What is a sound engineer is and what do they do? Our ultimate guide

Sound engineers facilitate the production of musical masterpieces. Find out exactly what a sound engineer is and what they do in a music studio here!

Artists and music producers are not the only people responsible for the music that we love. The music studios where your favourite banger was recorded couldn’t operate without a team of people who help facilitate the creation of musical masterpieces. 

Without technically-minded sound engineers to place microphones, set up recording sessions, mix tracks and ensure the in-house technology can be used to achieve the desired effect, your favourite songs, EPs and albums wouldn’t exist. 

Through years of training, musical education and honing their craft, sound engineers work with artists to ensure their vision is realised. To do that, they need to understand the science and technology of sound and what makes a captivating record for listeners.

At dBs Institute, we provide industry-leading education that allows people like you to follow all of the available paths in the music industry. Our music production courses include:

• Music Production Diplomas
• Music Production and Sound Engineering Degrees
• Music Production Master’s Degrees

We train the music producers, sound engineers and sound designers of the future. We can help you discover new skills and explore every angle of how you can get into the music industry.

If you’re wondering what exactly a sound engineer is and what they do, and want to explore some of the initial steps you can take to become one, read on!

Contents

1. What a sound engineer is
2. Sound engineering jobs
3. What equipment do sound engineers use?
4. What exactly do sound engineers do?
5. How do sound engineers work collaboratively with artists?
6. How much sound engineers can make
7. The qualifications sound engineers require
8. Sound engineering as a career choice
9. Studying for a sound engineering degree

1. What is a sound engineer?

There is a broad understanding of what a sound engineer is and what they do. However, in basic terms, a sound engineer is involved across the entire music production process; from the recording stage to mixing and mastering and, ultimately, getting a project ready for sale online or in record shops.

Watch our Career Spotlight video on the ‘Role of a Sound Engineer’ for more details below.

Other names for sound engineers you may have heard of include:

• Audio Engineer
• Recording Engineer
• Mastering Engineer
• Mixing Engineer
• Audio technology executive

The basic roles and responsibilities of a sound engineer are:

• To work with musicians, artists and producers to create audio products
• Manage recording sessions to ensure that the sound is captured to a high standard
• Achieve the desired tonal quality for the project

They achieve this through a range of day-to-day activities, which include:

• Mic placement and set-up
• Recording audio
• Mixing audio
• Mastering audio
• Technical troubleshooting
• Fixing and running cables
• Managing recording equipment and sessions
• Using a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation)
• Artist liaison (depending on seniority)

What a sound engineer does day-to-day will depend on the scale of the project or studio. Sound engineers working in a large facility with lots of staff and prominent clientele will have different jobs to those in a small studio or as a freelance in a home studio. We will expand on the specific processes sound engineers use and how they work with artists in our chapter: ‘What exactly sound engineers do’.

“There’s the technical side of the role, which involves making sure all of the equipment is set up properly and the session is running smoothly,” says Head Engineer at Real World Studios Katie May, “But there is a big social side to it, keeping people happy and making sure the vibe is good in the room.”

Find out what our students learnt during their trip to Real World Studios in the video below!

2. What jobs can you get as a sound engineer?

As explained in our Studio Engineer Career Spotlight, several sound engineer jobs are available in a studio setting with varying degrees of responsibility. These can include:

• Assistant Engineer
• Recording Engineer
• Mix Engineer
• Producer

An assistant engineer has less responsibility for the outcome of a project and is often more concerned with keeping the client and lead engineer happy and able to do their work effectively. They may be required to:

• Do basic setting up before a recording session
• Pack down at the end of a session
• Record some small pieces of audio
• Get tea, coffee and snacks for the client

This is often the starting point of a career in sound engineering.

The lead producer will have overall responsibility for the final product, a recording engineer is responsible for ensuring the recorded audio is of high enough quality to mix and the mixing engineer will create the balanced mix ready for mastering.

“Everyone’s got a different take on what the producer role means and encompasses,” says dBs Pro Creative Director Jay Auborn, “It can be about sound engineering or working with musicians, writing the music, fixing sessions...it can cover a whole manner of things.”

As a freelance music producer or sound engineer, a role becoming increasingly prominent in the music industry, you may be required to perform all of the above roles simultaneously. 

This is especially true for smaller-scale projects where budgets are smaller and it’s less possible to bring in additional sound engineers. However, for large-scale projects, some freelance engineers will take on interns as assistants or hire other engineers to perform specific roles like mixing.

