Hiring a Pro to school me on recording?

[Daniel Grenier]

As I am about to move from a very demanding property to a no-maintenance-whatever new home, I will have lots of free time on my hand. Getting "good" at recording would be a sensible way to use that time, me thinks. But, just like golf, I find recording very simple, yet incredibly difficult. I've yet to play par in golf (far from it). Ditto recording.

So, just like I'll probably do to up my golf game, I plan to hire a pro "coach" to school me on proper recording techniques. I've contacted a very experienced studio owner from the town I'm moving to and he's up for it (as his schedule allows). This guy has done it all (roadie, sound engineer, mastering, studio design etc...). It will cost me, obviously, but I suspect I will stop running around in circles in this recording game.

Good/bad idea?

[rick-slo]

Depends. What will you be recording (instrument(s)?, voice?).

[Daniel Grenier]

Originally Posted by rick-slo

Depends. What will you be recording (instrument(s)?, voice?).

Guitars (acoustic and electric), bouzouki and sporadic voice.

[DCCougar]

Originally Posted by Daniel Grenier

Good/bad idea?

I see it as a good idea. And with somebody who knows what they're doing, it should go A LOT FASTER than reading the manual and trying to figure everything out yourself. I did it myself and have been recording for decades, but there is still MUCH I don't really know about -- compression, plug-ins, etc. Yeah, a good teacher to show you the ropes is probably a good idea if the cost isn't totally unreasonable.

[Chipotle]

I've often heard a good method is to rent studio time, record some stuff, and pick the brains of the people there. Sounds like you've got a line on that, which is a good start.

These days, YouTube abounds with tutorials as well. Some very good, others maybe not. But sort the wheat from the chaff, and you'll find videos on various recording topics that you can then experiment with at home. Over time, you'll hear what works and what doesn't, and improve your recording skills.

[runamuck]

It sounds like you can afford it and if so, I think it's a very good idea.

You'll learn more quickly from someone who knows what they're doing than from reading on the internet. That was my experience.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by Daniel Grenier

As I am about to move from a very demanding property to a no-maintenance-whatever new home, I will have lots of free time on my hand. Getting "good" at recording would be a sensible way to use that time, me thinks. But, just like golf, I find recording very simple, yet incredibly difficult. I've yet to play par in golf (far from it). Ditto recording.

So, just like I'll probably do to up my golf game, I plan to hire a pro "coach" to school me on proper recording techniques. I've contacted a very experienced studio owner from the town I'm moving to and he's up for it (as his schedule allows). This guy has done it all (roadie, sound engineer, mastering, studio design etc...). It will cost me, obviously, but I suspect I will stop running around in circles in this recording game.

Good/bad idea?

I'd say generally a bad idea, only because teaching is an art form unto itself and most folks who own a studio are usually pre-occupied with doing their job. So much of what you may want to do is going to be heavily dependent on what you're willing to spend, the type of recording you will be doing, your actual creative process, and what process and workflow that works best for you. Most studio owners aren't going to be familiar with everything that might work best in your case, so a basic class is going to get you off on the right foot before you take the deep dive.

Check the community college in the area you are moving to. There's often "Introduction To Recording Technology" classes that you can take. These are usually in the form of continued education, so you take them ala carte.

There is a ton of information from good producers and engineers available as podcasts and Youtube videos.

One of my favorite podcasts that has a ton of meat and potatoes information is Doug Fearn's "My Take On Music Recording" series.

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by Daniel Grenier

I've contacted a very experienced studio owner from the town I'm moving to and he's up for it (as his schedule allows). This guy has done it all (roadie, sound engineer, mastering, studio design etc...). It will cost me, obviously, but I suspect I will stop running around in circles in this recording game.

Good/bad idea?

Good idea.

My learning came in two phases early on. My introduction to recording came when I was recording my own cd. I became fascinated by the process and the engineer (who has since become a good friend) explained much of what he was doing as we went through the process. At times, he even let me take the helm when we were editing tracks.

When I decided I wanted to put together my first recording setup, the same person helped guide me through my purchases. He set up the new Mac for me, he showed me how everything should connect to each other, and showed me everything I needed to get off the ground.

