Author: urmadmin

Introduction To The Series:

Learning How To Learn is one of the most crucial steps you can take towards becoming great at pretty much anything – And what better place to learn than from the minds of people who have actually been doing the job successfully for years?

In this ongoing series of Blogs, we’ll explore the valuable words of wisdom bestowed upon us by some of the most sought after names in the recording studio business, and discover how you can apply this advice to your own situation.

This week, we’re peering slack-jawed into a vast abyss of knowledge, ruled by none other than modern metal production Godfather: Andy Sneap.

 

NOTE: If you’re hoping to find some “secret mix settings” or “magic formulas” in this article then you might as well leave now… I can guarantee you that the real secrets behind each of these engineers’ success are their ears and personal tastes.

Remember:

Following the practical “workflow and decision-making” advice these guys have to offer from years of experience in the business is far more valuable than trying to copy the settings they’ve used for specific songs!

VOLUME 7: Andy Sneap

Who Is Andy Sneap?

Andy Sneap is a UK-based engineer/mixer/producer who’s played a huge role in producing some of the most genre-defining metal albums of the 90’s & 2000’s.

Some of the select artists he’s worked with include:

Killswitch Engage

Bullet For My Valentine

Amon Amarth

Arch Enemy

Machine Head

H.E.L.L

Trivium

Accept

AND MANY MORE…

Now that you know exactly who you’re dealing with, let’s cut straight to the chase!

Here Are 4 Pieces Of Incredible Audio Advice From Andy Sneap:

1 – The Benefits Of Being A “Musician Engineer”:

“I think one of the reasons why I got on so well in this line of work is because I have been on the other side of the glass, so to speak. I was that eighteen year old kid, sitting there and being told what to do by a producer, though that was a long time ago now. I did three albums as a guitarist before I actually got into this line of work, so it often feels like I am almost like the extra member of the band when I’m in the studio.” – Andy Sneap

See The World (Of Audio) Through Different Eyes:

• Being able to actually play an instrument has some huge benefits when it comes to producing and engineering other musicians.

• Although you can get by with nothing more than the purely technical recording and mixing knowledge necessary to capture and polish a song, it’s gonna be rather difficult to fix certain issues during recording, or convey any musical ideas you may end up having to the band if you’re unable to express yourself accurately.

• I’m a long time drummer myself, and the fact that I do most of my production and recording work in collaboration with my brother, who is a great guitarist, bassist and keys player, means that we’re able to tag-team all of the rhythmic and melodic needs of our clients as they pop-up, while communicating our ideas clearly via the use of correct terminology.

• Although I can get by just fine on my own based on my built-up experience of working with various musicians, having another person to delegate these tasks to really helps take a load-off while allowing me to focus on other aspects of the production.

• If you’re a guy who’s primarily into the tech with minimal musical experience, at the very least, take the time to learn the in’s-and-out’s of how each instrument works. Having a decent understanding of whatever you’re recording will really help towards getting the most out of the people you work with, as well as giving you the knowledge necessary to capture the most usable performances.

• Take Andy Sneap for instance: He’s a guitarist, not a drummer, but is well-renowned for his amazing drum tones due to the fact that he has an incredible understanding of exactly how the instrument works.

2 – Bands Being Able to Play Their Albums:

“I think it’s already gone past the point of bands being honest in the studio. I mean, as soon as we started dropping in on guitar solos with a machine that didn’t make a click when you dropped in and out, that’s when the honesty went out the window. But at the end of the day, it’s whatever it takes to get the job done. You’ve got a certain amount of time; a certain budget, and if you have to cheat to get the job done, then it’s up to the band to deliver it live after that. If it’s the case of going back and rehearsing it for two months to be able to go on the road and play it properly, they shouldn’t be writing the riffs that they can’t play… A lot of these guys, when they realize what you can do in the studio, will go beyond their means. But people know their limitations, and as a producer I’d rather hear a slow and melodic guitar solo played well than someone who’s trying to play blisteringly fast and can’t do it.”– Andy Sneap

“I think the quality of playing has dropped. I don’t think the quality of playing is there as it was in the 80s… Back then, you actually had to be able to play your songs to learn them, you’d get together as a band and rehearse them to learn and write them. People nowadays are writing on computers and coming into the studio and a lot of the time the band hasn’t even played it as a band. It’s just a different way of thinking, and I guess it’s more convenient for the bands.”– Andy Sneap

