Annette Cisneros

By Alex Teitz

Annette Cisneros’ resume reads like a who’s who in the music business. She has worked with Hanson, The Offspring, Alice in Chains, Poe, The Nields and many more. As a recording engineer Cisneros must work with the band, and the producer to create the desired sound for an album. This is a complex job and Cisneros has learned many things along the way. FEMMUSIC was honored to have a few moments with Cisneros.

FEMMUSIC: What relationship do you need with the producer and the band/artist to be able to make a project move forward?

AC: I think you need a relationship of mutual respect for one another. You’re going to be working together in close quarters for long hours. I’ve been working with producer Dave Jerden for about 14 years. First as his assistant, now I am his engineer. We try to keep things positive in the studio. You have to get along with the people you’re working with. Open communication and a free flow of ideas are essential. The studio environment should be a comfortable, relaxed, creative place to work. The relationship within the band has to be strong. It’s challenging to make a record when band members are bickering. Band tensions can stifle creativity. The creative part of making records is just as important if not more so, then the technical part.

FEMMUSIC: How involved are you in pre-production before a project begins?

AC: I am usually not involved in pre-production. Dave as with other producers I’ve worked with, have already worked out arrangements, tempos, etc. with the bands prior to coming into the studio.

FEMMUSIC: What is your biggest challenge when coming into a new project?

AC: Getting good drums sounds. I usually work with rock bands. The drums and bass are the foundation of each song in rock music. You have to have a strong foundation to build on. Each drummer has a different set-up. Each pose their own set of problems. I am working with a drummer now who is in the band Cringe. He set up 15 cymbals with his drum kit. I usually like to mic each cymbal separately and submix them down to a pair of stereo tracks. The problem with mic’ing 15 cymbals separately is that you’re going to get a lot of “bleed.”(Meaning the microphone is picking up other drums playing around the cymbal your micing.) This can cause phase and imaging problems. Not to mention you’re going to need 15 more pre-amps. To solve this, I got with the drummer and made sure every cymbal set up he actually played in that song. Any cymbal he didn’t hit, I took down. I record drum kits as I see them “stereo imaging wise.” Meaning, the floor tom on the left will be coming out of the left speaker. Kick and Snare drums are in the center. The hi hat is usually on the right. That’s the stereo perspective I am trying to capture. I close mic the cymbals with small diaphragm microphones to minimize the bleed. Close mic’ing helps keep the preamp levels down which also helps lessen the bleed. The smaller splash cymbals I mic’ed from behind and made a separate submix of them. This all worked out and sounded really great. But it was a challenge.
FEMMUSIC: What have been some of your best experiences in studio?

AC: I was working with the band Offspring. The engineer was not feeling well and had to leave early that day. But Dexter (Offspring’s singer) still wanted to record his guitar parts. As the assistant, you should be able to take over a session in situations like this. ProTools was new to me, but I had learned the basics. I was very nervous, but I sat in the seat and recorded his guitars. It ended up turning out great.
I once worked with an engineer early on in my career. He said, “Dare to be great.” That’s a motto I took with me through the years. At that moment, I dared. You cannot let fear detour you. You have to face them and go for it. The best experience in the studio is definitely when you capture that special take. The one that makes your hair stand on end. I recorded a band named Big Wreck. Ian, the singer, was in the vocal booth. He sang this phrase that just shot chills through me. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, there is nothing like it. And I never loose the more frequent thrill of sitting at the console in front of the speakers when the track is sounding exceptionally great. It just puts a smile on my face. I think, “Yeah, that’s what I’ve been working for”.

FEMMUSIC: Do you have a preference between digital & analog? What benefits and drawbacks do you see to each?

AC: There is a warmth you get from analog tape. But after a while, tape loses its high end. Digital recording makes editing and sound processing much easier, but can leave the recording sounding sterile. Having really good analog-to-digital converters can help that. I incorporate both worlds when I make records. I track to analog 24 track then transfer it to ProTools. I’ve captured the analog warmth of the drums and preserved it now to the digital domain. Over dubs are done directly into ProTools. I use Apogee 8000SE A/D converters going into ProTools. We mix through an SSL console onto a 1″ analog 2-track machine. Then the mix is immediately transferred to a 24-bit DAT machine with good A/D converters. The 24-bit DAT is what is sent to the mastering Lab for final equalization and compression before it gets mass-produced. That’s the process I use. ProTools and other digital programs have revolutionized the recording industry. The editing functions alone allow you to make multiple arrangements of the same song. I would have to physically cut the analog tape to rearrange things before. Having a computer and a digital recording program enables many people to have a virtual recording studio in their home or office. Home recording can help bands demo their songs easier. Some demos almost sound like they were done in a professional recording studio.

FEMMUSIC: As a woman in the music industry have you been discriminated against?

AC: I think I’ve been fortunate enough to not have experienced any discrimination in the business. (None that I’m aware of anyway.) I was hired at Eldorado Recording studio (Burbank, California) because I am a woman. The studio owner told me he wanted a woman in the control room to keep the male testosterone craziness down. I think it worked. You still hear the crazy rocks ‘n’ roll stories, but for the most part everyone is respectful.

FEMMUSIC: Who are your mentors, and who are your favorite artists to listen to?

AC: Mentors? Well, Dave Jerden of course. He engineered records for the Rolling Stones, Talking Heads, Brian Eno, Herbie Hancock, (to name a few) before he put on his producers hat. Bryan Carlstrom is another one of my mentors. He was Dave’s engineer before I stepped in and I was his assistant during this time. Bryan was one of the first guys around to get a full-blown ProTools system. I learned computers and ProTools from him. Bryan has a work ethic I admire. I learned so much from both of these guys and continue to do so.
As for artists, I listen to Melissa Etheridge. Annie Lennex is amazing. P.J. Harvey I like. I’ve been working with a band named Kindness, whom I’m really excited about. They’re three women from the San Francisco bay area. Elton John, Heart and Led Zeppelin were artists I listened to growing up. Listening to them made me want to get a job as a recording engineer.

FEMMUSIC: What one thing would you like to change about the music industry itself?

AC: Record Companies. There is no emphasis on developing artists anymore. It seems if a band doesn’t “hit” right away they get dropped. Gone are the days when a record company would sign a band/artist and stick with them. Let them develop as artists. Let them put out 2, 3, 4 records. Many bands get “the axe” after their first release. Some bands think that getting signed is the point where “they made it.” How wrong they are. It’s only the beginning. I’ve completed records where the record company decided they didn’t like the band after all and dropped them before the album was ever released. Or the A&R guy that signed the band changed record companies. Now, the head of the label doesn’t hear the “hit.” The record gets released with none or very little promotion. These are just a few scenarios I’ve witnessed. The stories go on and on.

FEMMUSIC: What advice would you give to someone who wants to become a recording engineer?

AC: Go for it! It’s a great gig. But you have to commit yourself. It will be long hours with little pay. At first anyway. I suggest you learn all you can about recording. I went to a trade school in North Hollywood, California called Sound Master. I learned about microphones, signal flow, out board gear and tape alignment. When I went to school, digital recording really wasn’t a prominent part of the studio like it is today. I strongly recommend learning how to work computers. That will help you learn digital audio programs. Learn about compressors, limiters and delay units.      “Modern Recording Techniques” is a great book with a lot of useful information. Try to get a job in a
recording studio as an intern or runner/assistant. There is no better education then in the real world of a studio. Watch and learn. But you will need some understanding of the recording process and equipment at first, so you can formulate intelligent questions when you are in the studio. The job can get grueling at times, but I love it.