does anyone here work with assistant engineers?
- Thread starter Machinated
- Start date
A la Rick Rubin?
*Off topic*
Jeff, I'd love to see a tuto, video or something where you show how you work. I saw many tutos but its always been only 'on the surface' stuff (I maybe did not see the good vids?) Seeing how a pro works on metal drum tracks would be very instructive for me because I don't really know if what I usually do is the "better way" and how I could improve my editing skills.
ArthurD
Member
JeffTD
Senhor Testiculo
A la Rick Rubin?
*Off topic*
Jeff, I'd love to see a tuto, video or something where you show how you work. I saw many tutos but its always been only 'on the surface' stuff (I maybe did not see the good vids?) Seeing how a pro works on metal drum tracks would be very instructive for me because I don't really know if what I usually do is the "better way" and how I could improve my editing skills.
If anyone can recommend a pain-free solution to record a screen capture in addition to DAW audio and me talking into a microphone then I'd do it but so far everything has been a huge PITA to set up.
I wouldn't be opposed to doing a video or video series though, could probably sell them considering my discog.
I worked as an assistant on an album once. It was a lot of work, a lot of fun and I learnt a lot.
I did a lot of drum editing, I setup all the mics for the guitars, I helped get guitar sounds and recommended which dirt boxes to use etc. The guy/band I worked with were really great and were really keen to listen to ideas that I might of had.
The engineer/producer was really tiring at one point so I took over the session for a little while so the band could keep working. He came back refreshed and everyone was happy.
I think it really works both ways. If your mentor has the time to invest in you, then an assistant can make things so much easier. If not, it's gonna suck.
As someone mentioned above, I'm so set in my ways that I'd double check everything an assistant done.
Jeff, I'd be interested to see a video tutorial.
I did a lot of drum editing, I setup all the mics for the guitars, I helped get guitar sounds and recommended which dirt boxes to use etc. The guy/band I worked with were really great and were really keen to listen to ideas that I might of had.
The engineer/producer was really tiring at one point so I took over the session for a little while so the band could keep working. He came back refreshed and everyone was happy.
I think it really works both ways. If your mentor has the time to invest in you, then an assistant can make things so much easier. If not, it's gonna suck.
As someone mentioned above, I'm so set in my ways that I'd double check everything an assistant done.
Jeff, I'd be interested to see a video tutorial.
I cant be super detailed because i havent done it in a long time. But i remember using quicktime capture, using my fireface for daw audio and using the internal soundcard for voice. You can also have an extra dialog track running in the daw on monitor. Hope this helps.
JeffTD
Senhor Testiculo
This is the biggest benefit I think. When I was living/working with another engineer it was great to be able to take an hour or two off to eat, nap, work on another project, smoke a bowl, etc to recollect your thoughts in the middle of a 10 hour day but still have things moving along.
I tried that once and couldn't get QT to record audio at all, which is how this video was made:
http://arcanarecordings.com/Jeff/images/JeffTDDrumEdit.mov
heshian46
Member
What about having someone sit-in on sessions during tracking - what kind of stuff would you guys have them do? Take notes of settings, setting up/adjusting mics, some tracking maybe? I have a guy coming in to observe this weekend during my sessions, and I really dont want him to sit the whole time and watch, i'd like to get him involved.
I've had someone sitting in with me occasionally the last 2 weeks. I told him to ask as many questions as possible but I've worked with him enough before to know that he won't say things at inappropriate times or say things that will disrupt the flow of recording.
tracking drums theres a hell of a lot more for him to learn + get involved with (simple things in terms of plugging things in etc). When the bands gone, ill go over little things about workflow and the way I like things laid out etc. Also he usually has questions he'll wait until later for me to answer and explain. with guitars it would be helpful if they know how to set up/intonate guitars and tune them properly. conversely if they know about editing they can be working on things as tracking is going along. sometimes there will be tracking ideas/philosophies they'll only learn when they see it in person as every situation will be different.
with vocals there's barely anything they can do besides editing. the guy asked why I chose certain mic's for certain sections with one band and watched how I laid my comps out, but I sent him home pretty soon after. Ideally when a song is down I'd pass on the tracks to be tuned and edited.
