Interview with an audio engineer

Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes of your favorite song? It's not just the sexy vocals, pulsing beats and catchy hook that grab your ear. The process of recording and mixing sound is a scientific task, one that can add or subtract from even the best-written and well-performed numbers to the point of making or breaking an artist.
Rick Riggs is one individual who regularly undertakes that task. Co-owner of Handwritten Recording, a full-service studio in Chicago, Ill., Riggs took a moment to talk to CareerBuilder about his craft and goal of connecting "the ideal to the real."
CareerBuilder: What title do you prefer to give yourself, and why? (e.g. sound engineer, audio engineer, audio mixer...)

Rick Riggs: Audio engineer. I think it is the term that best describes the job that I am trusted to do. While I certainly did not invent the term, it does explain that I am the individual that bridges the gap from actual sounds being made to the recordings that result.

CB: How did you learn your trade?

RR: I taught myself how to engineer records in the beginning and experience continues to teach me how to do them in the future. Each recording scenario requires a different set of engineering challenges, so I would say that I really have never stopped learning my trade in the nine years I have been working at it.

CB: How do you acquire new clients, and has the current economy slowed that process down at all?

RR: I have acquired new clients by endearing myself to my past and present ones. My work in recording tends to lean more on the artistic side of things, so once clients feel comfortable with the environment I provide them and the recordings that result they tend to do a wonderful job spreading the word for me. The world of music and art seems to be a small one, and once you are able to provide a good service at a reasonable price, people tend to talk amongst themselves.

Regarding the current economy and its effect: Honestly, I try not to give it too much thought when it comes to how I run this business, set my goals, and prepare for the future. I am sure it has affected the growth of new clients, but to concern myself with that would ultimately lead to the neglect of my current ones, and that would lead to the demise of my business faster than an economic downturn.

CB: What are your favorite and least favorite things related to being an audio engineer?

RR: The best part of my job is helping people bring their work to life. I really look at my work being successful if I can help bands, artists, commercial clients and the like connect their ideas of what the recording can sound like to what it does sound like. That is the thrill for me: to connect the ideal to the real. Sounds cheesy, but true.

My least favorite part of this job is the amount of administrative work that I have to do in order to keep the business in order. 

CB: Are you a part of a union, and if not, what are your thoughts on that?

RR: No, I am not part of a union. I think unions are valuable if there is a group of people that need to come together in order to protect themselves and their futures. The work that I am in is very individual (from my end, at least), to the point where I haven't given it much thought.

CB: Is rock music as glamorous as people think?

RR: Yes and no. It is certainly glamorous in the sense that you get to spend time doing what you love. However, there is certainly pressure and stress that come with that as well. The financial concerns are ones that come to mind primarily. Making the best record possible within the budget set is certainly an ever-real challenge. Other struggles are keeping your audience happy vs. serving your own creative desires, and staying relevant in an increasingly changing musical/artistic culture.

CB: What advice do you have for a novice hoping to get into audio engineering?

RR: It's not about the engineer. It is about the recordings and their creators' happiness with them. I don't have an inflated sense of self worth that keeps me from simply thinking: Keep the customer satisfied.