Is this guy any good?

H

Hawking

New member
I'm working with an engineer/musician and I'm wondering if he's got what it takes or if I should go running. I would post this in the MP3 forum, but I don't really care about the music. What's your thoughts on the tracking, mixing, mastering, etc... This song is a just a sample of something he did a while ago. It sounds maybe a little dull to me, but I'm looking for some more experienced opinions. Thanks.

http://www.nowhereradio.com/beckstudios/singles
 
15-20 bucks an hour for that dude, maybe

the question is how would he handle a band that couldnt play ?

whoever did that slidy stuff is AWESOME!!!! I dont care for the fx and way the song was mixed, but that guitar player shines right thru, and in an odd way!

then again, maybe this is some new way to handle this stuff and the mixer guy is a visionary
 
I don't care for the mix at all... it sounds "off" in many ways... the playing is good though!

Hard to say if it's simply a questionable mix, or just badly recorded, or both!
 
That's what I was thinking. The players are good, so that takes that out of the equation. This guy recorded and mixed it in his old studio. He has since gotten a much better space (acoustic wise) and some new equipment. I'm wondering if his skill have improved as well.
 
Sounds Dull

See if he's got anything else to show off.

Vocals seemed a bit "burried" and the bass was a little loud. Maybe it just needs to be mastered. Sounds a little dull.
 
I think a few important questions would be . . .

1) How long ago was this done?

and

2) Does he think it's good? I mean, does he brag about it and say "Yea, man, I made that sound, and it's some of my very best work! ! "

If that's the case, then you might want to think about it a little more.
 
It was done a while ago, a few years.

He thinks it's good, but he wasn't bragging about it. He's not one to brag about anything.

Here's another example of his work. On this one, he's playing most of the instruments and singing. I don't care much for the song, but again, I'm really just interested in the mixing.

http://www.nowhereradio.com/13thhour/singles
 
An engineer that you pay should be better than that. Both songs sound pretty dull and lifeless. Matter of fact, the blues song sounds like a feed from a club PA... and that's not a good thing.

The other song proves the adage that those who can't do use reverb. And what is with those strings? Yikes.

I would be embarassed to put stuff like this out there for the world to see. If he can't show you better than this, I would not work with him if he was asking you to pay for it.
 
I think the mp3 conversion probably has a lot to do with any complaints I might have of the sound quality. But honestly, the second song doesn't sound so bad.

I might consider bringing him on board to help with the arrangements and/or instrumentation (if you can afford it), because honestly, all of that sounds very good.

But if you can honestly say this mp3 is an accurate representation of how his first-generation recording sounds, then I would probably look elsewhere. The sound quality just isn't that good from over here based on the mp3, and my guess is that his production skills just aren't quite up there with his rather impressive musicianship (No doubt the guy is talented).
 
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