Having started her career in audio as an assistant engineer, Karen Down asks what is the role of the assistant engineer in 2022? Does anyone, other than a large studio, employ an assistant nowadays?  Where do you start? How hard is it to find a job? What do assistants do? Karen talks to engineers and assistants (past and present) and looks at how the role has changed and discovers what it involves today.

Assisting Back When…

Back in the late 1980’s, early nineties being a full-time assistant engineer in one of London’s recording studios was an enviable role.  For me and others the route into working at a studio in the UK did not, as now, involve attending classes, or graduating from a college or university that ran industry-based courses. It involved a dose of good luck in having a studio agree to hire you as a Tape Op or Night Receptionist and so providing a foot in the door.  From there working one’s way up to assistant, with its inherent responsibilities, was a matter of time. One soaked up as much knowledge as one could from the maintenance team, from the house and visiting engineers and producers.  There was a lot to learn as this was a time where technology was changing with the advent of digital and later DAW’s altering the sessions workflow and assistant’s responsibilities.

Back then, the role involved starting the day by being the first one in, purchasing any food for the session and prepping the room for the day.  This would involve lining up tape machines, striping 2” tape with timecode, synchronising two 24 track machines if working 48tk and ‘leadering up’ the tape.

Next, if a recording session was in, headphones, mic stands, and microphones were put out and a pot of coffee put on.  Once the engineer and the band arrived, the job involved making sure everyone had what they needed and answering any questions about the room and the setup.

For a mixing session, one ensured all the hired in equipment was plugged up, the tapes with the tracks to be mixed had arrived, the tape machines were ready to go, the mastering machine was aligned and the paperwork ready on which to document the session for a later total recall.

Back then, as now, the job of the assistant was to make the engineer’s life as easy as possible.  For us this was to deal with the day to day running of a session – create track lists, cue lists, have media (tape, DAT, cassette) ready, labelling boxes and keeping track of the resources being used for the invoicing later.  The role also involved patching and preparing physical copies of the mix for the band/producer to listen to – on cassette tape in the early days.

As an assistant I remember having the responsibility of punching into record (drop-ins) when tracking. It was a collaboration, the engineer got the sound, managed the headphone mix and relationship with the artist and I recorded the performance to tape.  Running the auto-locate whilst tracking was my responsibility.

During mix sessions the band was rarely present, and it was me and the engineer in the room.  An assistant’s job, as it is today, also involved being a confidante, a sanity checker, a cheerleader, and someone who could be relied on to do their job quickly and faultlessly.  This aspect of the role has not changed. As an assistant you would start to anticipate the engineer’s requests and have what is needed setup ready to go at a moment’s notice. Key was to be at the engineer’s side for whatever they, or the session, needed doing. 

At the end of the sessions, breaking down the room, duplicating any masters, ensuring all the TR information was stored with the tapes was done (copies of floppy disks for example) prior to heading home.

The value of a studio-based assistant was that they knew the room – knew its sound and they knew the equipment in the room.  

Another difference to a lot of sessions now is that, in a large studio, they tended to be for longer periods than they are now. Recording took several weeks/months and mixing an album a week or two with the occasional three-hour jingle session thrown in. Today a lot of recording can be done in smaller studios/a home studio without an assistant and mixing can be done in the box, again at home.

Fast forward to 2022 and what the role is like?

What Do Engineers Look For In An Assistant?

Assistants now generally come into studios older than they did previously. I was 17 when I went to work in a studio (thanks, at the time, to a government Youth Training Scheme), today the age is around 23, with assistants’ ages ranging from early 20’s to in their 30’s.  There are many reasons for this including the rise of colleges and universities offering music industry related qualifications (Sound Engineering or Music Production) but also the time it takes to find a role as a freelance assistant that will pay the bills and offer the flexibility expected by today’s workforce. That said the added maturity can help in navigating one of the trickier aspects of the role - relationships. 

A great deal of the role of the assistant is psychology.  People work better in teams and the engineer, and the assistant are part of a creative team. Personality is important, along with the ability to have a laugh and a high level of technical skill.  Key to the role is that you need to be good with people including being able to easily handle egos.

There are also several unwritten rules that need to be followed – to be aware, know when to be in the room, know when to not say a word. Don’t do it/don’t say it unless asked, don’t offer advice to the band, allow the engineer to do their job, be a safe pair of hands. Engineers have told me that good assistants do not get in the way.

