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Originally Posted by Synthy08  I swear gearslutz thinks hip hop is the shittiest thing on the planet. |
What I think about hip hop has nothing to do with the topic at hand. I'm talking about making a
CAREER out of engineering. If you want to confine yourself to recording only one style of music - whether it's hip hop or polka - that's perfectly fine as a weekend warrior or hobbyist. My point is, you'll have a hard time making a living if you can't branch out and work in other genres, with other people, in other places. That's like a web designer saying he only wants to work on toy store webpages, or an architect who only designs 19th-century Victorian houses. It's cool to specialize, but it's career suicide to pigeonhole yourself, especially in the earlier stages of what one hopes to become one's career.
Not to mention, learning other skills makes you a better engineer at whatever genre you specialize in. I mix a lot of hip hop, and it informs the way I approach a stoner rock record. It also informs the way I track drums, which in turn informs the way I mix R&B tracks. It goes on and on...
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Originally Posted by ALX Music Group this is a hiphop+rap forum isnt it?! - and if you want to be a good hiphop engineer/producer then you have to grind it out at home, or small studios and learn by doing... |
Engineering and producing are two very, very different things. Are you talking about an "engineer/producer" (as in, a dude who engineers and produces), as opposed to "engineering" and "producing" (as in, two separate trades for two separate people)? The engineering side is still best learned, IMHO, in a professional studio environment. How successful the individual may be learning the production end at home varies quite a bit from person to person, situation to situation, and studio to studio, but I'd venture a guess that working in a home studio won't fully prepare you for work in a pro room, whereas working in a pro room will more than prepare you for working in a home studio.
I suppose it's a question of the speed and efficiency with which you are trying to learn the craft. Working at home may certainly get you there eventually, but a great studio staffed with talented people working on good records will get you there much, much faster.
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Originally Posted by ALX Music Group Are you going to learn how to mic a drum set - no, but you will learn your mpc4000, are you going to learn how to use an SSL - unlikly, but you will get proficient in PT and learn to get your pres and comps. |
As I said, knowing an MPC4000 and Pro Tools is not sufficient for building a career. What happens if you have a client that blows up, and you're asked to engineer their record, in a large facility. Not knowing how to record unfamiliar instruments, or how to operate the desk, or how to set up a headphone mix will get you fired fast, and you'll have blown your big chance. If you're lucky, there will be a great assistant on hand to save your ass, but the artist, producer, and everyone else involved will take notice and that assistant will land the next gig with your artist (in fact, that's precisely how many of us got our starts
).
My whole point is, limiting yourself to sub-professional environments puts a glass ceiling on your own career.
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Originally Posted by ALX Music Group A whole lot of large studios dont really know how to work with rap - just because you go to a large studio and see a pro working his console and getting tips doesnt make you better - what happened to establishing one's own sound - developing your own style. |
Then book a different "large studio"! Problem solved. I can promise you: the large studios that
do know how to work with rap will do a better job at serving the client than your home studio, 100% of the time, if for no other reason than simply that the vibe is better, or the lounge is really nice, or having interns to grab you rolling papers is convenient and kinda fun.
I've worked in rooms that were amazing, technically-speaking, with great acoustics and gear, but found my clients requesting inferior rooms simply because they didn't like the color of carpets, or the paint job in the control room. When it comes to engineering (and especially producing), it's not always all about the sonics.
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Originally Posted by ALX Music Group and maybe Im being unclear when I say homestudio - Im not talking about an FL studios and a USB Mic. |
In that case, you're probably talking about a significant investment (correct me I'm wrong), into equipment the user may not know how to properly operate. Hardly a sound business plan. That said, it explains some of those distorted vocals I'm always being asked to try to mix...
