Behind the Mix: Andy Sneap 

His testament the gathering mix is LEGENDARY!!!

Sneap forever! Absolutely humbled to be mentioned here. 🤘

13:30 I’ve got my 545! Pro tip- get one of the transformerless ones because they’re cheaper, and put the Crimson Audio Orange mod on it. Instant great tone! I’ve got a huge sm57 video in the works

Andy Sneap, Terry Date, Fleming Rasmussen and Andy Wallace are my favorite hard rock/metal producers of all time. They have all been a part of some real amazing masterpieces for metal albums.

Love this guy's mixing, most recently did an excellent job on Dream Theater's newest album. Great video!

Aside the great interview, I love the Broll Bearmantle's figurine in the middle of the shot. x'D

Man, this truly is coming full circle, isn't it? Cool interview!

I have a 1988 Marshall 1960A 4x12 with the original white label T75's. They sound incredibly different to modern T75's and are fantastic for 80s hair metal in standard tuning. I normally play in Drop C and can just get a decent sound out of the modern T75's, but have to push the mids in the 5150 (compared to a V30), but I can't use the 1988 version with Drop C. I have made an IR of the '88 if anyone one wants it.

'You won't find me anywhere' what a legend : )

I always appreciate, enjoy, and learn something with these interviews. Thanks, Glenn and Andy!

Andy's the man!! 🤘 Nice t-shirt too😉

Great interview !! Love the work he did with Nevermore and Testament !

A very very valuable conversation!

This is absolutely awesome hearing Andy's stories on where it all started for his career. He is definitely a true legend in the music industry for the albums his name will always be known for as a iconic recording engineer!!! 🤘🤘🤘

Been waiting for this video for a while! good stuff Glenn/Andy!

I love his production on guitars. Great interview. Rising!

Sneap forum lurker reporting in. Golden days indeed. 🤘

Silicon Messiah record is still unbelievable to this day. Crazy to think how little processing power those old G3 Macs would have compared to something now. Just goes to show you that it's not the tools that make the magic happen.

Love seeing that Audioscape gear in the background!

Awesome interview. And Glenn was well prepared and shampood and conditioned his hair for this 🤣

Whatever goes wrong on modern productions.... Listen to Countdown to Extinction from Megadeth. NOTHING post 2000 sounds so great, alive and organic like that album.

great interview, thanks!

Andys re- mix of nevermores . Enemies of reality is magic!! Talk about polishing a turd.. but he did it! Friggin brilliant sound!

"God " spoken 😄😄👍👌🤟 . One of the best without any doubt in our time .

Colin was always super nice and approachable on the forum.

Great info from Andy Sneap!

Andy 🤘

I heard Ola talk about Sneap a lot but didn't care that much. Then I heard the albums where he worked with Amon Amarth, now I look for what he produces because it's always good.

et9's ar'tan'gent is an absolute masterpiece.

These kinds of videos are always enjoyable to watch. Would be really cool if you could get someone like Arthur Rizk on, he's been producing a lot of up and coming bands and ofc he plays with the awesome Eternal Champion.

I love the morning scream 😭😭😭

I second the no food or drink the studio policy. In my home studio the policy is no food and only drinks in spill proof containers. I am poor and would be really upset if I spilled something on a synth and damaged it. Especially a vintage synth. Or my $500 Arturia Keystep Pro MIDI controller that I can't afford to replace at the drop of a hat. That controller is the heart of my setup. I rely on the sequencers and arpeggiators on it. So I am screwed if it dies on me.

I wonder if Glenn knows about Andy’s excellent work with the guys from Toontrack for SD3? Just wondering, since he always mention mic bleed regarding his recent product. Maybe time to look into SD3, since it probably offers way more, to be fair though, such comes with a much steeper pricetag.

Stuck Mojo’s Declaration of a Headhunter is the apex of their sound!! I look at Mojo as the true pioneers of NuMetal !! Definitely not Limp Bizkit !!

ive got a unidyne 3. its truly different

I love his comments on "retro tones" -- perfect. Songs are primary, everything else comes later. Not that tones and sound quality and so on are meaningless but they should not be the focus.

Dude's live playing with Priest is incredibly tight and clean. I've seen Priest's KK/Tipton lineup and the Faulkner/Sneap lineup. While I don't believe either Faulkner or Andy can touch Tipton in his prime, they do a VERY solid job of nailing the songs - although Richie did jack up the Painkiller solo in the show I saw recently.

Kickass you got to hang out and talk shop with an idol of yours!

WE NEED MORE HELL!!!!!!

I read Rob Halford stated Andy Sneaps is staying with Judas Priest because, the fans want him to stay. He`s a great replacement for the Legendary Glen Tipton, for touring atleast. 🤘🤘

DA 88 …long live the digital tape

So, I recorded my vocals, Range of Halford tone of Bruce Dickinson and Howard Jones, I was told my voice was so loud it kept clipping the Dynamic and went with an SM58. Is that a thing or are they lazy? I can usually be heard over most PA systems without a mic

Horror story: I watched a full Solo cup of keg beer get knocked right down into my guitarist's JCM800 by an unruly patron. Killing it. I instantly pulled a Spiderman leap over my drums and just started wailing on the guy! Haha! Aaaaww. The '90's were fun : )

I think I’m the only one who thinks that It’s time for Glenn to grow out the beard!!! I mean come on, Zakk Wylde style! This isn’t the 80s or 90d anymore. Come on Glenn, go full metalhead!

