And now for a totally inappropriate question...

[Aski]

So... Not that it matters, but does anyone on here have any nationally released records that they have engineered/produced?

I say not that it matters because just as there are MANY great musicians/bands that never receive national attention and never get national releases, I am sure the same goes for engineers.

I am more just curious if anyone has had any major/indie label releases?

I certainly have NOT... so I'm not being pretentious here...

[Sandyrb]

So... Not that it matters, but does anyone on here have any nationally released records that they have engineered/produced?

Before I left the UK to live here I did a few for a particular label.

Cheers,

[Benny Grotto]

I've got a few. A couple of em can be found at Allmusic, the rest are easily found via Discogs or Google.

You can probably find who's done what for most anybody around here; at least, for those using their real names.

[Bob Stark]

a lot

[bleen]

Quite a few.

[Aski]

I guess the reason I asked is because I'm curious to hear some recordings, to get a feel for the style and tastes of some users...

...and because I am curious how realistic it is to become a professional engineer. To make a living I that is... thoughts?

[Mixwell]

...and because I am curious how realistic it is to become a professional engineer. To make a living I that is... thoughts?

I should have been a plumber.

Honestly? Start a new thread with that question and I'll chime in.

[Sandyrb]

I am curious how realistic it is to become a professional engineer. To make a living I that is... thoughts?

The way the industry is going it's getting less and less realistic. Sorry to be a downer but there's not too much money in it nowadays. This being said, if it's what you really want to do (and it's one of those things where you REALLY have to want to do it) then why not? I don't think anyone here would tell you not to do it. :)

But so we have a better POV from whence to offer advice, why don't you give us a brief rundown of where you are / where you want to go?

Cheers,
Sandy.

[moose]

So... Not that it matters, but does anyone on here have any nationally released records that they have engineered/produced?

I say not that it matters because just as there are MANY great musicians/bands that never receive national attention and never get national releases, I am sure the same goes for engineers.


I've got a handful... a couple are nationally released "indie" records... small labels released through iTunes & the like though you can probably order 'em at any decent record shop that isn't a mall store.

The way things are going, that's becoming the norm more & more... indie records can be released a national & international scale if the effort is put into it. That usually means finding a "team" to go around the artists & direct their career...

[Aski]

Sandy, not really sure where I want to go with myself. I just like being around music/art. I spent most of my life thus far teaching/studying music and some time recording it as well. The problem is that there isn't much money in either. So... maybe I should switch careers all together.

I run a home studio that is small but decent. I am definately a composer/musician first and engineer second, but I love sound and playing with it as an art. And since teaching is not really cutting it, I thought maybe I would see if there is a future in engineering. And I guess I assumed that if you were going to make it a career you have to work with "national" bands, but now that I think of it, that's probably not a valid assumption...

[phrenology]

The literally hardest working person i know is a mastering engineer (Chris Athens, Sterling Sound: the man is a maniac)--and i know a lot of MDs. It's a horrible job, just like being a musician is a horrible job. It's something to do as a job ONLY if you can be happy doing nothing else. That's my personal feeling about the arts in general--it's just too hard to hustle all the time like you have to to be really successful, and there are no promises that you will "make it." That doesn't mean you can't make a living doing something peripherally artsy and still do the actual art on the side and be very happy with your life.

but you'll make decent money as a plumber!

[tekis]

The literally hardest working person i know is a mastering engineer (Chris Athens, Sterling Sound: the man is a maniac)--and i know a lot of MDs. It's a horrible job, just like being a musician is a horrible job. It's something to do as a job ONLY if you can be happy doing nothing else. That's my personal feeling about the arts in general--it's just too hard to hustle all the time like you have to to be really successful, and there are no promises that you will "make it." That doesn't mean you can't make a living doing something peripherally artsy and still do the actual art on the side and be very happy with your life.

but you'll make decent money as a plumber!

Ask Chris Athens if he likes his "job", as you put it. I think you're off base. I never think of this as a "job" or as a big producer once said to me: "Well, you really can't call it 'work' , now can you?" By the way, the most stressful jobs are: #1 Air Traffic Controller, #2 Waitress, #3 Recording Engineer. So there might be a couple more 'hardest working people' out there...

Yes, I have national and international credits and releases. Love what I do and NEVER CALL IT A JOB. I'm "allowed to make records and hang out with musicians"!

[Aski]

I understand and appreciate all of that... but... let's say Chris Athens "works" 75 hours a week, would he (or better yet could he) continue that lifestyle if no one was paying him? Point being - there absolutely IS an financial factor to consider regardless of how much you love engineering. Or any job for that matter... That's all...

[Jeff Shapiro]

why are there no specific examples? Maybe there's some taboo ot legality that i'm not aware of but I'd love to know which releases some of you are personally proud of(or not so proud of)...so i can find them up and maybe we could discuss why, and some technique along the way... I realize there are other ways to find out but the importance to me would be the ones that each engineer/producer/musician chooses for their own reasons.

With that said, I think another question is...what's a national release? Is anything that hits the internet "international?" Are we talking about a release that is funded by more than just the band, with marketing/ touring/PR/whatever support?

I've only been involved with bands that have taken the DIY approach and are slowly trying to build reputations/following/ ulcers on their own, or else i'd list some stuff i liked working on.