Audio Engineering Rant

[Phil O]

CAVEAT (before I get flamed): And I mean this. I'm NOT talking about musicians that use these tools for music creation or just want to record themselves for whatever reason. I'm talking about people who think of themselves as engineers/producers who really shouldn't.

[begin rant]

I have for a long time felt the quality of what's being recorded has suffered due to the industry's affordable recording equipment. Don't get me wrong - I love my home studio and I've run a successful studio for many years here. But, everyone and their cousin thinks they're an engineer now. There's a growing attitude that the gear makes the recording and ANYONE can make great recordings in their bedroom with the right equipment. I believe this has diminished our standards.

YouTube is filled with engineer wannabe clickbait. Very often the click bait title is far more creative than the content. "Mix like a pro, 10 advanced tips that will make your vocals sound great, secrets the top engineers won't tell you, you don't need a mastering engineer for professional sounding masters..." You get the idea. Sometimes I will find one that sounds interesting and when I get sucked in by the creative clickbait I find the same old very, very basic EQ, compressor, fader automation, etc. guidelines. You know, the sort of stuff you should have learned in the first couple weeks of your first semester of study in recording. (There are in fact a couple of good YouTube channels that I frequent but they are few and far between). The rest are just the same old BS.

There's a recent event that prompted this rant. Some very good local musicians that I'm close with offered to help a senior (4 year degree - major in recording) at a prominent music school with his senior project. The goal of the project was to produce and record a song [edit - 3 songs actually]. The professor has a name that most of you would recognize, but I'll refrain from disclosing it. The musicians got a copy of the final master and played it for me. They were very disappointed in the results and thought he would get a failing grade. I listened to it and agreed. It was terrible. He got an A- on the project.

[end rant]

Your thoughts (not flames) welcome.

Your friendly neighborhood Phil

[bayswater]

Hard to disagree with you Phil, but I'll try. There are the usual observations, the main one being that the end consumers of music doesn't really know or care if it's any good. Then there's the view that democratization of music is more important than standards. And there was the writing on the wall a long time ago with punk, telling us that well performed and well produced recorded music is by definition, crap. Streaming makes all music disposable, etc, etc, etc. (I can't help noticing that people of certain ages never listen to an entire song -- after a minute or less, they hit FF to see what's next)

I'd have to admit that production quality is not much of a factor when I listen to the music I've collected over decades. The good songs with mediocre production stand up as well as anything else.

No doubt the standards are not what they were. But I don't blame equipment affordability. Maybe there just aren't that many people other than a few producers who care about the standards.

[HCMarkus]

He got an A- on the project.

That was the key. Good thing for the student he didn't have the musicians play in F.

[Phil O]

That was the key. Good thing for the student he didn't have the musicians play in F.

Oh no. I should have seen that one coming.

[Phil O]

I'd have to admit that production quality is not much of a factor when I listen to the music I've collected over decades. The good songs with mediocre production stand up as well as anything else.

I can't disagree with that. I've experienced the same. A great performance by great musicians can be enjoyable listening to an old paper 78 on a Victrola. But I'm trying to look just at the talent of the producer/engineer. I guess my real gripe is that there are so many people now calling themselves a producer or an engineer that just don't deserve the title, and I guess I blame some of that on the ease and cost of setting up recording gear. JMO.

[stubbsonic]

Ideally, skilled craftspeople create compelling raw content (songs, compositions, etc.), which is presented with a good arrangement that brings the ideas to life. The tracks are well-recorded (proper mics in good positions) to capture sounds-- again, in a compelling way. The mix respects the original intent, and creates a rich and balanced "world". And the mastering doesn't ruin it.

SIDE-RANT: Sometimes people record things with the built-in mics on iOS devices. Yuck. They think, "Check it out! I have a studio in my pocket!" (In high Thor voice) "Do you though?"

One approach asks, "Can I recreate the intimacy and power of a live performance, where the listener feels like they are standing near the performers?" That ideal requires careful use of mics, EQ, dynamics, reverb, etc. with the goal of "do no harm". And those mixes can be very compelling and can sound marvelous.

Another approach asks, "What is expected in this current (or some specific) mix/production culture/era? This approach follows many tightly held rules and complex processes. It requires serious ears and experience, as well as some extensive expensive gear/tech. The results are somewhat homogenous but impressive.

And a third approach asks, "How do we make good musical and sonic art? How do I make something new?" Though this approach is less focused on rules (even rules of thumb), we can't get away from the fact that listeners have their limits.

Perhaps in reality, most projects involve some aspects of all three approaches.

In the arts, it is pretty common and easy for people to attach inflated labels, to their qualifications/experience. I wonder if some of that is related to how device and software businesses (like Apple) market their products; e.g., "make a feature film with our new phone."

Another side-rant...
A friend recently recorded a collection of songs at some kind of studio (I don't know if it was a home studio). It turned out ok. I didn't like how obviously compressed everything was. To me the compression amounted to damage. I don't doubt the engineer has skills, talents, passion, and experience; and I won't take away anything from them. But the end-product left somethings to be desired.

[bayswater]

there are so many people now calling themselves a producer or an engineer that just don't deserve the title, and I guess I blame some of that on the ease and cost of setting up recording gear. JMO.

That has to be true. If they didn’t even have the equipment, the claim would be absurd.

[mikehalloran]

When my daughter did her Masters project at (name withheld to protect the guilty), I begged her to let me see the stems and do an alternate mix — just so that she'd have something to compare. Nope, the 'professor' did it all on his own with inadequate speakers and no subwoofer and that's the CD.

This guy teaches students.

The next Christmas, I bought her some decent speakers, a sub and a monitor controller—following summer, I went to Texas and set it up.

Sheesh!

Rant over.

[HCMarkus]

I don't have a clue what I'm doing; I just buy every new piece of gear that comes out and limit mixes by 15-20dB.

[mikehalloran]

I don't have a clue what I'm doing; I just buy every new piece of gear that comes out and limit mixes by 15-20dB.

Be careful. You just displayed actual knowledge.

[Phil O]

HC, have I got the Youtube video for you. This dude makes the BEST mixes and he starts with a master bus chain that he uses on every single mix. It's awesome!!

[Phil O]

This guy teaches students.

And if I told you the name of the "professor" at this college I mentioned, you'd really freak out.

[bayswater]

I don't have a clue what I'm doing; I just buy every new piece of gear that comes out and limit mixes by 15-20dB.

Same here, but I'm starting to notice it all sounds the same.

[HCMarkus]

HC, have I got the Youtube video for you. This dude makes the BEST mixes and he starts with a master bus chain that he uses on every single mix. It's awesome!!

SO, you finally found my Youtube channel.

[Killahurts]

YouTube is filled with engineer wannabe clickbait.

Yep, it's (for sale) all over social media as well. Taking one of the most complex arts/sciences in existence, and selling its secrets for $49..

I hate all of it, because it is going to waste time and money that a young engineer/producer could be using to gain real experience, which at the end of the day, is the only way to get the knowledge necessary to make great recordings.

Same thing with music "You don't have to know anything about music to be a composer/producer! Just get these MIDI chord packs, and you ca....... SKIP ADS>

(I'll never know how it ends, hehe)