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Studio Work?

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  • 28-11-2004 9:02pm
    #1
    D!ve^Bomb!
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,089 ✭✭✭


    Hello there... i didn't know which part of music to post this so i'll stick it here.. i'm only startin off in this area of music, doing a part time course in pulse

    Now i'm sittin here in my current job wondering what the **** i'm doin here.. it's sooo tedious!!!

    so i think i'll start lookin for a job in a studio... although funnily enough, i don't know w=if i'm suitable or not

    I know i'll start off by making the coffee etc etc but i'm not good at taking orders... well, to put it better, i'll gladly go and make you a cup of coffee if you talk to me as a friend and human being, however if you're gonna talk down to me and 'order' me to get you a coffee then quite frankly, you can suck my ass!!

    Anyway, i was wondering what it'll be like starting off(if i manage to get a job) what kind of things would i be expected to do, basically what would be my job description... i NEED to get out of this job cos it's doing my head in!!

    And what are engineers etc generally like to work with... i'm not talking about major studios like windmill lane as i doubt they'll have me.. but the smaller studios around dublin.. all i have to do now is try and find somewhere that's lookin...

    oh and, err, i presume that they pay minimum wage?? if anythin?

    what the **** is the minimum wage? or could it be cash in hand?

    advice is appreciated :)


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    #2
    Gordon
    Registered Users Posts: 35,524 ✭✭✭✭Gordon


    Don't expect minimum wage. I worked in one of the big studios in Dublin about 6 or 7 years ago and received 100 old pounds a month if I recall. The hours I did were sometimes unreal - 6-7 days a week at 14 hours a day if you are on an intensive album for example.

    I got in because i knew someone who worked there but I wouldn't have gotten in if I didn't have a diploma in Audio Engineering and basic knowledge of an SSL desk and multitrack alignment.

    I started off making tea and coffee and toasted sandwiches and setting up orchestras as a helper to the assistant engineer.

    In house engineers can be cool or can be c*nts. Don't expect to be a human being, at least expect to be a piece of the machinery.

    Are you enjoying Pulse? I've heard its not bad. What are they teaching you?

    The best thing for you to do is speak with your teachers in Pulse and see what they say. Most people have contacts in some studios if they are teaching audio engineering surely?


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    #3
    D!ve^Bomb!
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,089 ✭✭✭D!ve^Bomb!


    yeah i know about the hours and stuff.. that's the kind of stuff that puts me off... i would gladly work all the hours in the world if i was doing practical work that i can learn from.. but making tea and coffee all day seems like a waste of time..

    yeah pulse is good... i'm only doin the part time course on saturdays so it feels like you're not gettin through much.... for instance, we've covered in a month what a full time class would cover in a week:( but i don't mind...

    we've learned,, err... well i don't know to be honest... just stuff about sound, waveforms, frequency, mixing consoles, mics etc...i finished my first practival on sat, kust makin up an XLR and jack to jack cables...

    it's all common sense really..very basics but i know a lot just from reading up on it myself and having done a course in pro tools i think i find it a lot easier than most... i think its grand tho...

    i'm settin up my own mini studio for my own use in my bedroom.. picked up the pc last week.. will be getting and mbox and reason 2.5 just after xmas.. and a pair of alesis m1 active mk2.. apparently excellent value for money... and work from there... but i want to be in a studio otherwise i won't learn a damn thing about recording techniques etc... in the long run i'd like to just start off recording myself and teaching myself and then recording basic demos for solo 'artists'(hate that word) and just carry on from there.. but i think i'd learn a lot more in a studio..

    ramble over


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    #4
    D!ve^Bomb!
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,089 ✭✭✭D!ve^Bomb!


    what kind of money would/could i be earning in a studio.. because bills need to be paid


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    #5
    Gordon
    Registered Users Posts: 35,524 ✭✭✭✭Gordon


    Yes you will learn a lot in a studio that is for sure, but due to the fact that you will most likely have to start out making tea and coffee and humping equipment around and cleaning dishes and setting tables and waiting and waiting and running out to the shops for stuff - it will take some time.

    The best thing to do is learn as much as you can, really absorb your Pulse course, now and on your home setup and really get a feel for music and how you hear it. Listen to music and try to figure out what makes up a musical track. Try taking a song and see if you can figure out exactly what instruments are playing on it.

    I don't know what the going rate for making tea and coffee is nowadays in a studio but the bills may need to wait...


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    #6
    magpie
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,643 ✭✭✭magpie


    If you want to make it big, you've got to suck it up I'm afraid.

    The producer Flood got his name from The Cure, on account of he made them so many cups of tea when he was starting out. True story.

    Stick with it and you could be 'brush'. Or 'hoover'. Or 'guy who goes to McDonalds'.


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    #7
    D!ve^Bomb!
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,089 ✭✭✭D!ve^Bomb!


    i don't mind doin all that shíte as long as i'm not 'exploited'.. i also want to learn.. not learn how to make the best cup of coffee but how to become better at the job...


