Assistant Engineers

Tech talk about audio recording and live stage production.
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Assistant Engineers

Postby Mathieu Benoit » Thu Jun 09, 2011 3:25 pm

In the past few years I've had the pleasure of assisting Andrew, and I've also had the pleasure of working as a session player at Outreach and seeing the assistant engineer there at work. I've also had to try my hand at training my own assistants. After a while I realized, that I really enjoy being an assistant engineer. I like everything about the job really. If all of our clients could afford to bring Andrew down, I'd gladly assist him forever. That being said, it's important that I take on my own projects to grow from the responsibilities associated with that, and it's nice to have a good assistant for those times. I have a really good assistant now and I'm thankful for it.

What do you guys look for in a good assistant engineer?
"Volume automation takes time. You don't got that kinda time. You could be getting naked with somebody somewhere." -Slipperman

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Re: Assistant Engineers

Postby Alain Benoit » Thu Jun 09, 2011 4:19 pm

Nice ass is a start.
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Re: Assistant Engineers

Postby Malcolm Boyce » Thu Jun 09, 2011 6:56 pm

Good personal hygiene?

Seriously, I deal with "assistants" in a live setting often, but recording... almost never. The last time I ran a session with a proper "assistant engineer" was probably over 10 years ago. I don't do much in the way of bigger budget/larger recording sessions these days.

People who are organized is a given. People skills appropriate to the gig is often misunderstood, and should be a given. Able to put aside personal preferences and be a true "assistant" while also being able to come up with good suggestions at the right time. Keeping one step ahead is brilliant.

If working as a "venue" or "facility" person, knowing the ins and outs of all the equipment provided and/or being able to get whatever I need done in appropriate fashion and time. Ability to keep up with the pace I want/need to work at.

Good "assistants" or systems techs are worth their weight in gold. Having done my fair share of it, I appreciate receiving high caliber help when I get it.
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It just fills Forum pages..." --compasspnt

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Re: Assistant Engineers

Postby Mathieu Benoit » Fri Jun 10, 2011 12:04 pm

Malcolm Boyce wrote:Good personal hygiene?

People might laugh but it's true. I don't care how good he is if he smells like wide open ass, I don't want him around.

Malcolm Boyce wrote:Seriously, I deal with "assistants" in a live setting often, but recording... almost never. The last time I ran a session with a proper "assistant engineer" was probably over 10 years ago. I don't do much in the way of bigger budget/larger recording sessions these days.

I think the criteria would be similar for both cases.

Malcolm Boyce wrote:People who are organized is a given. People skills appropriate to the gig is often misunderstood, and should be a given. Able to put aside personal preferences and be a true "assistant" while also being able to come up with good suggestions at the right time. Keeping one step ahead is brilliant.

A couple of good points in there. I had one guy that was with us for a while, I really liked him. He was pretty keen and really wanted to do well. However he came to the studio with a bit of his own experience. So when I'd say "put this mic in front of the amp," he'd come back with "Let's try this mic instead." I gave him the look and after the session was over I told him that if he wants to ask me why I made certain choices after the session is finished, maybe over a beer or something, fine. However if I said put a mic somewhere and you are not the producer you best keep your 2 cents in your pocket.

Malcolm Boyce wrote:If working as a "venue" or "facility" person, knowing the ins and outs of all the equipment provided and/or being able to get whatever I need done in appropriate fashion and time. Ability to keep up with the pace I want/need to work at.

That's HUGE for us. Since we run a hybrid sytem with patchbays everywhere, it's really easy to get stuck. Troubleshooting in any audio environment is an absolute must. There are always things that could go wrong at any time, and if something goes sideways it's important that the assistant knows how to follow the signal flow, both in the analog realm and the digital realm. That also requires a basic understanding of what both types of audio signal need to function properly.

As an example our assistant was running a session for one of his own pet projects a whiel back and I was playing drums for him. I told him I wasn't getting any headphones. He said he didn't know what to do. So I came down to the control room and walked him through it without giving him any answers. I came down and I saw that the converters that send signal to the the headphone amp wasn't locked. I still let him trace it all the way from Pro Tools and figure it out on his own. I let him troubleshoot it on his own because it's the only way he'll learn. I'm even considering sabotaging the rig from time to time when we are off the clock to force him to get better at troubleshooting.

Andrew will attest that my troubleshooting skills are at least passable.

Malcolm Boyce wrote:Good "assistants" or systems techs are worth their weight in gold. Having done my fair share of it, I appreciate receiving high caliber help when I get it.

They are the unsung hero of every session.
"Volume automation takes time. You don't got that kinda time. You could be getting naked with somebody somewhere." -Slipperman

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Re: Assistant Engineers

Postby dylanger » Sun Jun 12, 2011 3:49 pm

Alain Benoit wrote:Nice ass is a start.

:shock:
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