If you’re in the lucky position of being offered work which represents a step up in terms of prestige, profile or just old fashioned remuneration you might understandably feel the pressure a little more keenly than usual. Inspired by a story of such an opportunity, what might our team of contributors offer as advice for that long awaited “big gig”?

Ross Rothero-Bourge, a friend who is one of the engineers at Cube Recording, my local studio in Cornwall, visited me today. He’s fresh back from job recording Vinnie Colaiuta and Leland Sklar at EastWest in California. I was of course eager to hear all about it as, while Ross is a busy engineer at a ‘proper’ studio, in terms of profile this job represented a step up compared to his regular work. It sounded like a great experience but what would Ross suggest as takeaways from the experience which might be useful to others in the same position? And what would our team of contributors and friends in the industry have to add?

Preparation

It probably goes without saying but Ross put the hours in before he flew to the States communicating with the client and finding out in detail about the studio and the gear. He’s a Logic user and he wasn’t required to run the Pro Tools rig, having an assistant at the studio to do that but the console, mics and outboard were largely a known entity before he arrived. Cube is a nice studio with an SSL Origin, a modern Neve 8424 and lots of quality outboard but Ross was working in Studio 2 at East West, a historic studio with a vintage custom 40 Channel Neve 8028. It’s probably best known for its association with the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Ross told me how he was sure he knew what was available in the studio, what it was he was recording and what he anticipated using where. It would be a poor first impression to saunter in and ask what the job is…

And it’s advice echoed by our contributors:

“be prepared” Mike Thorne

“do as much preparation as humanly possible!” Dom Morley

“you’ve done homework and have a plan” William Wittman

Gear And Working With House Staff

When it comes to actually starting work, knowledge of the gear itself doesn’t have to be a barrier. If you don’t know how to work the studio’s gear the studio staff will be happy to help you. That’s why they are there.

This is where the specific knowledge of the house gear that house staff have can be invaluable. For example Ross took a suggestion of a KM54 for acoustic guitar from one of the house engineers and it was a good choice. He’d initially chosen a U67 because Cube has a pair of reissue Neumanns but the older ones were more mid-forward than the new ones he’s used to.

“If you’re really unsure, ask. For example: ask the assistant “where do people usually put drums in here” or ask the musician “how do people usually mic you”? William Wittman

Depending on the studio you’re visiting the in-house staff might be anything from a single owner-operator to a team of retained staff. The one thing they all have in common is that they know the studio. In the case of assistant engineers, while they might be less experienced than you, they are more experienced than you in that studio and this is worth keeping in mind. I’ve already referenced Ross’ anecdote about the acoustic guitar mic. While the assistant might be right at the beginning of their career, bear in mind that they have been assisting experienced engineers and seen how they use the specific facilities available in that studio.

Sometimes the house staff are precisely the people whose experience you should be using. Chris Shaw has a useful question he often asks himself which is intended to encourage him not to shy away from work because of discomfort or worrying about the risk of making a mistake. Just ask yourself what the worst thing  that can happen is? But there are limits:

“What is the worst thing that can happen? 90 percent of the time, If the worst does happen, you can recover from it. It is very rare that you can't recover. The one time I asked myself that question, I said, “well, yeah, I shouldn't be doing this” is when I did a session at Air in London with a full symphony orchestra. And the question was, “Hey, Chris, do you want to record the orchestra?” And I was like, well, what's the worst thing that can happen? I can blow a £20,000 string session.  I can't recover from that. So I told the band “you know what? Let's just get the house guy to do it because he does it. every day”. But usually it's not that bad at all. And asking that question has always propelled my career one step further”. Chris Shaw

“Rely on the staff assistant for questions specific to the studio or quirks of the room and gear. Bring something you’ve recorded and mixed, and know well, to listen to and assess the monitors with. A good monitor balance that “sounds like a record” is inspiring. No one wants to have to wonder if what they’re doing is good.” William Wittman

The Artists

The session which inspired this piece featured first-call session musicians with amazing track records. In other words they are the really experienced people in the room! An appropriate amount of respect is going to go a long way in this situation. Ross explained that reading the room and responding to the situation as it was was a key part in making the session as successful as it was - it’s worth saying here that the session was indeed a success and the client was very happy. In spite of the unfamiliar surroundings Ross saw that it wasn’t going to be appropriate to spend a long time getting the drum sound and experimentation wasn’t going to be part of this session. They wanted to get on with it and not keeping people waiting keeps them happy, and happy players makes for good takes.