Like number 666. Edit: wasn't expecting Sneap to sound like Bernie Taupin.

He has an English accent, but I can actually understand what he's saying. Is there an area of England he hails from where the dialect is intelligible?

Its a shame they never got through their differences

my only problem with this is saying these bands have anything to do with modern metal lol

Glenn has a fanboy look about him like if I met Bruce Dickinson or like Marty Friedman

Sneap couldn't mix his way out of a paper bag! It's obvious from this interview that he knows absolutely nothing about audio engineering. Just kidding, great interview!

I hate modern pruductions (from 2000 +). Nothing sounds organic or dynamic anymore. I hate how modern productions sound on my home stereo (and I am very proud of my system as an audiophile guy). I'd rather listen to the same old 80s shit over and over instead of anything new

Never clicked on a video so fast mate 🤘🏻 I love Andy’s work❗️

Imagine not only helping to produce some of the greatest albums of our time AND touring with judas priest...

Absolute fucking legend and one of the nicest guys you can meet. Always helps out whenever I’ve got some dumb question. Humbled to be mentioned here. Cheers

Cool! Andy is great. His multiband comp trick for guitars is epic. Watching now!

I saw him play for Judas Priest two times, not just a great producer, a great guitarist as well!

Oh the old Sneap Forum days! That was the glory days. Great to see Andy here since we all obsessed over him and Colins mixes. Is Colin up next? Cheers!

What a fun interview. You look like a kid in a candy store. I got to meet Andy at a conference in Calgary (of all places) over a decade ago--super sweet guy, very generous with his time and genuinely wanted to have a blast and interact with the people who came out to see him speak. You can see why he brings the best out of the bands he works with.

Any other Sneap Forum users in here from back in the day? Bloodline was my username.

Absolute Legend, Sabbat is essential listening. Hell's Human Remains also. The albums he's produced are another story, what can be said that hasn't been said already.

Nice of Glenn to admt he works with 2 inches, what a brave soul

In my opinion music was better when it was recorded with tape. I dont care if it sucked to work with or how long it took to record stuff etc etc. From a listeners perspective it just sounds better than digital recordings. Im not particularly fond of modern metal production. Or even modern music production in general. It has never really sounded good to me. Whether thats because there is a difference in sound between tape and digital, or just down to the artists performance during recording. Tape just sounds better to me and always will. But that doesnt mean i dont listen to modern produced music. Unlike Gibson, im open to new ideas.

Ah yes, the Godfather to modern Metal sound.

As a 33 year old Im happy to grown up with recording demos on 4-track tape recorders and even 8-tracks. However digital computer recording is just complete heaven on earth for every home recorder. It has teached me to value great takes without "ctrl-z" and not rely on "fix it in the mix" mindset at all times. Theres a lot of good have in the endless possiblities of digital realm as well. The challenge is to not fall into the quantize/autotune rabbithole.

I agree with what Andy is saying, it is boring the way everyone else is making music. I Just dumped $500 on gear to upgrade my 8 channel mixer to 16 channels of preamp, Glenn always bandies on about the humanity not being in music anymore, yet I send in one of my shit mixes where I have Nothing time aligned, no clicks, no scratches, nothing but my own drumming from memory with mistakes included and Glenn screams how sloppy and shitty it is, then 10 minutes later praises another mix for doing it. Now I will have proper gear and I am willing to bet the first thing Glenn says is how sloppy (human) my stuff is. I abstained from spending money because I wanted to prove to myself I didn't need to, now I have to learn how to use the new gear and Reaper. Rehearsal doesn't exist to the solo guy like me, I have to remember how it goes and hope I perform well.

Cool to see Cris Hemsworth has also some mixing expertise.

Back in the day, Martin Birch used to record guitars with a close mic and a distance mic, sometimes as far as the other end of the room. He also had close mics and far mics on Steve Harris's bass. The tones they got sounded much more natural and bigger than what you can get out of just, say, an SM57 stuck in front of the grille. What do you pro guys think of that, and is that a technique you wish would make a comeback in metal?

With such a large dust cap, how do you mike a 75 with a simple SM57? Is there any such useful reference point as the line where the dust cap meets the cone, like on a V30?

My friend recently did some recording at his studio and I managed to buy one of Andy’s japanese Flying V copies through him and I am obsessed with it. I just wish I could have gone to his studio myself 😅

Ugh. The Sneap sound. When I was a teenager just getting into metal, sure, the polished production was what I needed to ease me in, but the more I listen to over the years, the more it sounds like total shit. Can't stand it these days. The first two Sabbat albums are fuckin killer though.

