Dan G Posted March 31, 2004 Report Share Posted March 31, 2004 In recording credits all albums have a producer... what EXACTLY does the producer do in the studio? I have a pretty good idea but a very accurate explanation would be much appreciated. cheers.(obviously production isn't the same as the engineering/mixing or mastering) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest highroller Posted March 31, 2004 Report Share Posted March 31, 2004 dude!! I have talked to you about this time and again...its always something i have paid attention to altho most people find it boring i always check and you know this Dan....They have different roles depending on the band....too many people think that they are mainly concerned with the sound...not strictly true....they are almost like another member in the band in the studio...they ususally help with arrangements and are there to encourage and bring the best out in a band/musician....the engineer is usually the one mainly responsible for the sounds! Alot of producers will use the same engibneer and wont work without them...Like Bob Rock will not work without Randy Staub pushing the record button and splicing tape etc...!! Understand?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan G Posted March 31, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2004 but in a lot of cases the band produce their own stuff. What do they have to do to get credit for doing so? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest highroller Posted March 31, 2004 Report Share Posted March 31, 2004 well basically....ok take the latest strung out album yeah? The credits say: prduced by Strung Out and tracked by Donnell Cameron.Ok, so for the first time strung out obviously felt confident enough to produce themselves yeah? The reason they used Donnell is that they did their very first album with him and like him...but all he did (very well) is be the technical whizz that did what they asked...so like when weapon go in to the mill again...we have agreed that you are pretty much producing it...neil will be engineering it...you may ask "put more click on that kick drum" then he will turn the knob until you say stop...therefore you are producing and he is engineering....you dig?? You still need a great engineer!! I tell u what i find FUCKED UP? When the album is produced by one producer and then mixed by another...that seem fucked up to me but can work...i.e. the new 36cfs album is AWESOME and sounds AWESOME...its produced by a great producer called James Wisner...i love his style...then mixed by one of your faves dan..Andy Sneap...weird huh?? The mixing process can almost totally undo what the producer has done in a way!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan G Posted March 31, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2004 cool. It's just I don't want to credit myself for something I didn't do. A lot of these ace sounding metal bands get someone to produce it and then get Andy Sneap/Colin Richardson to mix it, basically because those guys are awesome! devin Townsend is also a pretty nifty producer... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest highroller Posted March 31, 2004 Report Share Posted March 31, 2004 Look at the Deftones....I doubt they will ever use anyone else other than Terry Date...the sixth deftone they call him! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest highroller Posted March 31, 2004 Report Share Posted March 31, 2004 No dude....everyone will have input on their sound but at the end of the day someone has to be appointed to have the final word! I think what it will say is produced by Dan Goldsworthy, engineered and recorded by Niall whatever his name is....(ooppsss) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spellchecker Posted March 31, 2004 Report Share Posted March 31, 2004 Yeah, I'd say a producer's role is actually quite pinnacle. You have to put a lot of trust in a producer and you need to get on with them otherwise chances are few will be happy with the end-resultI'd say a producer's job is to decide what gets put through for the mix, i.e. a producer may say, "i don't like that little twiddly guitar bit, i think we should lose it", or "i really like the rustling of cutlery on the silver tray, let's keep it". then the person/people doing the mix are responsible for getting the best sound out of all the recorded parts to give a balanced well-eq'd mix.of course, these two things can be done by just one person, or in more than two stages by loads of people. i suppose it just depends on your circumstances. in our experience the producer was also responsible for mixing, but the producing really was like having another band member, and at times was really hard because compromising on something you have written and feel protective over is difficult. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iain44s Posted March 31, 2004 Report Share Posted March 31, 2004 alot of the time a separate mixing engineer is essential...the producer has been working on the stuff so long already and knows it so well that it is hard to get decent perspective on the mix...the fresh ears of a mix engineer can really breathe new life into a recording. also a good producer doesnt always make a good mix engineer...mixing is an art unto itself i suppose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tav Posted March 31, 2004 Report Share Posted March 31, 2004 Producers even help out with things such as choosing amps, effects and other things. For example Bob created the amp tent which Metallica used on the Black Album to get that amazing crunch...he also did the wall of foam for Jasons bass and gave Lars a table of weird percussion to play with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iain44s Posted March 31, 2004 Report Share Posted March 31, 2004 speaking of which there is an interview with bob rock in this months sound on sound magazine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tav Posted March 31, 2004 Report Share Posted March 31, 2004 Is it worth reading? