Dark Horse Institute: Audio Engineering Instructors

So you enjoy music production? Maybe you’re in a band and you really wish that you could achieve more recording on your own; after all, you’ve got the ears right? Or maybe you’ve been plugging away in your home studio for years, slowly honing your skills by watching YouTube engineer all-stars like Graham from The Recording Revolution or Pensado’s Place. Those are, in fact, AWESOME guys with unbelievable resources at the click of a button.

However, in this blog post, we want to brag a little on the folks that Dark Horse Institute has teaching and mentoring students who on their way to audio engineering virtuosity! Whether or not recording school is for you, some people simply benefit the most from a hands-on approach. Audio engineering is a hands on industry and the only way to get better is to spend hours…days…weeks…and years doing it! Check out what these four gentleman have accomplished so far in their careers, and you make the call. We’re pretty convinced it won’t take long to start imagining yourself in their classes!

Dave Hagen:

Dave graduated from Missouri State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Audio/ Electronic Arts. He began his career at Dark Horse Recording as an intern. Soon, Dave became an assistant to producer Mark Lee Townsend, and worked with artists on labels such as Sony, Capitol, Gotee, and Tooth and Nail. Dave became a Dark Horse staff engineer in 2011 and has worked with Ashley Judd, OneRepublic, Relient K, Matthew West and many others.

Steve Lamm:

GRAMMY winning engineer of tobyMac’s “Alive and Transported”, Steve Lamm has more than 15 years of experience as an audio engineer, producer, musician, songwriter, studio owner, and instructor. Steve is credited for working with artists across many genres including tobyMac, Casting Crowns, Marty Stuart, and more! Steve is currently the Director of Education/Instructor at DHI.

Dennis Ritchie:

Dennis has been a musician, engineer and producer for over 30 years. He’s recorded multi-platinum and Grammy winning artists in Nashville and L.A. including Johnny Cash, George Jones, Don McLean, B.J. Thomas, Randy Travis, Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs and Patty Loveless, as well as music for CBS, ABC, NBC, MTV, VH-1, Disney, Universal, Paramount, American Idol, PBS, HBO, EA Games, TrisStar and soundtracks for The Apostle and North Country.

 

Matt Sepanic:

Matt Sepanic has been professionally producing and recording for over 19 years. Sepanic has worked with such notable artists as World Under, If Ever Was a Fire, The Envy Corps, Decoy, Johnny Reeferseed and Slipknot, including recording of their Platinum album “All Hope Is Gone.” His work with many of the artists has been showcased in various movies and television shows. Matt is equally deeply versed in Pro Tools as he is able to properly tech, align and work with analog tape machines. He still prefers to use tape whenever possible.