Meeting Topic: Monheim Microphones
Speaker Name: CRAS Grad Andrew Monheim
Meeting Location: Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences 1205 N. Fiesta Blvd Gilbert Az
On November 20th, 2018, the AES chapter at The Conservatory of Arts and Sciences hosted guest speaker Andrew Monheim to talk to students about what led him to start his own company. Andrew is a CRAS alumnus who owns and operates a microphone company/ recording studio, properly named Monheim Microphones. He came to explain and demonstrate the magic behind his mics, as well as to give students a tracking treat in the form of an overdub session with his friend, colleague, and instrumentalist, Noor Che'ree. While guiding students through the session, he explained mic placement and the musicality behind what he was doing.
Andrew started his presentation by giving his background in the industry. After graduation, he began an internship with Blue Microphones, which led to a permanent position with them. He ended up becoming the go-to guy, overseeing all assembly operations. After his tenure at Blue, he moved on to work for Manley Microphones, again taking charge of the assembly department. While working at both companies, he also maintained a home recording studio where he realized how important quality microphones were to recording. He would loan out mics to his clients so their recordings would sound better, saving him many hours on the backend of the recording process. This is how his idea to start Monheim Mics was formed. Why not build his own quality microphones to share with the world to produce quality sound every time?
The main content of Andrew's demonstration was a recording, overdubbing and mixing clinic done on the fly. He led students between the studio and control room where he would explain his mic placement and then allow students to hear for themselves the real life, behind the glass sound. The first mic he demonstrated was his "Omni" mic. He stated that this mic's inspiration came from SM57 logic, with the ability to work well on a myriad of different sounds. He stated "it's like a 57 but better." The other mic he brought was his "FET" mic. Andrew likes to name his mics plainly and straightforwardly, because his goal is to lessen the learning curve between the manufacturer and customers. So, with his sparkly, powder coated, top quality, user friendly mics, he tracked all the instruments he brought with him and overdubbed them in a session for students to enjoy.
As Andrew's demonstration session came to an end, he announced a winner for his student giveaway of a matched pair of "Omni" mics and left students with advice about the industry and some mindsets they can adopt to make their transition in to the industry a bit easier
Written By: CRAS AES Office Holder Audrey C. (AES ID: 287096)
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