Conservatory Of Recording Arts And Sciences - Tempe, Arizona

From: Slaw Dogg | submitted: Dec 15, 2011
CRAS is pretty much the best school for the money... After I left cras I got a degree in broadcasting (from a small community college), now I'm currently in film school. I've worked for 2 news stations, recorded 6 studio albums, boom mic for 1 full length movie and many short films, did audio post production for a few films, started up 2 night clubs, and have a $25,000 project studio (with audio and video capabilities). I'm also a vice president of a production company. So how does CRAS rank? the highest... My knowledge of audio is intimidating. There are many terrific schools for audio engineering, and there are many ways to learn. But with cras you know your learning THE RIGHT WAY. For example: the community college I went to after cras taught nothing about compression, eq, mixing, they couldn't even show you how to make a headphone mix, but they have a nice audio studio... I remember watching a girl mix a song that she wrote and recorded, for a few hours a day, everyday, the whole semester... when she was done I listened to it with a group of people, and just looked at the audio teacher and just thought "you're a hack"... it could've been a good song, but because he had taught her everything wrong is was really bad. The two schools I've gone to since CRAS both act like they've got some fire... but they aint nothin compared to CRAS. not even close. CRAS is a for profit school, many people say this is bad, but I liked it. A lot more money get cycled into the program then a public school. There are many other choices of audio school, I've met Full Sail grads, SAE grads, music institute grads, all have been great guys and have helped me out! I don't like the rivalry between audio schools… There was once a Full Sail grad that refused to let me use his studio because I went to CRAS. But a band he recorded at his studio hated the album quality, and had me re-record a bunch of songs for them (in my basement) with much better results. (Education doesn't make the man, a man makes himself) THE GOOD-- 1. Project staff are the guys that run the studios during after hours... cool dudes, they've got good advice, and they generally don't try and fill ya full of hot air... Don't mess with that Amanda chick though, she'll rip your head off. 2. EXTRA CLASSES!!! are the best... Every weekend I went to extra classes, I went to the Neotek review class 11 times. I had many one on one sessions due to the fact that sometimes, I was the only one to attend. 3. Mic book project-- a lot of people do a bad job on this one... but I put around 30hrs into mine and it rules. I still like to give it a look when I buy mics. 4. you will know pro tools like no ones business-- and if you don't you can only blame yourself. I've still to use an mtr 90, or studer out side of school, but use pro tools (and logic) a lot. 5. You'll know how to use almost any recording studio, anywhere. THE BAD-- 1.Some teachers teach you that a PRODUCER is some idot that doesn't know/do anything... in the "real world" if you ever acted like that to a producer you would be fired instantly, because producers are extremely important, and have a HUGE role in the production. 2. If you don't like your classmates, ask to move to another class... I was told by an instructor that my class was one of the worst that he/she had ever seen... and I agreed, they SUCKED and most of them do not work in the industry now. 3. Its pretty much impossible to fail, you can get bad grades, you can fail classes, but you will not get kicked out, and most likely will graduate (I think they made one kid attend for an extra 3 weeks to re take tests but thats it) 4. a few (1 or 2) instructors are really bad, usually too young. Never appreciated paying for for a "give me class" 5. your going to have to get your own internship, its not hard to do. The internship dept is cool, but I think their all on drugs (seriously). They have a very hard time doing their job, also the resume they wanted me to have was a joke (never got hired off that one lol), in fact I'm a little embarrassed that I even gave it to potential employers. 6. they talk a lot of crap about beat makers (for hip hop/rap). A guy I know from CRAS makes a good living selling rap beats. THE UGLY-- 1. You can't really have a job while you go, you can, but the school is very difficult and has demanding hours. If you have even something part time, you will suffer. 2. because of #1, a lot of us just never ate anything, at one point in time I thought I was going to die because I had been doing school for 100hrs a week, and didn't eat the whole time lol. I remember hanging out with class mates and was so happy they had white rice to eat. A classmate got kicked out of his apartment (failing to pay rent), and lived at the school for a week before anyone figured it out. He came and lived with me. 3. The AZ police are not to be messed with... Do not break the law Phoenix, you'll get screwed big time! I love Phoenix, but left with a few warrants lol. 4. Not a lot of fe-males…. probably 1 in 30 students is a lady. If you wanna go to CRAS I'd say-- 1. Record an album before you go, and bring the raw tracks with you! since you'll have nearly unlimited access to awesome studios, you'll be able to do a sweet mix for your album. 2. Learn mac computers... there is a test there that people fail because they don't know how to open the cd player on the computer... those people are dumb, but still it wouldn't hurt to know a mac. 3. buy a pair of studio monitors (fancy speakers). 4. buy an external hard drive, and back your stuff up! Also some general words of advice-- Do a good job, stay on it... getting in to the industry is not that hard, you may not be recording green day at electric lady, but almost every grad is doing something cool even if they don't have a gold record for it. I never went to LA, but that stuff sounds hard... you may want to have some real ammo for them... I'll get out there someday, but I'm not going to be the guy that picks up lunch everyday. (and hopefully after cras, an associates, and a BFA, and 5+ years of pro experience I won't have to) Music industry right now is controlled by like 2 or 3 companies, and they've pretty much ran it into the ground... Video has a huge need for qualified audio engineers, theres a lot more money in it to! It wouldn't hurt to know After Effects, photo shop, and Final Cut. I hope this helps people looking for a REAL review... there are good and bad parts... But when you sit down in front of a huge console (mixer), and you just love it, you know its for you.

