For all the Mix Engineers! I need your help!

[beth]

Hello softies!

I have some questions here directed to mix engineers in Singapore. I'm a student in SP studying Diploma in Music and Audio Technology and I need to do research in a field I'm interested to work in so I really, really need your help here!

Mixing enthusiasts are also welcomed to leave your opinions on the subject as well! The more the merrier

If you are working for/own a studio, please do leave your name and studio down as well


1) How did you get yourself started on recording and mixing? (Home studio, intern, etc)

2) Are qualifications an important factor for others in deciding if they wish to engage you as a Mix Engineer/for a company to employ you?

3) What is the job scope of an intern?

4) If you are freelancing/your own boss, how frequent do you get projects?

5) Approximately how much can an entry level Mix Engineer earn from each song he mixes?

6) Approximately how much can a professional Mix Engineer earn from each song he mixes?

7) Do you have any other jobs besides being a Mix Engineer? How possible is it to earn a living through mixing only?

8) What do you think of this industry (in the local context)? What advice would you give to someone who wants to enter this industry?


Thank you very much! Your help will be greatly appreciated!

Regards,
Elizabeth

 

[blueprintstudios]

hi beth welcome to soft

1) http://www.soft.com.sg/forum/how-sound/194667-guide-diy-recording-under-$50.html but in 1997 I had sndrec32.exe on windows 95.

2) don't know, I quit school , i'm only PSLE cert. and I've been working on my own since.

3) saikang warrior.

4) anywhere from 1 to 5 a month. but that 1 can be an EP/LP , and that 5 can be all singles.

5) http://tinyurl.com/recordingstudiolist

6) see 5)

7) hey this is 2 questions =P! answer is yes. and impossible unless you either make-belief that it's possible or you make the impossible possible.

8) crap. but growing. like growing crap. in the pile of shit there's a piece of godiva chocolate. we're all looking for it. Advice - be ready to get yourself into deep shit.

 

[kongwee]

One I know study in NUS, doing this as a freelance. Mostly produce everything herself alone or with her band. Her friend same course work under a studio, but I see him more on playing gigs. Employment in recording studio, not very sure. Cos I only see max two full time staffs.

 

[beth]

@ron blueprint

hahah those 2 questions are similar mah! anyway thanks for the input! by the way you don't have your own studio right? so you bring your gear along and do the recording at another studio? what if the sound system in that studio is bad? sorry if i'm asking too many questions, curious! but i think this is really a cost efficient way, i never thought of that!

@kongwee

thanks for the reply!

 

[blueprintstudios]

nope I don't have studio. I only got a workstation table for mixing/mastering at home and a whole load of recording gear that's packed neatly (recently messy cos I no time to pack) in order. my gear is portable, and I do location recording anywhere with powersocket/permit/purpose at bedrooms/houses/jamming studios/other recording studios/cafes/schools/err void deck. wherever the band wants la.

it's my job to make the best out of the worst. my comfort zone is outside other in-studio/homestudio recording engineer's comfort zone.

cost effective. but tiring to lug 15-20kg of stuff. so it's important to keep fit/healthy. every part of me becomes an element of the studio.

 

[kongwee]

Just add on on-location recording, I heard from one of my friend. There is one person is doing on location recording for school. Doing A-B plus Decca tree setup. I guess his work are mostly orchestra, ensemble,choirs....etc. All the mics are using DPA(former B&K, I think) microphone. This is one area where the production house not willing to touch on. FYI, all school has this AMIS funds, I think. Under $3000 project, the school can decide what to do with fund without going through tender.

 

[beth]

i see! thanks for sharing, really appreciate it! haha.

 

[xfigox]

Just an enthusiast here so I'm just gonna chip in my 2 cents worth. Oh btw I'm from SP too, wanted to take that course (you're in), but decided otherwise, so hi!

1) How did you get yourself started on recording and mixing? (Home studio, intern, etc)
Been doing covers on youtube with a POD, so decided to try out and learn a couple of recording techniques etc.

2) Are qualifications an important factor for others in deciding if they wish to engage you as a Mix Engineer/for a company to employ you?
No, I've done a couple of recordings for a few bands now, all I can say is that they approach me due to being either friends or recommendation through word of mouth. At least that's for my case.

