10 Unspoken Rules of Audio Engineering

Wanna work in a recording studio? Make sure you know this...
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MY FAVORITE GEAR:
Computer / Interface:
Mac M1 Studio Max sweetwater.sjv.io/anOMOo
Avid Carbon sweetwater.sjv.io/ZQ6M6g
Apogee Duet 3 sweetwater.sjv.io/y2qXqb
Monitors / Headphones:
Avantone CLA-10a sweetwater.sjv.io/WqyMyZ
Audio Technica ATH-M50 sweetwater.sjv.io/PyOMON
Microphones:
Shure SM57 sweetwater.sjv.io/daOMy7
AKG D112 sweetwater.sjv.io/Kj0MBy
Sennheiser e604 sweetwater.sjv.io/DKyvWa
Shure SM7b sweetwater.sjv.io/5g5vk3
AKG C451b sweetwater.sjv.io/jre9Rv
Shure SM81 sweetwater.sjv.io/eK1LnD
Audio Technica AT4050 sweetwater.sjv.io/JzKMqr
Preamps/Outboard:
API 3124 sweetwater.sjv.io/eK1LRD
EL8 Distressor sweetwater.sjv.io/XYmMd4
Favorite Plugins:
BSA Clipper blacksaltaudio.com/clipper
Escalator blacksaltaudio.com/escalator
Low Control blacksaltaudio.com/low-control
Waves SSL Bundle waves.alzt.net/dMd4q
Waves CLA Compressors waves.alzt.net/0va0P
Waves Platinum waves.alzt.net/jxz2M
Slate Trigger 2 sweetwater.sjv.io/MmAM53
SoundToys Rack sweetwater.sjv.io/xkLgyd
Auto-tune Pro sweetwater.sjv.io/OreMYr
Vocalign Project sweetwater.sjv.io/xkLgyA
Cranesong Phoenix II sweetwater.sjv.io/PyOMrz
Instruments / Amps:
Ludwig Black Beauty Snare sweetwater.sjv.io/1r9vDR
Gibson Les Paul sweetwater.sjv.io/B0nvz1
Evertune Guitars sweetwater.sjv.io/WqyM6P
Fender Jazz Bass sweetwater.sjv.io/nLX5R6
Sansamp Bass Driver DI sweetwater.sjv.io/OreM9Q
EVH 5150 sweetwater.sjv.io/4PGvr9
Mesa 2x12 cab sweetwater.sjv.io/75avGA

[@hardcoremusicstudio]

Grab your free Mixing Cheatsheet to learn the go-to starting points for EQ and compression in heavy mixes: www.mixcheatsheet.com

[@JAHDUBProductions]

I'm glad then that the studio is mine and i work alone. I'll get my own coffee and I'm not a caterer. Music is my release, not my stress.

[@glenesis]

Mine too, but damn, there are days I'd love to have a couple of interns 😜

[@rustatum2382]

Rule #8 has some caveats: Yes, do have all mics and stands ready for whatever specific session you have, but remember, setting up the instruments properly, tuning, and mic placement IS audio engineering. Knowing mic placement is a much more unique skill than sitting in the control room and pressing record, so you need to get paid for this. Some clients think they shouldn't have to pay for mic set up, and that is just wrong.

[@petermazur2520]

Good mike selection and placement is 80% of our job

[@Gearrion]

Your job is to literally place the mics as well as press record. If you are not an audio engineer then you have no business pressing any record button kid.

[@RichardHerczeg]

@@Gearrion God gave me a finger too. Fascinating all the things it can do.

[@justinbowen1183]

​@@RichardHerczeg My mom said your terrible with your fingers so your full of shit 😂😂

[@Durkhead]

If you dont know which mic to use just hand them an sm57

[@cubertuner492]

Is it good for vocals?

[@derekfrazier389]

57 or 58 was used for the entirety of vocal recording on the Killers Hot Fuss album. 57 works on just about anything

[@Durkhead]

@cubertuner492 I like the way 57 sounds for metal vocals but you need a good pop filter.

[@magnusdolby3844]

I go for an SM58

[@roberthart4224]

They are the same mic, either way. Only difference is the filter dome​@magnusdolby3844

[@jonvincentmusic]

Gee I’m sure glad I got a job that doesn’t treat it’s lower grade staff as subhuman.

[@effata.resonance]

Totally agree. Basic advice for any beginner in any industry: If you end up in a position where expecting the basic decency of saying “thanks” is confused with “wanting to be in the spotlight” then go look elsewhere for work. These people are not worth your time. From my experience in the music industry, this kind of toxic, elbows-out behaviour of some supposed “top dogs" is usually just a way of covering up their own insecurity and incompetence.