Next, we will look at the processes, tools and techniques sound engineers use to get the results the artist they’re working with want and how their approach can impact the final product.

3. What equipment do sound engineers use?

Sound engineers use several hardware and software tools to perform their role in a music studio. From huge, analogue mixing desk setups to systems which favour digital mixing, the equipment a sound engineer uses depends on their style and the sonic quality they are trying to achieve. The equipment sound engineers use include:

Mixing desks or consoles

An electronic worktop that allows engineers to bring together all of the sounds and instruments they have recorded into one place where they can be processed and mixed.

Equalisers 

Equalisers, commonly known as EQs, are used to either boost or cut off certain frequencies in a signal to balance or improve the sound. EQs can be purchased as analogue gear, or as plugins used digitally via a DAW.

Compressors

Compressors are tools that compress an audio signal to better control the dynamic range of the sound. They do this by squashing the level of the loudest parts or lifting the quietest part of the signal.

Reverb

Reverb is a sound effect that reproduces how we naturally hear sound in a space; one that is being reflected off surfaces. Sound engineers wield this popular effect, by using hardware and software reverbs, to create a sense of space in the mix.

Limiters

To increase the perceived loudness of a sound, engineers use limiters. Limiters achieve this by preventing audio signals from ‘clipping’ - i.e. being cut off because the signal is too loud for a system to handle. They prevent excessive distortion by creating an impenetrable barrier through which the audio signal cannot pass.

Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs)

Digital Audio Workstations, like Ableton Live, Logic Pro and FL Studio, are the backbone of modern music production and have revolutionised the music industry. They allow audio files to be manipulated. DAWs are the platform on which producers and engineers can use the software reverbs, compressors and EQ via plugins.

Microphones

Microphones are one of the most important tools sound engineers use; especially those specialising in recording. Sound engineers must have a good range of high-quality microphones to capture the crisp sounds needed to make a track, EP or album.

Monitors

Monitors are speakers that allow sound engineers to accurately analyse the sound they are engineering, and make changes where required, to get the desired sound.

Engineers use many more audio tools, like saturation or distortion, hardware equipment and software to create the sound they want to achieve. How they use different hardware and software tools can completely change the result of a record. Some of the most iconic sounds in music were made through the creative use of audio equipment, which we will dive into next.

4. What exactly do sound engineers do?

As discussed in the ‘What a sound engineer is’ section, we explored the basic daily tasks a sound engineer uses. For example, recording, mixing, troubleshooting technical issues and artist liaison.

Here, we dive deeper into the precise ways that sound engineers work, how their creative decisions can have a material impact on the result of a record and provide some insight from our guest lecturers on how they have used audio technology to create iconic sounds. 

Mic placement and recording

Where sound engineers place mics and how they set up recording sessions has a huge impact on the result. 

Different microphones have different ‘colouration’ and when placed strategically, they can create different sounds.

For example, a microphone placed inside a kick drum, rather than in front of it, will produce a sharper attack. Placing one mic inside and one outside a kickdrum will allow the sound engineer to mix the two signals to get the best of both worlds.

Often, sound engineers will place mics directly in front of the instrument being played, but will also put a mic or mics away from the instruments to capture the sound of the room.

Mic placement can impact:

• How stereo the sound is
• Room noise
• Warmth and fullness
• Which frequencies are more prominent in vocals
• Sibilance
• How much reverb is picked up

A sound engineer’s role is to work with the artist to identify the sound they are looking for and use their expertise and experience to design the mic set up accordingly. They will then mix the signals to balance them and create the desired effect.

Check out this Industry Insights session with our friends DPA Microphones who joined our students to explain mic placement.

The sonic impact of mic placement can be astonishing and has led to some of the most iconic sounds in music history. We wanted to test this ourselves, so at dBs Instituete’s Bristol campus, we worked with the legendary session drummer Clive Deamer to try and recreate the iconic Amen Break - the most sampled drum break in history.

In this experiment, BA (Hons) Music Production & Sound Engineering module leader Kris Burton, who used to engineer at arguably the most famous studio in the world, Abbey Road, tested different mics in different positions to accurately reproduce the sound.

“We don't know a lot about the recording itself,” said Kris in our video on the experiment, “But we did manage to catch up with the sound engineer at the time, a guy called Rodney Mills, and he was able to tell us what he was using in that studio at the time regarding microphones and compressors… The actual sound itself is very unlike a lot of drum sounds. Partly, we think, because of compression and the way the mics were set up and bussed through to the tape machine.”