3) What is the job scope of an intern?
No idea

4) If you are freelancing/your own boss, how frequent do you get projects?
I've only recently started doing recordings for others, about 2 bands for the past 2 months. I'm busy with exams, FYP and other music stuff so can't really take up too many projects right now.

5) Approximately how much can an entry level Mix Engineer earn from each song he mixes?
Depends? IDK, you must at least have something to show first right?

7) Do you have any other jobs besides being a Mix Engineer? How possible is it to earn a living through mixing only?
Yes, being a Student. Should be possible but I think its a lot of hard work throughout.

8) What do you think of this industry (in the local context)? What advice would you give to someone who wants to enter this industry?
Don't suck.

 

[geraldkoh]

1) How did you get yourself started on recording and mixing? (Home studio, intern, etc)
Started with trying to record some simple guitar demos at home using your old webcam built-in mic and Adobe Audition. To cut a long story short, that somehow progressed to interning and later working at a pretty reputable studio with a good engineer/producer.

2) Are qualifications an important factor for others in deciding if they wish to engage you as a Mix Engineer/for a company to employ you?
Not so much your paper qualifications. In the end, your portfolio, working style and work ethic count for more. From what little I've seen, you never get hired based on an interview in this industry.

3) What is the job scope of an intern?
Everything, and none of it what you expect to be doing.

4) If you are freelancing/your own boss, how frequent do you get projects?
Enough to keep the business going and pay myself. This amount greatly depends on what market you are looking at.

5) Approximately how much can an entry level Mix Engineer earn from each song he mixes?
Next to nothing, because they'll often not be good enough. You could earn $300 from one song, and nothing from the next.

6) Approximately how much can a professional Mix Engineer earn from each song he mixes?
I assume this is only about mixing, and not including other services such as tracking. Depends on the project. An album production won't more than $3-8k, but if you're doing post for a film or TVC, that amount can increase exponentially.

7) Do you have any other jobs besides being a Mix Engineer? How possible is it to earn a living through mixing only?
Yes. I teach. It's possible to do mixing only but as with any job, you have to be well-connected and are given plenty of positive referrals. And oh, you have to actually be good at what you do.

8) What do you think of this industry (in the local context)? What advice would you give to someone who wants to enter this industry?
It's the same everywhere in the world- there's too little to go around. Advice? Just do it. Like Ron says, there's a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Whether you get to it or not is another thing altogether.

 

[kongwee]

For me, I begin mixing with musicians. I get to know more people and eventually lead to do some music freelance work. So knowing people will be a good start.

 

[exin]

1) How did you get yourself started on recording and mixing? (Home studio, intern, etc)

I started mixing and doing production simply because there was no one else doing it in my course the other time. I came from a design background (Temasek Design School) and most of my friends took film as their major, in part I was roped in to do sound because I got pretty good at it. I started off in the industry as an intern with a small audio post-production facility here in Singapore and after my army, went back with them as a full-time in-house engineer mixing various radio and TV commercials, music projects, corporate videos, sound design etc. I'm currently an MDA Overseas Scholar studying audio engineering & sound production in Melbourne.


2) Are qualifications an important factor for others in deciding if they wish to engage you as a Mix Engineer/for a company to employ you?

Yes and no. More importantly in this industry, experience and skills count for something. If someone is going to pay you big bucks and entrust you with their project in which they are spending big bucks for, they better get something bloody good out from you. I'm sorry to say that without mileage, don't expect to start off with the big boys first but on the bright side, with the advent of digital technology and recording, getting experience on mixing isn't too difficult, grab your mates, record some tracks and you can have hands-on experience doing it.

3) What is the job scope of an intern?

During my time as an intern with the professional audio company, my roles ranged from setting up sessions for the clients, making coffee (yes, everyone goes through that), cleaning up the studio when there are no sessions booked and pretty much anything that requires me to run errands for the company.

4) If you are freelancing/your own boss, how frequent do you get projects?

