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allencollins · 2nd August 2008

I have to agree.
When I was in bands in the early 80's and recorded a lot Maybe 2 out of 10 engineers had a clue.

But to be fair maybe, the 8 that sucked just didn't have a clue about the type of music I played. Which of course was metal back then.

In Boston back then, not one engineer had a clue about metal/punk/hardcore. But nowadays I think it's the opposite. I think there are plenty of great metal/underground/heavy rock engineers. But now it's tough to find someone who really knows how to make a huge melodic record. It's all alternative, pop and metal crap here now.

So I don't actually think all engineers suck I just think all engineers suck at 'something'. Just hope your music is not that something. So do your research. Most Engineers have blinders on. They only excel at what THEY like. If you are into huge production like me and you go to an engineer who likes 'the killers' or 'radiohead' your shit out of luck. There is a 75% change he will not do your stuff justice and it will sound thin and boring.

I used to have engineers fill out a questionnaire before I would work with them back then. I used to ask them if they heard of labels like Combat and Metal Blade and producers like Brian Slagel or Alex Perialas. If they said no I would move on and find someone who was on the same page. Unfortunately
I had to go out of state to find competent engineers back then.

But again to be fair. If you came into my studio and your band sounded cheezy like coldplay or some other crap like rascall flatts you can bet I wouldn't do your type of music justice cuz I wouldn't be in to it or even want to produce something with no substance. Though I could if the $$$ was right and I wasn't too turned off that day.

So find an engineer who respects you and your musical vision and hire them and then they won't suck.
Let's face it, you're not gonna hire Trevor Horn or Eddie Offford to produce/engineer a Slayer record. But on the flipside you're not gonna hire Rick Rubin or Brian Slagel to produce a Yes record.

2nd August 2008	#49
allencollins 3 + infractions, forum membership suspended. Joined: Oct 2004 Location: Rosedale Cemetery Singing Beach, MA Posts: 4,873	I have to agree. When I was in bands in the early 80's and recorded a lot Maybe 2 out of 10 engineers had a clue. But to be fair maybe, the 8 that sucked just didn't have a clue about the type of music I played. Which of course was metal back then. In Boston back then, not one engineer had a clue about metal/punk/hardcore. But nowadays I think it's the opposite. I think there are plenty of great metal/underground/heavy rock engineers. But now it's tough to find someone who really knows how to make a huge melodic record. It's all alternative, pop and metal crap here now. So I don't actually think all engineers suck I just think all engineers suck at 'something'. Just hope your music is not that something. So do your research. Most Engineers have blinders on. They only excel at what THEY like. If you are into huge production like me and you go to an engineer who likes 'the killers' or 'radiohead' your shit out of luck. There is a 75% change he will not do your stuff justice and it will sound thin and boring. I used to have engineers fill out a questionnaire before I would work with them back then. I used to ask them if they heard of labels like Combat and Metal Blade and producers like Brian Slagel or Alex Perialas. If they said no I would move on and find someone who was on the same page. Unfortunately I had to go out of state to find competent engineers back then. But again to be fair. If you came into my studio and your band sounded cheezy like coldplay or some other crap like rascall flatts you can bet I wouldn't do your type of music justice cuz I wouldn't be in to it or even want to produce something with no substance. Though I could if the $$$ was right and I wasn't too turned off that day. So find an engineer who respects you and your musical vision and hire them and then they won't suck. Let's face it, you're not gonna hire Trevor Horn or Eddie Offford to produce/engineer a Slayer record. But on the flipside you're not gonna hire Rick Rubin or Brian Slagel to produce a Yes record.