“You don’t have to cheat with the old-school guys, because they learned the craft. It’s almost like kids are trying to run before they can walk now. I think as a producer, you have to draw the line a little bit: use technology as a tool, tidy bits up and knock it into shape, but be realistic. If a band is really struggling on a part, say, “well, look, guys, are you going to be able to play this live?” But at the end of the day, you have to be able to deliver a product within deadline and budget, and if cheating a little bit helps you do that, and you know the guys will be able to play it with a bit more rehearsing, then it’s the right thing to do. At the end of the day, the album has to be THE definitive version of the songs, doesn’t it?” – Andy Sneap

Do Whatever It Takes To Make A Good Album:

• One of the seemingly never-ending and worn-out music production arguments which has gone on for decades is “audio correction vs. musical realism”.

• The truth is, your job as an audio engineer is to do whatever’s necessary to reach a certain standard of quality which is pretty much EXPECTED in today’s music business.

Ask yourself this: When was the last time you heard a blatant mistake or poor quality of musicianship in a professionally recorded/produced/mixed commercial album?

• Given the fact that the entirety of the professional audio community is utilising all of the editing and correction tools at their disposal in order to make the most commercially viable product possible, simply refusing to take-part in the world of editing based on your ideals instantly puts you at a significant disadvantage.

• By all means, if you’re lucky enough to come across the kind of musicianship which needs absolutely no crutches to stand-on in order to produce incredible raw material that will make the final cut, then it’s totally fine to leave it untouched! But the truth is, until you reach a certain status within the industry, such occurrences are probably gonna be rather rare…

My primary point? – It’s ok to want to stick to a set of ideals, but you have to weigh up how viable it’s going to be from an audio career perspective to try and get each sub-par musician you come across to fix their playing over the course of days, weeks or months before recording, vs. simply doing a bit of correctional editing to resolve the problem on-the-spot…

3 – There’s No Substitute For Experience:

“I see it on my forum all the time, “What plugins do you use, what samples do you use, what mic techniques do you use?”, and it’s alright knowing that stuff, but it’s actually about knowing what you’re listening for, the problems you’re listening for, and hearing the big picture and how it all goes together. I think it’s only experience which can teach you that… I listen to albums I’ve done over the last 15 years and I can hear how I was learning. You go through different phases and different tricks you were using and it all adds up. You work with different engineers and pick bits off different people and it’s only experience that’ll teach you all that. – Andy Sneap

The Cure For ACD (Andy-Copying-Disorder):

• If there’s an engineer which every newcomer to the audio world seems to get instantly-obsessed with, it’s Andy Sneap.

• This is based primarily on the fact that he’s played a huge part in the development of the “modern-metal” sound and personally championed a lot of the now-standardised production techniques used by engineers all over the globe.

• The problem comes when people become too obsessed with figuring out the exact, “definitive” settings which guys like Andy dial-in on their gear and as a result, never improve through the all-important trial-and-error experimentation that this job really calls for.

• The truth is, a lot of the “magic settings” you see floating around in the depths of the internet are nothing more than random screenshots/photos which were taken at a random point in history and assigned false meaning based on assumptions.

NOTE: Fun Fact: The famous “Andy Sneap Waves C4 Multiband Compressor Settings” which everyone goes nuts over are nothing more than the DEFAULT Waves C4 preset with one of the threshold controls tweaked?

• I can guarantee you that %90 of the “Andy Sneap signature settings” (or any other engineer for that matter) you’ve come across in your travels are nothing more than the rough result of a few minutes of intuition-based tweaking, and will only work as intended on the specific track they were dialled in for!

• This being said, one of the absolute best ways to learn is through dissecting the specific settings which one of your mixing idols has actually used in order to gain a better understanding of what they were hearing in THAT particular sound.

My Main Point? – Use your common sense… Stop searching for the easy way out via arbitrarily copying others’ random settings and simply start clocking in the hours. You won’t waste valuable time which could’ve been spent making actual improvements to your skills, and your productions will be much better off for it!

