As I'm trying my hardest to get some songs completed and recorded.

I'm looking more and more into instrument arrangements, and production.

What are your favourite albums for this for this and using as a reference for your own work?

Have you any favourite producers that you follow the work they do?

Hi mate, cool question!

This is similar to happens to me with composers, and even film directors. There are many great ones that I enjoy since each of the greatest ones has its own style and personality. Some of my favorites are George Martin, Mark Ronson and Rick Rubin.

Have you ever seen Classic Albums series?

And also, have you watched these series of videos?

I love the classic Album series, I'd love it if there were more producers that would deconstruct tracks and show what is going on and why certain choices were made.

I like the layering that Dr Luke has done on some pop rock tracks.
Aaron Sprinkle has done some great hands on production with quite a few bands, where he adds an element of electronic music to hard rock. Story of the year's latest album Wolves is a fine example of that.

I've not looked into who has produced Rise Against but they capture a sound that is right on the line of raw and polished, and get some big guitar sounds.

Some of the big things I'm researching is how much of a guitar sound I hear is the original guitar that isbeing tracked and how much is created during the mix, with EQ etc.

I'll definitely look into the youtube series.

I'll check that Story of the year album. I've used to listen to them but I haven't heard their new music.

I'm sure that you'll find what you are looking for at Youtube. In the old days, the only way to get that big wall of guitars was with expensive amps and cabinets and at least 2 or 3 mics in front of them, being one or some of them Shure SM57.

If the guitar is well recorded, and you have many takes to build the stereo, the mix should be simple, just a bit of EQ, and comp.

Nowadays, with the apparition of Kemper and Fractal, I wonder if some rock producers are starting to use amp simulators in their albums.

There are lots of videos like this at Youtube:

Sorry for a short answer but my favourite production on an album is Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, Couldn't Stand The Weather.

It's just perfect, not over produced, very clear and very natural. 1984 production and still sounds great. I think more recent pressings weren't as good for some reason.

Deep, DEEP (and great) topic!

There so many, that I don't have the time or energy to type that much information.
Here's a sampling by style/era that, off the top of my head, I regard as "perfect" ...

The Zombies - Odyssey and Oracle
Chicago - VI
John Coltrane - Crescent
Wayne Shorter - Speak No Evil
Cannonball Adderly - Something Else
Jeff Beck - There and Back
Black Sabbath - Sabotage
Zeppelin IV (Stairway)
Steely Dan - Aja
Boz Scaggs - Memphis
U2 - Achtung Baby
B52s - B52's
Bob Marley - Survival
Rolling Stones - Some Girls (get the 1994 Japanese re-issue)
Tool - Lateralus
Def Leppard - Pyromania
Pink Floyd - Wish you Were Here
Stevie Wonder - Songs in the Key of Life
Fountains of Wayne - Welcome Interstate Managers
Old 97's - Fight Songs

This post has been edited by klasaine: Jul 23 2018, 09:52 PM

Nailed it I'd add
CARCASS: "Heart Work"
METALLICA: "Master of Puppets"
NIGHTWISH: "ONCE"

Stevie Ray Vaughan:Couldn't Stand The Weather

Yes!!!

*Important to note that NO blues record, up to that point, sounded like that album. Now - sadly - most of them do.
I can distinctly remember the first time I heard it. I was record shopping at a Tower Records here in LA late at night (they were opened all night) and it came on the house system. I instantly knew who's record it was w/o ever having heard it yet. *The Bowie record was out (Let's Dance - another perfect record) and I remember saying to my GF, "this has to be that Vaughan guy".

It’s still a great system tester. The rim shots are really snappy on a good hi fi like Meridian, Naim etc

Yeah. If you ask recording engineers about that album or SRV albums in general, they will tell you that the drum sound is the stand out thing on that record.

It really depends on what style of music I'm currently making. If it's full on epic orchestral stuff then I usually look to Daniel James's stuff. If it's melodic metal stuff I usually look to the Ys series of games. If it's fakebit I generally tend to go for something like v1rt. For more standard djenty metal I look to Blankfield or Chimp Spanner. If it's more fusion-esque it doesn't matter cause it's better if it sounds live anyway.

Joe Barressi has been doing some great work lately. Check out the last couple Chevelle albums. Joey Sturgis did a great production job with Asking Alexandria.

As much as I like classic rock, the production on many albums from the '70's and '80's doesn't hold up very well today IMHO. A couple of exceptions are Led Zep, especially Physical Graffitti, and Joe Satriani Extremist. What do those have in common? Andy Johns .

Great topic!
It depends on the style of music but Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson, Dave Matthews Band, Tori Amos, Testament (newer albums), John Mayer, The Black Crows and Grant Lee Phillips all got great mixes/production. Not sure who's done them though..

Oh, and ANY album produced by Jeff Lynne (yeah, the one and only Jeff Lynne from ELO)

I'd disagree with you about Jeff Lynne. I really don't like his production. Especially on the Tom Petty records.

I knew I’d spark some controversy with that one.
I guess his productions are not for everyone, but I like them.
Some of the ELO productions (ie. Out Of The Blue) is wonderful to my ears :-)

Ha, ha! No disagreement here. Lynne is freakin' masterful. Do you have the final Roy Orbison album, "Mystery Girl"?



This post has been edited by klasaine: Aug 4 2018, 09:04 PM

I knew I couldn’t be the only one, great musician and producer
Great album, haven’t heard in a while though.
I might just take it for a spin again