Audio Production Degree?

I am really happy to see such a great discussion taking place about my post over musicianship in the recording industry. I'm glad that it stirred up a bit of a debate on some discussion boards out there. I want to thank everyone that joined in on the conversation and to those that continue to check up on the blog. I took a little bit of a breather during finals week at school, but now that I have a bit more free time again, I will continue providing content for my blog. The next question I want to pose to everyone is:

What are your thoughts on going to school for audio production?

As someone who is currently enrolled in school for this subject, I have my own thoughts on the subject. I am someone who throws himself into his passions. I've played and pursued music for most of my life. While involved in one of my music projects early on I got introduced to the behind the scenes aspect of being in a band. I was lucky enough to be surrounded by people that were interested in the same things I was, not only playing music but also recording it ourselves.

We threw ourselves into it and experimented a lot. We were on an extremely low budget, so a lot of what we did was limited to the equipment we could afford. But we loved what we were doing. I learned while in this band that I had a passion for the recording arts so I looked at my options.

I had heard stories of recording engineers and mastering engineers that got their start by seeking out individuals and becoming their shadow, learning everything they could from that person, until they knew enough to branch out on their own and make a respectable living. I personally felt like these days that is much harder to do and that those types of stories are few and far between. The recording field has become much more competitive. I wanted to stand out amongst a crowd.

I decided that the best way to do that would be to learn as much as I could about the subject before I entered the job market. So I enrolled in school. Love it or hate it, school is a great place to make connections and network with your peers. I'm learning beside people that are going to be in the same market as me. Those connections and relationships built there will last into the professional world.

While I think that every art school for the recording arts has it's drawbacks, the positives far outweigh the negatives. I've gotten to use equipment that I wouldn't have had the chance to use otherwise. I've gotten to work on projects that broaden my skills and prepare me for being in a studio with a paying client. I've gotten to work on sound design projects and do voice over work. I've also met a pretty great group of people to experience these things with as well.

I don't think that going to school to get a degree in audio production is necessary by any means. There are people that do it everyday. All I am saying is that going into it without the proper education can sometimes seem a little overwhelming and daunting. I can say that going through a degree program and learning what I have, that I am a far more confident engineer than I was before I started. I am coming up to my graduation date, so I am interested to see how receptive the job market will be, but I am happy and content with my decision to go to school for audio.

Please, share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. I am eager to hear what you all think about this topic.

To Be Or Not To Be A Musician

Does it make you a better engineer if you also play an instrument? Does it matter how skilled you are at that instrument? Or do you just have to be knowledgeable about music theory?

It is my opinion that it does in fact matter whether or not you are able to play an instrument. I'm using the word instrument to include software instrumentation as well. I don't even think you necessarily have to be great at your instrument, just that you take an interest in it. If I had the choice of going to a studio where, audio engineering talent aside, one of the engineers played music and the other was a music enthusiast, I would probably choose the one that played music.

There are many reasons why I think that an engineer should get their feet wet and learn to play at least the basics of an instrument, if not multiple instruments.

When I was first introduced to synthesizers I had preconceived notions about what electronic music was and was apprehensive from the beginning. I decided right then that I didn't want to be the type of engineer who cut off an entire section of music because I didn't understand it properly. I went into it with the base of "I want to at least learn the terminology so that I can become a better engineer in the long run and be able to effectively communicate with someone who is really into synthesizers."

Just by opening yourself up to learning something new you may just find out you enjoy it, like I did with electronic music, and you might pick up valuable skills that will only help you in your chosen profession.

I think an engineer should always approach music and instrumentation with this type of outlook. Personally, I want to take drum lessons and pick up at least the basics on how to play. This doesn't mean I want to become a drummer, but it will help me to better understand the instrument and be able to more effectively communicate with drummers when they come to me to record something.

Tell me what you think about this topic. I know I strayed from my usual format of talking about recording tips, but this was something that has been on my mind for a while. I am interested to hear what you guys think, and what your approach to learning different instrumentation is. Do you think it is important? Are you apprehensive to learning any particular instrument or style of music? Let me know in the comments below.

Sennheiser e609 and e906

In my post about miking a guitar amp I had mentioned that one of favorite microphones to use on guitar was the Sennheiser e609 or the e906. I thought that I would take a moment to highlight some of the specifications of the microphone and talk about why I like it so much.

So, technically speaking, the e609 and e906 are not very different. They both a have a similar frequency range with the e609 producing 40-15kHz and the e906 producing 40-18kHz. They are priced pretty close to each other at 109.95 and 189.95.


Where they are different is where the e906 includes a three position switch that allows you to change the character of the sound you are capturing, offering slightly more versatility than the e609 offers. The three positions refer to bright, moderate, and dark and effect the sound as you might expect, with the bright slightly boosting the highs and the dark slightly attenuating the highs comparatively. As you can see pictured below, the e609 basically offers a fairly similar frequency response that the e906 offers in the bright setting, with a bit more boosting around 10kHz.

Sennheiser e609 Frequency Response Graph

Sennheiser e906 Frequency Response Graph

When it comes to these two microphones, I would choose the e906 because it isn't very much more expensive and it gives you some options to alter the frequency response.

Now, in my previous post I had discussed how I love using them on guitar. This is very true and almost always, I will add this in my arsenal when recording a guitar amp. Another application that is great for these, however, is using them on drums.

They have a cardioid polar pattern that allows them to stay pretty focused, which is something you definitely want when recording drums. The less leakage the better if you are trying to mic everything separately. I have had a lot of success placing these on high and mid toms when recording drums as well as placing them on the snare from time to time. They have a fast transient response which is ideal for picking up the fast transients of drum hits.

Do you have experience using this microphone? Have you had the same successes that I have had? Do you have a microphone that always tends to be your go to microphone for many different applications? Leave your thoughts and comments down below and share in the discussion.