[@MattPicsET]

3:10 THIS ONE. I was in a studio once, and the in-house ‘producer’ asked for a vocal on the spot when we were initially only booked for synth and guitar production. I was dehydrated, hadn’t eaten all day, and I was still hoarse from performing that weekend. But I wanted to give the producer what he wanted, so I agreed. I went into a separate booth and warmed up my voice gently for 20 minutes while they prepared a few microphones for a shootout. When I came into the live room and finished the shootout, it still took them another 55 minutes just to get the microphone set up, and I kept losing signal in my headphones. The whole fiasco derailed the entire project. They weren’t ready, and I wasn’t in any condition vocally to deliver the take we were hoping for. The next morning the producer wanted to finish vocals, but the engineer insisted that we finish production (which was what we had all agreed on before the session) because this was the last day my hardware synths would be in the studio. So yet again we were waiting for nearly an hour as they patched up the synths again. The engineer ran into a hiccup with the midi on ProTools and he literally started browsing KZbin on his phone trying to solve it, and it ate up another 20 minutes of studio time. I ended up getting laryngitis because of everything and had to cancel a few shows until I recovered. I lost thousands of dollars as a result, and the project is still on the shelf. Never make your artist wait for you to set up gear, and better yet, always stick to your plan.

[@347Jimmy]

That sounds like the engineer was straight up wasting your time for extra $$

[@SebSpeaks]

A couple of these rules are disheartening and remind me why I chose to chart a different course in life 30 years ago. Rule #2 here is the antithesis of how leadership should act in a team environment. High performing teams are led by people who welcome input from anyone at any level of the food chain. We may not always run with your idea, but the willingness to express it builds confidence in people. #5 is just absolutely demoralizing. Always find something to praise in each of your direct reports, no matter how small or insignificant to the overall success of the organization. I can't imagine what it takes for someone to go for months, perhaps years without receiving praise and still decide to forge on. It's like a bad marriage where one is hen pecked on a daily basis by their "loved one" while still expected to put the toilet seat down, or else. It's not about wanting to be in the spotlight or ego, it's about treating others well and leaders building people up so they are prepared for future challenges. I do agree wholeheartedly with #10 though.

[@rynabuns]

Audio industry can sometimes be so conservative and old-boys-club-sy it's very disheartening

[@ufox77]

I completely agree about #5 - it takes a very fragile ego not to be willing to offer reassurance, encouragement or praise where it’s due. #2 can be understandable though where unsolicited advice or suggestions can become frustrating or undermining. I had an assistant once who became increasingly annoyed at me dismissing his ideas for the session, and it got to the point where I’d do it automatically just because I didn’t want to deal with him any more. It wasn’t that his ideas were bad or wrong, more that the session was severely time-limited and trying any of them would have meant sacrificing more necessary things, tangling the band up in more complication than they were prepared to deal with. Experience doesn’t make you any more creative than anyone else, but it does give you more of a practical insight into what is and isn’t possible. An assistant who doesn’t recognise this can quickly become more of a burden than a help.

[@JacobraRecords]

@3:25 this needs a huge disclaimer. Shooting out vocals mics on a singer to find the right one for their voice is CRUCIAL.

[@kelvinfunkner]

I loved the one about not using pirated software. Aside from the fact that everything just runs better, it's just plain respectful towards the people that are keeping us in business by releasing great plugins! And good on you for saying the quiet stuff out loud!

[@alexbublick436]

Except it’s the opposite. Everything runs better with pirated software. Look at recently cracked Acustica Audio. Each of their plugins has a 10+ GB of files that are just protection from being pirated. Buy 10 of their plugins and you gonna end up needing another terabyte.

[@user02834]

For smaller companies this is true. But the big exploitative companies already got enough.

[@Stig69]

Doing free grunt work for a bigger studio was the best job I've ever had

[@dlinemusic]

All of the behind the scenes stuff resonates with me in a big way, and I'm not even a professional producer lol. That advice applies in so many fields. Awesome video, Jordan.

[@ytnsanw]

Love number 7. No excuse, especially these days when the market is so competitive and there's so much reasonably priced top-notch software available.

