The Women’s Audio Mission (WAM) is a San Francisco-based, non-profit organization “dedicated to the advancement of women in music production and the recording arts,” a worthy undertaking given women’s serious underrepresentation (less than 5%) in professional audio.

To that end, WAM operates a professional recording studio staffed by women and intermixes its operation with collegiate-level classes for women, as well as introductory-level classes for girls. In addition, WAM sits at the center of an online network of aspiring and established women in the professional audio industry, which provides support and community to members around the world. Recently, Metric Halo, maker of boutique audio interface technology and professional audio software, donated a two-channel ULN-2 preamp/AD/DA interface and eight SpectraFoo Complete sound analysis software licenses to WAM in support of its mission.

“WAM exists to get more women and girls into audio because we feel that the more they have access to and participate in production, the more they can influence music, media, the Internet, and, ultimately, popular culture,” said Terri Winston, veteran musician, engineer, and producer, as well as Founder and Executive Director of WAM. “The more access our students have to high-quality production, the more prepared they will be to participate and the more successful they will be in professional audio. That’s why we’re excited to receive support from Metric Halo. We’re big fans of their gear and software, and our students will benefit from their exposure to the ULN-2 and SpectraFoo.”

The Metric Halo ULN-2 will be used within WAM’s studio environment for mic preamplification, as well as conversion into and out of Pro Tools. “Our students often ask, what’s the difference between the very inexpensive pro-sumer gear and the more expensive professional-grade equipment?” Winston said. “Rather than give them a theory, we say, ‘let’s listen to the difference.’ It’s important for them to gain exposure to as much as they can. Apart from being a useful high-end tool for our studio, the Metric Halo ULN-2 will serve as a reference for high-quality preamplification and conversion.”

In WAM’s classes, Metric Halo’s SpectraFoo sound analysis software will provide a visual reference for the audio manipulations that students are learning about. “A picture is worth a thousand words,” said Winston. “When students are equalizing a source, SpectraFoo shows them the effect of the equalization and cements the physical reality of what’s actually happening. It’s an eye-opener for them. They appreciate that there’s a science and a reality to what they’re hearing.”