Where the magic happens

From an idea to the finished product, a song or an album goes through many stages. A little ditty in the songwriters head, a rocking riff on the Les Paul or a quiet chord progression on the piano transforms exponentially as more thought and work is put into it.

All of this isn’t done by only the songwriter. There are a lot of people behind the scenes, helping with the process, from A&R scouts to mixers, to engineers, to producers. But how much of the band is left on that CD after it’s been filtered through all those people? How much does a producer change the creative vision the band had?

Do the engineers and producers help or hinder creativity?

There are three primary roles in the recording studio. The artist, the producer and the engineer. All of them play a pivotal role in the production of an album. Sometimes these roles mix together and sometimes they clash. Other times one person performs the role of all three. Let’s take a look at what goes on in each of these roles:

The Producer

The record producer is the person who, on paper, is the one responsible for fleshing out and making a masterpiece out of the creativeness of the band at hand. He’s the savant that knows how music works, how people react to it and how it should sound. He’s the one responsible for squeezing out the musician’s best performance, for generating new ideas, and for making the artist as comfortable as possible while in the studio. Some producers are known for their signature sound, or their knowledge about a certain genre. Sometimes you just have that new band that needs a Ross Robinson type producer to make them sound amazing.

Examples of famous producers.

• George Martin
• Timbaland
• Rick Rubin

The Engineer.

The tech guy. The guy that knows how to capture that sound you are looking for. He knows how to make the guitars sound like dinosaurs and the drums like locomotives. He knows where to place microphones and to connect all the cables.

The engineer knows how to make the guitars sound like dinosaurs and the drums like locomotives

He knows what’s technically right and wrong.
He’s the producer’s right hand, helping him achieve the creative vision he’s seeing for the band.

Examples of famous engineers/producers

• Alan Parsons
• Geoff Emerick

Sometimes, these two jobs are the same person. Producers who are tech savvy enough to know exactly how to capture the sound of the band can fill both roles. Often they are engineers who worked their way up to producer status and end up doing both jobs. I only differentiate these two professions to show you the difference between their job descriptions. But more often than not, they move seamlessly between the two.

The artist

The talent. The new spark of creativity and vision the world has never seen. The musicians girls will cry for and guys will dress like. The poor artists that have slaved away on their music for years before becoming successful enough to be noticed by the big guns. Sometimes, artists double as producers, like Prince. And other times, they are collaborators with producers, joined at the hip in making new and exciting music. These people are the heart of the music industry. The pulse that keeps it all together. Because if it weren’t for all these artist making this music, not only would there be no music industry, I wouldn’t have anything to do.

Some people would think that an artist is perfectly capable of producing, recording and publishing his own stuff, without supervision. And in this day and age some people certainly do, but many producers agree that artists often stand too close to their own songs and do not see the big picture and what they could accomplish with it.

Which brings us to the question: how much creative control should the producer have?

The role of the producer

Since the producer is usually the most knowledgeable person in the studio, hired for his ability to know what works in a specific genre and such, should he be in control?

An underground band finding themselves in a major recording studio because somebody thought they should be recorded and sold will often flip out. The average underground band doesn’t know much about professional recording environments. I remember the shock and awe I experienced when I first saw all the gear the average recording studio has.

Is the artist always right even though he doesn’t know how to work all the studio equipment?

Behind the scenes, engineers and producers are responsible for capturing the best possible performance from the artist

In my opinion, the producer should be there to take care, guide and help the artist in expressing what is already there in the first place. Namely, their own creativity and vision. Maybe the producer has different ideas and more experience in knowing what works and what doesn’t; but ultimately, it’s the artist that should approve of everything. If I were to record my songs with an experienced producer I would listen to what he had to say. Because if somebody is hired to make you sound a certain way or to help you catch that spark, that is to be greeted with open arms.