A lot of the time the role of the assistant is to make the engineer’s life easier by dealing with the day to day, to be his second pair of eyes, along with being a fastidious note taker. And when not actively assisting the engineer a lot of the time will be spent watching, listening and at appropriate times asking questions. That said studios are often looking for assistants to already have a level of knowledge around the equipment and recording concepts.  

How Are Today’s Assistants Learning The Role?

With the rise of the studio at home and places like Ten87 and Tileyard, who provide creative spaces for artists to work, how does an upcoming assistant get experience and find a role. 

Back when I was an assistant there was more of a formal progression to engineer.  One may have started as a runner/night receptionist, moved to being an assistant engineer and then onto house engineer for a few years before leaving to freelance.  Today the lines are more blurred than they were with the runner also assisting, the assistant also engineering and the engineer also producing. And for some becoming an assistant is looked on as a steppingstone to becoming a producer or songwriter.

The way knowledge is garnered has changed.  As well as courses, YouTube and other online resources are a fantastic way to learn about new technologies or ways of working.  Assistants today often have their own setups at home on which to hone their skills as well as using the traditional routes like doing night sessions or using studio downtime.

Today’s engineers have a responsibility to the next generation of engineers. Opportunities should be taken to teach assistants if they do not know something and to teach the language of recording. Technology and workflows change, and the engineer and assistant have opportunities to learn new ways of working together.

The Assistant Role Today 

Today there are two types of assistants – those that work with a producer and those who work for studios either as full-time employees or on a freelance basis.  Both need to take their cue as to what level of service is required from the engineer or producer. And ways into a role still involve who you know as well as self-promotion. 

In general, the role of assistant involves a large amount of computer literacy and equipment knowledge in both tracking and mixing sessions.  Tracking session responsibilities have largely remained the same albeit the equipment used to record or edit the source has changed and the setup of the equipment differs.  However, the prepping of the room, positioning of mics, monitoring of headphone mixes and hear back systems fundamentally remains the same.

Next a DAW session is built with a certain number and type of track created.  Setting sample rate, checking available hard drive space, setting permissions, clocking of external machines and IP addressing is then done. As previously the recording chain is often ready to go prior to the engineer arriving. 

During the session the assistant may be involved in clip gaining stems, tuning, resolving timing issues, and de-clicking bad edits – one of the elements of recording some people with home studios have little experience of doing well. They may also convert session types, remove pops, fix crossfades or find missing parts or plug-ins on the material received. In some cases, depending on workflow, adding a selection of samples to the track for the engineer to decide on is done. Careful consideration needs to be given as to whether the track will benefit from previously mentioned manipulations.

Housekeeping post session now involves backing up hard drives or DAW sessions and uploading MP3’s (for example) for distribution. More general housekeeping can involve updating any equipment firmware or software.

Problem solving is an essential skill as an assistant. Troubleshooting computer issues, latency issues, IT and equipment issues are the responsibility of the assistant. Understanding the workflow and getting to the bottom of issues quickly and calmly is crucial.

Assistant engineers are competing for work and lack of opportunities come in many forms.  Not every session involves a console; DAWs with preamps and controllers are found in many studios second/production rooms. These smaller sessions often do not need an assistant engineer in attendance.

Post-pandemic there has continued to be a drop off in attended mix sessions, which makes the role less busy. Not every session is interesting and many engineers I have spoken to have talked about how assistants can seem bored on a session, spending time on their phone, not interested in what is going on, or how decisions on say a mix are being made, until asked to do something.  Any time, as an assistant, should be viewed as an opportunity to hone skills and elevate oneself in the role.

Years ago, sessions used to fall apart without an assistant. They had their own role, way of doing things, and the engineer did not necessarily know the room. Today an assistant’s role can be impacted by how involved the engineer needs the assistant to be, but that should not stop the assistant taking every opportunity to become the lynch pin of the session.

Conclusion

The life of an assistant engineer can be full of uncertainty.  When is my next session, will I know everything I need to know, will I get on with the engineer and for some imposter syndrome is ever present along with the question ‘will someone find me out’. Budgets are being crunched, which makes it harder to pay extra people and fewer studios employ assistants full time, preferring the freelance approach.

There have been many positive changes over the years with regards technology and importantly we now see a greater representation of trans people and women in the role of assistant.  

That said the role is still as varied and interesting as it has always been, the equipment has changed, as have parts of the creative process but the ‘people’ aspect of the role remains. If you enjoy working with creative people, do not mind long hours and have a passion for the audio industry, a role as an assistant engineer is well worth pursuing.

Photos by cottonbro studio, ASBA DRUMS