How, When & Where? Well, way back in 1969, in the small town of Hillsdale New Jersey, there was a 4 track studio in the basement of a group of stores that was up for sale. The price?... Just take over the rent was all they asked! Getting wind of this fantastic deal (an understatement) through my contacts, I trucked out to Jersey to take a look. The rooms were setup with no equipment...(hence, the price!)...except for a four bus, (wired for mono only) Gates Vacuum Tube Radio Production Desk!

To shorten the story, I decided to take a chance and brought in my Scully Recorders, mics, effects, etc. and opened the Sound Factory 4 Track Recording Studio of Hillsdale! Mind you, I still was a partner in a NYC Studio known as Avantage Studios, so this Hillsdale venture was just something for the weekends! Well, within three months I realized why the studio was up for grabs...Cows, Horses and Pigs don' t do a great deal of recording!! Now what?

Sitting at my new studio watching the farm animals do their thing, I reflected on what else I used to do for fun before engineering. I was a music teacher (Drums & Vibes) and always enjoyed teaching. Back in the 60' s, getting qualified staff engineers was very difficult. So, I thought, why not teach engineering in my new studio. In June of 1969, I went for the $7 and put an ad in the Village Voice. I managed to scare up a class of 5 students. The entire course tuition was $250 & lo and behold, the birth of the first Audio Engineering School in the USA!

Today, I have my School in Long Island, New York under the name Recording Enigineers Institute (est. 1973). Though we still keep the classes relatively small, the tuition has risen just a little. My school is well equipped; the courses are very comprehensive and we are fortunate to have some very capable and dedicated engineers and managerial staff eager to assist you in the pursuit of an exciting career in the Audio Business!

P.S. I traded the Gates Vacuum Tube board for two Yankee Baseball Tickets! They won!

Sincerely, James J. Bernard Sr. President - Recording Engineer Instititue (REI) Also Read About REI and School Staff Recording Engineer Associotion

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