The DO-IT-YOURSELF-GUY frequently thinks that, as he is trained to understand musical dynamics, he is also versed in audio quality. These are the same folks that create music in their bedrooms then complain that it sounds different in a studio, or at a concert or, (uh oh) in a client’s office. I frequently use the analogy that when you create a dress on Roseanne Barr as the model it will definitely not look right when you later try it on Cindy Crawford.

The training to become a fully aware audio engineer starts at a school like UCLA, or Full Sail Institute, or the Los Angeles Recording Workshop. Many months of basic training later, the student engineer interns for up to 2 years before any reputable pro studio will allow him to touch a client’s project. They begin with simple instrumentation and memorize the patterns of various microphones, and the density of various wiring, and the scope of hundreds of outboard pieces, and the bandwidth of EQ to be used for each instrument for maximum effect, and the placement of the instruments on the track for best isolation on the tape, and the signal path of the sound for best clarity and all of this has NO BEARING ON THE NOTES PLAYED OR THE MELODY EXPRESSED - ONLY THE QUALITY OF THE SOUND RECORDED.

The most common exercise for developing the super sensitive ears that a top engineer must possess is to listen to the radio, every station for 5 minutes at a time, never listening to the melodies played or the lyrics sung. So what the heck are they listening to? They are straining to hear the difference between the way a kick drum is miked for a country band and a kick drum is handled for an orchestra. They are keying into the difference between a classical composition mix formula and a pop mix formula. They are dialing into the difference between an American rock mix and a European rock mix. And all this so they can give the writer/composer the most dazzling mix they can possibly bring to the precious music that is being presented for consideration.


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