The Role Of Recording Studio Technology

6 Pages 1509 Words

Studio technology has developed drastically over the years and has become ever more vital to the record
producer within the music industry. Different producers make use of studio technology in different
ways, often depending on the style of music that they are producing, their preferred method of
production and the band’s preference of sound.



The development of recording technology has run parallel to a reorientation in popular music
production. The goal of getting a good sound is no different now than it was when the first recordings
were made, but the idea of what a good sound is and how it should be achieved are radically different.


The role of the recording producer in popular music is very important; the producer plays a very big
part in the realisation of a composition by deciding what technology should be used and how to use it.
Interplay between the musician, record producer and engineer is critical to the recording process.
However, what is eventually fixed to tape must first be composed around the limitations of the available
technology. Thus the most direct interactions between music and technology occur during composition
and realisation.

There are a number of record producers who have become famous for their distinctive sound and their
particular techniques and application of varied developments of studio technology. Some producers
take much advantage of the technology available to them, whilst others seem to prefer to employ more
classical techniques of record production, tending to shy away from the increasing practise of digital
studio technology.

Ross Robinson, well known for producing ‘nu-metal’ bands such as ‘Korn’, ‘Deftones’, ‘Limp Bizkit’
and ‘Soulfly’, generates his own distinctive sound. Robinson focuses more on capturing the soul and
spirit of the music that he produces. He does this by resisting the use of digital technology and
continuing to use ana...