I've had him sit in while I'm editing drums etc and I've explained what I'm doing as I'm going along. I try and get him to use the mouse and keyboard as much as possible so he's familiar.
tracking drums theres a hell of a lot more for him to learn + get involved with (simple things in terms of plugging things in etc). When the bands gone, ill go over little things about workflow and the way I like things laid out etc. Also he usually has questions he'll wait until later for me to answer and explain. with guitars it would be helpful if they know how to set up/intonate guitars and tune them properly. conversely if they know about editing they can be working on things as tracking is going along. sometimes there will be tracking ideas/philosophies they'll only learn when they see it in person as every situation will be different.
with vocals there's barely anything they can do besides editing. the guy asked why I chose certain mic's for certain sections with one band and watched how I laid my comps out, but I sent him home pretty soon after. Ideally when a song is down I'd pass on the tracks to be tuned and edited.
I've had him sit in while I'm editing drums etc and I've explained what I'm doing as I'm going along. I try and get him to use the mouse and keyboard as much as possible so he's familiar.
JeffTD
Senhor Testiculo
Setup, teardown, moving mics, running cables, coffee/tea/food runs, changing strings if he can, muting unused strings for guitarists while tracking (I generally do this while producing, one hand on the kb/mouse and one hand helping the guitarist keep strings from ringing), catching cymbals so the drummer can focus on hitting other stuff harder/get cleaner cutoffs/help him into the next part without lagging from having to choke, make sure he has a pen/paper handy to take down session notes for you (ideas for production FX, instrument layers, etc stuff that comes to you on the fly) all come to mind.
tgs
Elder
Quick tip: a pen on the back of the neck and a hair band in the front. Doesn't work if open strings are involved obviously, but works great for whammy stuff for example.
JeffTD
Senhor Testiculo
I hate having to set it up all the time though, it's so much quicker for me to just reach over and place a finger gently near the 1st fret or whatever. I know guitars well enough to know where to not get any harmonic nodes, and being able to mute and release at my own discretion is a godsend. I'm surprised I don't see many other guys doing it, or maybe the studio videos I've seen just don't feature it, but I'm VERY involved with guitar tracking to the point where I'm usually more exhausted than the guitarist afterward.
egan.
daylightdies.com
That's the trick. Most of what you'll have them do is at the beginning and end of the session. So they have to understand that making//delivering coffee and staying alert but wallflowering is the key to the gig. The two worst things an intern can do are talk too much (particularly offering unsolicited opinions and advice but mindless chatter is awful as well) or act butthurt about tasks. The truth is that the DAW era is mostly a single driver thing so doing the menial stuff that keeps me and the client in our respective seats working is actually incredibly valuable.
mva801
Member
- Nov 18, 2009
- 1,870
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I do that ALL the time. I use tape hairbands sometimes as well, but sometimes it's just easier to have a third hand in there.
tgs
Elder
Absolutely, sometimes there's no way around it. Thing that nags me is that the guitar players often don't even notice how fucked up it sounds until you put your finger over the strings for them.
C_F_H_13
Protools Guru
Off topic slightly,
But instead of using your fingers, sometimes I find it easier to just put ear plugs under each offending string.
Get these ones:
You can use as is, or cut them in half if you need to mute say the 2nd and 4th string only. Way easier then having to hold the strings yourself.
But instead of using your fingers, sometimes I find it easier to just put ear plugs under each offending string.
Get these ones:
You can use as is, or cut them in half if you need to mute say the 2nd and 4th string only. Way easier then having to hold the strings yourself.
LeSedna
Mat or Mateo
Jeff, if you're using macos, have you tried Screenflow ?
Otherwise, use anything you want after you installed "jack", you can pretty much play around with audio channels in all ways possible in your macosx machine. It takes a short time to install and set up but it simply works.
I would pay for your editing videos. Make them nice enough, by topic, don't make it a 1h30 DVD (a few seconds example per "trick" is good enough), put a decent price, and I'm a customer !
Make a full video per "trick", then make a separate "short video" for quick referencing. The hassle with instructional videos is to find information when you need it, so a short video with no intro for every trick would be very neat.
Otherwise, use anything you want after you installed "jack", you can pretty much play around with audio channels in all ways possible in your macosx machine. It takes a short time to install and set up but it simply works.
I would pay for your editing videos. Make them nice enough, by topic, don't make it a 1h30 DVD (a few seconds example per "trick" is good enough), put a decent price, and I'm a customer !
Make a full video per "trick", then make a separate "short video" for quick referencing. The hassle with instructional videos is to find information when you need it, so a short video with no intro for every trick would be very neat.
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