4 – Acclimatise To Your Clients:

“You do get to know people’s characters, especially when you’ve done a few albums with them. When you get involved in an album you’ve got an idea on how it should be, but I’m not one of these producers where I’m like “It’s gotta be like this, it’s gotta be done my way”. I’ll always try to work with a musician. I think the trick is in finding that balance and getting to know people’s personalities and strengths within the band. If one guitarist does something better than the other, then there’s always a bit of an ego battle going on. Give them both something to do and try to find a strength within each player. I always try to compliment someone if they do a good job as well, it doesn’t hurt! I think you’ve always gotta be positive in the studio. If a producer is there to say well done then it’s nice for the band to hear that. Getting on with people is half the battle when you’re locked in a box with people for months on end, so you’ve gotta have a good time and enjoy it!”– Andy Sneap

Personalised Production:

• In the same way that you can’t expect to produce the same results twice while working with varying gear in the studio, you can’t expect a single recording strategy to fit two separate people.

• It’s important to try and be aware of the subtleties in each person’s personality and to acclimatise your recording approach based on their specific needs in order to keep them in a state of mind which is conducive to creativity and delivering great performances.

• Although there are definite “better” and “time-tested” ways of doing certain things in the studio, you simply can’t risk alienating your clients by forcing them into uncomfortable situations for the sake of appeasing your own agenda.

Here are a few classic examples of “Client Acclimatisation” which come to mind:

1 – Expressive singers like Freddie Mercury and Bono often preferring to record the entirety of the track while performing with a hand-held dynamic mic in the control room in order to achieve more of a genuine connection to the music.

• Why would you try and neuter the energy and “natural feel” which makes a particular performer great by forcing them to stand still in front of a condenser microphone and record the song in tiny “perfect” sections?

• Technical perfection is completely worthless if all you’re capturing is empty, meaningless noise. Always make your decisions on a case-by-case basis!

2 – Assigning different roles to guitarist based on their particular “studio strengths”. EX: Matt Heafy from Trivium tracking most of the rhythm guitars while Corey Beaulieu tracks most of the leads. Or Rob Flynn from Machine Head tracking most of the rhythm guitars while Phil Demmel tracks most of the leads.

• Some guitarists have better rhythmic accuracy than others, while other guitarist will have more to say through their solos due to their melodic sensitivities. There’s nothing wrong with trying to convey what you think each guitarists strong-suite is to the band if you think it’s for the benefit of the song and will produce better results.

3 – Butch Vig recording the vocals for Nirvana’s “Something In The Way” while Kurt Cobain lay on a couch whispering quietly into the microphone for a more heartfelt performance.

• You’ve heard the stories of famous singers burning incense, lighting candles and making seemingly-ridiculous requests while recording in the studio.

• The truth is, nothing is ridiculous if it allows for an environment in which you’re able to capture a perfect take full of feeling and genuine emotion.

CONCLUSION:

To quickly summarise the primary points I’ve been trying to get across within this Blog in a few short sentences:

1 – Regardless of whether you play an instrument or not, it’s important to have a core understanding of how each musical element works in order to communicate accurately in the studio and accommodate to any of your clients’ needs.

2 – The way you choose to approach pitch correction and editing in your productions is entirely up to you. However, in my opinion, allowing for mediocrity to make it’s way onto your final products is unprofessional, and will most likely result in criticism which is bad for your business.

3 – Stop blindly copying others’ settings! They’re not an accurate representation of an engineer’s “definitive” approach and won’t work on different source material.

4 – Building good relationships with clients is less about the technical side of the process and more about the way you choose to interact with them on a daily basis in the studio.

 

Final Words:

This concludes “Learn From The Legends – Volume 7: Andy Sneap.” I hope that this article has given you some new ideas to try out during your next project. Be sure to comment below if any of this information has helped you out, or if you have any questions.

Stay tuned for more production/mixing related articles in the not-so-distant future.

---

Read Learn From The Legends – Volume 1: Chris Lord-Alge here!

Read Learn From The Legends – Volume 2: Randy Staub here!

Read Learn From The Legends – Volume 3: Andy Wallace here!

Read Learn From The Legends – Volume 4: Andrew Scheps here!

Read Learn From The Legends – Volume 5: Jacquire King here!

Read Learn From The Legends – Volume 6: Joe Barresi here!

Want mix tips from URM Academy? Read them here!

Nail The Mix is our online mixing school that gives you REAL multi-tracks from REAL bands, plus a mixing class from the producer who recorded it. Past guests include Periphery, Chelsea Grin, Machine Head and State Champs. Join now for instant access!

