[Sigma]

Originally Posted by blackened

Most recording engineers are failed musicians. As a musician, I have very little respect for recording engineers. The field of audio engineering is a field that should have no ego. hahah like being a sucessfull [ not just money gauged] musician doesn't include a healthy dose of "ego"[..look at somesome like fripp... his ego precedes him] That is a job for musicians. A matter of fact, engineering is a job well suited for a musician. [to a degree i agree many great engineers also were musicians..] I am both an engineer and musician, and being a musician gives my ear the musical training that most engineers would only dream to have. [umm yeah if ya need to read a chart..but i just count beats...i can tell pitch issues better than most "musicians" i work with even though i don't know the note playing..i feel and point out "rubs" very quickley]

The problem here is that engineers charge a lot of money merely to do something they enjoy, and most engineers deliver less than satisfactory results. [ i agree i get PAID to mix and record music and it still amazes me that i feel i haven't "worked" a day in my life..i also agree that today 70% of people who call themseleves engineers couldn't make it as an A list assistant back in large studio tape daysThis is the reason for the explosion of everybody and their mother having a Pro Tools rig.[TRUE] What musician would want to deal with some screwball engineer when for the most part, we would be better off just doing it ourselves? [ agreed..i try to pull out of my clients head what they envision..to take me out of the equation would be great BUT most musicians can't wear both hats..some are true "auteurs" most are not]

The job of the engineer is to record the musician, and in the mixdown, enhance the vision of the musician in the recorded medium. As a musician, dealing with audio engineers is almost always a waste of time and money. [wrong read above] The prices studios charge are outrageous. If most studios could deliver a great product at a reasonable price, then that would be one thing, but the truth is most studios can't. [wrong.studios charge so much less today than before..BECAUSE there are so many more studios vying for biz]

I offer up a scenario. Band X goes into Studio Waste A Lot to record said album. Band X spends five thousand dollars in studio time tracking, and after mixdown they are unhappy with the results. Studio Waste A Lot says the mix is great, and the recording is great. What recourse does band X have. Court? Na probably not.

So, bands need to be very weary of all studios and flakey engineers. Most engineers suffer from extreme OCD. I'm saying that seriously. Also, I believe that after all is said and done, musicians should never assume that just because a studio has an SSL or Neve that they will get good results. Why do I say this? Well let's just say i've lived it. [it's the engineer and not the gear..YA HEAR?]
Blackened