epictring
I shortened this as I realised I included a lot of useless info originally
I currently have a finished pre production EP which we would like to take into studio soon.
How important is a producer?
This EP is very important to us, so I was wondering how we could pick the right producer for our music? Where do we start?
Currently I have 2 well known producers who did among others zebra and giraffe etc.
But how do you pick the right one?
What do you look out for and what can you expect regarding the budget of a big producer?
How do we go of getting the best record when walking out that studio?
Long term we may be interested in getting the attention of a label
so we also want a product that can cater to that, and capture the attention of our target market as well as possible.
Mixerboy
For me when I think "producer" I think more old school type, the type that handled the bookings and the budget and made sure everything was done properly and on time.
If you're looking more for a "producer" who is going to rearrange your songs and basically put his/her stamp all over YOUR stuff then I guess you need to choose someone whose work you really like (making sure that whatever it is you heard was mainly the result/product of the producer and not the band).
If you already have all your material written and don't really want it changed then maybe if you're lucky the "recording engineer" might be the one who can tell you if you need to play tighter or with more-emotion and all that.
It's quite important to decide what you actually want and need a producer for if at all, especially seeing as how these days each players parts are done separately so every other member of the band can listen in real time and make suggestions, in which case you'd all be "producers".......unless of course you're talking to someone who makes "beatz" in which case none of you would be producers.
doc-phil
I'm no expert, but if I was embarking on recording my band's first EP in studio, I would probably skip the producer and spend that money elsewhere.
I'd rather pay for a little extra studio time than have a producer fiddling with the arrangement and what not (which may end up taking up valuable time unnecessarily).
But what do I know... perhaps a good producer will give the EP that extra sparkle and shine that may attract a label's interest, in which case I guess it would be worth the expense.
Mixerboy
A lot of times the producer messing/helping with the arrangements etc and all that would be done in pre production, then the studio sessions would just be about nailing what's needed, trying things out in studio when you're paying per day or per hour can be pretty expensive.
Also if you're going for a label ( ???) then if you get some kind of sentence/deal you'll most likely get a producer with it anyway, the hard part these days is how to know when you need a demo or if you're "demo" is supposed to sound like a professional finished album (which kind of negates the need for a label in a way except for promotion and distribution).
epictring
And if a pro studio endorses you studio time? Leaving funds for a producer?
Mixerboy
It all depends on what you want from a producer and what one can offer, I'd say if you can get what you want then you should obviously go for it if it will help.
