randy staub

[aramism]

this guy is in my opinion the most, or one of the most, underrated engineers in this galaxy.


even if all he engineered and mixed was the black album then he would still have his title. you just don't hear enough about this guy. try googling him, you get like random article. bob rock gets a lot of credit for the black album (he certainly deserves it) but how quickly people forget who the real whiz was behind that revolutionary sound. and oh, the million other albums he has engineered/mixed.

 

[smy1]

I agree ... like, totally!

 

[sparkyness]

Randy Staub has the ability to make bands I can't stand listenable....

 

[MetalJonesy]

ive always admired his mixes, keeping everything semi traditional sounding but with raw, modern day power to cut through and kick ya in your nuts

 

[James Murphy]

i've bought quite a few CDs simply because Staub is credited as the mix engineer...

• Nickelback - the last 3 albums
• Shinedown - Leave A Whisper
• 3 Doors Down - Away From The Sun
• Hatebreed - Perserverance
• Hinder - Extreme Behavior
• Black Label Society - Shot To Hell
• Soil - Redefine
• Stone Sour - Come What (Ever) May
• Coheed & Cambria - No World For Tomorrow

... among others.

 

[HeadCrusher]

how do you like c&c musicwise? i heard some older mp3s which where really interesting stuff!

 

[axeman720]

I think hes a more appreciated than you might realize... he makes quite a good living, believe me.

That being said, the guy is probably my absolute favorite mixer/engineer. At least in terms of the more poppy hard stuff. I put him up there with roger nichols,elliot scheiner, bob clearmountain etc...

I think the production and songs on the coheed are brilliant, and this was a band i pretty much despised a year or so ago.

 

[Brett - K A L I S I A]

He is indeed VERY good

 

[Matt Smith]

My favorite engineer ever, hands down. Simply the best. I'm like James...I'll buy anything he touches.

 

[C_F_H_13]

He is in my top 3 for sure, and definitely is underated. He's also, without exagguration, the reason I got into recording. I saw the Metallica year and half video when I was 15, and found out that Randy was from my hometown. Made me realize that it was actually possible to work in the "biz" even if you weren't born in/close to a major music mecca.

 

[Brett - K A L I S I A]

I have to agree with someone here who said he's not underrated. Definitely not, he's not known by the "mortals", not popular to the masses, but extremely respected in the business (even by Andy).

 

[C_F_H_13]

I think hes a more appreciated than you might realize... he makes quite a good living, believe me.

Yeah I was just told what he got paid to mix a record I worked on and I was pretty shocked. Outta respect I'm not going to spill the beans on exactly what it was or for who, but it was a higher 5 figure number.....

It was pretty awesome hearing what he did with what was tracked, it's always awesome to hear the huge difference a great mixer can make!

 

[Ermz]

It's pretty great that you've had Randy work on your stuff. Great to hear that those amounts of money are still being thrown around the industry. Makes me a little more hopeful.

I also agree that he is one of the very very best in the biz. Closest thing I have to a favourite engineer. You can definitely tell he's picked up his share of tricks from working in the business for so long. Combine that with a load of natural talent and BAM. Was amazing to hear his mixes dwarf CLA's effort on the latest Nickelback with sheer punch and size.

I will now proceed to purchase every single CD that James listed above.

 

[aramism]

after the new nickelback my love for him becomes greater lol.

i never meant he's totally underrated but there aren't many threads about him on all the forums on the net or any articles about him in magazines and websites etc.


you hear a ton about bob clearmountain, ludwig, andy wallace, cla/tla, etc. etc. and all the other big mixing/mastering guys but never really hear much about him. his credits stand pound for pound with any of these guys IMO. him and andy wallace rose to prominence around the same time as far as goto mainstream guys. even if the only thing he ever E/M was "metallica" he would still be the man.

 

[Ermz]

Agreed. He pretty much started a new era of metal production with that record. Sure there are better ones around now, but that will always be the benchmark to some degree.

 

[AStudio]

It pretty funny to hear CLA's drums sound small compared to Staub's drum mixes on the new Nickelback album!

Staub is not as organic as the other mixers on Dark Horse, you instantly know the drums are samples but god dang those drums sound big! Well actualy everything sounds big. Staub is a master, top 5 for me.

I can hear alot of deep tom samples in his snare and kick. Lots of sub samples aswell in his Kick. But definately a low tom sample in his snare.

Love his work from Stone Sour to Nickelback its all good!

 

[Youpimatin]

I want his ears and his fingers !!

 

[Andy Sneap]

One of the best in my opinion. Has a great understanding of bass and his drums always sound great. Its quite annoying really

 

[aramism]

Sure there are better ones around now

are there? you can argue that...

 

[aramism]

i always wondered from a technicality standpoint what some of his major tricks are. it seems based on the sound and the numerous interviews and such that andy wallaces whole sound comes from slamming the ssl buss comp with everything hitting it at once and everything automated. his mixes seem more "rounded" and kind of "even" with more atmospheric elements floating around and not so drum dominant whereas with RS just a different sound alltogether almost like everything is compressed (especially drums) separately almost stem-ish. everything hits harder and sharper and it's more bass and drum dominated. ESPECIALLY the new nickelback. it could simply be how he eqs and compresses stuff differently but i dunno just a hunch. then again i'm sure more seasoned guys like james and andy could help out... pitty please.