Today I want to give you permission to not upgrade your home studio.
In fact I want you to experience the freedom that comes from not feeling the need to always upgrade.
I hate feeling like I’m not in control. This is definitely true when it comes to gear upgrades.
We’ve all been there: we excitedly bought a new piece of software, maybe your DAW, and a few months later a newer version is released. It has more power, better features, and a slick new design.
Dang. Suddenly my “new” DAW doesn’t seem so awesome anymore.
Let’s talk about that…
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My name is Graham Cochrane and I'm the founder of The Recording Revolution, one of the world's most loved audio recording and mixing blogs with over 200,000 readers each month. 
Yesterday I was old Cubase files on an old Windows 98 computer (Cubase 32VST) and converting their files from .alls to .cprs and then eventually to Cubase 7.5 64bit (which is not the most recent by any means(. I was astonished at how well all this old technology worked with minimal chips and RAM I converted files from 1990 to 2019 and they all worked perfectly with a conversion here and there. I was really impressed with the tech, and the speed at which it worked. I’m glad I kept it all intact.
My wife is now your biggest fan after showing her this video.
I’m still running Protools 9 on my 2008 iMac with my Digi 003 rack and it works great!
Graham is absolutely right. If you don’t know how to use what you’ve got now Buying new stuff won’t help any. I know a guy that still use the Audio Technical 3035 and he’s a pro. I gave that mic away and I wish I hadn’t after hearing what he did with it. He invested time in his craft. That what made the real difference.
Hi
I am using Pro tools 11 and I am not upgrading.
Dang, I just upgraded my computer, OS, interface and DAW! Well Windows 7 becomes obsolete in 3 months so…
That’s a very good word there. I’ve been running 4 year old Daw, with a 6 year old interface on stock plugins. Just recently upgraded because of os issues. I don’t plan to upgrade soon.
I actually “thought” i had to upgrade my daw so i could use aaf export since i was sending out my songs to be mixed and mastered. It was after 3.5 years with the version i had so i didnt just jump to it, but it turns out i didnt really need to but now im glad i did. Also got a new mic the slate ml1 to get some more mic options. But the thing i dont want to upgrade is my interface. I use a 2 year old presonus ar 12 studiolive mixer. I have been fighting thinking i need better pres and better conversion, but im gonna stick with my mixer.
Thank you Graham! This is really what I needed to hear …
I’m running Pro Tools 8.1 and I’m a happy man. It works fine for me. Sure I must admit that I have had the upgrade thoughts but after lots of pro/cons discussions I ended up NOT doing it. One argument sure is the economic side of being a Pro Tools user. Then there is the workflow thinking and finally the ‘overload’ considerations that you present. It’s so awesome to hear your approach in the video. Nice to have permission not to feel wrong about what I’m doing. Kind regards from Denmark, Gert Vorre
I’ve made this mistake more times than I can count. This is what I love about Graham.. I finally learned…. and my waves plugins, protools…pretty much everything I’m not upgrading until it crashes… hopefully a very long time from now.. Thanks so much Graham!
Hear, hear Graham! As you say in the US … “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”
I agree. You spend a good deal of time getting to know your DAW so that it will be second nature and you can finally make MUSIC,—then you go and upgrade your DAW because there are one or two features that are supposed to save you time. You can save time by not upgrading the DAW…
For me it’s my audio interface. About 10 years ago I bought a Presonus Firestudio Project which gave me 8 inputs. Since that time I have bought two others on eBay for about $100 each, bringing me to 24. This setup works fine for me so I will keep limping it along for as long as I can Jerry rig a connection from their FireWire ports to whatever comes with my computer (currently Thunderbolt 3).
I plan to keep my studio monitors for a couple of decades and my desktop PC for at least 5 more years.
Keep using what you have,youre used to it and you know where everything is.Soon as you upgrade you will have to find where everything is,its a waste of time.
