Assistants

[slaphappygarry]

Hey Butch,

When working with engineers and assistants, what really upsets you and what really makes you say 'this dude is switched on'?

Many thanks

Garry

[ButchVig]

Originally Posted by slaphappygarry

Hey Butch,

When working with engineers and assistants, what really upsets you and what really makes you say 'this dude is switched on'?

Many thanks

Garry

A great assistant is someone who's one step ahead of you, they are proactive in the sense that they are keeping an eye on the session and looking out for trouble, or anticipating your needs.
What bugs me is when an assistant takes on an attitude, like "I can't be bothered because I'm too busy surfing the internet"....or when they make a comment that is not solicited. I'm sure a lot of assistants have home studios, and have recorded their own projects, and ocassionally we'll end up with someone who has a chip on their shoulder. I remember once we were working on a drum sound and the assistant (who shall go nameless) said over my shoulder "that snare doesn't sound very good"...which bothered me because he had no idea where we were in the process.
I DO ask my assistants opinions, especially if they are really familiar with the room.

[slaphappygarry]

Many thanks for the reply Butch,

Going on from this, what sort of task's do you have your assistants do? I know mix guys like Micheal Brauer and CL Alge trust hugely important tasks to their guys, do you have anything like this or do you leave it to the engineer to deal with this? Is it a person by person thing?

Cheers

Garry

Ps - I didn't mention but Nevermind was one of the soundtracks to my youth. Amazing, amazing record. Something in the way still gives me shivers when I hear it. Its so hauntingly beautiful.

[tko]

[QUOTE=
What bugs me is when an assistant takes on an attitude, like "I can't be bothered because I'm too busy surfing the internet"....or when they make a comment that is not solicited. I'm sure a lot of assistants have home studios, and have recorded their own projects, and ocassionally we'll end up with someone who has a chip on their shoulder. I remember once we were working on a drum sound and the assistant (who shall go nameless) said over my shoulder "that snare doesn't sound very good"...which bothered me because he had no idea where we were in the process.
I DO ask my assistants opinions, especially if they are really familiar with the room.[/QUOTE]

'Aint that the truth or 'I don't like soldiering or cleaning', who on this forum hasn't had to that? I own my own studio and have to do it almost everyday after years!. I'm actually thinking of going back to assisting because I now know how to make a perfect assistant!. I have asked mine not to bring his laptop to sessions, the look on his face was like he had lost a love one.

Thanks Butch.