Ger McDonnell
Ger McDonnell is a music producer/mixer/engineer from
Dublin, Ireland, whose credits include: U2, Manic Street Preachers, The Cure, Dido, Martha Wainwright, Texas, Def Leppard, and Kasabian to name but a few.
"What's the most valuable lesson you've learned about managing different personalities in the studio?"
I'm fairly sure most other producers or studio personnel might say the same thing here. As an assistant/tea-boy, I think I learned exactly how NOT to run a session by observing the behaviour of certain producer types, who singlehandedly managed to completely destroy any sense of positivity during recording. I remember thinking "Okay...so that's exactly what I won't do..." But in all honesty, the studio psychology aspect is 90% of the production job, that's what I've learned most. It's important to encourage a cozy and collaborative atmosphere. And to be a diplomatic cheerleader when you hit the talkback.
"What's your strategy for creating a studio environment that fosters both creativity and productivity?"
No real strategy as such, but preparation is important. From an engineering perspective, I like that to be as invisible as possible during tracking, so getting a detailed gear/backline list of what to expect in advance is crucial, I'll have every musician's 'station' totally ready in advance, so that all they have to do is turn up and start performing as soon as possible. Being on the same page as the artists regarding influences and sonic references is up there. Homework, basically! Rehearsal-room meetings and prep can cut out any surprises and potential huffs when recording starts. Sense of humour runs parallel as often as possible too.
"How do you handle cultural differences in communication styles?"
People love to use WhatsApp voice messaging here. Took me a long time to get use to that, and still I don’t like to use it very often. I prefer emails or texts so that I can look back and reference things later, without listing to a voice message again…but that’s just me
"What's your philosophy on allowing interns or assistants to learn while maintaining professionalism?"
I think my philosophy is yes…I’m all for it. I’m not entirely sure how they are related, but having an assistant that knows the studio or an intern that can set up for a big session is very helpful. One fault of my own is sometimes I have trouble allocating work to interns/assistants.
"Post covid and all the new avenues that became popular online, What's your approach to developing new revenue streams in the changing music industry?"
I was reasonably lucky all through the pandemic to be honest, I was able to continue to work on mixing, and I was lecturing via Zoom too. So I've had a bit of an 'educational' backup, you might say. But as a freelancer of course, nothing is to be taken for granted. Perhaps my workflow has diversified somewhat since; I do a fair amount of post-production and podcast work these days, in addition to music mixing. Trying to keep a hand in with Dolby Atmos too.
"How do you handle the evolution of your role as production technology becomes more automated?"
I'll confess to feeling the tiniest bit challenged (threatened?!) by the notion of 'AI / machine-learning', whatever way you wish to label it, regarding music creation. I have been very lucky with the experiences I've had, along with experience gained, and I suppose I'm hoping that will keep me hireable. Really not sure how I feel about it, truthfully. Of course I welcome the idea that the tech can possibly cover long, dull tasks and speed up the process for the producer (Beat Detective!) but I'm concerned about creative blandness overall. I guess I'm a control freak, perhaps. From a compositional point of view, maybe that's where the fun might be, collaborating with AI to write a song. But the craft of producing and mixing...the idea of automating that...yikes.
"What's your method for managing client expectations in the 'TikTok attention span' era of instant gratification?"
Regarding producing singles as such, not very much has changed there at all really. They were always geared to be comparatively short 'grab them & get to the chorus asap' radio-play pleasers. Particularly if there is a record label involved. Stylistically, the 30-second window of opportunity doesn't really apply to my client-base these days to be honest, good old radio edits are short enough for them.
"What's your philosophy on preserving happy accidents in a heavily edited production landscape?"
They are wonderful things, to be featured - when they happen! It takes a fair amount of alertness and vigilance to be able to spot a viable one too. But it's usually during a computer-wobble and it can be tricky to capture...that's where my 2-track tape machine comes in.
"How do you balance perfectionism with maintaining the emotional impact of a performance?"
The latter always wins.
"How has your mix bus processing chain developed over the years....and has it become a key component to your 'signature' sound?"
