I finally got around to taking the test. The only questions I missed were the ones in which the "correct" answer was nothing was wrong and one of the other "hard" vocal mix questions that was hard to pick out.
As I listened to the "nothing wrong" tracks, I gues it would be a matter of personal opinion (isn't all mixing?) but I would have preferred to have an instrument or two just a tad down in the mix, so I was really just looking for something, being extra picky.
Overall I liked the test, expecially the 2nd cd in which the answers were discussed and results were presented. You can learn a bit just from listening to the answers.
I thought the scoring was also done well, with different "stages" of correct answers and guidence with them.
I also agree that it might (I said might) be a bit pricy, but for an organization such as a church who has no way to determine how good any of their volunteers are, it can help weed them out, without having to go through bad services in order to determine that.
What is the value of that? in that case, the price of the test is not so expensive, if it helps to save a service-or a couple.
Of ocurse the real problem with this test is that it does exactly what it says it can do-help identify how well a person can hear what is wrong. The second part of the problem (which cannot be addressed by the test) is do they have the apptitude to actually correct/fix the problems they hear? I guess that is the part where the "additional training" is talked about.
As I talk about in my training classes, identifying that something is wrong is step 1, THEN you go to the next step and try to determine what is wrong with what you said doesn't sound right. If you tell that the pastor sounds like he is in a bucket, then knowing how to adjust the EQ is not going to help you.
Nice job Mike. A unique product that people can actually use. I am going to suggest it to many of our customers.
The problem is that many churches have soundpeople who are in charge of things and can talk quite a story, but cannot actually mix and blame it on other things-so they would probably not pass the test.
That is another story/issue.
BTW the speech parts are well recorded and would make a nice test for a sound system, I plan on using some of them this way-it also helps promote the CD, if Mike does not have a problem with that. Obviously not the answer parts
.