Jan 1, 1999 12:00 PM, Mark Frink

All of our interviewees value the experienced staff and freelancers they employ, and offered the following tips to young would-be sound engineers.

Ken Porter suggests that entry-level people adopt the entrepreneurial spirit to do whatever it takes to make the production successful for everyone, as a team member. "It's harder to find employees that want to make the clients happy all the time and are willing to do what it takes to make the job work," Porter says. "I'm seeing a lot of kids that just want to push the faders and twist EQ or effects knobs, but don't understand how to put up a system and make it sound good."

Tom Source offers the same advice he would have given 15 years ago: Get practical experience, either in the shop or on tour. "And work on developing your interpersonal and political skills," he adds. "All things being equal, the person with the better interpersonal skills will go further in their career."

Dave Shadoan mentions that finding a good band, working hard and learning audio systems inside and out are just the beginning. "Tune your ears!" he emphasizes. "Understand the intricacies of a song-we have a lot of people out there that understand sound, but not the songs." He also suggests spending less time on gadgets and more on learning how to make a song sing. "Learn how to mix. I'd much rather hear a guy mix on, say, an 800B with no effects, than a guy with a rack full of gizmos who can't use them properly."

"First, find a very understanding person to live with," Mike Jackson counsels. "Then learn as much as you can about everything, including electronics, physics, acoustics, business, design and architecture, because it all factors in. It's a much wider skill set than most people comprehend, and the people who become the most successful are the ones who understand the most about everything, not just pushing up the faders."

Scott Harmala thinks that the term "engineer" is used too loosely and does not accurately reflect the level of technical knowledge typical among sound engineers. "I think the best asset a person starting out can have is a well-grounded understanding of the physics and technical aspects," he advises. "With all these new widgets and solutions, it's giving us more capability, but it's also adding a layer of complexity. If you're familiar with the underlying concepts and fundamentals, it becomes easier to grasp the new technologies as they come along."

"Learn physics," is also Jeff Barryman's advice. "It's just amazing how many people you run into, even now, whose careers are hindered by the fact that they don't understand the basics of sound propagation or learn the psychoacoustics of hearing." However, he doesn't think young people are intimidated by software, quipping. "You know the joke: 'This system's so complicated, it's going to take a 12-year-old old to figure out.' No, it's worse than that! It's going to take an 8-year-old!"

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