Depends on the demand. Working in a professional studio for over a year, the time periods vary from season to season. Some months there will be shitloads of work to do, which is a good thing, means more money for the company. Other months it'll be quiet to the point where you chuck a couple of mics around the room and record senseless stuff just to pass time, but all in all it evens out. When there's work to be done, do it.

5) Approximately how much can an entry level Mix Engineer earn from each song he mixes?

If you're talking about a full-time job as an in-house engineer, i'm sorry to say but the media industry in Singapore pays like shit. Media specialists are one of the lowest paid jobs in Singapore. I got slightly under 2K during my time with a studio and that was before CPF. I was holding a Diploma then so it might increase when I start working again with a BA.

If you're talking about a freelance engineer, you're free to charge whatever fees you want to charge. Speaking of which I am actually offering my services for mixing as a freelance engineer. I posted in most of the forums so if you want to check out what I have to offer, just hope on to any "people" page for the instruments or "musicians available" page. They don't have an engineer available thread right? Shameless plug on my end.

6) Approximately how much can a professional Mix Engineer earn from each song he mixes?

Read (5)

7) Do you have any other jobs besides being a Mix Engineer? How possible is it to earn a living through mixing only?

Yeah. I gig for fun as well. Sadly if you want to make a decent living, have kids and a wife, you need to earn enough to feed the family so doing just that isn't good enough. We simply don't earn enough to break even the rising cost of living.

8) What do you think of this industry (in the local context)? What advice would you give to someone who wants to enter this industry?

I'm not going to be all negative about the industry in general. With the investment of foreign media companies e.g. Lucas Arts, EA Games etc, there is a market for such a role ranging from Game Sound Design to composing game soundtracks etc. It's just an issue of looking and being open to work in various fields. The problem with alot of people entering into the industry is that everyone wants to be the next Tony Maserati or David Pensado or Sandy Vee etc. Not going to happen if you don't work hard.

They just have their luck in meeting the right people at the right time who gave them opportunities to show their skill and they didn't screw up the job. Just like how Michael Starov landed a role as an assistant engineer in AIR Studios back in the 80s by just being there at the right time and right moment.

Don't keep looking at just mixing for songs and music, the market is too saturated and you must be either bloody good or bloody lucky to land an opening that'll satisfy your dreams. Be open to various aspects of the industry. The Audio industry is the sum of all parts, not just one aspect. That's something i believe your lecturers don't tell you in school. You can step into product placement for audio companies or software companies that does audio softwares. Product placements for hardware, e.g. microphones. Location sound recordist, sound designer, music/audio consultant, rigging for live venues or working in an audio consultation firm that does sound system designs. There are actually ALOT of job openings OTHER than music production that is available for the audio field today.

Is the industry shit? As shit as we want to make it to be. Up to you to decide. If you think it's too tough, just walk another path.

I do have times I question myself whether I have chosen rightly. Why did i ever take up this field, why didn't i just go study some business course and work a simple corporate life, earning enough to support myself and my family in the future. But i realise that passion drives me and that's enough for me. I'll be sorry to whoever marries me because of just the way my life is but if she is willing to trust me, i will definitely work my ass off to provide. Well, no plug for future girlfriends though. Just saying.

Hope that helps. Drop me an email at exinated (at) gmail.com if you need any more answers or if you just have any other questions you want to ask.

 

[beth]

wow, that was comprehensive! thanks exin!
and thanks to everyone who replied, really appreciate the time you take to answer my questions!

 

[starfish]

1) How did you get yourself started on recording and mixing?
I was playing in a band back in the late 90's, was given an opportunity to record with a big name producer in a commercial studio, and after a year in the studio, fell in love with it and it was no turning back. i fulfilled the parental expectations by getting a decent bachelor's degree, worked in a corporate job for 3.5 years saved money along the way, bought a whole load of audio gear along the way, did my master's degree (all not music related)... but was still producing, recording and mixing bands/artistes along the way. apprenticed and worked for 2 different great pop producers in my early days... eventually started my commercial facility 6 years ago. in that process of doing everything i realize that i enjoyed mixing music best, producing and composing next.

