AES Student Blog

 Interview with Gyorgy Barcosai (University of Lulea-Pitea) – GOLD Category 2

SDA:  How long did you work on your competition entry? Was this your first entry?

     GB:    I did the recording back in the spring of 2011. We did a whole record, so I mixed this track later in the fall. It took about 4 days, I think. Yeah, it was the first time for me.

SDA:  Tell us about the production of your entry. Stories? Inspirations?

     GB:    The biggest inspiration for the production was the record Battle Studies by John Mayer. That record just sounds amazing, so beautiful.

SDA:  What initiated your passion for audio? When did it start?

     GB:    I played in a rock band and we wanted to record some songs. I was never happy with the sound at the small studios, so I took over the engineering job. After a couple of crazy demos it began to sound okay. I think I was about 15 years old then, so I began to record other local bands in a studio in Vänersborg. It was a really great time; I just worked a lot and skipped school to mix and record.

SDA:  Funniest experience as an engineer so far?

     GB:    I was on tour with a rock band and they had a show in Brno, Czech Republic. At the venue, there was this house engineer who just couldn't let me do my work as Front of House engineer. During the soundcheck, we had a really big fight over gain structure and levels, and then he left. He came back drunk and did the first band, then I did the sound for my band. It worked really well, and this guy even came to me after the gig to say how great it sounded. Funny fellow.

SDA:  Biggest mistake you made during a production?

     GB:    I forgot to turn on the power supply for the Neumann U67. I just couldn’t understand why I wasn't getting any signal. I tried everything. Changed all the cables, checked everything. The solution was just this one knob!

SDA:  Favorite frequency?

     GB:    900 Hz, of course.

SDA:  Favorite mic, outboard box, and plugin?

     GB:    The Sennheiser MD 421 has to be the best mic in the world. Works on almost anything. Best outboard is the TUBE-TECH SMC2B multiband compressor. I don't have a favorite plugin.

SDA:  Best recording of all time?

     GB:    Has to be the record Battle Studies by John Mayer, or Suzanne Vega’s Beauty & Crime. The sound of those records just really inspires me.

SDA:  Do you play any instruments?

     GB:    Yeah I play the bass guitar, got a cheap Fender Precision. Maybe someday I will be able to afford a Rickenbacker. That would be heaven.

SDA:  Any other hobbies?

     GB:    Just music. Playing music, writing music, enjoying music.

SDA:  The best part of the 132nd AES Convention?

     GB:    The great atmosphere. It just felt like everybody knew each other!

SDA:  The best thing about the AES organization?

     GB:    All the people that are in it just love audio engineering.

SDA:  Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

     GB:    Hopefully I'll be working on records with great artist and bands. Maybe I’ll be on tour running live sound. I just hope I can work on music that I love with people that I love and use gear that sounds amazing.