The Audio Engineer

In sound recording and reproduction, audio mixing is the process of merging multitrack recordings into a single track. These tracks that are blended together are done so by using various processes such as EQ, Compression and Reverb. The track may be mixed in mono, stereo, or surround sound. There are different approaches, methods and techniques involved in Audio mixing. Some of these practices include levels setting, equalization, stereo panning, and effects. Audio mixing techniques and approaches can vary widely, and these can greatly affect the qualities of the sound recording. The mixing process can include the following: balancing the levels of tracks that have been recorded, fine-tuning the sound of each instrument, and equalizing the vocals (EQ). Tracking is the essentially the process of recording songs. It helps keep the vocals on track with the instrumental. Mixing is bringing the instrumental and vocals to sound as one which creates a

Most successful musicians know a hidden art carried out by the work of a good sound engineer; it is essential for a magnificent album. For the rest of us novice listeners and fans, we believe what we hear through our speakers or played over the radio are the true skilled professional musicians, soaring at their craft. Most contemporary music, from pop to R&B and acid jazz to the sophisticated realm of orchestral film scores, has been modernized by several inventions encased within the studio. The art of audio engineering has taken on new forms, from the nuts and bolts, "plug it in, and see if it works" era into the digital world, because of these wonderfully tragic solutions to a

Analog recording was developed late 1940's but the impact of it wasn’t really felt ‘til the 1950's. Limitations of vinyl physically and sonically paired with the analog recording technique soon became apparent. Performances that were recorded on cutting lathes for the format were limited by a few basic things; the amount of time on one side of the vinyl, the amount of low end audio, and the performances dynamics. If any of these basic issues were to be out of balance it could very easily render a near perfect performance

This studio charges £59.16 per hour for mixing. As mentioned before, studio 2 has adequate facilities to complete the mixing process. I have allocated myself four hours to mix as this is enough time to complete the mix to a professional standard.

An audio engineer is responsible for the operation of the soundboard and other equipment in the recording of music, words, sounds, or any combination of such material. There are several types of engineering positions available in today's studios. In large studios, there are usually several engineers, each with the own duties and contributions. There are recording engineers, recording assistants, set-up engineers, maintenance engineers, and even mix-down engineers in some cases. In smaller studios the engineer is usually responsible for all of these duties. As a rule, the engineer should be able to set-up, use, and fix the equipment they work with.

As you would guess, there are many technical skills necessary to record, mix, and master songs. Possessing these skills is a must for music producers, along with other mechanical skills that are useful for physically producing music. Management skills are also crucial for producers since they are responsible for scheduling and handling money (degreedirectory.org). It is also recommended that someone who wishes to be a music producer is a “people person” because producers have to be able to negotiate and organize studio time, concerts, and collaborations with multiple artists. Acquiring these special skills would be highly beneficial to one hoping to become a music

<br>The development of recording technology has run parallel to a reorientation in popular music production. The goal of getting a good sound is no different now than it was when the first recordings were made, but the idea of what a good sound is and how it should be achieved are radically different.

This type of engineer is not like the rest, they don’t build or plan building, bridges, houses, or anything like that. “ A Sound Engineer is someone with experience and training in the production and manipulation of sound through mechanical (analog) or digital means.”("Career Counselling: How to become a sound engineer?”) A Sound Engineer pretty much works on sound systems, like radios and speakers, and they work on “digital sound” which is the sound quality in movies, music, or cartoons. “Sound engineers are responsible for recording and mixing voices, including post-production for video and film, as well as music and sound effects for movies, television, radio, advertising, multimedia, plays and other live performances.” ("Career Counselling: How to become a sound engineer?.”) Sound Engineers edit actor’s voices and sound effect in movies, cartoons, and Television Programs, for example, if there is an animated character in a movie, or like when a character goes evil and their voice changes, or they have a non-human voice. A Sound Engineers job, in this case, is to mix the voice, then edit it into the movie, where it goes along with the actors or characters moving lips and they seem to have this voice. Another job is with sound effects, like an explosion, they sync the sound of the explosion with the green screen version, or enhance the sound of the small real explosion. A sound engineer is a very cool job and can help all different types of movies and shows, and you get to work with music sometimes as

The album’s producer was Quincy Jones and co-produced by Michael Jackson who is also the featured artist. Bruce Swedien served as the recording and mixing engineer, using the Acusonic Recording Process. Matt Forger served as the Technical Engineer and Steve Bates the Assistant Engineer. The record was mastered by Bernie Grundman. (Jackson & Swedien, 2001)

A Music Producer's job is to guide you through the process of making a song or record. With expansive knowledge and experience in audio engineering, audio mixing, writing and the actual costs associated with making a record, a music producer can set you and your music on a path to reach your true sonic potential.

The entrance of the studio is fixed with an airlock. There are two doors at the airlock section, one leading to the live room and the other one leading to the control room. Manipulation and recording of sound are done in the control room. Right beside the live room (studio), there is a drum room. The drum room has been sealed from the live room to avoid penetration of sound. The control room is placed at a central place where it borders all other rooms except the drum room. This is because it serves as a central space where large physical facilities, as well as physically dispersed services, can be controlled and monitored. Inside the control room, there is a Console whose function id to mix sound. The room also has an effect rack whose function is to reflect sound. At the back of the room, there are bass traps. They are acoustic energy absorbers which are designed to trap low-frequency sound energy. The main function of the bass traps in the control room is to get a flatter low-frequency

Not only did MIDI open up a new industry for musical processing, but the technology was later integrated into computer software as a VST plugin in a vitalised form, allowing for the creation of virtual instruments. The aim of virtual instrument software exists to manufacture the sounds of physical instruments through recording, in order to produce the same instrument sound

•  Mastering is the last creative step in the audio production process, the bridge between mixing and replication – your last chance to enhance sound or repair problems in an acoustically – designed room – an audio microscope.

The increasing popularity of web songs has helped to improve the music business. In contrast, the previous mode has been laggard because of the monopolization by a few major elite music companies (Zhang, 2006). Every music fan is currently fascinated with the dissemination of musical industry digital interface (MIDI) in producing his or her own music. In addition, if we say the MP3 player represents a revolution in terms of music dissemination, in that way, MIDI can be considered to be the delegate of a music revolution in music production (Kennedy, 2006). In the past, producing a song needs to be helped by other musicians and musical instruments costing at least 10,000 Yuan in China. Nowadays, depend on the advances of technology, the computer can uses musical industry digital interface to simulate all musical instruments almost at around 300 to 500 Yuan (Zhang, 2006), thus, a huge reducing cost in producing music.

When it comes to recording in a modern day environment DAW’s (digital audio workstation) are an essential piece of equipment if professional standard results are desired. Although DAW’s are considered a modern technological advancement the first attempt at a DAW was in 1977 and it came from Dr. Tom Stockham’s Soundstream (See references for full description) digital system. It had very powerful editing capabilities and for its time a very advanced crossfader but was still primitive compared to today’s standard. At this moment there are 100’s of DAW’s on the market but arguably there some obvious leaders. Avid’s Pro Tools has been the go to DAW for any professional studio for the past 20 years and although there have been rumors of Avid