Poindexter Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 For all those engineers working in the audio industry. . . If you don't mind me asking. . . How'd you get started?? --==^.^==-- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 1. It's not my real job. 2. I'm not a real engineer. 3. I only do it for fun. What do you mean by engineer? You can go to a school, like Full Sail in Orlando ($30k + for just over a year), and they have over a 70 percent placement rate. Work for peanuts for awhile. Get equipment of your own and mix for friends, learn how things work, try to understand what the musician wants, even when they don't know themselves. Even if you have the knowledge, show humility. Don't just use gimmicks and every plugin that comes down the pike, but be inventive. Realize you don't need an SL9000 to make great recordings. Learn the tools but understand it is the music that matters. Listen in on the Tape Op forums (get a free subscription to hteir mag as well). http://www.tapeop.com Expect to put in long hours and have no life. Marvel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben. Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 ---------------- On 6/24/2003 7:21:00 AM Marvel wrote: You can go to a school, like Full Sail in Orlando ($30k + for just over a year), and they have over a 70 percent placement rate. ---------------- Or you can go to a real school like SUNY Fredonia or William Patterson and get a real education in music while you're at it. Very high placement rates, too. In-state tuition at SUNY is still very reasonable. I'm not disputing the value of trade schools like Full Sail, but the musical training for an engineer is invaluable. For instance-you're recording a string quartet for a cheesy rock ballad. Whoever booked them forgot that many string players have terrible time and can't play to a click or foldback. Well, you say, "Hey I can conduct 'cause I went to Fredonia and they made me learn!!" You just went from assistant coffee gopher to assistant engineer. Trust me. It happens. Also being able to look at sheet music for edits is a lot easier. The producer wants the scherzo from take 2 and the andante from take 4, but after the D.S., all take 1. Try figuring that out without musical training and a score. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben. Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Poindexter- I just saw your signature-you knew all that already, as did Marvel (M.M., right?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poindexter Posted June 24, 2003 Author Share Posted June 24, 2003 Hee hee hee. Yeah. Well. I just graduated this May. Did 3 years with a double major in Nuclear and Electrical, cause I think I wanted to do reactor design. Then graduated my 4th year in Electrical cause I didn't want to do the Nuclear stuff anymore. Now, I'm just unemployed and doing what 6% of American's are doing right now. . . Looking to start a career to support my nasty habit. I would like to eventually become an integral part of Klipsch, but I don't have enough audio design experience to justify Klipsch hiring me. Oh well, I guess I'll keep trying/learning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpg Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 I am going to graduate from HS next year and am looking into electrical engineering. Am looking at New Mexico State U (where PWK went...). I, too, wonder how to get started in the engineering world... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben. Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Oh, duh. We thought you meant engineering like sound recording/reinforcement. Hmmmmm..... I would imagine taking some acoustics courses would be necessary, and maybe some courses delving into perceptual issues. Other than that, start at the bottom and bust arse. I bet Trey would have some info on what's helpful to be competent in the field. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Actually, audio engineers like those who work at Klipsch are more schooled in a combination of mechanical and electrical engineering. Electrical to understand reactivity, but primarily mechanical, to understand the effects of bodies in motion and air pressure reactivity and all that stuff. Geeks like myself (and a few others here, by the looks of it) study audio engineering because our passion is in making music, not building speakers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 I'll say "duh," as well. You might still check out tape op. The have had a couple of articles by Steve Royer (I think it is Steve) of Royer Microphones, and making mods on tube microphones, and other technical articles like that. Learn what works and why. If you have the degree for the technical stuff, find out how to translate it into the tools people use. I took electronics at a junior college, and at least learned how to use a meter and a scope. There were guys in the regular accredited program who went out for job interviews who didn't get hired because they only knew the theory. Reagarding studio engineering, having a music education can be a BIG plus, being able to read music can be a big plus. No argument there. Marvel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poindexter Posted June 24, 2003 Author Share Posted June 24, 2003 Thanks guys! Lots of info. trespasser: NMSU is a great school. Had an interview with NAVSEA with Code 80 with lots of NMSU alumni. Very neat gents. I dunno where you're from but they said there's no green grass in NM. Oh yeah, EE isn't for every one (but sure was fun). I remember not really sleeping for 2 weeks. . . eating out of a vending machine in the EE building and relying on "NO DOZE" to stay awake to keep going to my classes and trying to finish our IR and RF channels on our senior design project. You can't spell gEEk without "EE" So, I guess if I ever get another interview with them I can bring in a Klipsch speaker or an Aragon reciever/amp that I have "engineered" to perform better along with a technical write-up. Actually, that sounds pretty fun. Only if I had the $$ and the equipment to do that kind of stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Poindexter, love the avitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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