Hi Graham. Totally agree with you, but I also feel the software producers (especially Apple) are forcing us to unwillingly make upgrades. I have a home studio in the US and one in Japan. I am using Focusrite Saffire audio interfaces with FireWire ports. However, my understanding is that after Mac updates beyond Mohave iOS, I may no longer be able to use these audio interfaces I have, and have to shell out more bucks for hardware. Also, as a side, my bother wanted to learn about DAWS so I gave my very old iPad to him so he could use it to learn GarageBand. When I wiped my data from the iPad, we found it impossible to reload the GarageBand DAWs because the iOS could no longer be upgraded beyond version 10, and GarageBand refused to download the older DAWs version that worked on it. I ended up buying him a brand new iPad just so he could use the GarageBand. The old iPad ended up in the garbage. What a waste.
My gosh! While i’m an admirer of some of Apple’s tech (MAINSTAGE) it’s things like this that make me question EVER using their stuff…
I use a personus 24 track mixer and studio1 ver. 2.6…totally happy with some sm57’s and a cheap ribbon and decent kick drum mic….it forces my playing and mixing to get better
Another good video Graham. I hope I will not need to upgrade my Focusrite 18i8 for a very long time, if ever! To be honest all your great advice has helped me build up all the stuff I now have (SM57, SM58, Rockit 4’s, KRK headphones, Pro Tools Lite, 2nd hand laptop). I am having fun with it, it’s all I need at the moment and I can’t see any reason to upgrade anytime soon. Thankyou!
Complétamente de acuerdo Graham, uno puede olvidarse de que quiere hacer música, cuando está entretenida su atención y mente en la interminable avalancha de nuevos upgrades etc…Gracias!
I got Studio One Artist several years ago when I bought a package of DAW, interface, mic etc. I had it on my laptop and on my desktop computer. Then, because I wanted to master my songs, I upgraded to the Professional version.But, for some reason, although the upgrade went fine on my desktop it didn´t load on my laptop. I was in a hurry and decided to try again later. Two years on that “later” hasn´t arrived. I use the Professional version as my main recording tool and I master with it too but I use the Artist version on my laptop for recording when away from home and it works just fine. I could upgrade the laptop Artist version but can´t see the point. Likewise I am running Version 3 of Studio One Pro – even though the shiny version 4 has been out for some time. I looked at the added features and decided that I didn´t need them so why pay the extra when I have something I am comfortable using (and still, after all this time, still learning new stuff about)and which gives me great results?
I hear you …but… following your logic, why would I ever listen to a new song or artist?
I plan to use your video in my staff meetings for a while to set the “old juices flowin'”
Keeping costs down is a business decision. With your subjective view, I am liberated to demand a justification for each “upgrade” request. Or putting a new project into the hopper, will the eleventh pound of potatoes fit into the ten pound bag?
And it is a good quality video. Thanks. Good job!
Im using a rode mike that Ive had since2006….works excellent ….wont change unless it breaks
My RODE is about the same age. It’s not like I’m really abusing it having it sitting in my studio/bedroom…..
I hope you got my last comment because I am not writing it again, except to say: Good job. Thanks
I have a 3-4year old PropellerHead Balance interface for audio a really OLD Tascam (144?) interface for MIDI. I have no plans of changing until they just don’t work well anymore.
Still using my old JBL monitors and some Westlakes I bought new back in the ’90’s.Lusting after some barefoot sound monitors, but might experiment turning the westlakes on their sides :)then checking the response at the mix position… I have had much the same microphones for the the last 10 or 20 years… added the odd one from time to time. I agree with your sentiment. better to focus on the songs and the music 🙂 still use MacOs 10.9.5, thinking about maybe moving a few years newer on that. Still using Digital Performer 9.5.2 (because the newer version won’t run on Mac OS 10.9.5 ) 🙁 add the odd vintage speakers to my collection as I find them, like finding percussion pieces for texture in my songs… thinking about using my old DDA mix console again… but it has a BIG footprint. Audio interfaces… I have boxes full… currently using audient, and crimson, sometimes my Yamaha 02r96… Keep up the good work Graham!