“Keep it simple. This session is not a time to be flash or try a new technique. Do what you know well, and can do efficiently.” Dom Morley

Although the pressure might be greater in a session with an A list artist and first-call session players, the chances are that the engineering might be a piece of cake!:

“An important thing is the engineering aspect is actually incredibly easy. Leland and Vinnie are not going to walk in with sub par instruments and equipment and expect the engineer to work miracles. Players like them use top tier instruments that they know intimately. A drummer like Vinnie can tune his kit to perfection and can nail a take in one or two passes. I guarantee your friend got one of  the best drum sounds he's ever gotten in probably the shortest amount of time.” Chris Shaw

Understanding Your Role/Communication

In this case Ross had been asked to track drums and bass for a recording which was already closely planned and for which the rest of the parts had already been recorded. The players were reading charts and the job was to capture these parts. Often the roles of engineer and producer cross over to some extent and in these cases it’s important to know exactly which role you are supposed to be fulfilling. An engineer taking on a producer’s role uninvited usually doesn’t go down well. Ross was the engineer and kept to his lane. He told me that he did offer feedback to the client on the project but it was relevant and appropriate. It’s important to understand why you are there and stop stick to your role.

Communicate, But Don’t Overdo It

STFU and listen! Russ Hughes

Ross responded to Russ’ advice above saying that “98% of the time STFU, I’m with you!  on this occasion it was only me and the assistants, so I had to take the lead on right side of the glass at least.”

To add to Russ' thought the thing that has always struck me is how top engineers say almost nothing while others do the talking - the exact opposite of recording inexperienced acts where the engineer has to pitch in a lot to help things along. Luke Goddard

The most important part in doing sessions of this calibre is to keep the session moving, be professional, pay attention to details, and keep a good vibe at all times. Chris Shaw

Impostor Syndrome

While this particular job might be different in all sorts of ways for your regular work, there is a lot which stays consistent between all recording sessions (and any freelance work). Be easy to work with, have a good attitude, do what is required to get the project to where it needs to be and never make it about you.

It’s very normal to feel the pressure and to doubt yourself in important sessions which might be one of those opportunities which advance your career onto a different level. Our contributors know this and some useful comments around this were offered:

“You’re there, one assumes, because someone wanted you. So assume your role with confidence.” William Wittman

“To be honest, I approach every session in the same way, even the ones where I’ve had the opportunity to work with musicians I’m a huge fan of. I know they’re cliches but… be prepared, humble, present and appreciative of the people on the session. You’re there because someone thought you were able to bring something to the session, so just do what you do. And make sure you have great coffee!” Mike Thorne

Don’t Tell Your Artist How Competent You Are, Show Them:

“The first time I got the call to work with Young Thug, it was just a very different, very fast paced. But I had to keep my calm, keep my cool. Never show that you're feeling uncomfortable. You should just be really smooth. Knowing your quick keys in Pro Tools and being fast gives the artist a level of confidence in you that makes them feel that you're competent and you belong there. And that's really how I got through those first few sessions.” Bainz

And if your competence momentarily lets you down and you do mess something up, the standard advice always applies, especially here - Own up straight away and do what you can to fix it.

“If you fuck up something, acknowledge it immediately and suggest how to remedy it (if possible). “Sorry! Pilot error. Can we do that again for me?” is more professional than trying to bluff through and hope it goes unnoticed. We’ve all erased something or lost something etc.” William Wittman

To close this article out here’s my favourite of the quotes we got. It comes from Chris Shaw…

Chris Shaw’s Story About The First Time He Worked With Bob Dylan

“I can tell you about the first day I worked with Bob Dylan. I just remember being like, okay, holy crap, I'm getting to work with Bob Dylan. This is a big. A huge step up. I'm working with a big A lister. I was calm, cool, and collected for most of it. The band showed up. I got sounds on everybody. I'm EQing, and Bob shows up last, and I introduce myself. I'm like “Hey, Bob, I'm Chris, I just need to get a vocal check on you, and we're ready to go”. And so he gets behind the mic, and he starts to sing, and I'm sitting at the Neve, and I’ve got my hands on the mic pre and his voice comes through the speaker and this voice in the back of my head just started screaming. “Holy shit. That's Bob Dylan!”, and a gallon of sweat just poured out of my body.  The the only way I was able to get through it, the way I keep myself contained is, I just thought to myself “This is a guy named Bob and he's here to record some songs. You've done this a million times. Just work. Just do what you do and do it as best as you can and, and, and try not to overthink it”. Because the other half of me was like, “Oh my God, this record. Everybody in the world is going to hear it. If I fuck this up…” It's like you start getting in your own head. It's just like “Nah` man, you're just going to do your thing. You know how to get good drum sounds. You know how to get good bass sounds. You know how to record. You've done this a million times. Just do it”. And that's what floated me through that entire session. And we wound up recording the song that was used in a movie and he was nominated for and won an Oscar for it. So it came out pretty well, you know, so just stay calm”. Chris Shaw

So while it would be irresponsible not to be prepared, and if you act like a jerk you’re not going to be asked back. To have been offered the job in the first place you probably already know this so the biggest takeaways from the opinions we’ve gathered here are to relax and enjoy it. Do your job, be nice, listen more, speak less. And don’t forget to back up…