College engineering programs focused on building electronic instruments/pedals?

[jtb]

hey all.  i've been there and back, all around the four corners of the internet trying to find any information about universities that offer programs specially tailored to learning how to build electronic audio devices, synthesizers, etc.  im also interested in any programs that teach a lot about the modeling of acoustics, both in the analog realm and digital programming.  from what i can infer, the standard Electrical Engineering program delves into way more areas than i think i would be interested in if i am only out to deal with audio equipment.  don't get me wrong though, i am interested in the mathematical aspects of audio design; i want to learn as much as i can about the applications and theory of everything from building analog stompboxes to modeling digital software synthesizers.

here's my deal: i went to college once upon a time and dropped out after a few years.  now ive decided to go back and make a run at getting into med school.  this means i can complete my undergrad major in just about anything i want as long as i supplement it with a few biological science classes.  im going to community college for a year in the fall, and as of right now my plan is to transfer into an EE program at University of California - Berkeley, Santa Barbara, or Davis, that is... unless i can find a decent program that will give me more of a concentration in the realm of audio. 

does anybody know of a university with a program of this kind, one that will lead me more in the direction of audio modeling and electronics?  any insight is much appreciated!

cheers

[defaced]

I know of no such universities, but I did notice something that may be worth noting. 

I once dated a girl who had dreams of going to med school.  Then she started to take classes for her undergrad (bio/psych) and wasn't doing well.  She then started realistically looking at entrance requirements for med school.  Most wouldn't talk to you unless you had a near perfect GPA, which she didn't have so alas, all was lost.  Before you set your sights 100% on an EE degree before med school, look at the requirements of the med school you want to attend.  If they have very high GPA requirements, you may want to re-think an EE degree.  I'm an engineer, and I will straight up say those guys are nutty smart.  I couldn't hack it through an EE program and get a decent GPA, but then again, I graduated behind someone who got a 4.0 in EE, so it's possible. 

[Mark Hammer]

Go to your nearest university library.  Go look at the Journal of the Audio Engineering Society (somewhere in the TK section, I believe).  browse through a few years of it.  You will likely see ads for programs at various universities, and also see papers by faculty members from universities, interleaved with all the stuff from companies.  That can help you find something.

Even if it doesn't, you'll have a a helluva good time flipping through it.  Haven't seen an issue in years, myself, and I miss it.

You can also look at the convention materials for the Audio Engineering Society: http://www.aes.org/

or better yet, look at the program directory they make available:  http://www.aes.org/education/directory/programs.cfm

Aren't you glad you asked?

[jtb]

thanks for taking the time to reply ya'll.  that's a good point you make about med school defaced, its something i have been wary of in thinking of my approach to all this.  ive always been really good at the whole school thing and testing and studying and what not, but as maintaining a high GPA is a top priority of mine i indeed might be getting in over my head entering into an EE program, especially at University of California.  i am going to consider going after another major and perhaps take some specific EE classes that pertain more to the art of building electronics - if they'll let me into the courses that is.

i appreciate the links mark.  i scrolled through the entirety of the online directory and it seems every program is focused more on audio production than any kind of electronic training.  that's been the problem with all of these "sound engineering" or "audio engineering" programs i have seen.  the "engineering" seems to be a bit of a misnomer as they all seem to deal mostly with studio production and learning how to run a DAW, but they wouldn't get me very far if i was, say, trying to build an analog synth from the ground up.

the professionals who build and design pedals and synths and amps for large corporations, are these folks likely all from a standard EE background?  what about people who deal with acoustics?  i really haven't even been able to find programs focused on acoustics, or acoustical engineering, those all seem to come back to the studio production focus.  my thing is, since i have to get a BA to get into med school, i really want to take advantage of the flexibility i have in picking my undergrad degree and choose something that i really care about.  as music is my biggest passion, specifically experimental electronic stuff, i want to study something that pertains to it.  it seems like that may be too much to ask for though! very frustrating!

anyway, thanks again, any more advice will be very appreciated.

[Mark Hammer]

But that's why I also recommended looking at the articles, too.  Sometimes you stumble across someone doing something in design that's fascinating, and there will be an institutional name attached to it.

Don't discount other avenues, either.  Former forum member Av Hollinger (the UInterlarder guy) did an EE degree and went on to the Music Technology graduate program at McGill in Montreal ( http://www.music.mcgill.ca/musictech/home ), where he got deeply into gestural controllers for music purposes.

