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You're not a real audio engineer until you've ___

Sunday morning I asked my Twitter Followers to complete and RT the phrase “You’re not a real audio engineer until you’ve ____”

It was a lot of fun to see the replies. I didn’t really expect serious answers.

theaudiogeek: You’re not a real audio engineer until you’ve made your own cables.

timgosden: You’re not a real audio engineer until you’ve become a coffee snob

SmallRoomStudio: You’re not a real audio engineer until you’ve: Removed the phrase “we’ll fix it in post” from your vocabulary.

yosua_stax: You’re not a real audio engineer until you’ve mix in a room full of people talking bout God… LOL

chris_winter_: You’re not a real audio engineer until you man up and tell the guitarist its not the headphones, its him.

yosua_stax: You’re not a real audio engineer until you’ve mix in the box using only digi comp and digi eq.

cain_german: you’re not a real audio engineer until you stop using the beatles as an effin reference

JoeyGunzOBM: You’re not a real audio engineer until you’ve taken over a day installing presets and libraries on a new rig

brantleee: You’re not a real audio engineer until you’ve been paid in gear!

GYR8 : You’re not a real audio engineer until You’ve woken up sweating from a dream whr blue flames wr dancing arnd the console!

partyburn: You’re not a real audio engineer until you’ve learned to identify the frequency of that ringing sound in your ear.

mokobigbro: You’re not a real audio engineer until you’ve Deessed 20k by 20dB

math0902: You’re not a real audio engineer until you’ve spent at least 15 hours straight in the same Session.

Adhit_Android: You’re not a real audio engineer until you’ve record everything with an [amazon_link id=”B0000AQRST” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]SM57[/amazon_link]

Adhit_Android: You’re not a real audio engineer until you’ve met a drummer who blames the metronome for “not following him”

Milerky2: You’re not a real audio engineer until you’ve fallen asleep at your console mixing late night.

Mikehillier: You’re not a real audio engineer until you’ve gone home with a patch lead round your neck

mokobigbro: You’re not a real audio engineer until you’ve asked someone to notch 0.4 dB of 200Hz

SoundOfYogi: You’re not a real audio engineer until you’ve sacrified the sound for the sake of the song

Adhit_Android: You’re not a real audio engineer until you’re checking phase of all the tracks? checking your mix in mono?

jacobyaudio: You’re not a real audio engineer until you’ve hammered a nail with a 58.

IndraSeverus: You’re not a real audio engineer until you’ve put RVERB on your masterbuss to make it wet

IndraQ: You’re not a real audio engineer until you’ve Finished read the whole Sound engineer handbooks

recordinghacks: You’re not a real audio engineer until you’ve been cursed at by a mic vendor?

ProfKarp: You’re not a real audio engineer until you’ve recorded drums in M/S

seanwalkermusic: You’re not a real audio engineer until you’ve made a record that you’re proud of.

kevinblaine: You’re not a real audio engineer until you’ve actually been satisfied with a mix you worked on.

McNeilBen: You’re not a real audio engineer until you’ve had an hours discussion on properly wrapping cable

CreateMusicTips: You’re not a real audio engineer until you’ve Taken a picture in front of a large console. 😉

SethMunson: you’re not a real audio engineer until you’ve stfu about Joey and do shit your own way

briankozicki: You’re not a real audio engineer until you’ve learned to hear

JFecteauMusic: Your’re not a real audio engineer until you’ve made cheap gear sound expensive.

inategreen: you’re not a real audio engineer until you’ve accidentally ruined a session.

cain_german: you’re not a real audio engineer until you stop using the beatles as an effin reference

lifelessone: You’re not a real audio engineer until you’ve pretended to move the faders after a client asks to “bring that up a notch” and then they say “yes, right there, perfect.”

hamedhokamzadeh: You’re not a real engineer until you stop the session because you realized you’re recording stereo flute.

Jeordie_g: you’re not a real audio engineer until you’ve recorded vocals under a blanket

OctopusDrummer: You’re not an audio engineer until you get a lava lamp

 


18 Comments

  1. thesamuelhanson
    thesamuelhanson May 2, 2011

    You’re not a real engineer until you’ve figured out how important doubling vocals like crazy really is

  2. online mastering
    online mastering May 6, 2011

    Funny read… I could add….

    Gone direct to stereo, no second chances.

  3. Audiofile
    Audiofile May 11, 2011

    You’re not a real Audio Engineer until you’ve used a SM 57 as a hammer.

