How to Become a Good Producer/Engineer

This is a question I see and hear frequently, my answer to this question is a very simple one: Put your client first! Whether you are the producer, recording engineer, mixing or mastering engineer or all the above, always remember that the client is your lifeline in this industry. (along with your ears)

Collaboration between you and the client should be a producer/engineer's main focus, because an audio production is a team effort between all people involved, not just what YOU want. If you are just starting to work with a new artist, one of the best ways to get on the same page and understand each other's point of views is to have a pre-production meeting.

This is one of the most vital aspects of a recording; be it a single track or an entire album.

What is a pre-production meeting? This is the earliest stage in the recording process, generally you'll want to sit down with the artist (and their manager if available) and listen to some demos with them (especially if you are acting as producer) and help with any arrangement/composition issues you may hear, this is basically a brainstorming session that will really bring you and the artist closer as a unit, you will bring your ideas and wants up while listening and hopefully reach a median between what you would both like to hear in regards to their musical direction.

A pre-production meeting can last one day or a few days,however long it takes to establish that common ground which I like to call harmony. However that is not all that is involved in the pre-production stage. You will also decide upon which studio you wish to record at (unless a label or manager has the most say), who it will be mixed by and where it will be mastered at.

Other things such as which microphones will be used on what instruments is another thing to be discussed, create a list before you go into the studio and show it to the recording engineer and be open to any suggestions they may have to replace a particular microphone or three on your list, generally you'll want to think about leaving vocal microphones out of this list as every vocalist has a different voice and you will want to try out 3-4 different microphones to find that perfect match for your artist.

I view a pre-production meeting as a communication session. Get to know your client as a person, not as a dollar sign, find out what they are about and what their goals, standards and interests are. Even a simple interest phone call can work wonders if you have spoken to a client but had not heard back from them, ask them how they're doing and see if there is anything you can help them with.

Establishing friendships and showing interest in your fellow human beings can take you very far! After all is said and done, you may just have a new friend and client for life if you follow these small but simple rules. I cannot give answers to specific scenarios here because every scenario is different and requires a different answer for people involved.

Knowing when to say things and how to say them is a vital part of the communication process as well. If something is bad, never flat out say "That was absolutely terrible!" You could really hurt someone's feelings (especially a passionate vocalist). If you are in a session and a musician keeps making mistakes, offer a suggestion that will help them out, take a break, do whatever is needed to get them back into shape.

Every individual has a certain personality and not every producer/artist relationship is a positive one, sometimes some screaming and hollering will happen, remember to keep your cool though and try to get everything back on a positive playing field for everyone as negativity makes any session turn sour real fast. Empower your artist with positive comments: "That's great!" "Perfect!" and "keep going!" are some empowering comments but you must truly mean them and be enthusiastic about what you say, false flattery will get you nowhere! If something needs to be re-recorded, tell them that what they played was fine but you want to get some more takes to be on the safe side.

In closing, I cannot emphasize enough how detrimental poor communication skills are in the music industry and life in general, show interest in the people you are working with and carry a positive attitude as much as you can, wear a smile and walk tall!

Josh Hayward

Contributer Josh Hayward is a recording/mixing engineer trained at Willie Nelson's former Arlyn Studios. He teaches various classes such as Pro Tools and music marketing training and is the owner of Astral Plane Studios. For more on Mr. Hayward, his classes and Astral Plane Studios:

  Website: http://www.astralplanestudios.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/astralplanestudios
   Twitter: @AstralPStudios