That first studio gig one takes when embarking upon a career as a recording engineer can have the potential to start a promising path in audio production. Dustin Velasco, 25, is a recent graduate of the Recording Institute of Detroit (RID) and was offered an extended internship at Gold Section Studios. After completion of the minimum hours for internship, Velasco talked about his experiences with RID CEO Bob Dennis and what his future may hold in music.

"I had a very enlightening experience at RID. It met all my expectations in training. I give it an overall rating of 95%, and would definitely recommend it", said Velasco.

Velasco worked at several jobs in and outside of the Music industry while training at RID including  roofing work in addition to more related work as a DJ/Mixer at area nightclubs. Because of this varied background, RID was even able to place Velasco in a building maintenance job at The Disc Ltd that became his first paid job for a recording studio. Dustin was also hired as an assistant for a mixing project completed by Musart Productions at Golden Section Studios with an out-of-town recording engineer/producer.

Dennis also feels that Velasco's approach to handling sessions came in handy recently with Musart Productions who booked time to remix a live concert which was recorded over many days in the ADAT format. "Dustin has proven that he has the skills and abilities to work in this industry. One of the many attributes he has is in his approach to his work. He is very methodical and systematic, ensuring that all aspects of a session are under control and fully understood", said Dennis.
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DUSTIN STUDYING THE 02R	DUSTIN SETTING UP FOR MUSART

Dennis believes that this fact would allow Velasco to prosper as a Mastering engineer, a field that is highly in demand because of the many home studios which have sprung up over the past decade.  He further suggests that Dustin's building maintenance job and previous experience in this type of work can be "turned into a in." with area studios. 

"It's spring time in Michigan and roofs spring leaks in our highly-seasonal state.  Armed with a recommendation from a prominent studio owner, you can help the studios check if they need seasonal building maintenance.  With this contact you can also appraise and talk about their need for your mastering services.  Picking up mastering work or even the more familiar building maintenance work from several smaller studios can easily turn into a a good starting niche in this industry," said Dennis.  At the Second Annual Recording Website Day in April,  Dennis plans to introduce Dustin to a Michigan studio owner that started off by offering mastering services to studios and turned that into a six-figure recording services company.

"Mastering is a part of the recording process that many claim they can do, but few are good at it -if they can do it at all. Dustin can carve a niche in this market because the skills needed here require that great attention be given to the project. Without such attentive care , entire projects could be ruined. A good mastering engineer can basically write his own check. He will never be out of work", said Dennis.  Dustin is getting career advice that is highly oriented towards his particular experience and his developed strengths in the field.

Velasco's internship was spent in Golden Section Recording Studios where he learned operation of the O2R digital console and its application in modular digital multitrack recording, such as that provided by the Alesis ADAT and Tascam DA-88 formats. His internship, developed by RID, was meant to test not only the theoretical boundaries of his training, but to have him apply that training in real-world sessions. Velasco was required to take a systematic approach to acquiring knowledge of the O2R console by studying feach day the routing, recording, and tracking capabilities of the console. Dennis himself designed the training to allow more than a "PWTB" (play-with-the buttons) approach most people do when confronted with new technology. Interns are required to read the lessons on the console and then apply them in sessions and tutorials that come up. Competency on each level is required before an intern can achieve certification that they are cleared to engineer a full and complete session. This process can take weeks to complete and often involves re-doing entire section.  Velasco, who is nearing the completion of his training, weathered each lesson admirably. For this reason, Dennis is confident that Velasco can have a successful career.

"I have requested that Dustin assist me on an up-coming session because his skills and attitude impress me. He will be acting as a Second engineer for an all-night tracking session and I feel confidently that he will do well", said Dennis.

"Engineers are paid according to their perceived worth. Dustin showed he can take a great deal of frustration out of sessions because of his work habits. That is how careers get started", Dennis said.

Dennis sees Velasco as being in an ideal position to eventually work around the country as an independent engineer, taking on clients and sessions that would best use his skills and attributes. Velasco sees the evaluation given him by Dennis as a light on a previously unknown area to try:
Mastering.  "Becoming a Mastering Engineer is definitely something I would like to
try", he says.