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Trey Garrison
Ms. Bennett
British Literature
October 7, 2011
Technology's Impact on Music
It is remarkable how much the recording process has changed over the years. The music
recording industry has changed at an unbelievable rate. Is this a good or bad thing? Most would
say it is a great thing. However, some believe the new and improved recording process has taken
a lot of originality out of music, seeing that more special effects are available today. The
recording process has changed immensely; the changes that have occurred have been nothing but
positive. It is amazing how different it is to go into the studio now, compared to twenty years ago.
Some of the greatest bands in history such as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones did not have
the luxury of great equipment. Although they still exceeded all expectations and reached places
only others could dream of, just imagine if they had the technology that is available today. It is
hard to believe, but, both The Beatles and The Rolling Stones could have reached an even greater
point that no other could ever meet. The overall idea behind record producing has stayed the
same, but, the recording process itself continues to change each and every day. The main reason
for the remarkable change in production is due to the fact that, the recording equipment now
available is not even comparable to that of the mid to late nineteen hundreds. Every musician
seeking success has put an incredible amount of time and dedication into the recording process.
It is very obvious that many aspiring musicians have failed to reach greatness. Although, the
failed artists in the music industry went through the same recording process that bands such as
The Ramones and Nirvana did, the unknown, failed artists did not see success like The Ramones

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and Nirvana. The reason for their lack of success is due to the fact that they didn't approach the
crucial steps in this process the correct way. In order to achieve ones goals as an artist, one must
put all the time and dedication into the important steps in this process. If a musician is not able to
do this effectively, greatness will never be achieved. The recording process is undoubtedly the
most crucial part in determining whether an artist will be successful or not.
To begin with, without the state-of-the-art equipment record producers have in this day in
time, the styles of music that are popular today would be entirely different. Techno/Dance music
has become extremely popular over the past few years. The reason that techno/dance artists have
seen so much success is due to the fact that producers now have many varieties of special effects
available. Although the idea behind producing techno artist’s music has stayed the same, techno
artists have seen success because much more technology is now available to the artist. Along
with dance music's popularity is the growing popularity in hardcore/metal music. Hardcore
music is undoubtedly one of the most popular genres among listeners today. Many bands in the
hardcore scene consider themselves techno- metal. Bands like Abandon All Ships and Attack
Attack are referred to as techno-metal. These two bands are extremely popular right now, but,
they will soon die off due to a lack of creativity. There is only so much a producer can do to help
bands like Attack Attack and Abandon All Ships. The recording process for these two bands is
somewhat difficult. Since they use so much technology in their work, there is not much room for
error. When successful, they can produce an extremely unique sound. However, after techno-
metal artists put out two or three albums, they soon realize that continuing their work is going to
be extremely difficult. The reason for this is because, after sitting down with their producer, they
realize that all the techno effects available have already been used numerous times in their work.
Many bands like Attack Attack and Abandon All Ships die off quickly because they fail to plan

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out how they are going to continue their work after a year or two. Failure in the recording
process will be what kills techno-metal artists. History shows that if the proper steps are not
taken in the studio, an artist is essentially killing themselves from the start.
Second, are the people who believe the recording process has not changed. There is a
load of proof that says otherwise. Refining the product means more than anything in the music
industry. No one wants to listen to a poorly-produced album. Anyone who knows anything about
music will make this a known fact in a heartbeat. The record producer is an artist’s best friend in
this project. A record producer is an individual working within the music industry whose job is to
oversee and manage the recording (i.e. "production") of an artist's music (Flynn). A producer has
many roles that may include gathering ideas for the project, selecting songs and/or musicians,
coaching the artist and musicians in the studio, controlling the recording sessions, and
supervising the entire process through mixing and mastering. Producers can also be of assistance
when it comes to managing time and a budget. Needless to say, this person is crucial if an artist
plans on being successful. With today's relatively easy access to technology, an alternative to the
record producer just mentioned, is the so- called “bedroom producer” (Flynn). A bedroom
producer is someone who is not the main producer but is an assistant to the main producer. With
today's technological advances, it is very easy for a producer to achieve high quality tracks
without the use of a single instrument. Many established artists take this approach (Bellini). Any
producer/artist that has spent a significant amount of time in the music industry will tell you just
how much the recording process has changed over the years (Gilman). Prior to the 1950s, the
various stages of the recording and marketing process had been carried out by different
professionals within the industry. “A&R managers found potential new artists and signed them to
their labels; professional songwriters created new material; publishing agents sold these songs to

