Members Bobby D Posted January 15, 2009 Members Share Posted January 15, 2009 A lot of "internships" are either unpaid, or very low paying gigs... that doesn't automatically make them a "bad idea", but you do need to know what you're getting yourself into, and it does need to be a mutually beneficial situation for both you AND the studio. It really depends upon WHAT studio it is, and WHO you will be working under/making coffee for/rolling cables for. If it's a "name" studio, and you think you really have what it takes, go for it. If it's just a local studio, and your boss may be kinda obscure, then you have to consider it more carefully. If you are trying to lean recording and engineering, you can do a lot of that yourself. I started in the 70s with a huge 4 track reel to reel, a mixer, and a few rack effects. I still recommend learning how to record with hardware. If you wanna work with the big dogs, and be the master of the SSL 9000J, then you need to prostrate yourself to one of the big studios and go for it. I saw the interns at Electric Lady do everything. Paint, drywall, bathroom remodeling, janitorial duties, lots of cleaning, etc. BUT, they also got to assistant engineer on stuff, and we had an intern when I was working on the project I did there in 2005 that was running the 24 track analog machine and keeping all the track notes, etc. She did a great job, and was quite integral to the work. One positive -- sometimes things happen FAST in the music biz. You may be an intern one day, and have a paying job the next. IF you have the skills, get along well with people, are self-motivated and proactive....good people usually rise up into paying positions. Or you meet a band you really "gell" with, and become their FOH or monitor engineer. Or a studio somewhere else pulls you into a job, because someone you worked with that has a "home" there liked your style. Don't let this thread deter you, it's a hard road, but it can be done, and I have SEEN it happen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted January 15, 2009 Members Share Posted January 15, 2009 That a good point that often gets overlooked in these discussions - Many/most studio owners are really just small business owners and as such, get stuck doing most of the BS work themselves (which is not uncommon in any industry). At my last gig, my boss owned probably $2M worth of PA gear, backline, and trucks; worked so much that 100 hours/wk would require taking time off; and would still clean the bathroom occasionally.-Dan. It's a lot of work. It's gratifying and I wouldn't have it any other way at this point, but I clean up, organize, write things down, back up, coil cables, empty ashtrays (clients smoke in the patio out back), dust, vacuum, set up, tear down, keep the place looking vibey, answer the phone, the whole bit. No one is going to do this for me. But I also get to record when I want and set my own hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted January 15, 2009 Members Share Posted January 15, 2009 A lot of "internships" are either unpaid, or very low paying gigs... that doesn't automatically make them a "bad idea", but you do need to know what you're getting yourself into, and it does need to be a mutually beneficial situation for both you AND the studio. That's it. It needs to be mutually beneficial. And although I thought before that it went without saying, apparently it doesn't...as Phil pointed out, you get what you put into an internship. Will you pay attention? People can spot a screw-off or a dim bulb or an irresponsible person or a jerk. Conversely, they can spot someone who shows a genuine curiosity for how things are done, is observant, intelligent, keen to learn, has attention to detail, is friendly and has people skills, and is responsible. So, yeah, you do get what you put into it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted January 15, 2009 Members Share Posted January 15, 2009 No one caught my "bag of nanoWebers" reference / comment... I did. I just didn't know what to say. OTOH, aren't you supposed to be at NAMM? Hopefully see you tomorrow or Saturday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bobby D Posted January 15, 2009 Members Share Posted January 15, 2009 I did. I just didn't know what to say. OTOH, aren't you supposed to be at NAMM? Hopefully see you tomorrow or Saturday. Ken.....Eleven Shadows.....I know you from the 90s, I believe.......we had some contact regarding ambient music, etc. Nice to see you here at HC! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 I did. I just didn't know what to say. OTOH, aren't you supposed to be at NAMM? Hopefully see you tomorrow or Saturday. I plan on being there both days. Give me a call if you'd like and we'll hang if you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Synonym Music Posted January 16, 2009 Members Share Posted January 16, 2009 It really depends upon WHAT studio it is, and WHO you will be working under/making coffee for/rolling cables for. If it's a "name" studio, and you think you really have what it takes, go for it. If it's just a local studio, and your boss may be kinda obscure, then you have to consider it more carefully. If you are trying to lean recording and engineering, you can do a lot of that yourself. I started in the 70s with a huge 4 track reel to reel, a mixer, and a few rack effects. I still recommend learning how to record with hardware. If you wanna work with the big dogs, and be the master of the SSL 9000J, then you need to prostrate yourself to one of the big studios and go for it. I saw the interns at Electric Lady do everything. Paint, drywall, bathroom remodeling, janitorial duties, lots of cleaning, etc. BUT, they also got to assistant engineer on stuff, and we had an intern when I was working on the project I did there in 2005 that was running the 24 track analog machine and keeping all the track notes, etc. She did a great job, and was quite integral to the work. One positive -- sometimes things happen FAST in the music biz. You may be an intern one day, and have a paying job the next. IF you have the skills, get along well with people, are self-motivated and proactive....good people usually rise up into paying positions. Or you meet a band you really "gell" with, and become their FOH or monitor engineer. Or a studio somewhere else pulls you into a job, because someone you worked with that has a "home" there liked your style. Don't let this thread deter you, it's a hard road, but it can be done, and I have SEEN it happen All I wanna know is.. Do they still have that Forte board? Oh, wait... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted January 16, 2009 Members Share Posted January 16, 2009 I plan on being there both days. Give me a call if you'd like and we'll hang if you want. Awesome, I'd love to hang. I'll do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted January 16, 2009 Members Share Posted January 16, 2009 Ken.....Eleven Shadows.....I know you from the 90s, I believe.......we had some contact regarding ambient music, etc. Nice to see you here at HC! Yes, your band name sounds familiar! How are you? Are you going to post here regularly? I hope so. This is a great forum, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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