The main mix bus chain has been pretty much the same as it's been for quite a long time, one or two recent additions in the form of harmonic processing/saturation and compression. I try not to rely on it too much, I prefer to work the multitrack and groups more so.
Notch EQ.
VCA-style compressor.
Additive EQ.
Trade-Secret harmonic processor.
Trade-Secret 'glue' compressor.
"How do you maintain dynamics in modern productions while meeting loudness standards or have you bought into the LUFS and loudness war?"
Once again, I'm lucky to have a client base that don't necessarily need the RMS of the mix to be 'loud' as such, so if a track needs dynamics - it needs them. For some, I might add some 'steroids' to the listening reference, but I'll never push beyond -14LUFS. Some clients do seem to need to hear your mix pumped up a bit, especially if they are cross-referencing mastered tracks on Spotify for example. Limiting of course is never sent to mastering! I like to leave them wiggle-room for levels. And I'll always let mastering know what LUFS levels the client is used to on the reference copy. I do love compression of course, it can give great energy and excitement to a track, so if a mix feels good that way, so be it. Just don't look at the gain-reduction meter.... I'm happy that the LUFS systems in place on most of the streaming platforms have allowed dynamics back into music overall.
"What's your method for staying connected with international developments while working in Ireland?"
I'm fortunate to have an approximate 50/50 mix of clients from Ireland and also from overseas, so I still get to travel with projects occasionally. Chatting with other studio owners about business and gear in general is very helpful indeed. I subscribe to a few Instagram/social media thingies in order to keep up to date with new products, although I do miss the physical magazine subscriptions, like 'Resolution'. Coffee and a flick through the reviews!
"With the length of time you've been working, what's your strategy for contributing to the growth of Ireland's recording industry?"
I wish I could tell you I had a strategy there...I'm afraid I don't. I tend not to consider what I do in those terms. Ireland of course has been very good to me work-wise, but I prefer to think internationally, really. From what I've seen, everybody is in the same boat since the 'beginning of the end' of the traditional music industry model as we knew it - all just trying to earn a living. Being a commercial studio owner is definitely not for the faint-hearted; it's a very tough business indeed. Thankful that I don't have to run my studio that way. Staying busy and assisting folk to make great art - if that's contributing, then, hurrah!
With many amazing rooms and spaces in Ireland, do you have your method for maintaining consistent sound when tracking across different locations if a project requires it?"
Of course that depends very much on what instruments you are tracking. For consistency in such cases, the budget usually dictates which recording venue suits the instrument(s), and the obvious one is to use a big studio/large space for drum recording. All subsequent overdubs can be recorded in much smaller, cost-effective spaces. For added consistency, I suppose travelling with some favourite mics & preamps would help things too. But I'm not so hung up on consistency as such; you tend to hire certain studios for their character and you embrace it.
"Looking back, what advice would you give to yourself when you were just starting out?"
I would probably suggest (or insist!) that I should gain a good understanding of how the business side of our industry works. And doesn't. Accountancy is certainly not what I was put on this earth to do, and there were times when I was perhaps a little naive or 'green' regarding all things financial. Having said that, when you start out, you're driven by pure passion for music creation, that's all there is, and it's important.
"Whats the one bit of gear that you felt yourself taking that next jump up in your production work be it a mic or outboard or a deadly coffee machine"
To be honest, that came with going backwards in the evolutionary sense and acquiring a piece of equipment from the dinosaur age...a 2" 24 track tape-machine. In addition to missing 'that sound' (I trained on it and used it for many years) I came to start using it as a sonic-collaborator of sorts. I find that I use almost half as many plug-ins during the subsequent mix than on a purely digital capture, and it seems to give the music a hug on the way into ProTools! In addition to that, it forces a kind of discipline and economy on the musicians, so if you have a really great bunch of players, you can tell them: "Right, we've got 15mins per reel, so that means three amazing takes, please...". So we work old-school there, doing drop-ins and repairs as a team. Sharing the workload. It also means that I end up with three playlists to comp from instead of the usual 40..."do another? Yeah..."
Life is too short for hundreds of mediocre playlists.