What makes a good producer & whos your favorites?

[pauledwardwagemann]

And please, dont everyone start sucking steve albini's wang all at once...

[skvorisdeadsorta]

Well, for one thing, I would like to point out that Steve Albini is an engineer, not a producer. He doesn't perform as a producer nor does he charge royalties on records either.

Favorite Producers Are:
Rick Rubin
George Martin
Butch Vig
Flood
Alan Moulder
Brian Eno
Lloyd Maines

[pauledwardwagemann]

skvorisdeadsorta said:

Well, for one thing, I would like to point out that Steve Albini is an engineer, not a producer. He doesn't perform as a producer nor does he charge royalties on records either.

I knew someone was gonna point that out, still besides collecting royalties on records what does a producer do that Albini doesnt do? Personally I dont think it matters if you call them engineers or producers--its the same thing. Anyway I think Albini is overrated. Didn't Nirvana have to go back and rerecord some stuff that he did on In utero becaude they didnt like the way it sounded? I can think of some other bands who should have done that as well.

[skvorisdeadsorta]

It matters. Producers for one thing do not perform the actual engineering duties of making the record. They just sit there and tell you to take out that part, put in this part, no that sounds horrible, no that's not what's hip these days, no that's not cool and they get a ton of money to do it. There is usually someone else that performs the task of actually making the record sound the way it does. Albini is never going to tell a band that they should sound a certain way or lose a certain part like all producers do. Steve Albini is going to take his money and record the band whether he likes the band or not which is far more admirable than most.

He's one of the reasons why I got a sound engineering degree. The only reason that people don't like him is because he isn't going to make you sound slick. You are going to sound exactly like you do live as he takes a live sound engineer approach to making records that are very DIY, which seems to be something that you are always on about.

Nirvana didn't have to re-record anything. That is a myth that has been perpetuated by a pervert press just bent on mythilizing anything they can. Scott Litt came in at the behest of the label to "remix" "All Apologies" and "Heart Shaped Box" due to the record label saying that in it's former state, it wasn't "economically viable". Well, the label said someone had to remix those two singles so Kurt Cobain chose Litt because of his work with REM. Nothing, however, was re-recorded.

There is a huge difference between an engineer and a producer, I know I work in the buisness.

[Paul]

I'll have to go home to look at some of my favorite CDs to see who produced what, but off the top of my head, I really like George Martin, and Mario C. The former for obvious reasons, the work he did w/ Beatles was just amazing!

As for the latter, he was w/ the Beastie Boys for their golden run from Paul's Botique through Hello Nasty....The way those albums flow, the layering, and the overall sound is excellent.

What makes a good producer? Well, I think one that isn't intimidated by the band and willing to let them know when the band sucks and when they're on point. One that knows the value of layering like Jim O'Rourke's (sp?) work w/ Wilco, and obviously a producer that can communicate well with the band and help bring their vision to light. A good producer should almost be like a quasi member of the band....one that can really push the band to truly accomplish their goal(s).

[luke]

Posted these awhile back elsewhere, but Albini sort of explains in this some things about production:

thebaffler.com/albiniexcerpt.html

2: Producers who aren’t also engineers, and as such, don’t have the slightest fucking idea what they’re doing in a studio, besides talking all the time. Historically, the progression of effort required to become a producer went like this: Go to college, get an EE degree. Get a job as an assistant at a studio. Eventually become a second engineer. Learn the job and become an engineer. Do that for a few years, then you can try your hand at producing. Now, all that’s required to be a full-fledged “producer” is the gall it takes to claim to be one.

And here he is being a complete fucking prick:

userpages.umbc.edu/~sjohns11/albini/eyewitness.txt

[skvorisdeadsorta]

That god for him being a prick too. I love him, god do I love him.

[Galactus]

Some guys that certainly deserve a mention.

Tom Dowd
Brian Wilson
Glyn Johns
Shel Talmy
Phil Chess
Sam Phillips

[skvorisdeadsorta]

Phil Spector.....

[pauledwardwagemann]

skvorisdeadsorta said:

There is a huge difference between an engineer and a producer, I know I work in the buisness.

I think in terms of the corporate music industry, yes there is a big differnce. But for bands on small Inide labels, the engineer and the producer are synonymous. But I think Albini the wienie is onto something here, but even the term engineer doesnt sound quite right--why dont they just call the guy who stis int eh control room and records the music the Recorder Guy?

[skvorisdeadsorta]

Ok. Look. The reason that we are called engineers is because there is a certain degree of sound engineering that is going on by looking at the frequency responses of the microphones, the angles of the rooms, what kind of wood is used with the instrument and associated with the frequency of the sound that is being produced by the instruments. Very physics based and is a lot more intensive than just throwing some microphones up. Also, I record bands, I don't produce and most "indie" engineers don't either. They could give two shits about the band as long as they can make rent and keep the tape machine up and running. It's really not how it used to be in the 60s and 70s either. Producers were real fuckheads back then to, barking out orders and directing engineers as to what sound to get while they themselves had no idea how to create that sound.

Albini would eat your liver and spit it back to you cackling the whole time. That "weenie" is far more of a man than most.

Is it not enough for me to tell you that I work in this side of things or do you need to go make an appointment somewhere and see it for yourself?