[@VNGR]

Not to mention the insane quality and abundance of free plugins lately, huge discounts on black friday etc. (just bought 1k worth of plugins for 400 bucks), rent-to-own options, buy used licenses, and when buying your daw, you're also buying a lot of the plugins you'll need since a lot is included

[@AndreySHAP]

Controversial opinion ahead. Sound engineering student from Russia speaking. I also agree on rule 7, and I'm trying to use as much legit plugins as I possibly can (and I also use legit pro tools, so not all pirated plugins even work), but now try to imagine being a student without money in a country, where you just can't buy most of the plugins because of sanctions, or if you somehow can, they just cost half of your entire budget and you still need to use VPNs and buy it from third parties to use them. You can barely afford any budget hardware (because it costs here like 2 times more than amazon) and I think in that situation piracy is really an only option. P.S. please don't be political here, I'm just talking about our professional situation. It's a tough time in my country now and I was born after I could change anything.

[@ytnsanw]

@@AndreySHAP Sorry for your unfortunate situation, but then you would need to limit yourself to software that IS available and legal. Most music software developers have families, mouths to feed and bills to pay - and deserve to be fairly compensated for their work and ingenuity. Disadvantage is seldom a viable excuse for theft - maybe food or water in dire circumstances, but not on discretionary items such as music software. IMHO.

[@AndreySHAP]

@@ytnsanw yeah, I understand that but the industry (your clients) expect a certain level of quality from you and they don't care did you paid or for plugins or not (and they don't care can you or not neither) If you, for example, can't tune vocals because you don't have melodyne (or can't do it as good and as fast as others can) - they'll just go to a different engineer who can do this So there is nothing much I can do, unfortunately I am trying to use as much legit software as I can. Personally i like to use authentic software, because it saves me from a ton of headaches, but situations like this leave no other options, unfortunately Also, does it count as stealing if I can't buy their software anyway? Because, the only choice for me is to pirate and use it or not to pirate and not use it at all (so neither way the developer can receive any money from me) So, maybe it is good to pirate and at least try to spread a good word among the professional community (who can buy it legit later), than just not to use it at all? That's a philosophical question.

[@maximussy]

@@AndreySHAPбаза

[@kevgamble]

I appreciate "don't steal". This is a message that needs to be more common. There are plenty of great, affordable software options around, and plugins are cheaper than ever - no one needs to steal to make a pro recording. And if we choose to compromise integrity in one area of our work, it poisons it all, whether we admit it or not. We can't consider ourselves professionals if we're using stolen tools.

[@peterbondmusic]

Agree 100%

[@rainbowstudioscrimea]

Easy to say "don't steal no matter in what country you live" living in us or just not sanctioned country. But when you live in Crimea and even don't have any opportunities to buy, because paypal doesn't work here and credit cards also. Even if you can make card from another country, you ve got a problems with sending money to it😢

[@ebl6037]

your comment says A LOT about you have no clue how peopel live in this world, shows you havent seen much of other socities and how they make dough. world is not sun shine or rainbows, even your own music industry steals from artist in the name of contracts. even your own government steals from you in the name of tax, you work 40 hours a week to get paid X amont but your government say I WILL TAKE 20% of that cuz I CAN. now you just consider you work 35 hours whereas you bused your butttt off for 40 hrs. if from top to bottom stealing in the name of alegal thing you better play the same game my man.

[@shabnamekhoshhal]

​@@rainbowstudioscrimeaSo if you can't buy even if you willingly want to pay(and want to pay more), what I have to say for you, If something does not distributing In your country, and If it's software which means they are the ones that deprived you from getting it and it means they actually put some effort to prevent you from buying it, it has a name, and its name is "discrimination" so in this case, actually I don't think you should even consider yourself a thief or pirate or anything ... and in the end, you're even not human in their minds, and also I would say invading Ukraine was a bad, bad decision from the Russia, back then and now, so I assume you have nothing to do with that part of the problem when I say this to you.

[@SuperPol1981]

​@shabnamekhoshhal now you’re just assuming he’s a poor victim of Russia and he’s being discriminated... want to bet he’s actually supporting Russia? In that case, he can go produce music with some sticks and stones for all I care. And if he’s really a poor patriottic Ukrainian, he should be doing other stuff than producing music anyway.

[@MrLaserdaze]

My mentor when I was starting out taught me many of these rules, so thankfully for me, not all of them were unspoken, but these rules are really super advice you're giving. Thanks for your videos. You've created a good channel with valuable lessons and good information to reference.

[@cc11studio]

Solid advice! I've been learning along the way, but did realize a few of the things you mentioned. Stay out of the way, be available, and keep your mouth shut unless asked something.

[@heyiplaybassguitar]

This was a great video! Thanks for the knowledge as always, Jordan!

