More rookie questions

scott757 · 1st December 2004

What is a typical day like? Do most studios have set hours? Or are you at the demands of the clients schedules?

fluxivity · 3rd December 2004

No day is ever typical ( I just wanted to be the first one to say that.) That said, there are some very similar days. Depending on the level of client you are more or less their underpaid and unappreciated slave. Generally the most intense days are setup days. It's best when the engineer gives you an input list and you can just set up the studio with the rest of the staff before the client/s arrive. Other times musicians pour into the studio without letting you know anything in advance you and 2-4 others setup for four hours, then track for another 12 and when you present the log to be signed at the end of the day the client says what do you mean 16 hours we didn't start recording until xx o clock. Setup days are also the most fun, you haul ass and know the meaning of action and at the end of the day the studio is making music. Then you have just regular old work days, as a studio owner these were my favorite as I didn't really have to do anything but put in an occasional appearance. These days generally run 8-12 hours. Lots of button pushing, knob turning and instrument tuning. Copious notes should be taken and the one useful thing about a dat machine is that you can run a dat the whole time incase any good surprises/happy accidents should occur. Some days had two different sessions so at around midnight there would be a changeover where the second engineer or the incoming engineer would change the patch and recall the console then sit down for his 8-12 hour button pushing knob turning and instrument tuning shift. What seemed like the suckiest days to me were the ending days. Mostly people want to accomplish more in the studio than they have budgetted the time for. So toward the end on the last night everything starts getting tight and stressful ( the bad stress, setup days are usually the good stress). Then when the session is finally over the engineer usually has another four hours or so of housekeeping where he does backups, makes CD's logs tapes does all kinds of tedious tasks when he would rather go home to bed.
Sometimes the clients want to do drugs, then the sessions last longer and less gets done, especially if they succeed in talking the engineer into getting high with them. Othertimes you don't have enoough work and end up trying to setup, record and breakdown in a day and then the client wonders why they don't have a mixed product at the end. After all they can play their whole set in an hour! Then when all is said and done you get maybe 6000 bucks for a month of work and the record you killed yourself for actually goes platinum, the producer get a million bucks the artist gets a million bucks the boutique label gets a few million, the distributor gets the rest and they didn't put your name on it, so you barely manage to up your day rate.
Have fun and enjoy making great music, cause you aren't in th business for your health, and you certainly aren't in it for the money.

scott757 · 3rd December 2004

Thanks.

That was one of the most insightful answers I've gotten about the industry yet.

How prevelent are drugs in the studio? I don't like drugs, I don't do them and I don't like being around them. Is it possible to keep them out of the studio?

Also, other than the drugs that sounds so much better than what I am doing right now. Thanks again.

Scott

fluxivity · 3rd December 2004

Drugs?Good God, the most anti-productive thing ever. Some of them are going to do drugs, and some of them are not. The ones that do drugs, they will fall in with the engineer who they can talk into doing it with them and they will all congratulate each other on working longer and longer, accomplishing less and less and then the record company will reject the mixes and the producer will give you shit about cleaning up your signal path the next time he comes to work at your place. Shortly before he starts getting fried again.
You definately can and should keep away from drugs in the studio. There will always be a need for that second engineer with all the right friends, but knowing who to call for a hook up at 4 in the morning is not that necessary a skill on your career path. IMHO.
I always got mad cause it seemed like whenever they talked one of my staff into doing drugs there was always some contention about the bill and I'd have to come up off of some money because someone had to get high with the client.
I guess when you get to a certain level in the biz there becomes little difference between working and partying. I was never lucky enough to get one of those sessions, that lasts for months and months, with an unambitious production schedule, and catering, and gift baskets, and hookers, Crystal for the help and the entourage, packages of free clothes from Nike or Tommy Hilfinger,
Darn.

maks · 3rd December 2004

"How prevelent are drugs in the studio? I don't like drugs, I don't do them and I don't like being around them. Is it possible to keep them out of the studio?