Don’t shun advice
Appreciate advice and helpings offered by the producer. Only then listen and critically think for yourself if it makes sense or not. The value of advice is that it is a second viewpoint that will help you step outside of your limited viewpoint to see how you can improve.

The producer should be there for you, first and foremost.
They should not boss you around and change your sound, they should show you possibilities and pathways to bring your music to its full potential.

But sometimes things just don’t work out like that. Major labels have always been associated with creative control and in those cases, the producer tends to have more of direct role in
controlling the creativity of the artist.

Underground creativity vs major label control

There is a subtle difference between being able to record whatever you want on your own time and money and being on the major labels’ money-watch.

In today’s music scene, underground bands have almost unlimited freedom to their own creativity. Because today, you can just plug into your home-studio, record your unfiltered creativity and upload it onto a social music network like Myspace or SoundCloud. There, everybody can listen and love your music, and you embrace your own creative right. But when this creativity gets noticed by the major label, in some people’s opinion things start to go wrong.

An average underground band finding themselves on a major label doesn’t have the same freedom in the studio as other better known artists. On a major label you will have a lot of pressure towards success by any means necessary and sometimes these bands are merely clay for the major label to mold and sell as they see fit.

Steve Albini, a modern rock star producer if you will, has been quoted as saying:

“It always offended me when I was in the studio and the engineer or the assumed producer for the session would start bossing the band around. That always seemed like a horrible insult to me. The band was paying money for the privilege of being in a recording studio, and normally when you pay for something, you get to say how it’s done” (link)

In his opinion, the producers and engineers shouldn’t be allowed to make what they will of the band in the studio. The band is there for a reason, and their own creative spark is usually what brought them there. So the producers shouldn’t be allowed to manipulate and destroy their creative spark with an “holier than thou” kind of attitude. They should be there for the bands’ purpose only, making sure what was there in the first place, stays there in the end.

Creative control differs between a major label and an indie one.

In the world of indie there is less pressure on profit, often because there is also less money. Major labels pay huge advances to bands to go into the recording studio with the best producers to publish the new best hit.

Indie labels don’t have the money to match that. They put less pressure on on the band, ironically putting less pressure on their creativity and often resulting in much better music. So you can argue that because the major labels are paying for it, the band is just there to be bossed around and treated as pieces of clay.

The major label wants to see that money back any way they think will be best, but lets not forget that although the record label is putting up big bucks to pay for the bands studio time, it’s only an advance of the bands record sales. So who ultimately pays for the studio time? The band.

Maybe the horror stories aren’t all true. But if you are ultimately paying for an album with your name on it, wouldn’t you want to have, you know, something to say about the production of it? Only one story of a band being screwed over and being left with an album that they don’t like is enough for me to loathe this way of management. The artist should always have the last say in the matter, however big the producer may be.

What do you readers think? What is the role of the producer in your eyes? How much truth is in major label creative crushing? Let me know.

“Planning ahead pushes you toward victory” – Sun Tzu

In the life of a sound-tech, you’ve got your mixers, your cables and your mics. You’ve got your patching, plugging and playing to do and if I told you it’s a lot like chess you’d probably just point a microphone in my face and say “Does this look like a Rook to you?”.

In chess you have to be able to think more than one move at a time. It’s a game of cunning strategy and if you don’t think one step ahead of your opponent he will Sun Tzu you and you will lose the game. Working with audio is similar. You have to think ahead and keep everything in mind. Signal flow doesn’t start and end with you plugging in a cable, or adjusting the gain levels.

You have to think things through right to the end or feedback will win the game and taint your reputation. As Sun Tzu said: “Estimating completely creates victory”.

Thinking ahead and keeping all the factors in mind greatly reduces the “troubleshooting brainstorm” that goes on when something doesn’t work.

It also enhances you ability to think quickly on your feet, getting the show or the recording back on track in no time.

A couple of things:

Where does the signal go?

