#Recording Engineer

[sjwallin]

Working on something…. :)

[burnandshiverconsulting]

<Heavy Sigh>

[audioengineersanonymous]

thank you for bitching at me tonight about how you couldn’t hear yourself, late fifties/early 60s karen energy violinist lady i was engineering for for a radio show. it’s not like you refused headphones even after i told you that you would hear better with them before the show started, and i know you would never ignore me when i was telling you that if you need any volume adjustments while you were playing you should signal the producer, whose back faces me and i am unable to communicate with when you are in the middle of your performance glaring daggers at me for not being able to do the thing i told you i would not be able to do

[musitechnicformation]

Looking for top-notch audio production? Our expert recording engineer services ensure professional-quality sound for music, podcasts, voiceovers, and more. With state-of-the-art equipment and industry expertise, we provide seamless recording, mixing, and mastering tailored to your needs. Experience crystal-clear sound and bring your creative vision to life with a skilled recording engineer by your side. Perfect for artists, producers, and content creators seeking perfection in audio. Contact us today!

[oldpunksgoodstyle]

Steve Albini, a noted producer and engineer in his own right, and frontman of Big Black and Shellac, offered his thoughts on Twitter as well: “Every music scene needed someone to document it, someone with no agenda, an open mind and hot mics. SPʘT was the archetype scene recording guy, the guy we all emulated and whose role we tried to play. For a while there half the records I bought had his name on them.”

[gladeside-recordings]

Do you need a producer, engineer, or something in between?

One discussion I always have with artists at the beginning of any recording project is what my role is going to be. Do they want me to produce their music or engineer it? This question is often followed by another question ‘what’s the difference?’. It seems there are many artists looking for a ‘producer’, but that word has come to mean so many different things to different people. At one time an artists would enter a studio to work with a songwriter, an arranger, an engineer, produce, tape op etc… Studios were not just run by one person, but a whole team of people, each with their own unique and distinctly different role. Nowadays, artists are often looking for a ‘producer’, one person who assumes all or some of those roles. In order to find the right ‘producer’, it’s worth getting some clarity on what that means to you. So in an effort to help, here’s my two cents on the matter.

So what’s an engineer and what’s a producer?

The Engineer

Let’s start with the term engineer as that’s maybe the easiest of the two terms to define. Basically an engineer is in charge of the technical aspects of recording the sounds. Many producers actually work with their own engineers to get the sounds they want. So the producer explains to the engineer what kind of sound they want from each instrument and the engineers job is to position the instruments in the space, choose the microphones, place them in the right positions and configurations, set levels etc etc… Think of it like camera operator on a movie set. The producer picks the shots and it’s the camera operators job to capture those shots according the producers vision. An engineer in a studio is trying to capture the sound in accordance with the producer’s or artist’s vision of how things should sound. That’s kind of where an engineers role ends. The engineer is not responsible for getting the best performances out of an artist, the quality of the songs or the arrangements, they’re focussed on getting the sounds they’re asked to get.

Photo by Jonathan Farber on Unsplash

Before I move on to the more difficult to define term of producer, it’s worth mentioning that some artists just need to work with a good engineer. If you are creating the sound that you want for your record and just need someone to record it well, then an engineer might be just what you need. If you think you need more than that then please read on.

The Producer

The term producer has become more and more difficult to define. These days there are producers that take on all the roles of an engineer, plus they’re also in control of all aspects of the record making process. On the other hand, there are producers that put tracks together with loops and samples on a laptop or even iPad, and rarely record anything with microphones. This is why the term has become hard to define.

Traditionally though, a producer’s role was, and still is, to produce a finished product i.e. a record. The producer is involved in every creative decision from the beginning to the end of the recording process. If a separate arranger is brought in to arrange a string section, this has to be approved by the producer before being recorded. If the engineer mic’s up a drum kit but the producer isn't happy with the sound, the engineer has to keep tweaking things till they get the producer’s approval. The producer is also responsible for getting the best performances from the artists. Think of it from a record companies point of view. They sign an amazing young band on the strength of their live performances and great songs. That band have never made a record before though, they’re also very into their rock n roll lifestyle, so quite unreliable and not always on form. The record company cannot trust them to make a great record on their own, so they send them to a producer they know and trust. This producer has to get the best record out of the band whatever it takes. The producer works with the artists to define their sound. Again, if you think of the film producer analogy, it's the film producer who has the final say on most decisions.