 

Introduction To The Series:

EQ, it’s undoubtedly the most powerful processing tool at an audio engineer’s disposal, but with this being said, it’s always important to keep the following saying in mind while using it:

“With great power, comes great responsibility”

Too Much of A Good Thing…

Although good equalisation can completely transform a bad sound… It can just as easily ruin a perfectly decent sound if used incorrectly. The problem is, it’s not uncommon for inexperienced engineers to drastically overdo the amount of EQ they use early on in their careers due to various misconceptions and bad habits that can develop during the initial learning period…

Given the fact that truly comprehending various EQ concepts often involves years of practice and multiple “eureka” moments before they really begin to make sense, Here are 3 pieces of advice towards speeding up your learning process and preventing EQ overkill in YOUR mixes:

1 – Microphone Placement – Small Movements = Big Difference!

A common mistake which newer engineers seem to make when they first delve into the world of recording is taking on a “Fix it in the mix” mentality.

When engineers talk about “fixing it in the mix” they’re usually referring to using after-the-fact processing to improve material which has been recorded poorly/carelessly. The problem is, working in this way is like using a band-aid to cover up a stab wound.

AKA: It’s BARELY going to fix the issue!

Get It Right At The Source!

Here are a few tried-and-true methods of improving the quality of your recorded material so that it doesn’t need “fixing”:

• Use A Different Microphone: There isn’t a “one size fits all” solution when it comes to choosing microphones. Heck, it’s not uncommon for an expensive microphone to get beaten by a much cheaper one simply due to the fact that it “fits” the source better.

• Given the fact that no two instruments or voices you record will ever be exactly the same, you can’t assume that a certain microphone will always be the correct choice for a particular task.

• Depending on what resources you have at your disposal, always make sure you’re using the right tool for the job. Perform comparisons. Take note of what works best for each specific source. You never know when the most unlikely microphone candidate may defy all expectations and end up sounding absolutely incredible.

Note: Check out this awesome shootout by Ola Englund for a great demonstration of how different microphones can change a guitar tone:

• Move/Angle The Microphone: Often moving or angling a microphone by the slightest amount can make all of the difference in the world towards capturing a better tonal representation of a source.

• When I first started recording, my process for determining where to place a microphone was usually to lazily google what the concensus on the most common placement was. Although blindly following others’ opinions produced pretty decent results for a few years, it wasn’t until I started tweaking these positions to better fit each instrument that I was truly satisfied with the sounds I was capturing.

NOTE: Check out this awesome video by Warren Huart from “Produce Like A Pro” for a great runthrough of how different mic placements affect raw tones:

2 – Build “Mix Ready” Tones – Shape The Tone As If It’s The Last Thing You’ll Do!

Over the course of modern music history, the job of an audio engineer has been divided into multiple stages.

Back in the day, it wasn’t uncommon for a single engineer/producer to oversee the entirety of an album’s all-round production process from start to end. These days, it’s not uncommon to have a separate producer, recording engineer, audio editor, mixing engineer and mastering engineer involved in a single project.

There isn’t necessarily a problem with dividing the music creation workload between several people… But this way of working has led to a misconception that each step of the process needs to be a big, elaborate “event.”

Rather than doing what’s actually necessary, people will often try to cram-in an arbitrary amount of “stuff” into each step of the production process just for the sake fulfilling the job title they’ve been given…

My Point?

The truth is, it’s completely viable for a “raw” recording of a guitar tone to fit directly into a mix without the need for any further processing… If it’s been shaped based on those intentions during the recorded stage!

NOTE: Check out the Periphery and Gojira NailTheMix sessions for perfect examples of “mix-ready” tones which didn’t need much after-the-fact processing at all to sit perfectly in the mix:

Here are a few things to consider while trying to dial in a Periphery or Gojira-esque “mix-ready” guitar tone:

• Use the right instrument for the song/part: The guitar you use while recording is the first part of the chain, and is therefore crucial to get right. Although you can technically use any type of guitar and probably get OK results… There are definite go-to options when it comes to each genre.

• Do the necessary research. Don’t be afraid to experiment with your own options in order to figure out which guitars are best suited for each task. If in doubt, check out interviews with your favourite artists and try to determine what they tend to use for achieving their sounds.

• Change your strings: Fresh strings are much brighter than battered ones, and will make a significant improvement to the amount of clarity, pick attack and sustain your instrument is producing from the get-go. FACT: If you’re not willing to spend a few $ on a fresh pair of strings at least once a week… You don’t deserve a good guitar tone.

