Kernon, Sneap, or Gray

[The old Swede]

Andy Sneap here.

 

[[KOTNO]Narrot]

sneap owns the guitars! kernon all the rest...i love the bass, especially on DNB!

 

[neal]

oh shit. producers galore in this thread. now all we need is kelly gray in here and we'll have em all. dont think he'd show up though, as just about everyone thinks he did a shitty job.
-neal

 

[GateXII]

Kernon gets my vote.

DNB is prolly their most dynamic album, IMO. And, when I asked Warrel about it on that tour, he credited Kernon for bringing out all those sweet vocal layerings he did. There's more to production than just sound quality, & Kernon played a big part in the dynamics of both PoE & especially DNB. It's a shame he's just too expensive & Century Media won't help out as much as they should financially. Hmmm...I wonder why the boys are SO eager to get the hell off that label. ;-)

 

[dano1427]

Kely Grey ruined Queensryche, and he ruined EoR. this CD sounds like crap. The material is great, the sound is just terrible.

DnB sounded great, Dead Heart sounded good...

The only other guy who I'd recommend is Terry Date, who did Metal Church's Blessing in Disguise and Human Factor CD's, both sound fantastic.

--dan

 

[NK]

"It's a shame he's just too expensive"

Hmm, and I always thought I was cheap :-|

Neil K.

 

[Chromatose]

Kely Grey ruined Queensryche,

...

--dan

sure its fun to say that.. i love to bash on kelly gray, and have been since Q2K.. ha ha ha

but he didn't "ruin queensryche" hahahahahhah

yeah he disgraced the classics when playing them live, but thats not the same.. lets back up our nonsense hmmm??

 

[Poison God]

Sneap is the best producer in the genre currently.

DavE

 

[passenger 57]

Considering the overall relative crappiness of EoR's production, I wanted to get opinions on Nevermore's production.

Personally, although I enjoyed Kernon's work on PoE and DNB, I think Sneap's work on DHiaDW resulted in Nevermore's best sounding album, as well as one of the best sounding metal albums I've ever heard.

Upon retrospect, Kernon's recordings sound sort of synthetic, particularly on guitars (clean and distorted), which is odd, because I think at least part of it was analogue... Still, his mixes were very well layered and clear, all the instruments were distinct and powerful.

Andy Sneap created power. The drums are monstrous, the guitars powerful and organic, and the voice was so full and lush and... (enter superlatives). Again, odd since he works all-digital. And the mix is classic sneap, layered while sounding simple, clear...

Now, Mr. Gray... I can' be certain, but I have the suspicion he was mixing with $5 computer speakers... No but seriously, I understand that Nevermore was on a tight budget and couldn't afford Sneap or Kernon, but this Gray guy is supposed to be a seasoned professional. And the result? The snare disappears sporadically, the cymbals are lost in the noise floor, the bass drums sound like cardboard boxes, the voices are thin and too often distorted, I forgot that tere was a bassist in the band...
Don't get me wrong, this is awesome material, everyone is at the top of their game (although I find some of Loomis's leads are lacking in melodicism), and Dane kicks ass, but it took me 6 listens to understand what was going on in some songs!

End of rant. Who Decides is one of their best songs to date

http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=103444

 

[Kon16ov]

You know, it's wierd... When I was listening to EoR two nights ago in the ol' discman with ear buds, I though, "Oy, this is one big ball of noise." I then listened to it again with the headphones that came with the discman and found myself saying, "Wow. The bass is understated on this track, but if it were louder, it would muddy the overall sound." What I'm saying is, for me, it really depends what I'm listening to the album on as to what my opinion of the production on the album is. I feel that it was mixed a little lean, for my tastes, especially in regards to the bottom end. The vocals have a harshness that fits the songs. Overall, the production isn't THAT bad.

The one thing that I was noticing, though, is that the guitar tone changed from song to song. This has nothing to do with the production, per se, but a lot to do with what other sounds get either enhanced or cancelled out in the mix -- and that's where you have to pay attention. I don't think that enough attention was paid here.

I know when I'm mixing my stuff, I usually end up spending about a week (not dedicated full time, mind you) per song, just diddling with levels, overlaying filters, etc., trying to make sure I don't run over bass part A with guitar part B while making sure drum track 2 is audible but not overbearing. Having said this, I've NEVER gotten a track to be "perfect." I don't know what production deadlines CM put the producers under for each album to allow them to take the time to do that kind of stuff. Since the producers are popping up on the board, maybe they could shed some light into that area.

Personally, I agree with the assessment of some of the others that NK did a really good job on some things (guitars, vocal textures) and AS did an excellent job with the bottom end. Maybe there should be a tag-team effort. I don't think KG did a horrible job. I don't think there was enough attention to detail regarding "the details" like cymbals, guitar tone and bass "location" in the mix. That's my opinion.

I'd offer my services, but since I work with an analog 4-track and digital everything else(my computer is my studio), I think my attractiveness in the producer market is a touch low...

 

[Novembers Paul]

"It's a shame he's just too expensive"

Hmm, and I always thought I was cheap :-|

Neil K.

We still haven't recovered from your bill. My kid is eating grass clippings every other day, just to make due. Bastard!

 

[Novembers Paul]

Kernon and Sneap is like comparing Apples and Oranges. They both do a top-notch, professional job, and give a different feeling to the music. It all depends what the BAND is looking for.

OR

Kernon and Sneap is like comparing Apples and Oranges.
They're both a couple of fruits.

Just a joke!!! I don't know Andy, so I shouldn't poke fun.

Neil, maybe you can lend Kelly Grey your fucked up Peterson tuner!

 

[NK]

Bwahaha!!!

Jolly good show!!

Neil K

 

[Novembers Paul]

Neal rules. Period.