Photo by Veikko Venemies on Unsplash

So what do you need?

Ok, so that's a brief explanation of the difference, now you need to think about what you need. If you just need someone to record you, then maybe an engineer is the way to go. If you're looking for help with other aspects of the record making process, then a producer is probably what you're after. So if you have the songs but don't know what to do with them in terms of the arrangement, a producer should be willing to get involved with the arranging, find the right players to suit your music, record it all and get it mastered. One thing that's worth pointing out though, is that when you ask someone to produce you, you need to bear in mind they're putting their name on your record too. So don't be surprised if the producer is strict with you about what can and can't be on the record. If they think something isn't working, they have the right to veto it. You need to think of the artist-producer relationship as a true collaboration that is weighted equally, otherwise it doesn't really work. If you have the attitude of 'well it's my record and my name on the front of it, so the producer has to do what I want' then it's not a true collaboration and instead of being produced, you are actually in the driving seat, and therefore the you are the producer. If that's the case then perhaps you're looking for a co-producer. You can think of this more as a contributor. They'll tread the line between an engineer and producer, without overstepping the line and thinking they run the show.

Whatever you decide you need, this is a great conversation to have with whoever you choose to help make your music. How much input do you want? Are they getting involved creatively or just making sure everything is recorded the way you want it? Do you trust them to have the final say or do you want to be in charge? Hopefully this has helped clarify a few things and will get you thinking about what you need for your music. I wish you luck on your next recording experience, thanks for reading.

[43gang]

As an arts community, the Spotify CEO's statement about how the cost of making music today is close to zero, along with other controversies, left us wondering if we should keep using their player as the main listening option to have on our website from now on because even if Spotify is one of the main options people chose to use due to the availability to listen to music everywhere without the need of a subscription, we can't support someone who disrespects the people who make this platform a thing. So, what would you suggest?

[lootwijk]

Fucking Steve fucking died today.

[musiciantoolbox]

How to Mix Rap Vocals | Leslie Brathwaite (Pharrell Williams)

[audioengineersanonymous]

the fact that our ears get tired???? sick cruel and disgusting, i need to keep LISTENING AJFBWELSJDFBCH FUCK let me keep working and consuming i can't have quiet in my brain

[mwagneto]

fascinated by just how much marvel movies (and shows) managed to perfect the formula of making 2 male characters Just gay enough that the fans who want that will go UMMM IT'S NOT BAIT THEY'RE LITERALLY GAY LOOK!!!! but not too gay that homophobes even pick up on there being any subtext let alone get mad. extremely insidious form of bait. obvious examples being fatws and loki and more recently deadpool 3 and now venom 3

[aerikvon]

[musitechnicformation]

Looking for top-notch audio production? Our expert recording engineer services ensure professional-quality sound for music, podcasts, voiceovers, and more. With state-of-the-art equipment and industry expertise, we provide seamless recording, mixing, and mastering tailored to your needs. Experience crystal-clear sound and bring your creative vision to life with a skilled recording engineer by your side. Perfect for artists, producers, and content creators seeking perfection in audio. Contact us today!

[deadrituals]

Hire me to mix & master your song!

Hey! I'm Andrea Caccese, and I make music as Dead Rituals. I am also an audio engineer, and I've worked on almost all of my releases at my studio.

I've worked for many other artists across different genres, including Italian rap/pop star Livio Cori and experimental prog-rockers A Shamisen Orchestra, among others.

Here's a playlist featuring some of my work!

Email me at contact.deadrituals@gmail.com or DM my personal Instagram if you're looking for high-quality mixing / mastering services at musician-friendly rates. I can also record drums, bass, or guitar for your tracks. Let's have a conversation about making your song sound amazing!

[planeyboys]

Thrust SSC has seen too much too fast

[carsthatnevermadeitetc]

Fiat 126 Flat Out, 1989, by Andy Saunders. A custom rear-engined 126 created by a garage manager from Poole, Dorset that earned a Guinness World Record for being the world's lowest car. Measuring 53cm in height the car was drivable with space for 2 people seated on picnic chairs