2) Are qualifications an important factor for others in deciding if they wish to engage you as a Mix Engineer/for a company to employ you?
as those who mentioned before, i don't think it's the qualifications, but your track record, your portfolio, your work ethic and sometimes your reputation. however, i have gone on to do courses with berklee and the clive davis recording school in NYU because i wanted to learn more... not for the paper qualification, but to pick the brains of some of the industry's best and most experienced.

3) What is the job scope of an intern?
i did everything from mic set-up, coiling cables, troubleshooting, doing research, finding cracked software, cleaning up studio, coffee pouring when i interned/apprenticed. i have had different interns doing things like transcribing music, being the tape-op, helping with set-up and tearing down, being the runner etc. etc. i try to find out what my intern wants to gain out of the internship, and cater to his/her goals.

4) If you are freelancing/your own boss, how frequent do you get projects?
since i started doing music full-time, i've only had to turn down projects... i haven't had a point of time where i had absolutely not projects to work on.

5) Approximately how much can an entry level Mix Engineer earn from each song he mixes?
i've mixed for free in my early days, but it was like investing in a portfolio. on average, i think an entry level mix engineer can try to work out a rate based on number of hours put into it... i know some guys who mix for as little as $30 an hour. i still don't consider myself a top notch mixer, but i do get up to $600 a song on some projects, while some of the guys i thoroughly respect and are like mentors to me easily get twice as much.

6) Approximately how much can a professional Mix Engineer earn from each song he mixes?
like i said, some of my mentors do mixes for more than $1000 per song. while some of my foreign based mentors (who have grammy's and other international awards) do mixes at about $1500USD per song.

7) Do you have any other jobs besides being a Mix Engineer? How possible is it to earn a living through mixing only?
i do a variety of different things within the music industry. i write music for film, jingles, arrange music for artistes/bands/projects, produce bands and artistes... but i thoroughly enjoy mixing, and will sometimes give up a higher paying project to mix material that i like.

8) What do you think of this industry (in the local context)? What advice would you give to someone who wants to enter this industry?
i think the industry is opening up, the government is starting to put more focus on the arts in general. And with better funding, and a generation of young people who are looking outwards and learning from the influences from all corners of the planet, i believe this is the best time to actually pursue a role in this industry. i think the important thing though is to keep your head down, be humble, work hard, try to learn, treat everyone as equals, don't look down on others, don't apple polish, and respect those who are older/more experienced. experience is wisdom.

my 2 cents worth

 

[Yar]

For all the Mix Engineers! I need your help!


Hello softies!

I have some questions here directed to mix engineers in Singapore. I'm a student in SP studying Diploma in Music and Audio Technology and I need to do research in a field I'm interested to work in so I really, really need your help here!

Mixing enthusiasts are also welcomed to leave your opinions on the subject as well! The more the merrier

If you are working for/own a studio, please do leave your name and studio down as well


1) How did you get yourself started on recording and mixing? (Home studio, intern, etc)
- too long to write down.

2) Are qualifications an important factor for others in deciding if they wish to engage you as a Mix Engineer/for a company to employ you?
- important thing you can deliver the goods. Cert is secondary, all the top 10 eng’r & mixers started as coffee boy or tape operator in the studio.

3) What is the job scope of an intern?
- make coffee, clean the studio toilet , then learning to patch cables , doing the labeling , then setting up a mix project for the
House Eng’r, tape operator,editing ,


4) If you are freelancing/your own boss, how frequent do you get projects?
- depend how you market yourself , and to make sure your client is happy and will come back for the next project.

5) Approximately how much can an entry level Mix Engineer earn from each song he mixes?
- Honestly , free or if the client appreciates your input they will give you depend how much is their budget on the project.

6) Approximately how much can a professional Mix Engineer earn from each song he mixes?
- 1k above per song, but there are so many so called professional just bcoz they know how to use Protools

7) Do you have any other jobs besides being a Mix Engineer? How possible is it to earn a living through mixing only?
- Doing Recording, Live / Studio , Site Recording, Producing if u are good on it,
- In Sg is tough, is musicians here didn’t get much respect , how much more Engr’s?

8) What do you think of this industry (in the local context)? What advice would you give to someone who wants to enter this industry?
- Don’t get into it , until the industry here in Sg, matures again.


Thank you very much! Your help will be greatly appreciated!

Regards,
Elizabeth