“What we know from Rodney Mills about the microphone set-up, is that there were three microphones on the drum kit. There was one on the kick drum, one on the snare drum and an overhead microphone. The two microphones which were relatively close to the kick and the snare were both ribbon microphones, so we've used some modern ribbon microphones, because you can't get hold of the ones that they had at the time, and we're using a U87 condenser mic above the drum kit. With those mics, we're going to hopefully get that vintage sound.”

You can learn more about this experiment and the science of microphone set-up here!

Using audio effects

Audio effects and processing, like compression, distortion and reverb, are key tools in any sound engineer's toolkit. Using these tools creatively and with knowledge and experience can lead to iconic sounds and help shape an album or a particular sound.

Great sound engineers will impart their taste and style by implementing audio effects, like distortion, to make an iconic sound. Engineers are not only there to plug in mics and ensure everything is captured properly, but to transmit their sense of what good music is onto a project - when appropriate. 

The way sound engineers use audio effects will depend on:

• Technical ability
• Taste and style
• The equipment available
• The sound the artist they are working with is looking for

Many sound engineers are sought after by certain bands because they want to access their knowledge of creating a particular sound through the audio effects they use.

Other sound engineers are mavericks, completely changing a band’s sound using their creativity and ingenuity. Gordon Raphael, the legendary producer of The Strokes’ first two albums, is a producer who had a material impact on shaping that band’s sound.

One of the main ways he did this was through his suggestion to add distortion to Julian Casablancass’ iconic voice. 

“I was involved in industrial music,” said Gordan when he joined us for a guest lecture at dBs Institute’s Bristol campus, “And everything was distorted. The drum machines were distorted, the synthesisers were distorted and the vocals were shredded. So I said, ‘Hey Julian, check this out!’ and I took his voice and I gave it the most distortion I possibly could from the preamp and I said, ‘How do you like that?’ and he said ‘That’s ugly, man. I hate it.’”

“But then he said, ‘You know how your favourite jeans, they don’t have holes in them but they’re not new?’ … And it dawned on me; they’re worn but not destroyed. So I used my original idea but I dialled it back.”

This story is a great example of how the work and creativity of a sound engineer helped create a legendary sound - and how he worked collaboratively with an artist, which we will explore in more detail in the next section.

Check out the full guest lecture with Gordon Raphael on how he helped make the sound of The Strokes here!

Workflow and analogue vs digital

The specific workflow a sound engineer uses can impact the result of a project. During the dawn of DAWs in the late 90s and early 20s, many producers and engineers changed their workflows from an analogue set-up to a purely digital one. However, in more recent years, nostalgia for the sound created by analogue gear and processes has led to many more engineers bringing their gear back into the studio.

The reality for most studio set-ups today is somewhere in between. Some engineers think only a digital set-up and workflow can lead to a clean, clinical and sanitised sound. However, an analogue-only set-up is more complex, often leads to technical issues and is trickier to manage.

By combining digital and analogue workflows, sound engineers get the best of both worlds; the simplicity and speed of digital with the warmth of analogue. How sound engineers make this decision contributes to the sound of the track, EP or album at the end of the production process. 

5. How do sound engineers work collaboratively with artists?

Most sound engineers work closely with artists, so they must be collaborative and communicative. In larger studios, sound engineers may have limited contact with the artists they’re working with but in small studios, where sound engineers must wear several hats, it’s imperative to understand how to work with artists. 

Some of the ways sound engineers work with artists include:

• Making them feel comfortable with refreshments and food
• Talking with them about their music and their vision for the project
• Discussing their preferred techniques and how they work
• Showing them around the studio and the gear they have available 
• Exploring the music they like and the sounds they want to replicate

A sound engineer’s job is to understand the artist, what their vision is, what music they like, and their creative processes and ensure they can help the artist achieve what they want with as little friction as possible. Like how Gordon Raphael worked collaboratively with The Strokes’ Julian Casablancas in the previous section, he worked with Julian to find a middle ground between their ideas.

This means the sound engineer must work with, not against, the artist’s creative processes, understand the sound they want to achieve and most importantly, make them feel comfortable to ensure the artist can perform to the best of their ability.

Ensuring an artist feels at home in the studio and rested and refreshed, will ensure they produce the best product together, so being an artist liaison and a technical engineer is essential.

“How to deal with people in the studio has been really valuable,” says dBs student Manuel Fitolopez, “As a recording engineer, creating a space where artists are comfortable isn’t even something I thought about when I first arrived here.”

