Whats the most demanding genre to engineer/produce?

[ernest828]

As an engineer I have had the opportunity to record classical music, rap, rock, folk, r&b and sacred music and I definitely feel some of these genres are easier than others but I was wondering if its just me. What do you other engineers feel is the easiest to the hardest music to engineer/produce/record? If you have not engineered/produced in at least three of these genres, please refrain from posting. Ernest

[Oiled]

Almost ANY genre can be demanding, depending on the artists and producer, and what they want to do with the music. YOU decide how much work or experimentation is involved in a project. That said, I think pop opens up the most room for experimentation and originality as far as production goes. Look at all the albums Mark Bell has produced. Bjork and Depeche Mode were both huge undertakings, and very "demanding" to produce. Also check out Mirwais and William Orbit's production on the latest Madonna records. I read that Mirwais individually auto-tuned every individual syllable of a particular song for an effect. And Don't forget Nellee Hooper. Experimental producers like these who are anal about such details place such demands on themselves when it comes to their production, not the other way around. Only you can decide what demands to place on your production skills.

[Gtoledo3]

As far as engineering goes, I don't think it really makes a difference. Flame on! But on a producing level, I find rock hardest b/c it's usually rockers that don't really have their shit together and require the most prearrangement type of stuff.

[ernest828]

Blackdude, Your point is absolutely valid. I want to know what YOU find to be the most difficult. I know everyone has their own respective production technique but which genre challenged you the most and which didn`t? I know for me I found rap to be very demanding of my concentration in that the flows are often so quick that they literally go by unnoticed. I did an album back in January this year and it wasn`t until 1000 copies were made that the artist realized his own punch ins were too loud on one song. It got past him even though he approved my mixes for mastering. (I thought he liked the way the punches came jumping out.) Then in February I did a classical CD in which the edits were incredibly demanding but the actual recording and mixing was easy compared to rap. Now I`m working on some rock and it always amazes me that the sound is the most important to get from the start compared to rap where the beats are all you`re working with from another producer. Not only that but i spent 9 months in pre production for this rock album compared to the rap in whcih there was no pre production and the classical where there was only two days. So as an engineer, I would say the classical stuff was the easiest to record but the most difficult to edit with rock being the most difficult to get good sounds. Rap was easier to record and engineer in both instances but the most difficult to mix. As a producer the classical was the easiest because the music is already written and so is the arrangement. With rap the flow dictates but as long as the beat is cool, then you`re fine. Rock is still the most demanding in that it is completely subjective. Ernest

[Hippie]

I just did a music re-mix creation of a 'jock-jams' dance type thing for.. ahem, a cheer-leading final competition. :o I volunteered to do it just for the experience, thinking it will only take a half-hour or so. Oh, was I wrong! Believe me, recording original music is much easier. Well, after meeting with the 'cheer coach-lady' several times and taking notes on what she wanted (where she would add 'just one more thing' 47 freakin' times!) to discuss all the how and where to splice all these 'musical bits' together, and later realizing I'd have to write and manually add tracks of keyboard runs & glisses, bass parts, chopping, dicing, cutting, pasting, midi-drum alignment, etc., then mixing it all down. It was the biggest PITA nightmare I ever encountered. I was way out of my comfy '3-chord r-n-r world' and into some strange 'neo-disco, rah-rah-ree, 12 year-old girl cheer-leader land'. :D The most amazing thing is...they won first place! Bonus: The 'coach-lady' told me she, 'has referred me out to all the other coaches to do their music next year'. :rolleyes: I told her 'gee thanks', but I was thinking noooo way, not again. Matt

[pigknuckles]

I feel it's the attitude, talent and vision of the performers, not the genres that make a project demanding. Unrealistic time/budget constraints can also make any genre demanding. Having said that here are some personal observations: Rap sessions generally seem easy to track but tedious to mix. Jazz is very demanding during setup and tracking but usually easy to mix. Rock can be very easy to track and mix if the band is well prepared and has good sounding instruments, otherwise it can be an endless exercise in frustration for all concerned. Pop is totally dependant on the song, the singer and the arrangement. When those things are right it just snaps together, when any are not right it can be difficult. Big gospel choirs are challenging to track but generally fun if not easy to mix. Folk always seems easy to track and mix if the instrumentation isn't too thick.