Hiring the wrong kind of engineer is the most common mistake in audio production. The job titles overlap but the skills do not.
The roles
- Tracking engineer: captures performances, chooses microphones, runs the session.
- Editing engineer: cleans, comps, times and tidies raw recordings.
- Mixing engineer: balances everything into a finished stereo piece.
- Mastering engineer: final polish, loudness and consistency across a release.
A single person can do all of these, but almost nobody is equally strong at all of them.
Shortlist by listening
Ask for work in the same format and genre as yours, ideally including the raw material and the finished result. Listen on ordinary speakers and headphones, not only on a good system. The question is not whether it sounds impressive but whether it sounds like the thing it is trying to be.
What to ask before hiring
- What do you need from me: file format, sample rate, stems or a session?
- How many revisions are included, and what counts as one?
- What is the turnaround, and what happens if I am late sending material?
- What do I receive at the end, and in what formats?
- Do you store the session, and for how long?
Prepare your files properly
Export consolidated stems from the same start point, labelled clearly, with no master bus processing unless agreed. Remove obvious mistakes first. Send a rough mix showing your intent and two references. Say what you like about each reference specifically, because a bare link is ambiguous.
Brief in plain language
Describe the feeling and the problem rather than prescribing technique. Saying the vocal disappears in the chorus is more useful than asking for a particular frequency change. Give all your notes at once with timecodes rather than in a trickle.
Agree the finish line
Define what done means and how many rounds you expect. Mix revisions can continue forever without a decision point, which is expensive for you and demoralising for them.
Pay and credit
Agree the fee and deposit before work begins, pay on delivery, and credit engineers by name. Engineering is a referral profession and reliable clients get priority.