• Pick the right amp for the job: The amplifier you use while recording is extremely important. EX: You can’t expect to dial in a killer high-gain metal tone through a vintage Vox, and you can’t expect to dial in a beautiful jazz tone through a Peavey 5150…

• Make sure you’re using something that’s actually suitable for your intended purpose… And even if you are, make sure you’re using it to it’s maximum potential by doing the necessary research into figuring out the amplifier’s “sweet spot” settings.

• Although I don’t condone copying exact amp settings from other engineer, there’s definite value in understanding why a certain “settings combo” is the go-to for a certain amplifier and tweaking these settings to better-fit your own material.

NOTE: Alestorm Producer and all-round “guitar wizard” Lasse Lammert’s YouTube tone comparison and demo videos are always a great point of reference for myself when I’m trying to figure out the best uses for a particular amplifier. Here’s an example:

• Speaker cabinets: When recorded, they’re basically like a filter that shapes the sound of your amp tone. Different brands and sizes of cab are built from different materials and shipped with varying speakers. So, each will require a personalised recording setup to result in a “filter” that actually sounds pleasing to the ear.

• If you have the option, always try out multiple speaker cab/microphone combinations before settling on a particular sound. Even the individual speakers within a 4×12 or 2×12 cabinet can often sound drastically different to each other, and are worth comparing side-by-side.

• Another important factor to keep in mind is the interaction between the cab and the recording space! Make sure you’re placing the speakers in a position where they aren’t over-exciting any particular frequencies within the room and causing unpleasant resonances that will eat into the clarity of your tone.

NOTE: Check out Glenn Fricker from SpectreSoundStudios’ great cab comparison video below for an accurate representation of the some of the differences between speaker cabinets:

Shaping Your Tone – Conclusion:

To finish off this section, here are some quick tips which you can instantly apply to your next guitar recording session for better results with less EQ:

• Don’t dial-in your tones based on what you’re hearing coming out of the cab in the room: What you’re hearing and what the microphone is picking up are two completely different sounds. Always make tonal decisions based on what you’re hearing through your studio monitors as that’s what’s actually being recorded. (As long as your monitoring is accurate)

• Guitar tones in a full mix are WAY brighter than you think: You can’t expect your tones to cut-through and compete with a dense mix if you’re dialing-them-in in isolation. My advice would be to dial in your tone against a pre-mixed drum pattern in order to get a better idea of how bright it needs to be in context.

• Reference Your Favourite Tones: One of the best decisions you can make while dialing in a guitar tone is to actively reference the bands you love. Next time you set out to record guitar, open up a pro-mix which has awesome guitar tones. Forge your own tone while comparing them back-and-forth. You’ll be amazed at how differently you end up dialing in your amp, and most likely be much happier with the results!

3 – A Different Tool For The Job – Don’t Automatically Reach For An EQ!

Whenever we come across an element in a mix that doesn’t sound quite right, our first inclination is to reach for an EQ, but what if I told you that there’s often a much more intuitive solution to the problem?

Here are a few practical examples:

• A Bass Guitar That Won’t Cut: One of simple realities about bass guitars in metal is that they have a very difficult time cutting through the mix unless they’re fairly gritty and distorted. You can try to make a clean DI cut via strategic EQ boosts all you want, but the reality is there’s usually too much for them to compete with for it to really be enough.

• The Fix: The solution to this problem is often as simple as running the clean bass signal through some kind of drive unit to give it a more prominent and saturated upper-mid/high-end presence.

• Literally anything will do the trick: A guitar amp, stomp box, distortion plugin, or even a tape simulator… As long as it sounds good, it’ll work!

NOTE: Check out this video of Adam “Nolly” Getgood dialing in a bass tone for Periphery’s “Prayer Position” NailTheMix using a tape simulator. It sounds awesome!

• Cymbals Are Too Harsh: If there’s one element which is prone to fatiguing your listener’s ears and getting on their nerves unless treated appropriately in the mix, it’s the cymbals. Although the most common way of dealing with problematic “cymbal ringing” is to whip out a surgical EQ and notch out the offending frequencies, another cool way of addressing the problem is by using the high-end dampening effect of an analog tape simulation plugin.

• The Fix: Experiment with various tape emulation settings in order to effectively “bleed-off” some of the cymbal harshness while also warming them up in a pleasant manner.

• A signature characteristic of Analog tape is the fact that it rolls-off the high-end content of whatever you feed into it via a gentle low-pass filtering effect. This, combined with the nice low-end bump effect which vintage tape is famous for, can really result in much warmer and pleasant sounding overhead tracks.

