Audio 201 Research Paper

Audio 201 - Introduction To The Audio Industry

The Audio Engineer as an Industry Professional

Remy Brooks - 207839

The role of the audio engineer is one of great importance in the music industry. Although their role is often overlooked, especially to the consumer who is generally more concerned about the final song and the image associated with the artist; their role is vital in ensuring that there is a great quality final product that the client is happy with. The audio engineer spends hours in the studio, carefully crafting and tweaking the ‘mix’ to get a song to the commercial standard that we hear on the radio everyday. Without the technical skill and fine attention to detail that the audio engineer brings to a musical …show more content…
In the record business, the artist, engineer, label and anyone else involved in a musical project are all concerned about one thing, the final product. The final product is what people hear on the internet, their iPod’s and radio and most importantly from a business standpoint, it’s what people buy. One might ask, from the artist scribbling down ideas on a piece of paper to the final track being released to the public, where does does the engineer come into the picture and how does he or she contribute to the project? The engineer will sometimes starts working on a project in the rehearsal phase. The engineer will often sit in on pre-studio rehearsals with a band or artist and find their strengths and weaknesses. This can mean discovering if the lead singer can sing in tune, if the drummer can play in time (and will be able to play to a click track), or maybe finding if the bands songs lack structure or essential elements that will make them hits. The engineer(s) will prepare the session, track all the instruments and mix the multitrack recordings whilst working with client to produce a great sounding product (Michael White, …show more content…
A good engineer should be confident and fluent with their hardware, plugins and pro tools system; even an intern should be competent in the studio and know pro tools inside and out. In the studio, an engineer will often use a wide range of microphones, amplifiers, pre-amps, outboard gear and plugins to achieve a desired sound, (according to Practical Music Production 2014). Having an in-depth knowledge of how this equipment works is key in ensuring a smooth session and a great end result. For example, a studio might have hundreds of different microphones available. The engineer needs to know which microphone will work best in work different situations as all microphones have different tone colour, sensitivity and frequency response. If an engineer does not know how to use their equipment to it’s full potential, they will not be able to get a perfect end result. (Lord-Alge, 2000, p.36) notes that many engineers have preferred equipment that they are very familiar with and can rely on to get the job done and although he tests out new equipment, it rarely makes it to his

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