A team of five recording industry studies students won the Fantastic Scholastic 7 Recording Competition.
The team included seniors Rob Courtney and Brian Gross-Bias, junior Taylor Lehman, sophomore Tommy Nichols and freshman Elissa Chapin.
The competition is put on by Shure electronics, a company that makes recording equipment. Shure selects 10 schools across the country to participate.
For the competition, the company sent the students a package of microphones and challenged them to record a song that best showcased the microphones. The song could be from any genre of music, as long it had not been produced before.
The students picked a slow jazz piece performed by Butler faculty and recorded it in the Eidson-Duckwall Recital Hall.
“We picked the song because its jazz characteristics gave a dynamic range that showcased the microphones,” Lehman said.
After they recorded the song, they transferred it back to the studio where each student made their own mix.
“Everyone had different jobs throughout the process, but we all mixed our own version because we all have different techniques,” Lehman said.
Even though they all made their own mix, Chapin said they did not want to master the sound too much so the natural sound of the microphones could be displayed in the final recording.
“The key was to find the best placement for the microphones,” Chapin said.
As a prize for winning, the university gets to keep the package of microphones used to record the song, and each student also gets his or her own microphone.
Chapin said the competition was a learning experience for her.
“I went into this as a freshman who barely knew how to record, and I learned a ton from this opportunity,” Chapin said.
This is the seventh year of the competition.