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Quick internship question

Visirale

Visirale

Mar 23, 2003
3,043
6
37
Orlando
#1
Should the software platform of a studio really influence my decision to work there? Or should I just go where I can?

I'm not crazy about protools but I have an opportunity to work at a local studio that uses it exclusively and has had bigger name clients (LL cool J for one... not the biggest, but big for an Orlando studio... most people are still bragging about recording a Backstreet Boys track here) than the other studio I was looking at that uses Cubase.

I'm leaning towards the protools studio with bigger names/corporate connections... should I go with that?

Thanks guys.
 
#2
I say don't be picky about platform its all about getting professional experience and resume fodder. No matter what you learn it's going to change as time goes by. Being flexible, ability to learn new technologies fast, along with good ears and making contacts are the money making skills.
 
#3
This may be narrow minded but I wouldnt work at a cubase studio. I dont think ive ever been to a commercial studio where they wernt using pro tools. Learning all your hot keys in pro tools, and being able to fly through it are key. If you knew that youd only be working on cubase for the rest of your life itd be fine, but i doubt thats gonna happen. Once you learn one DAW you can navigate almost any of them, but navigating and working at an insane pace are 2 different things. Most reputable mixing or tracking engineers I know can do any command in pro tools in their sleep.
 
#4
Pro Tools is obviously much more common (I've heard Cubase is bigger in Europe but it could just be rumor), so your experience will translate more directly to other studios. I would say in this day and age you need to take the best opportunity you can get. If you think interning at the Pro Tools studio will lead to getting you a paying job, do it. If you think interning at the Cubase studio will lead to getting you a paying job, do it.

Big names and corporate connections are a big deal. The biggest deal is making use of your internship well. What will your duties and exposure entail at each studio? Do everything that is asked of you, but don't let them use you solely as the coffee boy/filing clerk/janitor. Learn how to use a soldering iron and how to make/repair cables before you start (if you don't already). Be extremely humble, polite, and professional at whatever internship you choose. Keep your mouth shut and your ears open (know when it's appropriate to speak up, know when it's important to keep quiet). Know that the odds are definitely stacked against you. None of the people I knew going to school (Music Business) have really managed to break in. Most of them really didn't have much talent, but some did.

Good luck.
 
#5
Pro Tools as a platform is an industry standard and it would be good to get used to working with it. What I don't like about Pro Tools is the tendancy for people to over use it and go crazy with cuting, pasting, looping and adding a ton of extra tracks. I've had friends who's music I know well go into a Pro Tools studio and come out with songs that I barel y recongnize. Maybe I'm old fashioned but I still believe in rehearsing the music and recording as much live as possible. Remeber that it is all about recording the band and bringing out the best in thier music, and not about showing off your Pro Tools skills and creating the music as you hear it.
 
#8
I'm leaning towards the protools studio with bigger names/corporate connections... should I go with that?
Click to expand...

Yes.

I hate PT. I really, really hate PT. It's also the industry standard, so if you want to play the game, you have to roll those dice.

The corporate connections, however, are more valuable than the tools used and the artists recorded. Nurture those as much as you can if this is your career path.

If this is not your career path, and is just for learning, go to the place that will give you the most experience recording.
 
#9
newfuture said:
The corporate connections, however, are more valuable than the tools used and the artists recorded. Nurture those as much as you can if this is your career path.

If this is not your career path, and is just for learning, go to the place that will give you the most experience recording.
Click to expand...

Sage advice.

And think of it this way: at least they don't use Logic... :ninja:

Edit: but seriously, as a producer who hires engineers, the ones I go for are adaptable ones who can get a handle on a studio very very quickly (our sessions often move to make use of different gear, over different platforms and DAWs and formats), And I'd see an engineer adept with a wide selection of sequencers a massive plus. Learn the functions and feel of them all to be a balanced engineer.
 

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