= Recording studio internship =

Lately, I've been thinking of joining a local recording studio as an intern for networking reasons and experience working in a professional environment. But to be honest, I've always worked in my bedroom setup, that's why I don't have much knowledge of hardwares and stuff

Can you guys tell me how should I prepare myself before meeting someone so that i can make my best first impression

I won't worry about what you may or may not know. Chances are your job as an intern will have very little to do with using gear. You're more likely to be cleaning around the studio to start and responsibilities will be given to you as you gain the trust of the people working in the studio

During down times when the engineer is not busy you can usually ask questions and learn from them

However if you're strictly looking to network I'd say you're better off working for a production company being a stage hand or something. Majority of my music network I got from being a part of the live music scene. Studios aren't very good places for networking unless it's one of the few busy multi room studios

Don’t let these guys get you down. If you have an interest go start talking to people at studios. When you talk to people in studios just focus on what you’d like to learn rather than what you’d already know. And always be on time, professional, clean and sober

When I went to audio engineering school one of my teachers told me everyone would be better off if they spent their tuition money renting a studio with an engineer and asking them questions

Looking back that probably would have been a better idea

Taking 80 grand and spending that on gear + studio time with other engineers would definitely be better than going to school

I ran a big studio for years and hired numerous interns. The thing I can tell you is you prolly won’t get your hands of gear for a while. It’s gonna be mostly cleaning and food running. But those are tests to see how closely you pay attention to details. If you can’t get a food order right you prolly can’t be trusted to engineer a session. This is to demonstrate basic skills before you even get to the equipment. Show up to an interview early. If you are on time you are late. Show your eagerness to do any task asked of you and learn to anticipate needs. This is huge in a studio. Anticipation of needs in a session is what makes everything run smooth. Have tuners ready for guitar players. Have tube amps warmed up before the tracking session. Singer drink tea before every take? Have that kettle boiling and ready to go. If you do these things you will get a chance in the chair to engineer or take on more musical responsibilities sooner. Also don’t take this personally. But never give your opinion of the songs or takes unless asked. This is a big no no. Good luck!
Having interned at a major studio in NYC, I wouldn’t worry very much about what you don’t know about gear. If you have a solid understanding of how signal flow works, and what different processes (EQ, Compression, etc.) do then you’ll be fine. As an intern (at least at the upper levels of studios) you won’t ever be dealing with any gear, that’s left to assistants and engineers. Just make sure you pay attention to small details of ANY task that you’re asked to do — from cleaning toilets to getting foodright. Showing you can do things well consistently will get you in the good books

Edit: also I’d say your chances of networking are going to be limited to other interns or general assistants who are all likely engineers themselves or the occasional producer. At larger studios you will not be allowed to interact with clients. So if that’s what you had in mind then go for it

Find a band who wants to record at that studio and convince them to let you come along. If you can find work, you can work in any studio in the world. If you can't find work, they probably don't need you hanging around

You'll be competing against students who are currently studying audio engineering at universities or trade schools and need free internships for class credit. Figure out how you can provide more help to the studio owner than they can

I'd like to throw it out there that you don't really need an internship if you're experienced at home engineering. If you freelance out of a local studio you can get the experience you need pretty quickly

I'd try emailing engineers and just asking if you can join them for a single session. Take really good notes and if you think you can handle running a session find the cheapest studio around, and someone that understands you're mainly work out of your home studio. Give them the best discount you can knowing that you mightup and just start getting your hands

For producing/DJ work Idk how to help you
A lot of people here aren't necessarily wrong but also aren't right either

Yes there will be hundreds of kids applying for the position at your local studio, but I can assure you most of them are totalhave poor attitudes and never turn up on time


It's unlikely you'll get a position, but I think you should try anyway, but before you do, put a portfolio or some kind of case for yourself forward that you are: professional, easy to work with, honest about where you are in your career (this means don't just think of this studio as a 6 month pipeline to working for CLA, act as if that local studio and the local artists you're stuck with are all that's on your mind and don't let the future or past get in your head)

Source: someone who used to hire help in their studio. Always gave the job to the ones with the best personality, any mixing skill can be taught, but I'm not your dad and can't teach you to be a decent human

You don't just decide to join. You apply along with thousands of other people and hope for the best

Make sure you keep your ears and eyes open. And your. Soak it all up bc you never know when the gem of all gems will be dropped on you. The payoff for the intern is to find themselves in a room with an expert

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