Every week in the “Shhhh-it!” AnonIMous Super-Secret Music-Biz Interview Series (S-I!AS-SM-BIS for, uh, short) we interview a grizzled music industry veteran via the letter thunderstorm of instant messaging software. Last week, we had an illuminating chat with Joe The Engineer, who has worked as an assistant engineer for five years at a major NYC studio, and whose credits include quite a few big-time pop and hip-hop records. We decided to bring him back for another round, and in this edition, Joe tackles overcompression, underwhelming Autotune usage, and whether hip-hop has lost its fire:

StumpyPete1975: someone asked if you had anecdotes that are examples of hip-hop losing its fire
JoeTheEngineer: how about an artist interrupting his session to meet with the designer of his new line of jeans?
StumpyPete1975: HAHA
StumpyPete1975: amazing
StumpyPete1975: yeah, I’d say that’s not entirely street
JoeTheEngineer: I guarantee Biggie didn’t do that when he was making Ready To Die

Your questions answered after the jump!

StumpyPete1975: so some of the idolator readers gave me some follow up questions
StumpyPete1975: I thought I would run them by you, if that’s cool!
JoeTheEngineer: cool
StumpyPete1975: I like this question: Why is there such a fetish for recording on tape? Don’t we end up having to digitize everything anyway?
StumpyPete1975: what say you to that?
StumpyPete1975: is there a tape fetish?
JoeTheEngineer: haha, I think so
JoeTheEngineer: Certainly among the indier side of rock
JoeTheEngineer: the funny thing is, a common way to work with tape is to record through the tape so to speak
JoeTheEngineer: you record to tape and record the output of the tape machine straight into pro tools
JoeTheEngineer: so what you get is the sound of tape but the flexibility of having it digital
StumpyPete1975: and is there a tape sound?
StumpyPete1975: I tend to think there is, having worked primarily with tape
JoeTheEngineer: yeah
JoeTheEngineer: technically, what tape does is a cross between compression and a little bit of distortion
JoeTheEngineer: the harder you push it, the more of an effect you get
JoeTheEngineer: and I think there is something about that sound that resonates with a lot of people
JoeTheEngineer: whether that is because we grew up listening to records that were done with tape, or because we actually prefer the sound, is a whole other debate
StumpyPete1975: well, to be fair, everything was tape until a decade ago, right?
JoeTheEngineer: yeah thats what I mean
JoeTheEngineer: its a sound that we are all very accustomed to
StumpyPete1975: things went protools quickly
JoeTheEngineer: very quickly
StumpyPete1975: I tell people that I made an album on tape and they act like I fell off my dinosaur and broke my wooden underwear
JoeTheEngineer: HA!
JoeTheEngineer: that’s crazy
StumpyPete1975: which do you prefer?
StumpyPete1975: tape or digital?
JoeTheEngineer: I generally choose to work in Pro Tools or Logic
JoeTheEngineer: I do love the sound of tape, but especially with our clientele, its just not practical
StumpyPete1975: yeah I can imagine
StumpyPete1975: those early records were all punches and splices!
JoeTheEngineer: crazy, huh?
JoeTheEngineer: I mean, people record their hook and then say, “Now fly it throughout the song”
JoeTheEngineer: that’s hours if we are using tape, seconds in Pro Tools
StumpyPete1975: do you think it’s damaged songcraft or opened up possibilities?
JoeTheEngineer: Well, I have to cop out and say both
StumpyPete1975: I find there certainly is less respect for the craft of recording amongst the ProTools cowboys
JoeTheEngineer: yeah, I can see that
JoeTheEngineer: but like anything, there are guys who take the convenience of Pro Tools for granted and act like they don’t have to push its limits
JoeTheEngineer: And then there are guys who have really taken what it can do and used it in a very creative manner
StumpyPete1975: spankyjoe asks: How much input do most rappers or singers have once they come into the studio? Have they already worked with the producer to get beats/backing tracks to their liking, or are they simply there to get in, do their thing, and get out? Presumably, bigger artists have more pull and thus more creative control, or is this all dictated from on high at the record companies?
