... how could i get into someone elses studio though, the first problem is tryin to find a recording studio that will take on a young 18 year old, even making tea, would you suggest phoning up local studios?
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Yes phone them and try and get an appointment. Make sure you turn up on time and view it as an interview so dress and behave appropriately. (We´ve had people turn up here who hadn´t washed that day - they don´t get the job.) If you can take a portfolio of your work with you - recordings/mixes that you´ve done - along with a proper cv.
Be polite and professional - remember you want them to like you. We often don´t have a spot available at the time so put details on file. So be persistent and follow things up.
If it helps here´s a copy of some advice that I give on our work facebook page:
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Hi,
As others have already said we have different backgrounds but most of us have worked in some sort of capacity as audio engineers, whether live, tracking, mixing or broadcast. Many of us are, or were, also musicians.
AFAIK few of us threw ourselves in at the deep end and became an ME overnight. Most of us did some form of training/apprenticeship/internship with an established professional engineer/studio. A minority may have done some form of technical course/qualification. I say a minority as courses like these are relatively recent and many of us pre-date their popularity. I think most professional engineers see audio engineering/technology qualifications as an entry point rather than a sign of an experienced ME. To be honest it generally takes years of work to develop sufficient experience as a ME.
It is a recent phenomena, perhaps because of the Internet, that some people have started to promote themselves as mastering engineers without prior experience. Some work for free initially to gain experience and build up a portfolio. Some charge from the offset.
TBH at least initially (and this may be months and years rather than weeks) a new ME may well struggle financially to make a living. Most of your income is likely to be swallowed up covering running costs and equipment purchases. Even if you decide to do all your work 'in the box' you will still need to invest in appropriate sound treatment and monitoring chain if you want to master properly. It's very likely that at least initially you may well have to have a 'day job' and master in the evenings or at week-ends. Even once you're established and are able to master full time you may find that some months you have a glut of work and other months are quiet. Mastering may not be a standard 9-5, 5 day week job, nor is it financially lucrative or glamorous for many. Most of us do it because it's what we love.
If that doesn't put you off I'd suggest that you try and get an apprenticeship/internship with a professional ME/studio. Be aware that these positions are generally poorly paid so you may have to dig in to your own savings to cover your day-to-day expenses. IME, you'll probably find that you do very little, if any, actual audio processing at first. We expect an intern to demonstrate that they can communicate with clients effectively, maintain a clean and well ordered work space and behave professionally before we let them do anything else. Once they've demonstrated this then it's listening critically and setting up and maintaining equipment. Only after those do we start to consider issues such as sequencing, processing and so on.
So what do you get as a benefit from long hours and low wages as an intern? IMO you get to work with and talk to an experienced engineer/s on a routine basis; you use and learn to set up and maintain professional mastering equipment; you build up a portfolio of audio examples and industry contacts; you learn how to deal with clients appropriately; you experience first hand all aspects of the profession; you get to find out if you love the work and can and are happy to do it 24/7 as your career.
How do you get an internship? Most professional MEs are happy for you to contact them about a placement. Make an appointment and meet it; don't just turn up as we may be too busy to see you and might not like the interruption. If you have to cancel an appointment tell them and re-arrange. When you see the ME try to look and act professionally. (Personally I don't care if an intern has body adornments/dyed hair and wears jeans and a t-shirt to work. I do however expect them to be polite, friendly and have a reasonable level of personal hygene.) Have a CV and portfolio ready to give to the ME. Most (all) of us regard good written communication as a prerequisite for the role so make sure that your CV, and any other written documentation, is grammar and spell checked.
It's unlikely that an internship will be available immediately so be persistent but be polite and friendly rather than pushy, rude or arrogant. Consider asking if you can sit in on [a] session/s and if you do listen and be helpful. Ask why and how the ME does something but don't tell them how to do it. IME try and keep the questions for the downtime after the session - I find it breaks up my work flow to have to answer detailed questions during a session. What you want to do is demonstrate to the ME that they will enjoy mentoring you.
Best of luck,
Tony