[@mex8751]

10/10 tips you’re learning working in studio. Can approve all of them. Thanks for sharing. 💯

[@ZoranImsiragic]

I'm not much involved in a music production, but I'm pretty experienced in graphic production. I can relate to what you said, and it is really useful and applicable across the whole range of production jobs. You deliver it directly, precisely, and simple for everyone to understand. Great!😊

[@matthewramroop]

Another thing (from experience) regarding stolen plugins is, depending on if you register them, the plugins may go offline unexpectedly and a multitude of features may be missing or disabled. As such, it always helps to buy the plugins. Not to mention updates can make certain plugins more efficient overtime so that's another aspect to take into consideration.

[@Md2802]

Another important rule in the studio: Learn how to read the room, and don't get in the way of the vibe. Some sessions are fun and collaborative, where the band / producer invites the studio staff into the creative space. Other times, the artist is shy and needs as much space as they can get. Occasionally the client is a jester, and won't feel free to express themselves unless they know everyone in the room is cool with their banter. Then you've got the occasional talented arsehole who you need to set boundaries with, but not antagonise. Or the eccentric who cycles through each of these over the course of a session. Experienced producers and engineers know how to feel things out, and make themselves compatible with the vibe - but sometimes it takes buy-in from everybody in the room to set the conditions for magic to happen in the studio. Including the assistant(s). And you definitely don't want to be the guy in the corner that's out-of-step with everybody else, putting-off the artist when they're trying to vibe.

[@VendettaProduction01]

Literally rule two that he gave.

[@michaelhenderson776]

That's just rules one and two

[@StuartQuinn]

Absolutely not just rules 1&2. It's about knowing when to apply those rules and when to do the exact opposite.

[@michaelhenderson776]

@@StuartQuinn no it really is, just with added context. Doesn't make it a new rule. No need to overcomplicate things.

[@user-hs1zz9sx2e]

Really nice tips! Thanks for sharing!❤❤❤

[@gaz312]

Never had a problem expressing my opinion. In fact it has helped me learn and those around me by opening up a conversation about what would get the best results and why. As long as it's done with the right attitude and respect to other peoples position etc it has never been an issue.

[@scottlockhart5266]

Love this! I’m immediately going to implement this at my business.

[@thrashzone13]

Usually if your working for a professional studio for 8 and 9 you should be given a mic list with and patches you need to make for external processing in advanced and also it doesn’t matter how good you set up mics on something the producer or head engineer gets last touch on the placement. Most importantly l, be cool. Sounds simple but you’d be surprised. Great list!

[@LuciensMusic]

You make some excellent points here,,nice job

[@artie]

Excellent!!! Love this!!!

[@iandickson5716]

Great advice!!! ...... Not just for audio engineers, but for any profession (with a few tech term substitutions). You perfectly describe the guy/gal that everyone wants on their team. Thanks.😀🎵

[@flaviozarza1735]

This video is gold!! Thank u so much for sharing ur experience & knowledges. Regards from Bcn! 🤘🏼

[@tuknchuk]

Great List… Great Tips… and GREAT (concise & no fluff or B.S.) CONTENT !!! Thanks 🙏 !!!!

[@Joe-mz6dc]

Great advice man. You're good.

[@louisalfred3]

Great advice! From an “old school” guy thank you! Good to see stuff like this

[@unejeff]

Thanks man, so much learn i got🙏🏽

[@dreammix9430]

Yup. I learned this back in the early seventies when I got it my first job in a recording studio as a second engineer. I was 17 years old. These rules stand the test of time and are as valid today as they were back then the only thing that has changed is the technology.

[@SelBSinging]

I need someone like this

[@SohaillGandhi]

Solid advice all around 👍

[@lookingforheather]

These are all really good and absolutely true. The one I live by still is the do not update software before a session. I learned that the hard way about 5-6 years ago. Lost a client over it. System was down 3 days. Had to refer him to a friend to do his mixes while I re installed 😩

[@pschroeter1]

Most of it sounds like good advise for any new job where you work your way up.

[@Stemma3]

"Hey, did you buy that plug-in or did you download it from a torrent site" Things nobody's gonna ask you and that nobody cares. PS: it's impossible to notice if you pirate your software. People live under a rock with those comments.

[@Allious131]

All of these rules were insane and stupid, no one on this earth will careless you have pirated plugins or not. And he's basically telling you to kiss azz.

[@simonkormendy849]

Trust me, a client will notice if/when you're using pirated software when your computer crashes right in the middle of a session and you forgot to do a save, I know from first-hand experience that cracked, or pirated software rarely works like it's supposed to, some cracked software can actually contain viruses too, besides using cracked software is no more than theft, you're depriving the original software developer of an income, and software developers are real human beings with families to support, bills, mortgages, bank loans, and even salaries to pay, put yourself in the software developer's shoes and consider this, would you like it if someone stole from you and deprived you of an income?

