Studio Work?

[Sir_Matthew]

I'm not sure if this is the right forum, but I'll give 'er a shot.

How would a guitarist looking for studio work go about getting started? I'm working on my own disc at home, but I'd like to work on some other projects to broaden my horizons a bit (and make some money, of course).

Anyone done this?

[TexRoadkill]

Put together a demo showcasing your talent and maybe different styles.

Make some business cards.

Call studios, producers and any potential clients and sell yourself. Everything in the entertainment industry is about networking. Try to get your foot in the door, have a good attitude and work ethic and hope for a lot of luck.

[mikeh]

I agree with everything Tex said. I'm a drummer who has freelanced with different bands and in different studios for years. Although I now consider myself "semi-pro" - I was a full time musician for several years.

It is all about networking. But you have to have chops (in almost every musical style), and you must very very dependable. Your gear must be in flawless condition and you must be able to at the drop of a dime reproduce any tone from country chickn' pickn' to warm jazz tones to screaming distortion. It is essential that you are easy to get along with and that you can take constructive (and sometimes brutally honest criticism). The ability to read well may not always be required but will on occasion be required.

You need to be able to produce in demanding and sometimes stressful conditions (if you're being paid to find your tone and hit your part - you need to do it in the first few takes). You need to understand obscure directions (I need it heavier, or lighter or cooler or funkier, etc - when none off those terms mean what you think they mean).

The best way to get into studios is to know producers or engineers who will recommend you. The next best way is to gig with hundreds of different musicians who can recommend you (assuming those musicains had the chops to get into the studio scene to start with). That is how I got my in - playing with everyone I could eventually got me into studios which gave me a chance to meet produceres and engineers.

If you can't get in that way - as Tex said get a demo of your chops (in several styles), get business cards and start knockin on doors. If they let you, hang around studios as much as you can and be willing to work for free or to do whatever your ethics will allow to get your foot in the door.

Real studio work (jingles, film work and label artist projects can be hard and demanding work - but can be both financially and more important, musically rewarding.

[Sir_Matthew]

Thanks for the tips. May have to go the demo-n-door-knockin' route at first, which I had suspected. But if that ends up being fruitless, I'm planning on doing a lot of gigging anyway once I get my disc finished, so I may hook up with some people that way.

It's all rather a crapshoot, but you gotta shoot in order to hit the crap. That didn't sound right...

[BrettB]

an old guitar teacher of mine stopped his studio work due to the stress mikeh mentionned.

You have enormous stress, he said, you have to give away your best ideas while playing (they are actually lot of producers who say: "just play something over this part' without knowing a real direction), and it doesn't get paid that good.

I don't want to discourage you, just remember it isn't an easy job...

[dmoney4life]

Originally posted by TexRoadkill
Put together a demo showcasing your talent and maybe different styles.

Make some business cards.

Call studios, producers and any potential clients and sell yourself. Everything in the entertainment industry is about networking. Try to get your foot in the door, have a good attitude and work ethic and hope for a lot of luck.

Where would be a good place to get in contact with producer's or a label???

[mikeh]

Go to your local record stores and look at (or buy) recordings of local acts. The liners will tell you the label, the producer the engineer, the studio, the musicians, etc.

Read any local trade papers or underground news mags - which may have articles on local acts or may have ads for studios or producers.

Go to your local clubs and talk to the musicans - ask where they record and with who.

If you can't figure that out - you will have a very hard time developing the buisness savvy to be a studio player.

[BrettB]

mikeh has a point.

Don't be to shy when you introduce yourself. When you see the name of a local studio on a credit, search it in the phone book or the yellow pages and phone or visit them. Don't be afraid, there is the saying: 'you have a no and yiu can get a yes'.

I had several 'failures' with that approach, but also some worked for me. For an example, I've been writing for 2 years now for a music magazine, and I got there a similar way: When I read the magazine fot the first time, I searched for there phonenumber and rang them. "Hi I am Brett, I am interested in cooperating with your magazine". They gave me a chance and now I write Cd reviews for them and some interviews now and them. Not a hughe job, but lots of fun, you get to talk with interesting musicians and you own a lot more CD's.

So, go for it I would say!