Career Corner: Three Big Tips for Aspiring Assistant Engineers

I write this as a follow-up to Andrew Koss’s excellent article, “Recording Studio Internships: How NOT to Get One — and How to Get 10 Offers,” which advises would-be interns on what it takes to get in the door and to start your studio career.

So assuming you still want a career in recoding studios after your exposure as an intern, here are a few observations from someone who’s been there.

Are You Ready to Go to Work?

Assistant engineers need to know their own essential place in the chain. (Image credit: Shutterstock).

You should first know the assistant engineer’s role might just be the most difficult in terms of workload on the studio team. It will be your responsibility to find out what you are working with, and making sure that all technical and personal details related to your session are squared away.

I once put an artist at ease on her first trip to New York by having my assistant locate her favorite brand of tea and having it for her at the start of the day. She was touched by the thought and settled into the studio a bit quicker with that gesture.

Yet for all the times I was ready for the needs of the session, I once let a world-class mixer mix a tune that was a 48-track mix as a 24-track because I didn’t see a slave for that particular song. I had assumed that the one title on a slave reel with no master belonged to a song which had been dropped from the album, but was included on a slave real with two other included titles.

As it turned, out the assistant in London had never changed the name of the song on the slave reel when a permanent title had been selected over the working title. (Perhaps all “working titles” should be labeled as such.) I should have questioned the odd slave title in the beginning: The correct procedure would have been to check all the titles and call the assistant engineer labeled on the tracking notes when something didn’t line up, so I could verify what the odd slave title truly was.

When you assume, you make an Ass out of U (the assistant) and the M.E. (mix engineer.) Fortunately I lived to assist the recall and I’m here to tell the cautionary tale.

The Omniscient Engineer

You will have to be master of time, past, present, and future.

Time must be putty in your hands. (Image credit: Shutterstock)

An assistant knows exactly what has transpired in a session and documented it so well, that even if they are struck dead by lightning the kid stocking the coffee area can slide right in and understand your notes.

You must be on top of what’s currently going on having prepped everything so that the technology is in the background, and the producer and artists on the session can concentrate on being creative without distraction, of course documenting the details as you go.

You must be observant and help facilitate the action but remain on the back line. I once had an intern in to observe a session where the tracking date included live vocals. The producers were re-arranging the song between almost every take and I could hear and see the vocalist in distress.

I asked the intern to deliver him a cup of tepid water for his throat. Upon delivering the water I witnessed them having a quick conversation so I asked her what was said. The intern responded that the singer had asked how I read his mind. I told her, “Next time, you do it!”

The observant assistant sees “time tripping into the future.” So when you’re taking notes and you overhear plans being laid for the next overdub, you quietly set up whatever is necessary for that to take place before anyone asks for it to be done.

This is the kind of assistant I like to work with: Careful not to overstep their bounds but confident enough to take responsibility and keep the session moving along smoothly.

Attitude is Everything

The other thing that I consider a big issue is whether or not the assistant can hang with the others on the session.

I don’t like when an assistant tries to be the center of attention, but equally I don’t like a reclusive type either. You need to have a fun yet professional demeanor and lots of energy. Assistants who have stayed in the shadows and not shown enthusiasm for being involved with the project have been asked to leave.

Assisting well is a long process that takes many hours of experience to reach a world-class level but never give up. If you make a mistake, learn from it and never, ever repeat it.

Here’s Where It Can Take You

To make it crystal clear: Being a great assistant means you have a complete feel for the flow of a session and that you’ve addressed issues — before they become a situation which disrupts the workflow. All this to say nothing of the fact that you have fully prepared all the necessary technical issues so that people can walk in and just be creative.

Always be sure to strike the right balance. (Photo credit: Shutterstock)

As engineers and producers start to recognize your talent, there will be times when an opening occurs and your name will come to mind as the “go to” person for that opportunity. I once was hired to record guitars by an A&R rep from a label simply based on his feel for my abilities demonstrated while assisting a previous session for him. Of course being prepared as an engineer on that date got me hired for more work on that same project. But that’s another story…

The one last thought is this. Learn balance. You must sacrifice a lot to make your career happen but life will continue as well. Be sure to plug into that life, family and friends fully when those moments come. You will return to the studio refreshed and ready for the next 100-hour work week.

Rick Slater is a NYC-based producer/engineer who’s recorded and/or mixed with Chuck D, Robben Ford and James Chance, and worked in NYC studios such as Mediasound, Quad and Sony. Learn more and get in touch with Rick at SonicSearch.

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