[@Allious131]

@@simonkormendy849 Don't know what or where you got your software from bud, but R2R has never once crashed on me. Pirated plugins don't typically do that so Idk what's happening over there with your computer. Don't know if you are being serious but if you are you seriously need to get your pc checked asap. And the pirated software bit and stealing bit is getting old you, people still think its the 90's and early 2000s you should really let that go, how many studies how many times are people gonna explain to you nut cases that the amount of pirating software does no damage but actually helps more musicians and sells for people to eventually purchase that software, it doesn't hurt the developers what so ever. Especially all the money these people rake in off of subscriptions and and stealing outrageous amounts from the consumer on a daily basis, that argument is weak and pathetic really wish you people would stfu tbh. Don't be stupid like the gaming community because what they found out once their game is gone forever its forever unless they pirate it to get it back, you know what would be great for people like you is if you wake up tomorrow and fabfilter, waves and uad is gone and the only way you can get it back is through pirating like the gaming community, see you talk so stupid but don't even understand why pirating exist in the first place.

[@Iwantapplez109]

if the plugin doesn't have a *registered to* message on it, then yes, it's impossible.

[@Iwantapplez109]

@@simonkormendy849 i think you had some unstable cracks and maybe have gotten a couple shady repacks from your experience. i'm not saying cracks are perfect but they're far from an unstable mess these days. To be fair, if the plugin has a "registered to" signature on its GUI, yes, it's instantly recognizable. While i can agree that when you pirate, you aren't giving the money that is owed to the software company, it isn't really theft in the normal sense. You're merely making a copy of the plugin, and removing the DRM out of it (akin to photocopying a book and then putting the book back on its shelf). The plugin can still be bought normally. Even the groups who crack the plugins say in their nfos, "if you like the software, buy it!". Piracy is indeed a gray zone, but sometimes the best way of getting a customer is through the black market. it might seem low, but there are customers who at first, pirate the software because either they don't have the money, or the company doesn't have a demo mode of the plugin. They find out that they actually really like the plugin, and start saving up money to get the plugin. Once they save up, they then buy the plugin and become a legit customer.

[@peterbondmusic]

These are all good!

[@greeneyes66]

Great list, in fact for any point of an audio career !

[@Morganwrightmusic]

There’s so much wisdom here even if you’re a home producer/engineer

[@Joe-mz6dc]

Absolutely. This fellow knows.

[@drumhead96]

I’ve got a meeting with a studio this week. Thanks for the tips

[@markleyshon]

spot on,great tips,i hope others listen!

[@jakobweber8117]

Oh boy pure GOLD!!!!

[@brianvillage5]

excellent list.

[@Mansardian]

There is an idea floating around in my head: I want to print out every GUI of the plugins I own and pin them on the wall like a virtual rack, to remind me that I've got more gear in my virtual rack than professional studios normally have as hardware. So if a mix doesn't work it's not because of the gear or plugins I have but rather because one of my decisions in the mixing process didn't work out. Perhaps this is kind of a reminder to all the piracy guys out there that they don't actually need even more plugins but rather need to improve their skills. Get a decent suite or bundle of plugins, pay for them and spend time for honing your experience.

[@MrAlFuture]

This is spot on.

[@pigknickers2975]

Rule 2 - so accurate. When I was 21 I did it once, found out very quickly. Now been doing this for 30 years. Software plugs - if you buy them your sense of needing to fully learn them is increased. Whenever I nick one it doesn't have the same value to me.

[@Astromanicmusic]

30 years ago that was the culture in 2023 I dont want to work with an engineer unless they have an opinion. .

[@chrisknight3734]

Absolutely solid advice, though some of it I would consider guideline rather than hard rule

[@ALLforROME]

That thumbnail! Totally looks like dude on the left is flashin' his junk at the guy behind the board....yep....I'll never do that! 😂

[@shuaichenwu9931]

spot on

[@DeejayRach0]

Wow Thank you man

[@stamecec2003]

dope speesh boss

[@EpilepsyGod]

You don't care about plugin prices, because you have money right now, "don't steal plugins" - awesome opinion. Do you even know about a salaries in other countries, about different situations? I had salary around 120$ per month in my previous country, so what can I do? After rent and food I had nothing. Don't compare your life and your rules to other people, if you don't understand real situations. When I will start earn money from music, I will buy all plugins that I actually use, but not in the beginning.

[@VendettaProduction01]

Honestly the stealing plug-ins thing bites you in the ass farther down the road than it helps you save money. If nothing else being able to contact help because something weird happened is a god send sometimes.