• Vocals Aren’t “In Your Face”: One of the biggest mistakes I made in my first year as a sound engineer was trying to get my vocals to sit “on-top” of my mixes with EQ and not much else. I’d spend hours EQ’ing and re-EQ’ing my vocals, trying to get them to stay on the forefront of my mixes to no-avail, and would get really frustrated as a result.

• The Fix: It wasn’t until I discovered how to properly dial-in a compressor that I realised that reducing the dynamic range of the vocals was the real ingredient which I’d been missing rather than drastic EQ.

• Don’t get me wrong, subtle brightening and tweaking the mid-range of your vocals to keep them in the forefront of the mix is extremely important… But slamming a vocal with an 1176 and feeling it push its’ way to the forefront of the speakers is an extremely satisfying process which often leads to instant gratification.

NOTE: These are just a few simple examples off the top of my head. Basically, my point is that you should always consider whether EQ is really the correct course of action when trying to resolve a problem before jumping to EQ based solutions.

CONCLUSION:

That’s all the time we have for this week. Next time, I’ll be giving away even more secrets to achieving better mix results without resorting to over equalisation.

To briefly sum up the advice I’ve discussed in a few points:

1 – Choose the correct microphone for a job and moving it around to find the best recording position. It’s far more effective than drastic EQ after-the-fact.

2 – Craft your guitar tones with the intention of them making the final cut; you won’t have to process them nearly as much during mixing.

3 – EQ isn’t the be-all-end all… There are often far better solutions to problems which you would usually reach for an EQ to solve.

Final Words:

This concludes “3 Steps Towards Less EQ While Mixing.” I hope that this article has given you some new ideas to try out during your next project. Be sure to comment below if any of this information has helped you out, or if you have any questions.

Stay tuned for more production/mixing related articles in the not-so-distant future!

---

Want mix tips from URM Academy? Read them here!

Nail The Mix is our online mixing school that gives you REAL multi-tracks from REAL bands, plus a mixing class from the producer who recorded it. Past guests include Periphery, Chelsea Grin, Machine Head and State Champs.  Join now for instant access!

Introduction To The Series:

Learning How To Learn is one of the most crucial steps you can take towards becoming great at pretty much anything – And what better place to learn than from the minds of people who have actually been doing the job successfully for years?

In this ongoing series of Blogs, we’ll explore the valuable words of wisdom bestowed upon us by some of the most sought after names in the recording studio business, and discover how you can apply this advice to your own situation.

This week, we’re diffusing some of the knowledge bombs rained down upon us by rock engineering legend: Joe Barresi.

NOTE: If you’re hoping to find some “secret mix settings” or “magic formulas” in this article then you might as well leave now… I can guarantee you that the real secrets behind each of these engineers’ success are their ears and personal tastes.

Remember:

Following the practical “workflow and decision-making” advice these guys have to offer from years of experience in the business is far more valuable than trying to copy the settings they’ve used for specific songs!

VOLUME 6: Joe Barresi

Who Is Joe Barresi?

Joe Barresi is an American engineer & producer known for his punchy mixes, crazy experiments and important role in developing the stoner rock genre.

Some of the select artists he’s worked with include:

Queens Of The Stone Age

Soundgarden

Tool

Parkway Drive

Volbeat

Chevelle

Slipknot

Avenged Sevenfold

AND MANY MORE…

Now that you know exactly who you’re dealing with, let’s cut straight to the chase!

Here Are 5 Pieces Of Incredible Audio Advice From Joe Barresi:

1 – The Devil’s In The Details

“I like to focus on things like how a part is played, which guitar is played, where you position amplifiers, the drums, & the vocalist, what console you track on, the kind of mics and mic pres you use, and so on… Stuff like that matters to me. Personality is mandatory, and every little bit helps. All of this is about the art of making records, which is getting lost at the moment.” – “Evil” Joe Barresi

Why obsess over somebody else’s sound when you can find your own?

• As music fans, it’s understandable that we often get a bit caught-up on the specific gear/techniques our musical and engineering heroes have used in their previous productions.

• Although doing research into what was used to create a specific sound can help you achieve better results in your own productions… Blindly copying exact settings doesn’t really have much to do with creativity.

• Making decisions on a case-by-case basis and allowing the song/parts to dictate the sonic direction for each instrument is much more likely to produce great results than idolising some random settings you’ve jotted down from a “making-of” documentary.