Also, other than the drugs that sounds so much better than what I am doing right now. Thanks again. "

thats so funny, sorry cant help it....believe it or not but drugs are just as prevelant to the studio as they are out the studio in the real world... "most" people dont get high...really...its a fact.... but before you switch your career for the music industry ,you should most definetly do more research on what i said also just to be sure.

1st December 2004	#1
scott757 Gear Head Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: hampton,va Posts: 33 Thread Starter	More rookie questions What is a typical day like? Do most studios have set hours? Or are you at the demands of the clients schedules?

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
A little guitar amp help for a rookie :-)	celebritymusic	So much gear, so little time!	6	9th March 2006 06:28 AM
What's Your advice for rookie musicians first time in the Studio?	madhermit	The Moan Zone	13	27th February 2006 10:25 PM
Neve 1073DPA and Uaudio 2-610 - differences in sound (for a rookie!)?	celebritymusic	High end	15	29th June 2005 10:07 PM
Rookie in need of some help =)	severon	Remote Possibilities in Acoustic Music & Location Recording	0	28th September 2004 06:04 PM
Rookie, lookin' for the righ equipment to buy	isouter	So much gear, so little time!	1	15th April 2004 10:32 PM

3rd December 2004	#2
fluxivity Gear maniac Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 229	No day is ever typical ( I just wanted to be the first one to say that.) That said, there are some very similar days. Depending on the level of client you are more or less their underpaid and unappreciated slave. Generally the most intense days are setup days. It's best when the engineer gives you an input list and you can just set up the studio with the rest of the staff before the client/s arrive. Other times musicians pour into the studio without letting you know anything in advance you and 2-4 others setup for four hours, then track for another 12 and when you present the log to be signed at the end of the day the client says what do you mean 16 hours we didn't start recording until xx o clock. Setup days are also the most fun, you haul ass and know the meaning of action and at the end of the day the studio is making music. Then you have just regular old work days, as a studio owner these were my favorite as I didn't really have to do anything but put in an occasional appearance. These days generally run 8-12 hours. Lots of button pushing, knob turning and instrument tuning. Copious notes should be taken and the one useful thing about a dat machine is that you can run a dat the whole time incase any good surprises/happy accidents should occur. Some days had two different sessions so at around midnight there would be a changeover where the second engineer or the incoming engineer would change the patch and recall the console then sit down for his 8-12 hour button pushing knob turning and instrument tuning shift. What seemed like the suckiest days to me were the ending days. Mostly people want to accomplish more in the studio than they have budgetted the time for. So toward the end on the last night everything starts getting tight and stressful ( the bad stress, setup days are usually the good stress). Then when the session is finally over the engineer usually has another four hours or so of housekeeping where he does backups, makes CD's logs tapes does all kinds of tedious tasks when he would rather go home to bed. Sometimes the clients want to do drugs, then the sessions last longer and less gets done, especially if they succeed in talking the engineer into getting high with them. Othertimes you don't have enoough work and end up trying to setup, record and breakdown in a day and then the client wonders why they don't have a mixed product at the end. After all they can play their whole set in an hour! Then when all is said and done you get maybe 6000 bucks for a month of work and the record you killed yourself for actually goes platinum, the producer get a million bucks the artist gets a million bucks the boutique label gets a few million, the distributor gets the rest and they didn't put your name on it, so you barely manage to up your day rate. Have fun and enjoy making great music, cause you aren't in th business for your health, and you certainly aren't in it for the money.

3rd December 2004	#5
maks Gear addict Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: funkygroovy, NY Posts: 360	"How prevelent are drugs in the studio? I don't like drugs, I don't do them and I don't like being around them. Is it possible to keep them out of the studio? Also, other than the drugs that sounds so much better than what I am doing right now. Thanks again. " thats so funny, sorry cant help it....believe it or not but drugs are just as prevelant to the studio as they are out the studio in the real world... "most" people dont get high...really...its a fact.... but before you switch your career for the music industry ,you should most definetly do more research on what i said also just to be sure.