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the A&R people; staff engineers carried out the task of making the recordings in company-owned
studios” (Brower). As a result of these recording changes, record producers began to give a
strong influence, not only on individual careers, but on the course of popular music. In modern
day recordings, recording and mixing tasks are centralized within computers. However, there is
also the main mixer, outboard effects gear, and the recording device itself. All this equipment
was not available to bands from the 50's and the 60's which makes one think, did all those bands
truly live up to their full potential? The world may never know.
Third, it seems that guitarists do not rely on skill as much as they used to. The most
famous guitarists of all time including Eddie Van Halen and Jimmy Page required little to no
special effects and created some of the most memorable riffs in history (Brower). Now it seems
that more and more bands are using technology to cover up their lack of skill. Sure, these effects
may sound cool, but, after a while these effects become extremely repetitive and overused.
Special effects in the studio can only get an artist so far, not to mention the fact that it is very
difficult to pull off live. Guitarists such as Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine heavily
rely on special equipment and effects. Tom Morello claims that he can make all kinds of
electronic sounds using only his guitar (Bennett). Rage Against the Machine even noted on their
first album that all their band used to record their music was a guitar, bass and drums (Bennett).
There is clear evidence that states otherwise. Tom Morello uses a 50-watt Marshall JCM 800
2205 from the early 80's with a Marshall Checkerboard style cabinet and a Fender combo amp
with a 4x12 cabinet. Both of these are audio amplifiers. Along with these amplifiers, Tom
Morello uses numerous effects pedals. Among these effects pedals are the Voodoo Lab Pedal
Power supply, Dunlop Cry Baby Wah, DigiTech Whammy, Ibanez DFL Flanger, DOD FX40b
Equalizer, Boss DD-2 Digital Delay, Boss TR-2 Tremolo, Talkbox, MXR Block Phase 90 Phaser,

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Ring Modulator, Ibanez AD-9 and the Locobox Analog Delay pedal (Gilman). Seeing that there
are live videos and pictures of Morello using these effects pedals, audience members can
conclude that he uses numerous resources. Although the band has still seen much success, Rage
Against the Machine has lost a lot of fans because of Morello's overwhelmingly large amounts of
effects. With this being said, aspiring artists should think about how they are going to use their
effects before producing and distributing their product.
Next, audio amplifiers are one type of equipment that is one hundred percent necessary
while in the studio (Gilman). The number of audio amplifier designs that have been produced
over the last century is in the hundreds of thousands. Audio amplifiers can be miniaturized for
placement in headsets, mobile phones and many other devices. This being said, by having the
amplifiers that are available, it becomes much easier for a band/solo artist to hit it big, which is
one of the major differences in music today and fifty years ago. Without audio amplifiers, there
is absolutely no way the studio process could be successful. The reason audio amplifiers are so
important to musicians is because it gives them a better sound when trying to determine if the
sound they receive is what the artist wants. Another important factor when looking into music
recording is the studio. In order to get the full effect of a good album the quality of the studio is
extremely important. Sure, you have to begin somewhere. Everyone does. By having a good
producer who knows how to do his/her job, it makes an artist’s job a lot easier. Bands that cheap
out when it comes to this part of recording have practically buried themselves in a hole they
cannot get out of. Had they actually put time and effort into the recording process, the success of
the band would have increased dramatically. That is why when an artist’s time comes to record,
the artist needs to invest his/her time and money into the place that will give him/her the most
success. It is apparent that artists can see very limited results at first. Without the willingness to

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do what is necessary, an artist is never going to be able to live up to his/her full potential. If an
artist does not have the capability to put in the time and effort, the amount of success the artist
will see is always limited.
In conclusion, music composition and recording are absolutely critical to an artist’s career
(Bellini). Musical composition is such an exciting field of work. It is an opportunity few people
have a chance at. The reason that so few people have a chance at being successful is quite simple.
It is an extremely difficult field of work. Thousands of artists have been trying to hit it big for
years. Only a handful will see any amount of successful due to the fact that there is so much
competition. If an artist plans to be successful, he/she is going to have to go thru the entire
recording process more than once. The recording process is what makes or breaks an artists
career. By skipping the necessary steps in this process, an artist is already limiting themselves
from having success. There are many record producers willing to work with anyone that will put
in the effort that is necessary in this industry. Not taking the recording process seriously is the
worst mistake an artist could make. Putting in the time and effort is the only way to be successful.
The overall recording process is undoubtedly very difficult. However, it is one hundred percent
necessary to an artists career.