ABSTRACT
A lot of engineers are flexible, owning and running a home studio in addition to engineering and recording projects at outside commercial studios. This flexibility provides a freelance engineer with more opportunities to work more places and meet more clients. Unlike a recording engineer, there are generally more opportunities in live sound. A freelance engineer is typically hired by the band to be their personal sound engineer. A freelance engineer typically shows up for their band's sound check to preset levels and become familiar with the venue. Unlike the in-house engineer, they will only be responsible for mixing the band that hired them. Almost all studio engineers are self-employed, as very few studios actually have staff engineers on their payrolls anymore. Engineers are typically paid separately from the recording studio. Instrumentation helps to determine the budget that matches the band's aspirations.