Fast forward many years... same guy pushed me to dig deeper into the craft of mastering after he, I, and another friend with a studio took shots at mastering various mixes. He told me I had the ears for it and I made good decisions. He sends me clients all the time these days and he's my go-to when I have a tech problem I can't figure out on my own.

So yeah... hire that guy and if he seems a decent bloke, buy him a beer and see if he'd be open to you giving him a call to pick his brain once in a while. He's be a good friend to have as you're learning.

[min7b5]

I think it’s a great idea. I’ve done several paid learning sessions with people in the last couple years to try to up my own game. At first I paid a friend of mine that’s an engineer here in town to see Logic Pro in action with more complicated projects. He answered my questions while making screenshot recordings that I’ve watched over and over since. Game changer.

Just in the last month I’ve reached out to two producers/mixers who made some of my favorite acoustic music albums and paid them for hour-long brain dumps on zoom. In both cases they are able to open up DAW sessions over zoom that I was able to screen-record to my for me to comb through later. We went through tunes I love track by track, looking at each plugin, the master bus, etc.. I have something setup with another producer I admire, and then I’m doing a deep-dive with a mastering engineer I know..

[b1j]

In the 90s I bought a tiny house in San Francisco with an undeveloped backyard on multiple levels. I wanted to build separate terrace levels with brick floors, and a few sets of stairs between levels. I had zero experience. I thought through the design and made some sketches, and then I hired a landscape contractor to show me how to implement the construction. I paid her hourly rate to talk me through every question I could think of and to declare my design and drawings workable, and after a few hours, I had all my answers. I bought the bricks and lumber, followed her steps, and the project turned out beautifully. Had I not worked with the contractor, I no doubt would have made expensive and time-consuming mistakes.

Having said that, I think Rudy is onto something. I think you might be better off if you take a basic course to work through the fundamentals, choose equipment, etc. Years ago I worked through a six-week MOOC (remember those?) offered by the Berkely School of Music. I took extensive notes and studied them. This had a similar effect as working with the landscape contractor: it swept away my beginner questions. Still, it wasn't interactive, although there was a contemporaneous enrollment group who could share ideas.

If you do something like that first, you'll be in a stronger position to get more out of work with one-on-one with a pro. You'll have more insightful questions to ask. At the moment, I'd like to do that myself to untangle a few knots, but instead I'm still muddling through with my thimbleful of knowledge and an AudioBox USB 96, Studio One, and a few mics. And, of course, YouTube videos.

Overall I like your idea. Still, depending on where your baseline knowledge level is, you might benefit from a formal basics course.

[Doug Young]

I think it's a great idea. Every time I've spent time playing in someone else's studio I've learned a ton - even without them explicitly teaching. Just watching what people do is invaluable. Everyone does things differently, and I haven't always liked the end result I've gotten with others engineering, but I always had at least one "I didn't know you could do that!" moment. Sometimes a technique, sometimes some gear to buy. But always useful in my experience.

[KevWind]

I think it has great potential :

I think that there is no question that someone with extensive experience can potentially fast track your experience ( that is to say if they can "teach" i.e. can relate what they are doing and why, in an organized progressive method that you can relate to ) IT COULD , give you 5 to 10 years or more worth of DYI experience, in perhaps just 5 to 10-----targeted 1 to 2 hour sessions.

I think what I do first is see if you can go to their studio and sit in or even apprentice for him set up mics fetch coffee etc. Just to get a feel for what their work flow is like

I did something similar but different (because of my remote location ) Instead I signed up for a Master certificate in Advanced Production in Pro Tools online course at Berklee Collage of music which was three 12 week terms wiht 4 different calsses each term ..
During which I went from fumbling around on my own for 5 years to being able to mix a 40 track Rock session that was clear and CD and radio ready. And BTW it was interactive.

Couple of caveats to consider
#1 As for the logistical techniques and work flows etc. that can be DAW agnostic

#2 But for the optimum experience it would be best if the engineer was well versed in the DAW you are using OR you are willing to purchase the DAW they are most familiar with and use daily . (NOTE the new subscription Pro Tools Artist version could be a real winner for this if Pro Tools is the their studio DAW)