StumpyPete1975: now, we addressed this some last time
JoeTheEngineer: right
StumpyPete1975: but let’s elaborate a bit and tie it to protools
StumpyPete1975: how savvy are the artists to the process in general?
JoeTheEngineer: OK, well its pretty different between rappers and singers
JoeTheEngineer: Rappers generally tend to write in the studio
JoeTheEngineer: So I put on the track that they’ve brought (or someone sent) and loop it at high volumes and they write
JoeTheEngineer: Sometimes an A&R is there, but not really giving any input in the writing process
JoeTheEngineer: they go in and do their hook and verses and go home with a rough mix of what we’ve recorded
JoeTheEngineer: often times the producer isn’t even around, in some cases may not even know his track is being worked on!
StumpyPete1975: whoa!
JoeTheEngineer: yeah, its a weird thing
JoeTheEngineer: but in most cases, producers send out their beats to a number of artists
JoeTheEngineer: and if an artist feels like working on it, they just give me the instrumental and we can make a song to it
JoeTheEngineer: of course they can’t use it until the business side is taken care of
StumpyPete1975: jeez
StumpyPete1975: it’s so…factory-like
JoeTheEngineer: sure is…..
JoeTheEngineer: As you can imagine that leads to a lot of confusion
StumpyPete1975: I can bet
StumpyPete1975: does this get back to your point about hip-hop losing the fire? that it’s too workmanlike?
StumpyPete1975: someone asked for you to elaborate on that!
JoeTheEngineer: yeah I mean, in the early days of hip hop, they were certainly not making records like that
JoeTheEngineer: you had much more of a relationship between producer and artist
JoeTheEngineer: Guys like DJ Premier, Large Professor, Pete Rock were very hands on and involved
JoeTheEngineer: often times producing an entire album which you don’t see too much of anymore
StumpyPete1975: do some folks still make records?
StumpyPete1975: or is it just a bunch of tracks?
JoeTheEngineer: some still do, there is hope!
JoeTheEngineer: Guys like Outkast, Lupe, Q-Tip, etc. still seem to believe in the aesthetic of keeping a tight production team and having them involved in making a cohesive album
StumpyPete1975: yeah
StumpyPete1975: someone asked if you had anecdotes that are examples of hip-hop losing its fire
JoeTheEngineer: how about an artist interrupting his session to meet with the designer of his new line of jeans
StumpyPete1975: HAHA
StumpyPete1975: amazing
StumpyPete1975: yeah, I’d say that’s not entirely street
JoeTheEngineer: I guarantee Biggie didn’t do that when he was making Ready To Die
StumpyPete1975: for sure
StumpyPete1975: Al Shipley asks: Do you EQ a lot of the pre-programmed backing tracks, or make any major editorial decisions as far as the sound of the beat, or is that all pretty much set by the producer beforehand and/or by a mixer later on?
JoeTheEngineer: That’s a great question
JoeTheEngineer: Another thing that has changed a lot in the past few years
JoeTheEngineer: Like I said we are usually just tracking to the instrumental mix given by the producer
JoeTheEngineer: Most producers have a pretty decent set up that they make beats on these days
JoeTheEngineer: So they have pretty much EQ’d, compressed and done a lot of mixing on the beat already, as well as made it as loud as possible
JoeTheEngineer: This sometimes leads to disputes when it comes time to mix
JoeTheEngineer: Like the producer is happy with his mix, and just wants you to add the vocals to it
JoeTheEngineer: The artist wants his mix engineer to have all the tracks to work with
JoeTheEngineer: and usually, whoever has more clout, wins
StumpyPete1975: that’s pretty interesting
JoeTheEngineer: yeah, a new wrinkle to deal with
StumpyPete1975: Also this question from Al: Do many of the rappers or singers you work with express preferences or knowledge as far as what kind of microphones they want to use?