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    #8
    Doctor J
    Closed Accounts Posts: 11,848 ✭✭✭✭Doctor J


    How's it going. I'm doing my part 3 exams in Pulse over the next couple of weeks and, being honest, you'd need to get part two at least under your belt before you should consider looking for work because, to put it bluntly, you have too much to learn. If you can get part 3 done aswell and get yourself to at least Pro Tools 201 standard. There are **** all jobs and there are hundreds of people going for them, so do yourself a favour and try and give yourself as much of a leg up as possible. I would suggest you start talking to bands, try and work with them, do live sound, whatever. Get experience under your own steam because no-one is going to pay you to learn when there are so many people out there who have more experience, would be more clued in and would still be happy to get paid **** all. Learn your mics, learn what they do and most of all, learn how to use them properly. Work with bands, know how to use aux's, know how to mic a kit. When you go to someone looking for work be able to show them you know what you're doing, then you might be allowed to make the tea.


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    #9
    D!ve^Bomb!
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,089 ✭✭✭D!ve^Bomb!


    cheers for the advice... yeah i knew it would be almost impossible to get work but ya never know..

    this is why i want to have a decent set up at home.. so i can get used to working more with pro tools and reason and experimenting with using different mics, micing techniques and the likes.. i think i'll probably be better off doing this and eventually recording people who have a few songs and want to record for next to nothing!!


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    #10
    Doctor J
    Closed Accounts Posts: 11,848 ✭✭✭✭Doctor J


    Whatever you do, get the Pro Tools qualifications as soon as you can, they're a lot more valuable than the C&G stuff.


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    #11
    D!ve^Bomb!
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,089 ✭✭✭D!ve^Bomb!


    cool.. pulse only do those 101/201 during the summer don't they?


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    #12
    D!ve^Bomb!
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,089 ✭✭✭D!ve^Bomb!


    i just had a look at what is covered in the 101 course.. none of that is really a problem.. i've done a 10 week course in pro tools before.. would they let me skip that? besides i think they've included the 101 course in the 2nd part time course


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    #13
    Doctor J
    Closed Accounts Posts: 11,848 ✭✭✭✭Doctor J


    I did my 201 a few weeks ago. have a chat with Naomi, you should be able to get it cheap (relatively) because you're currently a student. I think they've got a new round of 101's early in the new year.

    They get a guy called Leon in who does live sound and he's quite decent when it comes to work experience. See if you can get his number off them. You'd learn a hell of a lot doing that. It'd be very hard graft (humping a full PA into and out of the van, etc) but would appeal to anyone looking for someone with a bit of experience.


    Edit -> You can do the 101 online on digidesign's website - look in training. Personally, I wouldn't skip it, it's stuff you really need to know backwards. So far there are only three people who've passed the 201 first time in Pulse, of which I am one, so don't underestimate it. The 101 is a ****ing great couse, a real eye opener. Try the exam and see how you do, but I'd say definitely do the 101.


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    #14
    osullima
    Closed Accounts Posts: 267 ✭✭osullima


    I agree.

    You need to get some pro tools under your belt. The 101 in pro tools really only covers the basics and only does this with pro tools LE on an mbox or a digi 001. The 201 is where it gets a bit better as this covers pro tools TDM. As a huge amount of studios use pro tools TDM based systems in some parts of thier setup it is most important that you get this course done. You can then go onto do the 210M or 301 depending on where you want to end up but it's a few quid! These course are also getting updated at the moment.

    osullima.


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    #15
    osullima
    Closed Accounts Posts: 267 ✭✭osullima


    newband wrote:
    i just had a look at what is covered in the 101 course.. none of that is really a problem.. i've done a 10 week course in pro tools before.. would they let me skip that? besides i think they've included the 101 course in the 2nd part time course

    In order to do the 201 you had to do the 101 first and take the free online exam. Try out the exam for yourself and see how you get on. It's free and will tell you where you are with regards to what you know about pro tools. I think you need 90%. Harder than you would imagine!!

    Exam


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    #16
    D!ve^Bomb!
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,089 ✭✭✭D!ve^Bomb!


    damn it.. in work at the minute and the exam has a time limit so i'll have to wait till tonight to do it.. i'll let ya's know how i get on;)


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    #17
    osullima
    Closed Accounts Posts: 267 ✭✭osullima


    newband wrote:
    damn it.. in work at the minute and the exam has a time limit so i'll have to wait till tonight to do it.. i'll let ya's know how i get on;)

    anyone i know that takes this test is amazed when they see the low score they get. After doing the 101 I got a 93 or 94. That was considered pretty good. Let us know how you get on.


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    #18
    D!ve^Bomb!
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,089 ✭✭✭D!ve^Bomb!


    will do... i'm not expecting much as i did my pro tools course about 2years ago and i haven't even used pro tools in months as i have since upgraded to windows xp.. and the free version on digidesign isn't conpatible with xp :mad:

    can't wait for the xbox tho :D


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