• The more I produce and mix, the more I realise that you can’t rely solely on presets or settings which others have used when shaping a sound. Why? Because there are simply too many variables involved in the music creation process for this approach to make sense!

• Being able to experiment and stumble across cool sounds is one of the most rewarding things about music production. So why rob yourself of having fun by turning the process into a formula?

2 – Feel Vs Perfection?

“Feel is definitely what people pick up on. When everything is perfect, then there is no character. These days with the ease of digital editing and manipulation, it is easy to fix everything such as bad sounds, unsteady meters, awful tuning, etc. We’ve put more emphasis on using our eyes and not on our ears. It’s sad…” – Joe Barresi

Hooked on a feeling…

• I think it’s safe to say that 90% of listeners have absolutely no clue as to what really goes into recording or mixing a record. The truth is, those minuscule details we over-emphasise on a daily basis… They wouldn’t be able to pinpoint them to save their lives.

• We often like to over-analyse the simple act of listening to music due to our “superior understanding” of how music works as engineers, while in reality, the factors that determine whether somebody will like a song or not can be as basic as: “Does it make me feel something?”.

• This being the case, why not re-evaluate your priorities and spend more time nailing the thing they’ll be able to appreciate the most: A good song which feels great.

• Don’t get me wrong… The fact that a song is technically perfect doesn’t always mean that it has no feel. This fact is proven time and time again by bands such as Periphery, Gojira and The Devin Townsend Project, who put just as much importance into writing powerful songs as they do capturing them in the studio.

• My main point is that you can’t rely on technical perfection alone to carry a song. Remember: Nobody cares if your song has been tuned and edited to perfection if the riff, chorus or groove is dead.

3 – Preserving A Band’s/Musician’s “Sound”

“You, as a player, have your own style and sound. If you’re a Les Paul player, I am not going to make you play my Strat. Rather than me going and changing your amp to some completely foreign thing, I’ll take your sound and add some of my sound into it. Maybe your Strat isn’t great and doesn’t stay in tune, OK, let’s get your Strat set up first because you are used to playing it. Your muscle memory is always the most important thing in the studio. You don’t just want to be forced into playing something that is totally foreign. That’s just bizarre to me. In general, I’m not going to try and change too much. I am just going to augment.” – Joe Barresi

Don’t replace their sound, embrace and build on it!

• Imagine the following scenario: Slash comes into your studio wanting to record a new album. Would you try to make him record with a Kiesel guitar through a Peavey 5150 (aka “Your Sound”)??? Or would you simply let him bring in his favourite Les Paul/Marshall combination and stick some microphones in-front of it?
• My opinion? The latter approach makes A LOT more sense…

• Although we may not come across guitarists with as recognisable of a sound as Slash on a daily basis, the basic concept I’ve outlined above applies to pretty much anybody you’ll work with in the studio (unless they’re absolutely clueless).

• In general, most guitarists will have a certain preference and unique quality when it comes to tone. Given the fact that each player’s “sound” is usually formed from a complex combination of their musical influences, personal tastes, and past experiences… Is it really fair to just scrap it completely???
• In my experience, people tend to appreciate it when you show interest in their preferences rather than just overruling them. This can even be something as simple as letting them use their favourite overdrive pedal… And just tweaking it slightly to better fit your own preferences.
• At the end of the day, this doesn’t mean that you should embrace anything which you think is low-quality. It’s your job as an engineer/producer to make sure things are as good as they can possibly be. So always do whatever you feel is in the best interest of the project.

A quick conclusion on this subject: The distinguishable differences between guitarists are what make them recognisable.

NOTE: In some cases, bands will want to work with you because of the fact that you have a recognisable sound of your own. Although this may seem like the best situation for an engineer to be in, doing the same thing every single day is bound to get boring at some point (in my personal opinion). Ultimately, how you go about producing is completely up to you… Just make sure you’re not pigeonholing yourself into a corner while doing so.

4 – How Loud Is Too Loud?

“I think it is ridiculous personally. I can tell you some great stories involving A & R guys, band members and managers that think a mix sucks until they hear it mastered ie: louder than hell. They can’t just use the volume knob on their stereo! – It has to be as hot out of the gate to be judged as good… The question is how much more louder can it be, and the answer is none, “none more louder”, to quote Spinal Tap.” – Joe Barresi

Loudness for the sake of loudness…

• I can’t tell you how many times in the past I’ve finished a mix which I thought was great… Only to ruin it while trying to reach “commercial” levels of loudness.

