So in short it’s a three DVD set with some bonus flavor, not Pro Tools specific but a little Pro Tools oriented. But who’s Tony Shepperd anyway, and what makes him qualified to do a DVD set like this? To me he stands out as a ITB mixing advocate, which is proved by this page on his website dedicated to show what was mixed ITB on Pro Tools. A regular discography can be seen on this page at his website.

The DVDs

The first DVD is about tracking. A big part about this is on tracking drums. This is no surprise as there’s a little more behind it compared to say electric guitar where you stick a 57 to the cab. OK, OK, so not everyone does that, but typically there’s more things involved in drum tracking. You will learn about electric guitar recording as well as bass recording, however not much time is spent on it. Vocals on the other hand is something that he spends some time with. Here he shows how different microphones can sound as well as what distance does to the recording. This is in all honesty very fundamental things that the intermediate viewer should already know, but of course we can’t assume that there’s no beginners watching this so it’s only fair that they’re not left out. Tony also talks a little about MIDI and synths on this DVD.

The second DVD is about mixing. This is where the more Pro Tools-specific things happen, but I’m sure non-Pro Tools users can take advantage of it as well. In a way I was a little disappointed with this second DVD. Not that Tony did a bad job with the mix, but that I was hoping that he would talk more about why he was doing the things he was doing. It’s not nearly as in-depth as say Charles Dye’s Mix it Like a Record, and that’s fine, but overall I suppose I want a little more detail. If anything, it’s more like a collection of small tips that you hopefully can pick up something from.

Quality, style and more

The quality of the DVD is very good, and there’s no reason to assume anything else. It’s laid out in a good way, and there’s no crazy camera things happening. Tony’s style is OK. I wouldn’t say he was born for TV but he works well on screen. I wouldn’t say he was born for tutoring either, but again, he works OK in that scenario as well. Most importantly, he doesn’t have a annoying or boring voice or attitude. I would actually say that he’s easy to listen to.

So who is this DVD set for? I would say the beginner to intermediate. There’s probably a lot of “I already knew that”-moments for the more advanced intermediates, and experts should know most of the tricks here. This is not necessarily a bad thing, a 101 course could be exactly what the aspiring studio engineer needs. For instance, if you haven’t done the whole intern-thing, then setting up a drum recording might not be the easiest thing to do.

Conclusion

Tony Shepperd’s Master Series 1: Tracking and Mixing DVD set consists of a DVD about tracking, one about mixing, and a third data DVD. Tony’s teaching and screen presence is nothing extraordinary but works well. What I think is more important is that he’s easy to listen to and never gets ‘crappy sports commentator’-annoying. While I wish for a little more details on the mixing process, I think this is a good tutorial, perhaps especially aimed for the beginner and the early intermediate. More advanced users could probably find value here as well but I think it’s best viewed as a ‘getting started’- and ‘covering the basics’-course.

Tony Shepperd Master Series 1: Tracking and Mixing at Techbreakfast

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