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Inside the Plaid Dog Recording studio
Plaid Dog Recording — Audio Bootcamp

Session-ready in
6 months.

Skip the four-year program. Forget the tutorials and the 10-year learning curve. Six months inside a working commercial studio. Real client sessions, small, led workshops, and the portfolio that gets you your first paying clients.

5-person cohorts Local & remote paths Financing available
Apply Now

How we build your skills in just6 months.

Every week for six months. A formula that balances mentor-led workshops, session observation, and hands-on lab time to create an efficient, well-rounded program.

Shadow Real Sessions

Rotate through live client recording sessions — drums, vocals, bands, solo artists. You’re in the room watching how it’s actually done.

Session Shadowing

Weekly Group Instruction

Small cohort sessions (5 students max) focused on one topic each week — EQ, compression, mic placement, session workflow, and more.

Cohort Class

Hands-On Practice

Independent workshop time in the studio. Put what you learned into practice during hands-on tracking and mixing on real material.

Lab Time

Create Your Professional Portfolio

You leave with quality examples of work: the number one asset you need to prove your talent and skills to potential clients.

Portfolio Build

How we stack up against the competition.

Most programs gate hands-on time behind semesters of course work — inflating the cost, delaying the skills that matter. Prospects only worsen when learning online, where you never get there at all. Audio Bootcamp teaches you faster, cost you less, and puts you in front of a console on day one.

$9,000 Full program cost A four-year program runs $212,623.1
6 months Start to studio-ready Not four years. Not open-ended.
Week 1 Your first real session Paying clients, not student projects.
Plaid DogPlaid Dog
4-Year Program4-Yr
Trade SchoolTrade
Online CoursesOnline
Paid client sessions with real clients, from week one
Yes
No
No
No
A working commercial studio, not a teaching lab
Yes
No
No
No
One-time cost under $10,0002
Yes
No
No
No
Mentorship from engineers actively taking clients
Yes
No
No
No
Commercially released credits when you finish
Yes
No
No
No
  1. Berklee College of Music, four-year undergraduate tuition and mandatory fees. Excludes housing and meals. Admission to the Music Production & Engineering major is a separate, competitive application made after you are already enrolled and paying. Individual program costs vary.
  2. Trade school tuition for comparison: Dark Horse Institute $16,600 (20 weeks) and The Blackbird Academy $24,900 (6 months), published 2026 rates. Online course subscriptions run $20–$30 per month with no endpoint.
Program Modules

Choose your path.

Enroll in one module or both. Each module is 12 weeks and designed to take you from observer to practitioner.

Module 01 12 weeks

Tracking

$5,000 total program cost
Affirm Financing available — pay over time

What you'll learn

The fundamentals of recording: signal chain, mic placement, DAW workflow, session management, recording drums and live instruments, and how to run a professional tracking session from top to bottom.

You'll leave able to Record a real band, manage a session independently, and deliver professional-quality tracks.
Module 02 12 weeks

Mixing & Basic Mastering

$5,000 total program cost
Affirm Financing available — pay over time

What you'll learn

The craft of mixing: EQ and compression, reverb and delay, parallel processing, referencing, stem mixing, and the fundamentals of mastering for streaming and release.

You'll leave with A portfolio of mixed records and the ability to take on real client mix work.
Take Both Modules

$9,000 — Full Audio Program

Best for students committed to becoming full-service engineers. Save 10% when you commit to both.

Apply Now

Start your application today. We keep our cohorts intentionally small, which means availability is limited and spots fill fast.

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Application Review
Intro Call

Important Next Steps

Your application is in — nice work.

Complete your full application now to move to the front of the review queue.

Complete Full Application
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Frequently Asked

Got questions? We’ve got answers.

Still curious about something? Reach out — we’re happy to talk it through.

Do I need experience to apply?
No prior studio experience is required. We’re looking for motivated people who are serious about learning — not people who already know everything. If you’ve been making music, recording at home, or just deeply curious about how professional audio works, you’re in the right place.
Do I get a certificate?
You get something better than a certificate: a portfolio of real work, real session experience, and the ability to run a professional recording session or deliver a polished mix. In audio, your work speaks louder than any piece of paper.
Is this accredited?
No, and that’s deliberate. Accreditation is what makes a four-year degree cost six figures and take four years. We’re not issuing a credential — we’re training you to run sessions and building you a portfolio. No federal loans; financing is through Affirm.
Is this program in-person?
We’re Boston-based and the hands-on studio time is the whole point. For students outside the area we run a low-residency format — periodic in-person intensives plus remote participation. Reach out and we’ll talk through what works.
Can I take just one module?
Yes. Each module stands on its own. Module 1 (Tracking) and Module 2 (Mixing & Mastering) can be taken individually. If you want both, we offer a combined enrollment option.
What does a typical week look like?
Each week includes three components: you’ll shadow an active studio session, attend a group class on a specific technique, and have dedicated lab time for independent practice. It’s designed to be immersive without requiring you to be in the building 40 hours a week.
How many students are in each cohort?
We cap cohorts at 5 students. This is intentional — small groups mean more hands-on time, more direct instructor feedback, and more access to sessions.
Do you offer payment plans?
Yes. We’ve partnered with Affirm so you can spread tuition over time. We’ll walk through the options on your intro call.

Still have a question? Email us — we’ll get back to you.