In regards to Prince's engineering I suppose you have to rate his skills based on the albums he "engineered". Some of them are my favouite records of all time so on that scale I would say he was GREAT behind the desk!

purplethunder3121 said:

bonatoc said:

Why, there's another way to enjoy music?


You ol' purple farts, go back to your crescent hearing aids.

Hamad said:

When she was interviewed in the Prince podcast, she said something to the effect that, since he was prolific and was recording new songs around the clock, he was disinterested and sometimes even impatient with how recording studios are operated. Therefore the techincal side of engineering didn't mean much to him.

Yes I don't think Prince was really an engineer - I don't believe he ever moved a microphone, or set anything up in a studio. He could work the board once everything was set up for him, and he had a preference for microphones, etc, but for me that all falls under the umbrella of 'producer'. And what a stunning producer. But for me, 'engineer' is stretching it a bit.

fishwillbite said:

Hamad said:

Yes I don't think Prince was really an engineer - I don't believe he ever moved a microphone, or set anything up in a studio. He could work the board once everything was set up for him, and he had a preference for microphones, etc, but for me that all falls under the umbrella of 'producer'. And what a stunning producer. But for me, 'engineer' is stretching it a bit.

i'm sure he had a working knowledge of everything, there really isn't much difference between mixing and engineering anyway. I think engineering is more to create a certain volume for an entire album, put the proper space between tracks etc.., not rocket science exactly and in my opinion, prince's music was mixed and mastered just fine.

PeteSilas said:

fishwillbite said:

Yes I don't think Prince was really an engineer - I don't believe he ever moved a microphone, or set anything up in a studio. He could work the board once everything was set up for him, and he had a preference for microphones, etc, but for me that all falls under the umbrella of 'producer'. And what a stunning producer. But for me, 'engineer' is stretching it a bit.

i'm sure he had a working knowledge of everything, there really isn't much difference between mixing and engineering anyway. I think engineering is more to create a certain volume for an entire album, put the proper space between tracks etc.., not rocket science exactly and in my opinion, prince's music was mixed and mastered just fine.

I guess you're talking about a mastering engineer, whereas I'm talking about a recording engineer. Both very skilled jobs.

fishwillbite said:

PeteSilas said:

i'm sure he had a working knowledge of everything, there really isn't much difference between mixing and engineering anyway. I think engineering is more to create a certain volume for an entire album, put the proper space between tracks etc.., not rocket science exactly and in my opinion, prince's music was mixed and mastered just fine.

I guess you're talking about a mastering engineer, whereas I'm talking about a recording engineer. Both very skilled jobs.

i'm a musician who has mixed and had someone master but I admittedly know little of the engineering process, I really only had so much time to do all of it. Prince had to feel the crunch too, multiple instruments, songwriting, performing, i'm sure there is some truth to what he said about his mixes but I always thought they were just fine. As I said though, i'm a guy who loved the old time rock and roll made in independent studios on cheap equipement, it's the heart and soul that matters.