Sound Engineering (1 Viewer)

[Zeelander]

I was wondering if anyone here might have some advice for someone who wants to get a foot in the door in sound engineering. I ask on behalf of a friend, who has just completed a 2 year course in the Sound Training Centre, Temple Bar and now has City & Guilds qualification in Sound Engineering. I dunno if that qualification is worth dick, or if sound engineering is one of those fields where hands-on work experience is considered more important than qulaifications.

So does anyone have any experience in this area and any advice they could offer a newbie? Where should he be looking for work and is it a bit optimistic to expect to get paid work straight off the bat?

 

[SONYMEGADRIVE]

you're either born sound or you're not

 

[Dwight]

Q. Who's the nicest guy in the hospital?

A. The Ultrasound man.

 

[Latex lizzie]

Talk to grrrrrrrr. peter. He knows something on the matter.

 

[ernesto]

I was wondering if anyone here might have some advice for someone who wants to get a foot in the door in sound engineering. I ask on behalf of a friend, who has just completed a 2 year course in the Sound Training Centre, Temple Bar and now has City & Guilds qualification in Sound Engineering. I dunno if that qualification is worth dick, or if sound engineering is one of those fields where hands-on work experience is considered more important than qulaifications.

So does anyone have any experience in this area and any advice they could offer a newbie? Where should he be looking for work and is it a bit optimistic to expect to get paid work straight off the bat?

he'll have alot of competition, there's a billion sound engineers in dublin alone. big clicky thing too. he'll not get paid anything decent until he's working there for a while or any way recognized

 

[MDR]

I was wondering if anyone here might have some advice for someone who wants to get a foot in the door in sound engineering. I ask on behalf of a friend, who has just completed a 2 year course in the Sound Training Centre, Temple Bar and now has City & Guilds qualification in Sound Engineering. I dunno if that qualification is worth dick, or if sound engineering is one of those fields where hands-on work experience is considered more important than qulaifications.

So does anyone have any experience in this area and any advice they could offer a newbie? Where should he be looking for work and is it a bit optimistic to expect to get paid work straight off the bat?

Does your friend want live or studio work?

If it's live work, probably best to spend a bit of time going to lots of gigs, getting to know a few bands and asking them if they need a sound man. I've used lots of different sound men. Most important thing from my point of view is their attitude - so many obnoxious, incompetent sound men out there (esp sugar club, where I'm playing with stoat tomorrow). If you're easy to work with, you'll get more offers. After that, your mate will have some experience and will be able to get work at venues a bit easier. It's not very well paid though.

I'd imagine studio work is more rewarding, but would be harder to get in to. For that stuff, it's probably best to try and get advice directly from people who run studios (try hot press year book or read liner notes on irish releases).

Grrrr might be able to give you better advice.

 

[Zeelander]

Q. Who's the nicest guy in the hospital?

A. The Ultrasound man.

Who are the coolest people in the hospital?
The people in the Ultrasound unit.

Would the joke you attempted to make....

 

[Donkey OJ]

tough area to make *any* kind of a decent few quid at. start with live stuff - generally a lot easier to crack into than studio work. course it depends on what area they want to specialise in (live/studio). hang around a studio (not STC related studios) and tape op for more experienced engineers. you'll learn loads from just being in the same room as someone who knows what they're doing. persitence is at least as important as talent and a good pair of ears in the sound engineering business. and hanging out with bands and getting leads/contacts that way is a big help in getting your first work. the rest will come if they're any good. they'll know within a few months whether their dedication matches their ambition and whether or not they can live on the initially meagre earnings. course they could be very lucky and or talented in which case shit'll fall into place. wax on. wax off.

 

[Dwight]

Who are the coolest people in the hospital?
The people in the Ultrasound unit.

Would the joke you attempted to make....

!ninjaaaa

 

[egg_]

I was wondering if anyone here might have some advice for someone who wants to get a foot in the door in sound engineering.

Don't bother. Hours are long and awkward, pay is (mostly) bad, you have to deal with assholes a lot and the work is very hard to come by.

I know two fulltime engineers - one is Peter Grrrr on this forum, the other is friend-of-Stoat who is now a freelance engineer but used to work in one of the major studios. He's doing alright now but he spent a long time working for nothing at all, and he very often finds himself working very long hours on projects he doesn't enjoy at all

 

[japeo]

dont forget the lucrative world of corporate a.v where you get the chance to be in work at half six in the morning until ten o clock at night and you have to wear a shirt and tie and deal with complete fucking remons and then when their shitty middle management poxy half year cunt assesment conference is over you have to go up on a ladder and take down the barco projector and your arms get all marked and then you have to load out all the gear into a van in the rain with fucking blokes smoking spliffs.

 

[Lefty Frizzell]

The people in the Ultrasound unit.

But why would you need an ultrasound unit? People usually don't have to recover from ultrasounds unless maybe the jelly is really cold?

I had an ultrasound done on my knackers once and I was never shown, pointed or pushed to an ultrasound unit.

 

[Donkey OJ]

I had an ultrasound done on my knackers once

did a male or female nurse apply the cool clear jelly to the base of your knackers?
*hot flush*
just askin like.

 

[ernesto]

dont forget the lucrative world of corporate a.v where you get the chance to be in work at half six in the morning until ten o clock at night and you have to wear a shirt and tie and deal with complete fucking remons and then when their shitty middle management poxy half year cunt assesment conference is over you have to go up on a ladder and take down the barco projector and your arms get all marked and then you have to load out all the gear into a van in the rain with fucking blokes smoking spliffs.

fuck, for got bout that.

yeah, tiz a load of kok.

 

[kevin gallen]

Just tell em a few sayings to rattle off such as

"It will sound okay once theres a crowd in"

cant go wrong with that

 

[Lefty Frizzell]

female, nurse, apply,

yes, doctor, smear.

 

[plug]

Q: how many sound engineers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A: "sorry bud, don't do lights."

did sound engineering in ballyer. thought it was a pretty good course, easy and a bit of fun. learned a lot. but never tried to make a career out of it. found that the knowledge gleaned has been invaluable in personal projexts though so I'm glad I did it.

if you consider the job market compared to the amount of courses job prospects look grim enough. there's a huge surplus of 'qualified' engineers out there. using your charisma, wit and charm to grab work experience probably the best way forward. obviously it's easier to get work experience if you walk in knowing what you're at, so...

getting paid right off the bat is a bit optimistic all right.

your friend might be recommended to build on their experience and try to keep recording and working with sound. either work on recording their own stuff if they write music, or doing demos for friends. this is easy nowadays, thanks to computers. it's also amazing how much shit you'll learn when you apply your knowledge in a practical environment. 's a good way to show off your standard and abilities as well?

 

[meta]

sound engineering - live, studio, radio production, theatre are just a few areas where recently graduating engineers can probably get unpaid/paid work experience which is probably the best way to get in somewhere and also find out exactly what it is you have a practical interest in.

there is a serious lack of good live engineers in this city, it's not rocket science. a good live engineer is someone who is quietly confident and capable of producing good front of house and onstage sound.

WARNING: watch out for engineers with ultility belts and excessive amounts keys.

 

[RED(tape)MENACE]

there is a serious lack of good live engineers in this city, it's not rocket science. a good live engineer is someone who is quietly confident and capable of producing good front of house and onstage sound.

Aye. The lack of venues and the sheer number of kids coming out of sound school every year mean its hard to get work/experience/good at live sound. The best engineers around town have worked in the same room for a while and get to know where its problems are.

 

[moc]

i'd go with pulse training over stc, my friend studied there and about 6 people got good house engineers jobs from his class... westland, windmill and pulse were some of the studios.