[@dariooipad6430]

Great! 10/10

[@frankweber356]

Great guy......he is giving help coming out of the real recording world. Thanks a lot for this.

[@Allious131]

A world no one should want tbh.

[@frankweber356]

I do......and i am not alone !!!! And you know what..., "The real truth is, what nobody believs"@@Allious131

[@Allious131]

@@frankweber356 Those rules were bullshyte.

[@frankweber356]

I know what to think about someone writing this, who has 26 Subscribers. I stop here answering. Sorry...@@Allious131

[@Allious131]

@@frankweber356 And you have nobody at all wtf are talking about 🤣🤣🤣😂😂

[@UranoSteam]

Dude i've come across your channel because i have found that some of my tracks after being mixed and mastered don't sound good on devices other than my pc. I decided to learn everything from scratch. The thing is i make electronic music. Do the tips i find in your channel translate to edm aswell ? Thanks

[@992ras]

Here is one if your intern learn how to use all the gear on your own time after sessions and before sessions. One thing I learned a compressor can decide when it works or not like recoding my final project at school it didn’t like the bass guitar but work perfectly fine for the master mix Damn LA- 2a our fast fix was direct in and re amping both in mix down turned out fine

[@DTrecording]

Rule #1 + other video mentions about making others look good -- the hierarchy is real. I interned at a studio, set up a patch bay using the studio's diagram, something the assistant engineer was struggling with at the time, and I stopped getting invited back. No client was there, the assistant was being called away to another task, and I asked if it was alright before jumping in. I thought all was good, but in retrospect it was probably taken as arrogance rather than eagerness.

[@Elink321]

With the guitar modellers/profilers today. Which of these do you figure are capable of being used for recording. From Mixing and Mastering. Final product.

[@Astromanicmusic]

This is an interesting post to be made in 2023. Big studios that run this hierarchy are so far and few. I choose my assistants and engineers based off their ability to speak up with their opinion and having worth knowing they are more than just baristas. I hate a silent out of the way engineer. Every artist I work with loves when it becomes a conversation about how to make their music better. ALSO most studio work is done at home with one producer as the engineer for the most part, there are far less needs to anticipate for artist because of all of the information out there on studio flow and things like that. Artist love getting their own coffee. I want my assistants and engineers to be a safety net for when I miss something or they hear something speak up. just be good at the daw and have great ears and you will continue to get calls.

[@DerekPower]

#9 is what the pre-production phase is for and it's more "what do I want".

[@ingekvam324]

#4; Get your own damn coffee!

[@paulgabel2029]

Regarding number 8. YES, have the mics on the stands with cables ready to position.....DO NOT setup the artists gear. If there is a place where the guitar cab needs to go, just have the guy that brings it in place it there. IF IF IF you fuck up the artists equipment....OMG it is bad for you, for the studio, and for the session. YOU touching their personal equipment make the studio liable for any damage that you cause. If you are asked to carry their personal equipment, treat it as though it were make of priceless irreplaceable glass. If you are asked to help haul in the drums, then simply place them relatively together but do not set them up. Drummer have a very picky way they want the drums set....and as we all know....once a drummer sets up their drums "PERFECTLY", they then need to spend another 30 mins moving everything anyway. So wait until they are SET before working the mics into place.

[@michaelhenderson776]

My ego will absolutely make me break several of these, especially after being told not to. Many of these sound kinda bogus to me. Damn, guess I can't do it. Back to the drawing board.

[@konstantinepope]

Absolutely love the vid but this feels more about the recording phase, re the mixing stage and as it is becoming more and more in the box and decentralised i.e. the recording happening in LA, the mixing an Oslo, for me the most important rule is critical listening. Learn the genre in advance, spend 2 8h shifts on youtube listening to adjacent tracks, analyse them, figure out what happens and how. Then you'll be able to mix fast and have less back and forth with the artist and producer.

[@marcusharrigan6879]

Sounds pretty reasonable. Nothing stopping the audio engineer from taking notes after a session and writing down what they've learned.

[@kevinlentz7604]

Thanks

[@1masterfader]

Never sit in the producer or head engineers chair.

[@Cchogan]

Re the tape machine - that was why we used to have Tape Ops - it was far too easy to forget if we were using more than one machine at a time - better to pass one of them to someone else's control from the start. A good list! Here is another one from the past: Don't balance your 2 litre bottle of full sugar coke on the motorised faders!!! It happened twice in our studio on analogue desks. It took a couple of weeks to clean all that sugar off from not just the faders but all the circuit boards. Three of us sitting there with bottles of alcohol and cotton buds! It was made worse as it happened over lunch, probably knocked by someone on their way out of the studio, so the entire bottle glugged right across and into the desk. Then sat there drying for a couple of hours.... We never found the culprit, but it was a full session of people.