How many stages does the microphone go through before it hits the desk? Are there outboard effects involved that can affect the sound in some way? Check all of the following:

• power source
• mixer
• plugs
• snake
• monitor mixer
• splits
• microphones etc, etc.

Be aware of the monitors.

If you are controlling the monitors from the FOH (Front of House, the portion of the building that is open to the public), will the monitors be sensitive to you tweaking the gain knob? Be aware of post/pre fader buttons as well. Also, when you have many bands playing, you go through a lot of monitor settings. A good way to store this is with a trusty digital camera. That way, you set all the monitor settings just the way you left them in the sound-check and everything goes smoothly.

Think things through.

When packing for a gig you have to go through everything and make sure you have everything you need. This means writing things down! I don’t know how many times I’ve forgotten that necessary XLR/MiniRCA cable that was desperately needed for the show. Make a list and go through it dilligently.

Have a plan

You have to think about every instrument and have a contingency plan if things go wrong. Extra DI boxes, extra mics, a couple of extra cables. Keep everything in mind and think like a grandmaster.

So there are quite a few things you have to think about before hitting record or giving a thumbs up sign. And before you set up for a new gig or a recording, take some inspiration from the grandmasters of chess and always plan a few moves ahead.

What do you guys think? I’d appreciate all your suggestions in the comments.

by Björgvin Benediktsson

There is considerable tact involved when dealing with an artist. Whether it be in a hectic live setting where everything is running late or recording sultry vocals in a cozy recording studio. If some of the below statements offend you engineer/artists remember that I also whine when my vocals sound bad.

The artist is always late

When I started mixing live concerts, underground bands were notorious for always being late. When I said the soundcheck would start at five, this usually meant the first bands showed up at around six. After a while I got used to this as I could use the empty time to set up and linecheck at a relaxed pace. It’s amazing what you can do in an hour if there is no stress involved.

So when the artists finally showed up I had everything set up perfectly without having to show up early to get everything done.

If you find yourselves in this kind of situation, take advantage of it.

Don’t get annoyed at the primadonna attitude of the artist, the artist will always be a special species and you will always have to treat him that way. But don’t let them get in the way of your job.

If you have free time because of the tardiness of an artist:

• Use the extra time to line check,
• Gaffertape the cables to the floor
• Make sure the microphones are correctly positioned
• Mark your mixer well so you can work fast when the soundcheck starts.
• Any other thing you say that can be beneficial to the concert at hand.

The artist is always right

What I mean by this is that you should always do what the artists wants. Because in the end, it’s their concert or record and if they want it a certain way for them to be happy, make them happy. This could spiral out into pretty hard to swallow actions, like making the guitar sound terrible or putting things to the front that you think don’t belong there.

But if the artist is happy with what he ends up with, he will tell people about it in a positive way, and he will talk about you. And word of mouth travels far, and goes a long way in landing you that next gig.

Think about the artist’s needs

When mixing live concerts, you are basically working in the service industry, serving the artist’s needs. I’m not saying you should jump through hoops to get what he wants. But there are certain things you should be aware of when servingthe artist:

• You should always be up to speed to the artists needs.
• Try to make him comfortable on stage.
• Bring extra cables, chairs to sit on, whatever that relates to your job.
• The rule is: Make him comfortable and the gig will run smoothly.

If they complain do whatever to make them happy.

This one relates directly to the previous one. If they aren’t happy, you won’t get the desired performance out of them. Try to do whatever you can if they complain. Most of the time it’s about the monitor sound. A good tip is to sound-check the stage sound first. That way, if the monitors are spot on and the artist is happy, then you can concentrate on the FOH sound without having to go back and forth because the artist is always complaining he can’t hear his instrument. Being efficient reduces sound-check time and gives you more time if things go wrong.

If they ask for something impossible, and they won’t listen to reason, just say yes and then deal with it your own way.