[therecordingart]

I'm currently in the process of obtaining an electrical engineering degree (a year and a half into it). I'd say that 95% of what I've learned to this point can be applied directly to stompbox and other audio circuits. At the core of every (well most) electronic device(s) you're doing to find practically the same building blocks. A stomp box, a mic pre, a VCR, a CAT scan machine...all have power supplies, amplification circuits, switching circuits, etc. When you know the fundamentals inside and out you it doesn't really matter what the device is because the building blocks are all the same. Here is a bad analogy:

You want to become a brick layer, but only want to build brick walls. The masonry school teaches you about the materials the bricks are made out of and the focus is on building brick houses. At the end of the day you can not only build brick walls, but you also have a fundamental knowledge that can be applied to anything in the masonry  field.

EDIT:

Yes. A lot of professional audio electronics designers have physics, EE, and/or acoustics backgrounds. There engineers at the place I'm speaking of without EE degrees, but these are guys with 20+ years of tech experience.

[jtb]

ah thanks, ill look through some of the articles as well.  its good to hear that you feel like your EE degree has been so applicable to audio design, therecordingart.  it seems like it depends a lot on what university one attends and what courses they offer.  looking at UC Davis specifically, it seems like i would be able to customize an EE major that narrows in on pertinent coursework for what im after. 

[Mark Hammer]

It may be different for engineering, but having taught in arts and sciences for darn near 15 years, about 40% of students change their major after 2nd year.  There is an entire universe of possible career paths you never knew existed out there...until you took that damn elective course, or covered that material you'd never heard about previously, in a required course, or realized that subject matter X wasn't nearly as interesting as you thought it was going to be, or read that paper for a project.

Certainly, have some idea of what you think you want, but be prepared to switch, and don't turn your nose up at things you feel are not "ideal".

[therecordingart]

ah thanks, ill look through some of the articles as well.  its good to hear that you feel like your EE degree has been so applicable to audio design, therecordingart.  it seems like it depends a lot on what university one attends and what courses they offer.  looking at UC Davis specifically, it seems like i would be able to customize an EE major that narrows in on pertinent coursework for what im after. 

What type of classes do you feel won't be beneficial?

IMHO there isn't really a need for audio specific EE courses. The fundamentals are universal. I can't think of a single course I've taken that couldn't be applied to audio. I'm looking at the rest of the classes that I need to take to finish my degree and the only one that won't have any relation to audio would be technical writing...unless I write about audio. There are so many things that you don't think about that apply. My digital course right now is talking about seven segment displays. Not exactly audio, but what if you want a digital display on your device?

[DavenPaget]

ah thanks, ill look through some of the articles as well.  its good to hear that you feel like your EE degree has been so applicable to audio design, therecordingart.  it seems like it depends a lot on what university one attends and what courses they offer.  looking at UC Davis specifically, it seems like i would be able to customize an EE major that narrows in on pertinent coursework for what im after. 

What type of classes do you feel won't be beneficial?

IMHO there isn't really a need for audio specific EE courses. The fundamentals are universal. I can't think of a single course I've taken that couldn't be applied to audio. I'm looking at the rest of the classes that I need to take to finish my degree and the only one that won't have any relation to audio would be technical writing...unless I write about audio. There are so many things that you don't think about that apply. My digital course right now is talking about seven segment displays. Not exactly audio, but what if you want a digital display on your device?

Seven segments ... ala TTG style 

[jtb]

the program descriptions at some universities seemed like they had a lot of required classes that were pretty specific to things that might only have very indirect application to all things audio.  a person on a different forum was also complaining that he felt he could only apply about 50% of his coursework to the building of audio electronics.  looking at the UC-Davis catalog though, it seems like i could sculpt an EE major that could be almost entirely oriented around my goals.  im grateful you brought all of this up tho as its helped me sort it out.

mark - i accept that i might change my mind, but i've already attended university once and have 60 credits.  im going on 25yo now and i reckon i have things a lot more figured out then i did when i was on auto pilot coming out of high school the first time around.  actually, i guess ill be one of the 40% changing my major after my second year, just in a bit more of an unconventional fashion =0

[Zipslack]

First up, I don't know of any college Bachlor program focused specifically on amp/stompbox-related design.

Second, if you want better knowledge of building and repairing stuff like this, you would probably do just as well with a 2-year technical degree in Electronics Technology from a junior college.  It's amazing how many 4th-year EE students can't build and troubleshoot basic circuits -- too much theory, not enough practical.  A lot of EE's don't realize until AFTER graduation that much of the information in the textbooks only applies to textbook situations. 

Some colleges offer a Bachelor's degree in Electronics/Electrical Engineering Technology - I really like the idea of this program.  Basically, it's like 2 years of Electronics Technology meshed with 2 years of Electrical Engineering, so you get the best of both worlds.  At the end, you have engineering credentials with good practical skills/knowledge to back it up.