Assistant Engineers - 10 Keys to Being Loved by the Client and the Studio

Often times what makes the difference between recording studios is not the gear but their service, and the front line of service is their assistant engineers. While a good one might not be enough to keep you coming back to a facility, a bad one could turn a studio with even the latest hi-tech gear into an unpleasant experience that can make you not want to ever see that place again. 

So just what makes an assistant engineer not only good, but as professional as you would find at any of the major facilities around the world? The answers are not only for those who want to be assistants but for studio owners and managers who want their studio run like the major facilities.

Two incidents prompted this article; a comment from an intern stating that his recording school never taught him how to be an assistant, and some recent experiences that caused me to compare the service (which mostly came down to the assistants) between studios. Since I never worked as one myself (I became an engineer/producer mostly as self-defense in my musician days), I give you my observations as someone who is around them all the time. I know what I like and I know what bugs me, and I discuss these traits all the time with studio managers and other engineers. 

So here we go with some educated observations. This is what I've noticed with great (not good) assistants: The assistants in a studio are like sergeants in the army; they have responsibility for many of the in-the-trenches decisions and are the major contact point of the studio to the public. That being said, we can break a great assistants responsibilities down to two categories: attitude and responsibilities.  

ATTITUDE

1) Great assistants have a great attitude. They act like they want to be there. They act like they're interested. They act like they both love their job and the project they're working on. There is nothing that they don't like (at least outwardly). Nothing is worse than being in a session with someone who acts either like he doesn't want to be there, or acts like he absolutely hates the music and treats the people who are paying his wages with disdain. This enthusiasm for the job goes a long way and usually results in an engineer or producer requesting the assistant the next time back (providing all the following points are met, of course).  

2) Great assistants always arrive early. They are there at least an hour before the session is slated to start and have everything prepared so when the principals arrive, everything is ready to go. If it's a tracking date, the assistant has all the mics set up and placed in their general areas (the engineer will do the final placement) with cables run. If it's an overdub or mixing date, he has everything restored on the DAW or in the rare cases where a studio has a tape machine, has it aligned and ready to go. He also has the console either recalled or returned to where the last session left off at, thanks to the accurate notes that he kept from the last session (more on this later). Basically, everything is ready to go when the engineer or producer walks in.  

3) Great assistants are always prepared during the session too.  They are always thinking ahead and don't have to be told things. If he knows that an overdub is coming up, he'll have the proper mic, headphones and cables ready to go before it happens. If a singer is varying in level, he'll have the limiter patched before being asked. A famous story in Hollywood has a famed but gruff chief engineer at a major facility who used to beat up his assistants like a drill sergeant, telling them, "When you see my coffee cup half-empty, I shouldn't even have to ask you to fill it up."  

4) Great assistants are seen and not heard. They blend into the woodwork, keep their head down, and just do their job. They never offer an opinion unless asked, and even then are cautious with their reply. The customer is always right, and he's not right if you give him the opposite opinion.

RESPONSIBILITIES

5) Great assistants make sure everything is clean.  Before the session even starts the assistant has made sure that all trash cans are emptied, and no soda cans or candy wrappers from the last session (or even worse, from yesterday) are still around. Nothing turns a client off like going into a dirty studio.  

6) Great assistants have everything always documented. Everything from mic placement to patchbay patches to outboard settings is written down in the finest of detail. All track and take sheets are filled in before the client even has time to ask about it (this is the FIRST thing to do after setup). If I had to pick one thing as the most important I expect from an assistant, this would be it.  Document even it everything takes place "in-the-box" (all recording and mixing is done within the DAW).  

7) Great assistants make great labels. Yes, the studio has to have this ability first, but if it does (and it should in this day and age) the assistant should always have the time to make labels that look great for any CDs before they leave the studio. Great assistants never treat copies and labels as a burden, but as a necessary part of their job.  

8) Great assistants call ahead to find out the session requirements.  As soon as a session is booked, the assistant calls the client to find out the type of session, what type of gear or media they'll be needing, what kind of mics are required and their placement, and any rentals that might be needed.  

9) Great assistants put things away after the session ends.  At the end of the day, any unused mics, cables, outboard gear and synthesizers are put away. Mics should never be left out unless they are set in place for the following day, which is a good policy for studios of all sizes.

10) Great assistants practice perfect hygiene.  You don't have to smell as fresh as a flower (although it helps) but great assistants don't project any objectionable body orders.  Believe me, an assistant with bad breath or body oder can make a session uncomfortable for the client, especially when you're cooped together on a long session.  If you want to keep your job, this is a must.

As you'll notice, I never once mentioned anything about an assistant having great ears and knowing both the room and the gear. That, in fact, goes without saying. But it's all the other things outlined that really make an assistant stand out from the rest of the pack and be noticed as a true professional. And only when the help rises above the pack can a studio be truly called "professional".  

A long-time veteran of the music industry, Bobby Owsinski has produced and composed for records, motion pictures and television shows along the way. Currently a principle in the DVD production house Surround Associates and content creator 2B Media, Bobby has also penned hundreds of articles for many popular industry trade publications and has authored several books that are now staples in recording programs in colleges around the world including "The Mixing Engineer's Handbook", "The Recording Engineer's Handbook", "The Audio Mastering Handbook", "The Drum Recording Handbook", and "How To Make Your Band Sound Great".   A frequent moderator, panelist and program producer of a variety of industry conferences, Bobby has served as the longtime producer of the annual Surround Music Awards, and is one of the executive producers for the "Guitar Universe" and "Desert Island Music" television programs. Visit Bobby's Blog at http://bobbyowsinski.blogspot.com/ and his website at http://bobbyowsinski.com