[@YAWN....]

Whoever leaves liquids on a mixing board is fkn moronic...

[@knotthemstudios]

I installed crack software and used it for years , i liked it enough to buy it. I wouldn’t call someone a thief though.

[@skullbreaker6208]

Fucking deadly! Any chance to post a video equalizing, panning and rebuilding to stereo an industrial sample synth lead?

[@justinbowen1183]

I dont think giving an opinion is a bad idea as long as you don't practically force the client to do it as it's still their choice ultimately. Overall pretty good 💯👍

[@glenesis]

All good. I only disagree that these are unspoken. My comrades and I learned these and others. The top rule as an assistant engineer or an intern implies all the other rules: your job is to Make The Engineer Look Good. Here's an example I experienced. If you are the Tape Op and you see your engineer arm a track you know has a good take on it, either whisper urgently in their ear or take them aside before you let the session proceed, and and tell them! Don't tell them in front of everyone. Tell them in a manner that keeps the client comfortably unaware that anything was close to going wrong. Make The Engineer Look Good. Make The Studio Look Good. I did this and saved a record. It pays to be intimately familiar with your current track sheet and the session roadmap and any demos of the song you're working on. If you're busy enough this becomes wonderfully second-nature! At first it's terrifying. Push through and hang in there and eventually the payoff feels really good, and the projects show the caring!

[@norweedrecords]

rule no. 7 is alright if you're a professional and have a studio. calling people thieves this way ain't right, that's rather called being passive-aggressive towards people who have different financial situation or a different view just because *you* certainly don't care about the human part of this. living in Canada makes it easier to afford all this fancy stuff, but living in a broke eastern European country makes it different to survive a month, let alone have some fun during the holidays. I'm not saying it to offend you or to show how offended I might be - I'm only saying you probably don't understand world economy with your statements. Venezuelan artists having a hard time now.

[@abelgutierrez1283]

Excellet tips all around. I especially like the point to put your ego away. I think #1 and #2 only work if you enjoy working around people that make you feel invisible. I can appreciate the sentiment, absolutely. Studio's are big business and there isn't time to deal with newbie talent saying things you already know. And it can be a bad look to disagree with your superiors in front of clients. The thing is, if you want to feel like an equal and appreciated, find a studio that listens to you and asks for your thoughts. Yes, you should still show respect to your mentors and those with more experience, but you should never feel afraid or intimidated to express your opinions. Art is subjective and we never stop learning. Including the experienced. So speak up. Make suggestions. Offer ideas. If you get negative vibes or ugly looks - find another environment. Find people that are open minded and respect you.

[@jas_bataille]

Rule number 11 : You don't have to take a traditional path of assisting in a studio. You can work at a local venue, or produce artists in your home, and get a name doing that if you've developed your ear, songwriting, arrangement and communication skills really, really well... you don't need to have all the technical knowledge (ex. here with the tape). But then, don't pretend like you do. The last thing Hollywood wants is a director who doesn't know how the camera works but doesn't ever acknowledge it - same here. If you were hired for your vision only, find someone technically better than you aside, and say it plainly : "I have never touched an SSL before" or whatever applies. They got your back, as long as you're honest. Everyone has a different background anyway and we all came together to make great music and have fun!

[@cederickforsberg5840]

You're missing the point. He's not talking about producing. Just engineering.

[@jonhelmer8591]

Take this advice!

[@niteshades_promise]

On updates. I never consented to them. It just restarts n updates while im in the middle of tracking! Same as my phone🤬🍻

[@simonkormendy849]

Updating/restarting while right in the middle of tracking is a very bad thing, especially if you've forgotten to do a save beforehand, nothing is worse than losing a lot of hours in work progress on tracking, and in a pro recording studio time is money, and if you're recording a client's album and you have to charge them extra because you forgot to do a save prior to updating/restarting then you'll lose their patronage, and you'll lose money, so personally I like to get all updates/restarts out of the way before starting any kind of recording session, usually when there's plenty of downtime between sessions.

[@NonnyStrikes]

NOICE

[@complexity5545]

This is more of a good list of being a good studio employee. I thought this was real electrical engineering.

[@joeMW284]

Updates on Mac are way more volatile than on Windows. Apple shows no regard when eliminating dependencies your plug-ins rely on to function. You can literally use the same version of a plugin forever on Windows.

