Logan Murray's List: Mock Interview for Record Engineering

• The recording engineer is responsible to the artist and the producer for the mix and overall sound of the album. This involves preparing the studio for a recording session, operating the mixing console, and maintaining all additional electronic studio equipment and instruments with the help of the recording assistant.

   

  Individual components or tracks are recorded separately, and often repeatedly. Strings, drums, and vocals are isolated to perfect each one separately. The recording engineer manipulates each track and weaves them together while tweaking tone, intensity, and tempo, applying effects, and editing through the console. It is a process of constant revision until the desired result is reached. 
• College-level or technical school training in sound engineering and audio design are particularly important. Additional courses in music appreciation and composition will help to train your ear. Classes in computer technology and programming will prepare you for working with audio editing software like Pro Tools, Adobe Audition, and Sony ACID. To gain additional experience with the hardware and mixing consoles used in studio recording, you can look for work in a small studio as an apprentice, assistant, or intern. This will give you both insight into the business and hands-on training under a chief engineer. Of course, the ability to play one or more instruments and read music is a plus.
• To gain additional experience with the hardware and mixing consoles used in studio recording, you can look for work in a small studio as an apprentice, assistant, or intern. This will give you both insight into the business and hands-on training under a chief engineer.
• Recording sessions begin early in the morning and usually run late through the night, or even to the following morning. When one session is over, you can expect to start preparing for the next session right away. The hours are long and irregular. You must be flexible, patient, and creative, even without sleep. You will work side-by-side with artists and producers whose careers and paychecks hinge on the quality of your work, so you must be cool under pressure. Most of all, you have to be a good listener. A keenly trained ear for sound and the people skills to collaborate in a creative endeavor are the key attributes of a good recording engineer. 

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• A typical day in the life of a recording engineer begins with selecting appropriate gear for a session, packing it up, and getting to the venue long before anyone else. Before placing microphones and appropriately locating monitor loudspeakers, the engineer usually connects and verifies the performance of assorted equipment. I asked Renner to outline his thoughts about this.

• In terms of working conditions, the work environment remains pleasant for sound engineering technicians who usually work 40 hour weeks with occasional overtime hours and strict deadlines. Though for the most part conditions remain stable, many sound engineering technicians will sometimes work outdoors when working for studios who broadcast in varying locations. Outdoor job duties can include heavy lifting, equipment set up and climbing antenna towers or poles.

   

  Though larger stations usually require sound engineering technicians to work a full time, 40 hour week with occasional overtime, those working at smaller stations can expect to work evenings, weekends and holidays as well as longer hours. Due to the fact that stations sometimes run 24 hours a day, seven days a week, some technicians are needed on call in case of broadcasting problems that may occur.

• A live sound engineer has to take into account the unique character of each venue and audience when deciding how to balance the band's sounds and effects. For example, many different factors can affect the acoustics of a music venue - - is the room covered in carpet or any other soft, sound-absorbing material, or is the venue mostly hard surfaces, which allow echo? In addition, some audiences sit closer to the band, and some sit farther away, while others might sit at an unconventional angle with respect to the stage. The sound engineer must make sure that the music sounds its best at every seat in the auditorium.

   

  Besides pleasing the audience, the sound engineers work to satisfy the musicians themselves. Musicians must be able to hear themselves when they play; live sound engineers manage this by rigging the stage with backward-facing speakers called monitors. Engineers also must make sure all equipment is in good working order so that the musicians produce the best possible sound.

• Despite stories of big studio closures and contracting CD sales over the last decade, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) suggests that the audio engineering profession has grown considerably since 1999. Although competition remains fierce and growth is expected to slow , median annual incomes have increased in recent years, rising from $30,000 to $46,000 between 1999 and 2010.
• While national median wages for sound engineers are roughly $46,00, government economists say the averages are significantly higher, near $56,000. This is because salary disparity can be significant in this line of work, with the top 10% earning averages near $100,000 and the bottom 10% earning closer to $20,000 annually. For comparison, the average salary for all workers in the U.S. was $46,000 in 2010.

• Recording music is so much easier if you understand music. Music plays a key role in the vast majority of recordings so most clients prefer ‘musical’ engineers. If you don’t play an instrument, buy a guitar or keyboard and learn some basic songs. While learning to play an instrument may seem daunting, you don’t need to become a virtuoso player; you just need to grasp song structures and musical progressions. If you get musical, you get work.