How he chooses
The reasoning behind mic placement, gain structure, groups and busses — and what he listens for before touching anything.
Front of house — Iron Maiden
3×Grammy nominated
30+Years at front of house
12FOH engineer accolades
∞Platinum & gold records
Iron Maiden / Jay-Z / Linkin Park / Justin Bieber / KISS / Guns N’ Roses / Travis Scott
Why this one is different
There is no syllabus
at front of house.
Most mixing courses are built backwards. Someone writes a curriculum, films it in a quiet room, and edits until nothing goes wrong. Clean. Tidy. Nothing like the job.
This is the opposite. Pooch sat down in front of a room of working engineers and mixed. He answered what they asked. He went where the questions took him.
Ten hours later, what came out is the thing you can’t script — how a top‑tier touring engineer actually thinks while he’s making decisions. You’ll watch him work through problems he didn’t plan for and explain choices he normally makes on instinct.
You’re not watching a lesson.
You’re standing next to him.
What you take away
Judgment,
not button presses.
Anyone can tell you where to set a high‑pass filter. Almost nobody will tell you how they decided.
01 — Decisions
02 — The room
How he reads a venue
Sound pressure decisions, dynamic calls mid‑show, and what changes going from theater to arena to stadium.
03 — The artist
How he works with people
Communication, expectations, and the psychology of the gig — the part of the job nobody teaches and everybody needs.
04 — Playback
How he runs tracks
Virtual playback, triggers and sidechain, and treating playback channels as part of the mix instead of a stem you leave alone.
05 — Workflow
How he stays organized
File organization, snapshots, session and document sharing — what keeps a touring show repeatable night after night.
06 — Under pressure
How he fixes it live
Real problems solved on the spot, including a full Linkin Park mixing demonstration with open Q&A.
Who this is for
Engineers who already mix.
This is not an introduction to live sound. It assumes you have stood behind a console and know what the faders do. If that’s you, this is where the real gains are.
Recorded live, in front of a working class
Whatever you mix on
It doesn’t matter
what’s in front of you.
Pooch works on his own rig, but none of this is locked to a brand, a plugin set or a budget. What you’re learning is how he decides — and decisions travel. SD7 or X32, stadium or sanctuary, the thinking is the same when you walk up to the desk on Friday night.
About Pooch
Thirty years,
one seat.
Ken “Pooch” Van Druten is a producer, engineer and live sound engineer whose career started at Berklee College of Music and ran straight into the biggest rooms in the world. Three Grammy nominations. Platinum and gold records. Close to a dozen FOH Engineer accolades.
He has been front of house engineer and production mixer for Jay‑Z, Travis Scott, Justin Bieber, Iron Maiden, KISS, Guns N’ Roses and Linkin Park.
He teaches the way he mixes — direct, unfiltered, and without pretending the job is tidier than it is.
Nine sessions / 10+ hours
What came up.
These were never planned as chapters. They are what the room asked about over ten hours — laid out here so you can find your way back to any of it.
Running order — as recorded
No script
CH 01
File organization. The psychology of the artist and the study of who you’re mixing for. Trust in your work — and what actually matters before you mix.
CH 02
Virtual playback. Mic placement, triggers and sidechain. Proximity effect. Gain structure and fader resolution.
CH 03
Triggers on drums. Solving live mic placement problems. Equalization presets. Parallel compression. Compression groups. The dynamics of today. Treatment in playback channels.
CH 04
Groups and busses. Pans. Positioning guitars in the mix. Steve Harris’s bass guitar.
CH 05
Sample rate. Pre or post compressor. Vocal plugins. Vocal compression.
CH 06
Dynamic decisions. Sound pressure level. Virtual sound check.
CH 07
Waves SoundGrid. Documents and file sharing, plus open Q&A.
CH 08
His workflow with snapshots. Hass effect on guitar, plus open Q&A.
CH 09
Full Linkin Park mixing demonstration with open Q&A.
Total runtime 10+ hrs — watch in any order — 2‑year access
What’s included
Everything you get.
- Two full yearsUnlimited access and unlimited replays. Not twelve months — two years.
- Three subtitle tracksEnglish, Spanish and Portuguese (BR). Follow every word, whatever your first language is.
- Certificate of completionIssued by AudioSeminars when you finish the masterclass.
- Online or offlineStream on any device, or download in the app and watch without a connection.
- Instant accessYou’re inside the moment you check out.
- 30-day guaranteeWatch it. If it isn’t for you, write us and we refund. No forms.
Choose your access
Pick the one that fits.
Solo
Pooch
Masterclass
$99
One-time payment
- 10+ hours with Ken “Pooch” Van Druten
- 2 years of unlimited access
- Subtitles: English / Spanish / Portuguese
- Certificate of completion
- Online and offline viewing
- 30-day money-back guarantee
Most complete
Pooch +
Bundle
Pooch +
Brad Madix
$146
Both masterclasses, one checkout
- 16+ hours of combined content
- 2 years of unlimited access to both
- 10+ hours with Pooch — Iron Maiden, Jay-Z, Linkin Park
- 6+ hours with Brad Madix — Rush, Van Halen, Florence + The Machine
- Two engineers, two ways to solve the same problems
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Subtitles, certificate and offline viewing on both
Secure checkout / Visa / Mastercard / Amex / Discover / PayPal
Questions
Before you buy.
Do I need Waves SoundGrid, or any particular console?
No. Pooch demonstrates on his own rig, but nothing here depends on it. The reasoning applies to whatever you mix on, from an SD7 to an X32.
Is this for beginners?
Honestly, no. This is aimed at engineers who already mix and want to sharpen how they make decisions. If you have never mixed a live show, a lot of it will move too fast to be useful yet.
Is it live or recorded?
Recorded. It was filmed in front of a live class of working engineers, unscripted, and you get the whole thing on demand — including the questions the room asked and the answers Pooch gave on the spot.
What language is it in? Are there subtitles?
Pooch speaks English throughout. Subtitles are available in English, Spanish and Portuguese (Brazil).
How long do I have access?
Two full years from purchase, with unlimited replays. Most platforms give you twelve months. This one doesn’t.
Do I get a certificate?
Yes. AudioSeminars issues a certificate of completion once you finish the masterclass.
Can I watch on my phone, or offline?
Yes to both. Stream on any device through the browser, or download the lessons in the app and watch without a connection.
What’s the difference between the masterclass and the bundle?
The masterclass is Pooch alone — 10+ hours. The bundle adds Brad Madix’s masterclass: 6+ hours on the fundamentals of professional concert mixing, gain structure, study of the artist, and his approach to mixing for Rush, Van Halen and Florence + The Machine. Sixteen‑plus hours total, from two engineers who solve the same problems differently.
What if it isn’t what I expected?
Write to support@audioseminars.com within 30 days and we refund you. No forms, no conditions.
I’m outside the US. Can I buy?
Yes. Checkout works worldwide, in your local currency where available. Any applicable VAT is shown before you confirm.
TEN HOURS WITH AN ENGINEER WHO HAS NOTHING LEFT TO PROVE.
You won’t get a syllabus. You’ll get the reasoning behind thirty years of decisions made in front of a hundred thousand people.
Get instant access — $992‑year access / Certificate / 30‑day money‑back guarantee