country: Germany
Venue:SAE Studio
Event: MCTS Level 2
Artist:Alan Parsons
Engineer And Producer: Alan Parsons
ProTools Engineer: Daniel Winzinger
Event Manager Terry Shields
Event Producer: Julian Colbeck for KEYFAX NewMedia.

Overview

This event has unfortunately had to be cancelled due to the current health emergency that cancelled the High End conference due to take place the day after this event. Those who have purchased tickets have already been contacted and refunded. To those who were looking forward to attending please stay tuned and we hope to be able to announce a new date in Germany in the coming weeks.

This is a pure Mixing master class. Alan will bring in two recordings he's produced and engineered; one a classic from his past glories, and one recent. There's a reason behind this. Re-examining a classic track is both fascinating in that you'll get to hear, in microscopic detail, exactly what a sound or a vocal effect or a part that you know so well actually is. Secondly, you'll get to hear a 'classic' recording in a studio setting with the man who made it.

The classic track will most likely be taken from Amonia Avenue, currently being re-released on the Cherry Red label; the front runner for now being the hit single Don't Answer Me.

Whether attendees will be able to persuade Alan to add an 808 beat to the track is open to question. You'll just have to wait and see how much of a 'remix' Alan is happy to do.

On the second track, the territory is less travelled and you'll probably be able to identify better with types of sounds and production in front of you.

On both mixes, though, Alan will start afresh and examine each part on its current merits, from EQ, processing, positioning in the mix, and of course balance. This is a priceless opportunity to see how the man who recorded and mixed Music by John Miles and countless others including of course every Alan Parsons Project album ever made, actually goes about the process.

The Venue

This event will be held on the campus of SAE Institute in Munich. Munich was the first SAE to open in Germany, in 1997. The mix room has a 48-channel SSL4000G+ board. Alan likes to mix in stereo and Surround and we may adjourn to SAE's purpose built Surround studio at some stage during the day.

Main monitors are Genelec 1037s supported by the obligatory Yamaha NS10 nearfields.

For outboard, SAE has a very respectable range of Focusrite, Drawmer, TC Electronics, Urei, Lexicon and Yamaha processing plus all the plug-ins one would expect including two UA Quad cards 'with everything.'

With SAE's own Daniel Winzinger at the helm we will be in great shape.

The Artist/Mixer

Alan Parsons was trained at Abbey Road Studios in London, working under the direction of Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick and Beatles producer George Martin. After working with The Beatles on Let It Be and Abbey Road Alan started working as a full-fledged engineer with Paul McCartney, Wings, George Harrison, and countless other artists who came to Abbey Road studios.

In 1972 Alan became the sole engineer working with Pink Floyd on Dark Side Of The Moon, a record which would go on to sell more than 45m copies. (Alan's legendary 'Quad' mix of Dark Side Of The Moon was finally included on the Immersion Edition 6 CD Boxed Set.)

Alan went on to become one of the most successful producers of the 1970s and 1980s, producing a string of hits with artists such as Pilot, Al Stewart, Ambrosia, Cockney Rebel, John Miles and of course The Alan Parsons Project, a concept created by himself and Eric Woolfson.

Post 'Project' Alan Parsons has continued to work as an independent producer with such artists as Jake Shimabukuro, Steven Wilson and Yes. Alan runs a highly successful touring band (The Alan Parsons Live Project), that has become a highly popular entity in Germany. Alan has also participated in The Night Of The Proms in Germany; most recently, in December 2019.

In 2019 Alan released his fifth solo album The Secret, much of which was recorded and all of which was mixed at ParSonics Studio in Santa Barbara, CA.

Alan Parsons is the Brand Ambassador at the 2020 International Hi-Fi Show High End in Munich following this master class.

Schedule

Wednesday May 13th 2020

• 09.30–10.00 Welcome, Registration. Coffee and pastries.
• 10.00–10.45 Alan plays the original mix of the track and talks about how it was recorded, the studio, players etc.
• 10.45–1.00 Surround Mix.
• 1.00–2.00 Lunch with Alan and studio personnel.
• 2.00–4.15 Stereo Mix
• 4.15–4.30 Break.
• 4.30–6.30 Mixing tips, Q&A.

All enquiries to info@artandscienceofsound.com or to KEYFAX NewMedia on 1-800-752-2780