Why Does 'Your Band' Need an Audio Engineer and/or Producer?

So you're an artist. You've got a band, maybe a few songs written, and have started playing gigs, but what you really need is a good EP (or album). Maybe you're looking for a recording studio with an engineer to record your songs, maybe you’d like a producer to help polish your songs, or maybe you've been recording and producing your own band and wonder why anyone would even want to hire an audio engineer or producer.

Once upon a time, recording your own band in your rehearsal space was a timely and very costly matter, and was generally unsuccessful until the era of digital recording mediums. With today's technology, creating a high-quality recording at home (or any other space of your likeness) has become effective and cheap. Even you can go to your local music shop and get your hands on a brand-new digital recording device capable of competing with the big studio downtown.

Chris Spencer recording bass with Phosphene Productions

So with all this new technology, and the ability for any average joe to set up his own home studio, why would anyone bother hiring an audio engineer to record them, or to mix their songs, or even produce them!? As an engineer I've seen almost every situation you can imagine: Band members that record their own band, bands that like to record one place and mix in another, and bands that like to record in a studio and mix it themselves, etc. Etc. The problem I continue to see with all these projects is the lack of a good engineer and/or producer pushing the band to their fullest potential.

As an artist, your focus should lie with writing music, playing gigs, and selling merchandise. With album production being such a daunting tasking in itself, I am amazed to see so many bands choosing the route of recording themselves over letting a professional help them.

Band members have a tendency to lose sight of the 'big picture'. Imagine your guitar player is recording and mixing your latest single. More than likely his attention and productivity will reside in his guitar tone, and that killer solo his does in the 3rd verse. Am I right?

Imagine the task of balancing all the tracks in your song into one final piece, and rather than a trained engineer, it's your band sitting down to mix. I can only imagine, as soon as the "play button is hit, the battle between whose parts should be louder. Everyone would be turning themselves up and the others down.

(Don’t believe me!? I'VE SEEN IT!)

Wolvie in the studio with Phosphene Productions

With home recording equipment quickly getting cheaper and cheaper, many bands are choosing to invest in their own untrained abilities, and for that I believe they are only making the inevitable true. With an industry success rate of 1 in 7 signed bands actually making it after being signed to a record label, what chance do you really think you've got against the guy with years of experience recording and mixing songs?

The point I'm attempting to make is, let someone help you!

Setting up for drums.

Hiring an engineer/producer could very well be the most important decision you could ever make for your band. When the majority of your audience will be streaming your songs over the internet, and downloading them to mp3 players and smart phones, it is vastly important to present a solid recording of your song to impress and entertain. If you expect them to keep listening and to bother to go to your show (and pay the ticket/door price, I might add!), you'll definitely want to give them something good to listen to.

Adding an engineer is like adding another member to your band, fresh ears. When you enter the recording studio, your engineer is focused on making a final product that will be polished, balanced, something your band will love, and something radio friendly. While you focus on hitting that F sharp, your engineer is focusing on your tone, phase alignment, and production value. Your engineer is trained and knows what your audience will enjoy listening to time and time again, and wants to help you create a true work of art that everyone will love.

Beyond your engineer, deciding to record in a dedicated space is a vast improvement over your band's rehearsal space or bass player's bedroom.

Recording studios are purpose-built to achieve balanced acoustics in the recording space. When you step into a professional studio you're stepping onto a floating floor in a room with well balanced acoustics, not too "live" and not too "dead" sounding. You've likely seen a recording studio isolation booth, or maybe even a live room with a big tall ceiling. All rooms purpose-built with the intent of recording great sounding instruments in a well balanced space.

(I know musicians are used to playing in dumps, but your drums won't sound like John Bonham in there!)

So, take the time, make the investment, make something great. 

There is nothing wrong with having a home studio, or recording and mixing your own band's demos, but never would I suggest to a band to record their own EPs or albums. Having that outside opinion keeps the ball rolling and the creative energy alive. And when trained engineers and producers can take you and your band just as high as any record label could, its an economical choice. A smart choice.

Don't suffer through crap recordings. Go pro, sound great.