By: Becky Firesheets

No sound engineer goes into the business to become famous.  The band onstage gets all the attention for an awesome show while the engineer packs up in the shadows.  “It sounded great!” fans often say to the lead singer.  But if there’s piercing feedback, an annoying buzz or a muddy mix, the engineer always gets the attention.  Rarely do we consider the constant tweaking of knobs at a typical show or the amount of hours put into mixing a solid album, yet we are quick to blame when something goes wrong.  But for an audio engineer, that’s just part of the job.  A good engineer makes the music sound great.  If the music sounds great, people should be paying attention to it, not to the dude in black hidden behind the board.  Pretty glory-less work.  But without a good engineer, a good band is worthless.

Jonathan Jacobi is a prime example of a good engineer.  Jacobi has been mixing bands since high school when he listened to a mic through headphones for the first time and knew immediately what he’d be doing with the rest of his life.  Based out of Tel Aviv, Jacobi focuses mostly on recording and mixing rock-and-roll but throws in a little funk and electronica from time to time.  And he’s not just good at hearing the technical side of things; Jacobi also knows how to listen to the musicians, to capture the sounds and vibes they want. 

Click here to read our Q&A and make sure to say "Thanks" to the sound engineer while you're out this weekend!