• The most annoying thing I realise when I think back on those times? There wasn’t even a valid need for them to be so loud in the first place!

• Regardless of how good you are at the maximisation process, it’s always important to weigh up what ACTUALLY needs doing in the mastering stage, and in some cases, whether there even needs to be a mastering stage…

• A great little story I remind myself of when it comes to mastering is the one regarding Andrew Scheps’ (Adele, Black Sabbath, Audioslave) switch from analog mixing to in-the-box mixing:

“One of my ITB mixes was mastered at Abbey Road, and they have amazing gear there and the guys are great – and when I sent the mix I warned them “I don’t know guys, let me know if you hear any problems,” and when the A&R guy walked in the room 30 minutes after mastering began the engineer said “I mean you paid for another hour so we can run it through some gear if you want but I’ve already done a flat transfer of the mix because it’s done – there was nothing to change.” – Andrew Scheps

• Although there are very few people who can churn out mixes as amazing as Andrew’s on a daily basis, the point of the story remains valid: A mix which is good in the first place might not even need mastering!

Short Conclusion: I’m not telling you to disregard mastering entirely, as most of us can still use an expert’s finishing touch on our mixes every now and then. My main point is to aim for a goal where your mixes are solid enough to stand on their own without having to rely on a final mastering stage to win people over.

5 – Conclusion: Don’t Let The Price Dictate The Quality!

“I have a certain criteria for myself that I’ve learned by working on records which I also preach to other people. Mainly, if you agree to do a job, always give 100%. If I’m getting paid a dollar or a million dollars, you’re still going to get 100% of me because I agreed to do it.”

“I learned that a long time ago because I recommended a friend for a gig and he wasn’t getting his day rate. I remember visiting him at the studio, being excited that I could hook my friend up with a gig and I knew he was going to be able to do the job well. He was hanging out in the lounge, watching TV and I was like, “What the hell are you doing dude?” He was like, “Well, you know I’m only getting so and so, so I’m only doing half the work. Half the money, half the work.” It made me look like an asshole and made me realize, “This is just stupid.” If you agree to do something, you do it.” – Joe Barresi

Going for gold, or for going greatness?

• A common trait I’ve noticed in pretty much all of the A-grade engineers I’ve studied and adored over the years is their true passion for making great art.

• Sure, there’s a lot of money involved in big studios, but it’s not always the primary driving force behind their work. Just watch/read any interview with Joe and you’ll witness first hand that he really puts his heart into everything he does, while caring first & foremost about serving the song. (It comes across in his productions too!)

• If someone comes to you with a low budget it’s at your own discretion as to whether to take it on or not. But in the case that you do accept it… You’d better make sure you’re paying the same amount of attention to detail and respect to the project that you would a big-buck endeavour.

• I know I’ve mentioned the following point before in previous articles, but I’ll bring it up again because of how important I think it is: People can gauge your intentions better than you think, and they’ll sense if you truly have their best interests in mind.

• No matter which stage of the studio food-chain you’re currently operating within, don’t forget about the main reasons which most likely got you into music in the first place: The love of great music, and the desire to make great music.

• Keep these things in mind with everything you do, regardless of how much you’re getting paid. I promise both you, and your customers will be happier for it!

To sum this up, here’s a relevant quote from Charlie And The Chocolate Factory:

“There’s plenty of money out there. They print more every day. Only a dummy would give this up for something as common as money. Are you a dummy?”

Final Words:

This concludes “Learn From The Legends – Volume 6: Joe Barresi.” I hope that this article has given you some new ideas to try out during your next project. Be sure to comment below if any of this information has helped you out, or if you have any questions.

Stay tuned for more production/mixing related articles in the not-so-distant future!

---

Read Learn From The Legends – Volume 1: Chris Lord-Alge here!

Read Learn From The Legends – Volume 2: Randy Staub here!

Read Learn From The Legends – Volume 3: Andy Wallace here!

Read Learn From The Legends – Volume 4: Andrew Scheps here!

Read Learn From The Legends – Volume 5: Jacquire King here!

Want mix tips from URM Academy? Read them here!

Nail The Mix is our online mixing school that gives you REAL multi-tracks from REAL bands, plus a mixing class from the producer who recorded it. Past guests include Periphery, Chelsea Grin, Machine Head and State Champs. Join now for instant access!