There once was this girl singing with a band and they were rehearsing songs for an upcoming concert. The bass-player told me that she was struggling with some songs and asked that they lowered the key. The bass-player told her that they would do so and then played the song again in the same key. When asked, the girl responded that it felt much better and she could really grab those high notes now. So, when in an impossible situation, just say yes and do whatever sounds best.

Although some of these thoughts are a bit extreme and shouldn’t be taken seriously, sometimes these situations manifest themselves and you are forced to take appropriate measures. Given that my experience is mainly from mixing live concerts, a lot of these tidbits are taken from there.

There are probably thousands of stories out there regarding artist/engineer conflicts. If you have any related stories or similar things to tell, please do so in the comments.

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It’s a rainy day, perfect for holing yourself up in your room to work on a new song—and if you’re like most of the music-making world, that means firing up your Mac or PC, connecting your MIDI keyboard, hunching your neck and shoulders, and playing endlessly with your virtual drum machines, pianos, and saxophones.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Computer power has liberated home music producers in too many ways to list in this short article. Pair up some modest multi-tracking software with a basic six-hundred dollar PC and you can create sonic wonders. But this very blessing can be a curse. How would “My Life in the Bush of Ghosts” sound if Eno and Byrne recorded it today? It would sure be easier for them. Maybe too easy. Without limitations to overcome, artists get lazy and bored.

I’m suggesting that you step outside of the box—the box being the virtual world where your instruments live, where your tracks are recorded, where your project is mixed and mastered. Aren’t you a little tired of editing those wave forms? Remember that old Tascam 4-track cassette recorder buried in your closet? Dig it out. Get out some real cables, by God. Your hardware misses you.

Or how about a sampler? Right—you already have one. Maybe it’s the NNXT that lives in Reason 4.

Why not get a hardware sampler with some real knobs on it? I’m a big fan of the Roland SP-404. It might sound crazy, but getting away from your computer screen can really help your project. A hardware sampler forces you to make edits with your ears instead of your eyes. Maybe that boring loop will come to life if you feed it into some hardware and tweak it away from the screen. Maybe even run it through some outboard effects. What ever happened to that old chorus pedal that you got for Christmas back in high school? Dig it out and give it a new 9-volt. Make some room on the kitchen table. Set up some real, physical audio gadgets and make some noise. You’ll feel like a kid again, I promise.

When you live inside of the box, you start to forget about the great big world outside. It’s easy. Your virtual guitars sound almost like the real thing. Why bother hooking up your six-string and playing the part live…it won’t sound as clean anyway.

That’s just the point, my friend. Maybe that computer is a little too clean. It might be sucking the life right out of your music.

Hear me out. The box will always be there. One of the most glorious things about the DAW is its non-destructive editing power. You can always go back. But for now, on a rainy day like today, why not dig out the old stuff…send that computer-generated drum loop back in time onto cassette tape…slow it down and make it grimy. Turn off the dbx noise reduction and let it crackle and burn. Ahhh, that’s just the spice your song was craving.

Now you can send your work back into the box. In the same way that travel changes a person, travel changes your sound. Sending your audio out into the real world will change it in subtle ways that you could never dream up in your DAW.

What William Faulkner said about writing applies equally to sound. “You’ve got to kill your darlings.” If you find yourself too in love with a sound, chances are good that you should kill it. Or at least maim it a little.

So take that perfectly clean loop that you love so much and kick it out into the real world. Don’t coddle it. Let it see that life is hard. You might love it even more when it comes back home.

“Most people don’t realize that the distance around the inside of a 12-inch record is about half the distance than around the outside,” Golden explains. “As the distance around each revolution decreases, the high frequencies become harder for a playback stylus to read.”
Link to source

On a tangentially related side-note, I found an interesting video of how vinyl records made, check out How Vinyl Records Are Made Part 1 and Part 2. I know the vinyl vs. CD format war will never be resolved, but it’s interesting to consider when deciding between the two methods of physical distribution for your project.