  4. Nick Geiger
    Nick Geiger January 8, 2012

    You aren’t a real audio “engineer” period. If you mix audio you are a sound guy. It’s a trade school skill set, like being an electrician. You are only an engineer if you actually have a degree in real engineering. “audio engineering” isn’t engineering, you don’t call drummers drum engineers or guitarists guitar engineers. They are musicians. Sound guys aren’t engineers.

    Engineers can solve differential and simultaneous equasions. Technicians turn knobs.

    • Edward Mowinckel
      Edward Mowinckel January 8, 2012

      Every engineer, at their very core, is tasked with taking a complex problem, and providing a simple solution. If you break down engineering to its simplest definition, that’s what it is.

      When recording, you’re job is taking a room of noise, funnelling it it down to upward of 30+ audio tracks, while maintaining a sense of acoustic aesthetics. That requires a lot of knowledge about acoustics, music, recording equipment, and a bunch of other variables. Engineers have to be aware of the room; are there eigentones present? Will there be phasing problems between microphones? Will the reflections from within the studio also be causing phasing problems? What frequencies are going to reflect where? This usually involves a lot of math. A good engineer shows up to a session with a measuring tape, really intense engineers bring a protractor and a calculator. It’s a very technical field. While one can succeed in recording a musical arrangement by ‘just placing microphones’, one won’t excel at it if they maintain that mindset.

      Engineering isn’t all about solving differential and simultaneous equations. At its core, about providing a simple solution to a complex problem.

    • Christopher w
      Christopher w January 8, 2012

      I am currently doing a bsc (hons) in music technology, this is classed as a science course but am I going to come out at the end of it being called a scientist? No, I am still going to be called “that sound guy” so in that respect I see where you are coming from but I believe that we are engineers.

      following what Edward wrote…

      –Engineering:
      The branch of science and technology concerned with the design, building, and use of engines, machines, and structures.

      That’s what the dictionary states and if you think about it PA systems/Recording studios/etc are types of structures, who works with structures? Engineers.

    • Shane
      Shane January 8, 2012

      Engineers are experts in applied science, whatever flavor of “engineer” they may be. Last time that I checked, there’s a LOT of science involved in audio (e.g., understanding EMF, waveforms, frequency, amplitude, synthesis, electronic circuits, etc.). Any serious student of audio understands these–and many other–physics-related subjects; they then apply this knowledge in the studio.

      You, sir–with your “holier than thou” view of the world–are a moron…

    • Randy Coppinger
      Randy Coppinger January 8, 2012

      I’m glad to see Nick participating somewhere other than the Train Drivers forum.

    • Ruan Harding
      Ruan Harding July 2, 2012

      You my friend…are completely wrong. Mixing IS indeed a trade skill set that takes years to perfect but Audio Engineering does NOT consist of merely mixing. “Engineers can solve differential and simultaneous equations.” – Well. Try solving the delay time of a concert for 100 000 people using speed of sound. Try working out Headroom so your audio doesn’t clip. The HAAS effect for instance is a Physics formula used to perceive the directionality of sound so when you hear one thing at the same level as something else but thinking one is more on your left or right when it is not. THAT is ENGINEERING. Your argument further is invalid.

  5. Grant Douglas
    Grant Douglas January 8, 2012

    Well most audio engineers can at least spell *equations*

  6. Dave
    Dave January 8, 2012

    Engineers were about long before degrees, Nick. Stop gazing at the framed certificate on your wall and start using your ears to make people feel emotion through sound…

  7. Matt Kirkwold
    Matt Kirkwold January 8, 2012

    Nick, let’s hear one of those engineered tracks of yours. You’ve piqued my curiosity.

  8. Taylor Gauge
    Taylor Gauge November 10, 2012

    All of these were hilarious, most are very true, but, my favorite is lifelessone’s post. I do live sound and studio recording and this happens all the time…

  9. astra
    astra August 3, 2013

    You are not an audio engineer until you understand how to overbias a 3M M79. or understand why you would bother

  10. Rybird Music (@Rybird_Music)
    Rybird Music (@Rybird_Music) January 12, 2014

    A true engineer should be able to do the final mix and master with no listening, just on visual indicators and position of controls and it sound good. Not that something be heard later that needs adjusting but that it is close.

  11. Roger Cloud
    Roger Cloud March 22, 2014

    You are not an audio engineer, because you would be WAY too busy to pay any attention to this trivial BS.

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