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Report – Smaart class in Harnösand

Härnösand is a town in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 17,556 inhabitants in 2010. It is called “the gate to the High Coast” because of the world heritage landscape just a few miles north of Härnösand. That is Wikipedia-lingo for “pretty remote”.

Last week Harnösand attracted many sound engineers from Sweden and abroad. In total it were 12 participants attending the class. Tarek even came all the way from Amman, Jordan.

We, that is – Daniel, Tomas and Oscar, and me Thomas from Rational Acoustics Scandinavia – prepared the main stage as “class room” on Monday. The course then started ed precisely on 10:00 by Tuesday. Everybody was on time and we could dive right into the material.

On the first two days we focussed on the basics of acoustics and how to understand and apply them as well as on how to find ones way around the Smaart software. The goal was to get everybody in the class to understand and apply what has been taught.

To enable real hands-on experience, each student had a sound card and laptop connected and could perform measurements during the class. This approach is very important. Sound engineers are used to adopt very fast to complex technology, mostly using empirical, hands on methods.

All in the group were very attentive and able to complete the planned tasks & topics on time, so day three was 100% free for the practice session.

Whereas the first two days were taught in the Harnösand Theater, a live sound club was chosen for the practical application session on day three. Tomas Gönczi, one of students at the class, invited us to have the practical session in his Jazz & Blues club. The bryggeriet used by many local as well as International artists from.

On Tuesday evening we all went there to have dinner and see a Jazz concert. On Wednesday morning we met again at the Bryggeriet to practice system alignment. It was a very fun and informative session in which everybody had a chance to “play” with the sound system and Smaart. Tomas seemed very happy that his sound system got such a thorough analysis. To honour the effort he brought “Semla” for everybody.

Tomas Gönczi, Pedro Martinez, Algot Antonsson, Adam Svärd, Tarek Halaseh, Anders Nyberg, Daniel Mårskog, Nikki Lindholm, Axel Antonsson, Magnus Willén, Sanna Nordlander, Oscar Winberg – and Thomas Züllich

I would like to thank everybody for attending. It was a joy working together with such a motivated, dedicated and friendly bunch of people. A very spacial thank also to Daniel, Oscar and Tomas for hosting the class.

Thomas Züllich

Learn to make sense of the noise

The Smaart class program is divided in three different modules.

Smaart training classes are taught on the latest release, though any questions from previous versions may be answered. The training program is designed to provide pro-audio engineers with a solid foundation in sound system measurement, optimization and acoustical analysis.

Smaart classes are taught by certified instructors noted for their professional audio experience and superior teaching  skills.

Smaart classes are available at multiple levels, from introductory overviews to advanced level real world practicums. This allows you  to hone yours skills, from advanced beginner to professional level.

You can find more information about upcoming classes here: click

4 thoughts on “Report – Smaart class in Harnösand

  1. Thank you to all the participants for coming to Härnösand and thank you Thomas for three very educational days! I learnt a lot, not only on the Smaart program itself but also in techniques in setting up a PA-system! And of course peeling a banana “the right way”! 😉
    I’ll hope we meet again!

  2. Thanks Thomas for 3 really interesting days in the beautiful Härnösand. Incredibly educational and presented in an entertaining way. The Smaart software is a powerful tool that helps you make the difference for your system setup in a venue.
    Nice to see you Thomas and all the participants.
    Also thanks to Härnösand teater and Bryggeriet.

  3. 3 days of a life time lessons. Thomas is a guru. I enjoyed every single moment. It was a huge addition to my experience knowing physics beyond the art we do.
    Travelling 5000+ KM was worth the knowledge i gained.
    Thank you Thomas. I am now more excited about the upcoming advanced classes.

    1. Thank you very much for the kind words, Tarek. I hope I will be able to travel to your fantastic country one day. However, I am no Guru. I totally fail on nailbeds, let alone withstanding “semla” 😉

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