From: Steve P | submitted: Dec 08, 2010
I have some pretty mixed feelings about my experience at CRAS. I've read a bunch of reviews since I left, and I think people's experiences are varied based on who they had as teachers. I laugh every time I read "some young hot shot" because I know.. As well as everyone else by that description EXACTLY who they're talking about. The overall mood is pretty pretentious.. The internship department isn't very helpful.. But keep in mind, they'll be your best friend if you want to go to LA, or Nashville. But don't let the negative aspects sway you too much.. Despite the negative aspects, I feel I got exactly what I wanted out of the program (I would have liked a more in depth class on game audio though.. If you're going specifically to get into that field, go somewhere else.. It's like a two week class.. just enough to make you wish there was more).. The other cool thing is that you're put in a small class of 12 people who are exactly like you. My best friends for life are my classmates from CRAS. Although, Lots of people got really crappy classmates.. so who knows.. Maybe you'll get a good experience.. maybe not. If I had to rank it on a scale of 1-10, I'd give it a 7. If they dropped the egos, and didn't come off so intimidating to people, they'd get a 10. Oh yeah, and most of the project staff are total pricks.. Just sayin.. don't expect them to be helpful.. at all..

From: Jimmy G Naron | submitted: Jun 29, 2010
If a person wants to learn how to engineer and get a foot in the door, this is the place to be. The instructors are multitalented, they have worked with all genres and have been awarded for their work in the industry. I was very comfortable asking questions when I needed to. I was never afraid to ask for help and was always encouraged to go the extra mile. Upon graduation, I had a huge sense of accomplishment and it boosted my confidence. I couldn't believe I was able to go into a control room and actually work on industry standard SSL, Neve and Neotek consoles. That is something a person cannot receive just anywhere. If I could do it again I would. CRAS Alumni are like family and I would have no problem finding work in the industry. My diploma gets me the "Red Carpet" treatment in many studios and I have worked with many artists. I have met many people in the industry and have enjoyed every minute of it. Whether its Metal, Punk, Ska, Electronic or Hip Hop, you can learn how to engineer it at CRAS. You have all the resources when you complete the program. Thanks to the instructors and and the school, I have a great job in the industry and love going to work on a daily basis!!!

From: A Martin | submitted: May 11, 2010
I am a Conservatory graduate and a current business school student. I attended CRAS in 2006 and though I received acceptable knowledge about audio (except mastering), the staff was very unprofessional when referring to hip-hop/rap music. Many students were pursuing careers within that genre and, in my opinion, were ridiculed because of their choice. These students were also labeled as sub par students though many of them were hard-workers and received high scores. Because most of these students were black, many believe that there were racial undertones, but I will not go so far as to make this accusation (at the time we had no black instructors though). My advice: If you love hip hop, please be cognizant of the fact that you may not be welcomed.

From: T CPB | submitted: Feb 09, 2009
Hmmm, things must have changed since I went there with my sister in 97. We had all the teachers who worked in the industry teaching us. Scott, Mr. Jones, Mr. James, Brock (aka "midi god) on top of many others. In fact, we ended up recording Grey Daze as our last class project (my sister and I) and their lead singer happened to be Chester of Linkin Park! I work in TV now, but the experience at school was well worth it for me.

From: Dan T R | submitted: Feb 22, 2008
Ummm, everything I learned from CRAS I could have easily read about online. In fact, most of my research and study material was used off line as it was more in depth and in some instances, clear. In the beginning, I remember one "hotshot" telling our class "there is no room for ego's in this industry" - pretty sure this young guy should have thought about that. There are some VERY excellent teachers there, but there are also the others that seem to not give a crap about your education, like they don't even want to be there. Oh yeah, you can ask questions, but beware as half the time you do so 60 percent of the "instructors" will look at you like you are a complete moron. A lot of the vibe in the air at both campuses, between students and faculty, is that of 1984. you are in their domain and it almost seems like they talk about every single student behind their backs. I overheard a couple things during my time there that I really shouldn't mention. They act like no one who attends there is ever been in the "real world" lol. Again, there are a couple very very very awesome and friendly teachers there who are willing to help you every second they have, but there is a decent amount that are just the opposite. At times I was even too afraid to ask questions because I would feel like I'd be ridiculed, as that has happened to myself and a couple other classmates from the near beginning. Oh yeah, all the "big name" teachers there - realize you don't get them (people with vast experience) most of the time, but instead get "project staff" to teach classes, who seem to be able to answer so many questions. I was interested in going in depth with many things, like the very specifics on how things work, but I don't think the instructors liked that too much. I did learn a lot, but I thought I'd learn a lot more. Hmmmmpfff