JoeTheEngineer: Most don’t show any type of preference for microphone
JoeTheEngineer: A few have their own that they bring
JoeTheEngineer: Some ask why the mic is so old and crusty looking
JoeTheEngineer: Not realizing that it is one of the best mics on the planet
StumpyPete1975: haha
StumpyPete1975: Neumann?
StumpyPete1975: what’s that?
JoeTheEngineer: Yeah, we certainly have a few $15,000 mics that look like something you would find in your attic but sound amazing
StumpyPete1975: This is from Al, too: Have you ever seen an artist attempt to use Autotune and end up completely unable to work well with it? Did they scrap that track or end up putting it out Aututuned anyway? Because a lot of the major artists out there using it these days (coughLilWaynecough50CentcoughKanyecough) sound absolutely awful, and it’s amazing that there’s noone in the studio stopping them from using it or offering any constructive criticism.
JoeTheEngineer: I’m guessing they are referring to using autotune in the effecty way that T-Pain made popular
StumpyPete1975: yeah
JoeTheEngineer: Yeah its weird, but you can actually be good or bad at singing with the autotune
JoeTheEngineer: T-Pain is a guy that is actually a decent singer and has seemed to figure out how to control his vocal so that the autotune effects it the way he wants
JoeTheEngineer: Its not necessarily intuitive, and yeah, some guys are not pulling it off
JoeTheEngineer: Or in some cases, engineers may not be using the settings properly to get the desired sound
StumpyPete1975: have you ever had to stop anybody and just say “no?”
JoeTheEngineer: No way, we get paid by the hour!
StumpyPete1975: haha
StumpyPete1975: final question!
StumpyPete1975: Eriq78 asks: Can you tell us about the mixing process and over-compression? Any entertaining anecdotes about an artist or producer (against all logic and common sense) insisting on participating in the process mixing?
JoeTheEngineer: Sure, mixes vary pretty widely these days
JoeTheEngineer: You have some sessions that are just the mix engineer, creating a balance and sending off his final passes to the artist or label to approve
JoeTheEngineer: More often, an artist or A&R from the label attends and involve themselves to varying degrees
JoeTheEngineer: they usually let the mix engineer do his thing for a few hours and then make some comments when the thing is getting closer to completion
JoeTheEngineer: Over-compression could be a whole article’s conversation
StumpyPete1975: really!
StumpyPete1975: what are your quick thoughts?
JoeTheEngineer: Well, its become something that is sort of expected out of engineers
JoeTheEngineer: So to be fair, if we don’t give an artist a very loud, compressed mix in comparison to whats on the radio, they aren’t going to be happy with it
JoeTheEngineer: The more you compress, the louder all the elements are, and the more it punches you in face when you press play
JoeTheEngineer: for some pop and hip hop, it doesn’t bother me too much, because there aren’t a whole lot of dynamics to begin with
JoeTheEngineer: In material where there should exist an ebb and flow to the volume, its disturbing to have that taken out
JoeTheEngineer: Like when a singer is whispering during a breakdown, the vocal shouldn’t be as loud as it is when she is screaming on the final chorus
JoeTheEngineer: but it often is
StumpyPete1975: interesting
StumpyPete1975: for the laypeople, what is compression?
JoeTheEngineer: It’s a process in which shrinks the dynamic range of material
JoeTheEngineer: it essentially reduces the volume of your loudest portions, so then you can turn everything up while avoiding distortion
JoeTheEngineer: What was a jagged line becomes closer to straight
StumpyPete1975: and it’s everywhere
JoeTheEngineer: sure is
JoeTheEngineer: It’s another one of those things that can be used creatively and effectively
JoeTheEngineer: but also can be something you just slap on there because you know its supposed to be loud
JoeTheEngineer: To me, compression, autotune, pro tools, are all great things as long as you think about them and listen while you use them

Want a Round 3 with Joe The Engineer? Hit us up in the comments. Want to go anonIMous with us? Email us at tipsATidolatorDOTcom.