In a very special online Q&A with legendary engineer and producer Sylvia Massy, she spoke about using incentives as a way of getting the most out of the artist(s) she’s working with. 

“Oftentimes, I will schedule a reward at the end of a session. Let’s say we have a week long session scheduled, we have a lot of work to do in a week. What I’ll do is I’ll add an extra day at the very end and I’ll say, ‘Look, if everyone gets the work done we’re going to go out and record in a cave and people get stoked about that kind of thing… 

“It’s a slight manipulation, but we all want to have fun and get the work done. Getting their minds off of themselves will help the artist to work quicker.”

You can check out the full Q&A with Syvlia, where she shares more of her recording insights and amazing stories on our YouTube channel.

6. How much do sound engineers make?

The salary a sound engineer can expect to make will largely depend on:

• Their professional experience
• The scale of the facility they work in
• The clients they are working for
• Their expertise and whether they have any niche knowledge

An engineer working on a large-scale commercial project for a business outside the music industry will find that they will earn more than what they did producing passion projects in their home studio. 

Experienced engineers will earn more than entry-level engineers and engineers working at large music studios will earn more than those in small-scale studios. Also, engineers who are experts in emerging technologies, like Dolby Atmos, may earn more than those without that additional experience.

Learn more about Dolby Atmos and its development as a listening platform below.

As a guide, here are some broad salary guidelines for engineers at different levels:

• Graduate assistant sound engineer: £24k - £26k per anum
• Sound engineers: £30k - £35k per anum
• Senior sound engineer: £35k - £50k per anum

Prominent engineers sought after in the industry may earn way above £50k. Some sound engineers just starting may have to work on relatively small day rates, or even begin their careers doing some projects for free and use them as networking opportunities.

7. What qualifications and professional practice do sound engineers need?

Sound engineers must practice their craft over several years to work in prominent studios or have several high-profile clients. Alongside experience and practice, sound engineers must often have a recognised qualification, like a sound engineering degree or music technology qualification.

Many budding sound engineers start their journey at a specialist music and sound higher education institute like dBs Institute. While studying their music production course, they will:

• Practice current sound engineering workflows
• Sharpen their skills 
• Network with other creatives 
• Gain industry experience
• Study new techniques on industry-standard facilities
• Learn from industry experts

Although sound engineers can take the work experience route where they start at the very bottom of the ladder and work their way up, getting a recognised diploma, undergraduate degree or postgraduate degree qualification can help accelerate the process through teaching from industry experts.

Learn more about our BA (Hons) Music Production & Sound Engineering degree here!

8. Is sound engineering a good career?

Music production or sound engineering careers can be rewarding and creatively stimulating, and open you up to memorable life experiences.

Your sound engineering career will be driven by the number of clients and projects you have on the go which can mean busy periods followed by dry spells. However, the 12-hour days and tight deadlines are worth it when you help bring a stunning piece of art to life or get to work with a childhood hero.

Most sound engineers love what they do, it gets them close to amazing musicians and allows them to use their creativity and technical skills to have a material impact on a record.

“I love listening to good records, so if I can be part of making or creating a good record, that is the most rewarding thing for me,” says dBs Institute Plymouth’s Pete Day, who recorded six UK Number 1 records, “If the track is great and the recording has been done properly, I’m there to put the icing on the cake, which I love.”

‍“By far my favourite part is that you get to be in the room with a band when something magical happens and that is an absolute privilege, says Head Engineer at Real World Studios Katie May, “Especially if it’s a band you really like or if it’s a band you don’t know but they happen to be really good musicians. You get to hear that vocal take that gives you goosebumps. That sort of stuff I find incredible”

If you want to become a music producer, rather than a sound engineer, you can read more in our beginner's guide to starting your music production career.

9. Can I study for a sound engineering degree at dBs?

Yes, you can! At dBs Institute, we have a range of music production courses, including a sound engineering degree, to help you start your career. Our courses are delivered from our Bristol, Manchester and Plymouth campuses and online.

If you want to become a music producer, studio engineer or sound engineer, you can learn the skills required for a successful career during your time as a dBs student. These include:

• Music Production Diplomas
• Music Production and Sound Engineering Degrees
• Music Production Master’s Degrees

Hear what our students say about their time studying BA (Hons) Music Production & Sound Engineering at dBs here!

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Want to become a professional sound engineer? At dBs, you can turn your passion for music into a career with our music production courses, including our BA (Hons) Music Production & Sound Engineering degree. Learn more at our next Open Day or on our website!