Yeah I think I did, as best I can recall.... not proud of it, LOL but it was the only cab I had at the time, and not even sure how i ended up with it. Andy made it sound good on the album, so all's well that ends well. Before tour I got some more 4x12 cabs. Beyond that i don't remember much, as that tumor that nearly took me out back then was already growing and effecting my memory and decision making. Great to see this, Glenn, you're doing great things with your channel! Andy IS the man, and a great guy as well.

My mum used to cut his hair back in the Sabbat days, he had ridiculously long hair down to his waist and mum loved it 😂

Andy looks so much different on here from on stage with PRIEST. Saw them on the FIREPOWER tour in Atlanta Ga. Andy FREAKING KILLED IT!!! I cant imagine going from sitting behind a mixing board to tour with the METAL MACHINE PRIEST. Oh and with DEEP PURPLE as a co- headlining act. Thank you Mr. Andy Sneap. Oh and you too Glen for doing this video¡¡¡¡

I love the way albums by Andy sound, especially the guitar tone. My favorite one is Dead Heart in a Dead World by Nevermore. I was absolutely blown away by the tone on that one!

Glenn: V30’s and 57’s suck be original! Hey Sneap what’s your signal chain for guitar? Sneap: V30’s and 57’s Glenn: Coming soon, my V30 and 57 cabinet IR packs, yours for $99!

This is very wholesome.

Quite enlightening to hear that even Andy Sneap is bored of the 'Andy Sneap Method' of recording.

I've never played music at a professional level, but I've written, recorded and performed in 5 different bands over the years. I've always hated recording things piece by piece with a click because in all of the hundreds of hours of band practice, writing and rehearsing songs over and over and over, we were all playing together. So when I hear you guys talk about a band not being able to step into a studio and record everything all at once (maybe with over-dubs for vocals and solos), it seems really weird (assuming they actually practice on a regular basis). When you record together, the tempo depends a lot on the drummer; so you need to have a drummer that doesn't change tempo just because the song gets louder or has more triplets, and the band has to actually listen to the drummer... But recording together opens up so much room for dynamics and energy in the performance that I feel like it's worth putting in the work in practice to get the drummer/tempo end of things really nailed down. Not to mention that there are a lot of great songs that actually do change tempo... But that's another conversation.

Andy Sneap's work with Accept has been amazing.

Never clicked so fast on a video

Just a genuinely decent and honest guy when it comes to his advice, no snobbery or "I know best" too many people online selling you "you are doing it wrong" can totally relate to his comments regarding the internet, facebook ect...one word legendary!!

Andy!!! Why does my snare sound like shit???

9:36 This is why we can't have nice things. Forums have become a sewer of gatekeepers and know-it-alls. Small time musicians with egos larger than their talent who don't realise that we need people like Andy and his wealth of knowledge more than he need us. Imagine being the guy who drove Andy Sneap away from his own forum, and is probably still sat in his bedroom feeling smug about it.

You can still find posts from Andy on the Avid forums from like 2001. Good info about recording Testament - The gathering

Forever appreciate what he did with Nevermore. Changed my expectations for metal.

Please do a tutorial of how it goes down for the love of god!!! Recording mixing and EDITING 👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼

Wow great release! why don't you ask andy for a course on making metal guitar sounds and mixing? it would be a diamond! and maybe you can interview Colin Richardson through Andy Sneap? What if he makes a course?

Glen, it's okay with shouting now, we took our lesson and we have switched auto play off so you can't wake up our girlfriends 2am when we go to the kitchen for the 7th coffee and a sandwitch. Of course, my girl loves metal, she is used even to me, shredding all night in headphones or banging pads on my mpc, she is really tolerant and understanding. As I have respect for you I will not repeat what she said after I took phones off and auto play served her one of your longest shouts after (and before), very busy long day at work. Personally I like it, however I think youtube creators should keep intro, guitar and other sounds level below the level of their voice to avoid harsh situations in household environment. At the end of the day, what we come here for, it's what you say, not the intro.

around 7:11 Andy says 'the tape machine wasn't biased properly'. What is bias referring to in this context?

Didn't realize he also did Dead Heart in a Dead World! That album is amazing

Imo sabbat at that time,were unique, nobody sounded like that

It’s late here in Greece so I’ll watch it tomorrow morning but I insta-liked the video anyway

I was obsessed with Sabbat. (Well, still am probably!) And have a lot of respect for Andy. Even met him once in Nottingham at a Sabbat reunion thing a while ago. Only really said hello, how are you kinda thing but I was in fan boy mode I guess! Got a photo somewhere.

This Godless Endeavour by Nevermore ( and Mr Sneap) was my awakening to the power of good production. Still love that album.

Man this guy was everything I hated about 2000s metal production 🤣

I think if you want perfect bass you should try an infinite baffle system where you use another room as a cabinet

Getting the vibe right and not worrying about time must be nice. As long a Nuclear Blast hands their big bands basically infinite recording budgets, this is sustainable...

Finally you got to interview him. Fucking awesome!!!

Modern Metal i dont give a fuuuuck - ughh i was raised on Rock!

I love everything in his studio apart from the photo of Margaret Thatcher. 😭