[@angryzor]

Rules to be an assistant audio engineer: become a serf. I don’t work in audio engineering but these rules sound kinda toxic to me…

[@ReNoMellow]

Luckily, Jordan don't represent the whole audio engineering world. There's also cool guys

[@hardcoremusicstudio]

When you're an intern / assistant starting out you do not have the expertise or credibility yet. You're there to help and learn. Just by being present and breathing in a room doesn't automatically make your skills or opinion valuable (YET). Be respectful, useful but not intrusive... your time will come.

[@angryzor]

@@hardcoremusicstudio I'm not saying that an intern should interrupt every 10 seconds with their own ideas, that would indeed cost a lot of time. However, allowing an intern to ask questions is valuable for _their_ development. Allowing them to voice their ideas makes it possible for you as an experienced engineer to tell them why X or Y isn't going to work and for them to learn, or, you know maybe to even get a fresh perspective yourself. At my job I've had juniors ask me questions & suggestions that wouldn't work the way they presented it, but did open up a line of thinking that I hadn't considered yet and gave both of us the chance to learn something new. The approach you present in this video on the other hand sounds more like "this room isn't large enough for both you and my ego so please make yourself as small as possible and watch the maestro work". My line of work isn't in the audio engineering sector, so maybe there is time pressure that needs to be accounted for in this particular industry, but for someone on the outside it just sounds like an outdated and toxic work culture.

[@3rdStoreyChemist]

@@angryzorAbsolutely, but there’s a time and a place for that. If someone is paying for studio time, they aren’t interested in an intern or assistant engineer asking questions and learning. It’s just an unfortunate aspect of any business where the client or customer is right there in the room.

[@timgosden5519]

@@angryzorI’ve had the privilege of working in some of the best studios in London over the years. There is almost never time to listen to an assistants opinion, especially when you’re paying £600-1200/day for the studio! You’re usually already juggling the opinions of the artist, management, A&R, label, publishers, songwriters/co-writers… Sorry bro.

[@simonkormendy849]

If you don't agree with these rules, you can bypass them by building your own recording studio and work for yourself, recording your own music, become an independent artist/producer so you don't have third-party people taking their cut of the income you generate, you'll need to be your own promoter, producer, artist, etc though, but is worth it.

[@kipchickensout]

tbh that just sounds like a unnecessarily toxic work relationship except for some things like being quick in the daw

[@user02834]

I'd agree with every rule except for rule #7 (2:44), I understand that it's sort of "unprofessional" and illegal, however what you said is basically "be wealthy/upper middle class to engineer". And I don't support that at all, I'd say you should buy your plugins once you are able to afford them without any problems or if they are from smaller companies, but if you're starting out it's all right to not own every plugin you install. Engineering should be accessible to EVERYONE. (and capitalism and profit incentive should therefore be abolished but that will have to wait)

[@babyjesuslovesme1219]

Sounds nerve-racking

[@jojogrooves]

Any advice how to get hired as an assistant?

[@danielstartek9729]

#1 Don't piss on the mixer!

[@TazzSmk]

they sound super cringy, but are actually very true, also similar goes for any kind of tech support, IT support etc... ;)

[@SaintMichaelOfficial]

Sounds like the kind of career that's "make or break" depending solely on who you're interning for. Otherwise, can be summer up as "work hard, be professional". Ngl though, I produce but I learned to mix/master my own tracks from a professional; but I pirated the absolute shit out of everything in the beginning. I could barely afford my first pair of MTXs to master at home. Judge me if you want lol.

[@sirmartin88]

Rule #7: I don’t know how about other countries but in my country you are presumed thief by default. Anytime you purchase any microphone, mixer, SD card, camera or anything which has to do with creating record, you are presumed to use these to steal existing art work. So why even bothering with purchasing software if you already pay for something they claim you are?

[@Micalex]

Rule #2 should be the golden rule in general 💀

[@drrodopszin]

Rule #11: listen to the demo tapes before the recording. I never got angry in the studio until the engineer/producer started rearranging the song structure after the guitars were recorded, because "Jesus, this song is all over the place!". It turned out he half listened to part of the meticulously recorded demo songs before the entire session that I have sent months(!!!) in advance. And I would have been happy to make changes.

[@immortaltunezstudios]

What if I got my stolen plugins from a friend ?😂

[@michalmazurek]

Watch Bob Rock choosing mics and spots for weeeeeks on Metallica sessions:)

[@chrislancaster2462]

Oppenheimer

[@theuncrediblehaak]

NEVER stand to the left of the mixing console!

[@N8oRMusic]

#7 is out the window