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iain44s Posted March 31, 2004 Report Share Posted March 31, 2004 its ok...im not a fan so it didnt interest me that much...its basically about all the techniques he used to record st anger.there was one a couple of months ago with rich costey about recording absolution by muse...that was cool. he is an incredible producer with some interesting ideas... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mouse Posted March 31, 2004 Report Share Posted March 31, 2004 Originally posted by Tav:Producers even help out with things such as choosing amps, effects and other things. For example Bob created the amp tent which Metallica used on the Black Album to get that amazing crunch...he also did the wall of foam for Jasons bass and gave Lars a table of weird percussion to play with. But Bob Rock also has seemed to have some negative affect on the band, as a lot may argue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LonelyHunter Alister Posted March 31, 2004 Report Share Posted March 31, 2004 in a sentence, the difference between a band playing live, and a record, is the work of a producer. An engineer twiddles the knobs, and gets the sound that the producer wants Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eat your parents Posted March 31, 2004 Report Share Posted March 31, 2004 Originally posted by iain44s:alot of the time a separate mixing engineer is essential...the producer has been working on the stuff so long already and knows it so well that it is hard to get decent perspective on the mix...the fresh ears of a mix engineer can really breathe new life into a recording. also a good producer doesnt always make a good mix engineer...mixing is an art unto itself i suppose. So what's the difference between someone who is a mixing engineer and someone who masters tracks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spellchecker Posted April 1, 2004 Report Share Posted April 1, 2004 I'd say a mixing engineer is responsible for how the material is actually recorded, helping with microphone positions, singing/vocal techniques, guitar/amp choices, effects choices/compressor setups etc. for vocals.i'd say someone who masters tracks is responsible for making sure the output of the final mix is even, presentable, normalised and representative of the ideas a band took to the studio in the first place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tam o' Shantie Posted April 1, 2004 Report Share Posted April 1, 2004 mastering is a completely seperate aspect. Mastering is taking the final stereo mixdown (ie the finished tracks you get from the studio) and EQing, compressing, limiting etc to ensure the final product sounds as good as possible - ideally, bright and punchy and loud, as well as 'smoothing out' all the tracks to sound as similar as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest highroller Posted April 1, 2004 Report Share Posted April 1, 2004 Originally posted by Tav:Producers even help out with things such as choosing amps, effects and other things. For example Bob created the amp tent which Metallica used on the Black Album to get that amazing crunch...he also did the wall of foam for Jasons bass and gave Lars a table of weird percussion to play with. someone owns a year and a half in the life of metallica...part 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lepeep Posted April 1, 2004 Report Share Posted April 1, 2004 there is a classic bit on a frank black bootleg playing an acoustic set (in Itally, If I remember correctly), he's playing a pixies song, and stops in the middle, he says : "and this is the bit that Albini cut out"...and plays a whole new part no fan had ever heard before....That's the power of a "producer"... Has anyone ever read the article that Steve Albini wrote about how Producers work ?"the problem with music"....now that should get some blood boiling.http://www.negativland.com/albini.htmlsome other interesting links:http://www.alexnewport.com/interview.htmlhttp://www.music-law.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ragudave Posted April 1, 2004 Report Share Posted April 1, 2004 Producers can have great effects in certain genres - think EL-P in HH or Lee Perry / King Tubby in Dub. Sometimes they can make things too smooth or miss too much out etc,Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Doubt Posted April 1, 2004 Report Share Posted April 1, 2004 Originally posted by Tam o' Shantie:mastering is a completely seperate aspect. Mastering is taking the final stereo mixdown (ie the finished tracks you get from the studio) and EQing, compressing, limiting etc to ensure the final product sounds as good as possible - ideally, bright and punchy and loud, as well as 'smoothing out' all the tracks to sound as similar as possible. yeh i'd agree with that...wavlab is gd for this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben AWOL Posted April 1, 2004 Report Share Posted April 1, 2004 Heheh - Bob Rock; now there's a name. He boasts about Metallica's drum sound which has got to be one of the worst ever recorded(in my opinion). The snare sound is just so hollow. Obviously with the advent of more and more home studios more and more people will be doing a lot of their own production. However, it really shouldn't be taken lightly. In the same issue of aforementioned Sound on Sound magazine there's an excellent article on soundproofing the room your going to be mixing in. It's imperative that this gives an uncoloured mix, otherwise you could have thousands of pounds worth of gear and still not be able to mix for shit... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest highroller Posted April 1, 2004 Report Share Posted April 1, 2004 Originally posted by Ben AWOL:Heheh - Bob Rock; now there's a name. He boasts about Metallica's drum sound which has got to be one of the worst ever recorded(in my opinion). The snare sound is just so hollow. *points to door* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spellchecker Posted April 1, 2004 Report Share Posted April 1, 2004 Originally posted by Ben Quik:*points to door* Don't forget your coat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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