Now today I’ve lost Logic Pro. I tried to upgrade to latest version, downloaded, replaced old version, new version would not play on old OS Mac so tried to go back to old version but it had disappeared. Back to Garageband – but I don’t want anything fancy.
Try the Cockos Reaper DAW…it is easy to upgrade and is very friendly to different ages of computers….Totally free to fully try out, and is upgraded a lot. Furthermore, it’s stable and I haven’t had to pay for an upgrade in 5 years – you get two number upgrades when you pay the very reasonable fee…go check them out…it’s worth a look… https://www.reaper.fm/
Thanks Graham for your insight & talking about a very real problem we have, with all the new tech constantly being introduced. There is so much commercial preasure to upgrade & not be left behind. I am still doing a lot of mixing & editing on equipment ‘people in the know’ call ancient. Only 5 or 6 years old. Awesome Graham!
Agree 100% Graham. I got off the upgrade train a long time ago, and it’s much saner. I am running OS 10.6.8 on a 2005 Mac tower with 8 processors @ 2.93 Ghz. My DAW of choice is Pro Tools version 8. All of my plugins are RTAS, Pro Tool’s old format. So basically I don’t buy plugins anymore, unless the maker still produces RTAS, which most companies do not. But I already have over a hundred plugins and it’s really more than I need. But the point I wanted to make is that I can record and mix a serious amount of multitracks and NEVER feel held back by my equipment. And I no longer give a shit about upgrading, which is very freeing.
Unfortunately in some instances, Pro Tools software will not support some older hardware, which will render your perfectly good, functioning equipment worthless.
Apple now considers any of their machines over 7 years old as “vintage.”
The latest and greatest isnt always the most stable. Native Instruments has just sent out a notice regarding the Mac Catalina OS and compatibility issues, warning of upgrading too soon.
We used to have a saying back in my day that is still true today. Better to be on the leading edge than the bleeding edge.
With that said, my portable rig is running Logic Pro X on a 2011 Macbook Pro (Sierra OS) with a 2006 PreSonus firewire interface and my studio rig is a 2012 Mac Mini (Sierra OS) with a 1st generation Universal Audio Apollo Twin thunderbolt. I will run these until they no longer work as they should.
Ive been an audio engineer for over 35 years and a DAW engineer for 26 of those years. Anything 10 years old is better than anything we had 26 years ago.
That happened to me when Apple went to Snow Leopard, my perfectly good M-Box became as useless as my perfectly good Pro-Tools had been.
So I ditched the lot, went to Ableton/Logic and never looked back. PT is still industry standard but I don’t miss it, and I don’t need it.
I’m running bookshelf passive jbl’s from the late 80s through an old Onkyo amp from the early 80s.
Yes, someday I’ll get some powered speakers but these work just fine for me!
My iMac was given to me and the rest of my recording equipment so far has come to under 5 bills ($500). I bought an old solid flat desk from state government surplus for $30, made my own speaker shelves for a little over $12, and everything works terrific (oh yeah, including my Yamaha Clavinova from 1992).
Oh my songs radio ready? Nah, if I get to the point where they’ll get that interest then I’ll operate accordingly.
Otherwise, upgrades? We don’t need no stinking upgrades!
Yes, good advice Graham, I think we all know this but its often hard to resist and sometimes we are forced to. I was very annoyed by my fairly new Logic 9 being made obsolete after upgrading my OS. I was so pissed with Apple I was determined to change DAWs and go pc but wasted almost a year trying all the different daws before realizing garageband and Logic were my best tools for getting ideas down.
Now I’m on Logic x but my most creative is either acoustic guitar or acoustic piano (no fiddling allowed),
Well i’m not a professional songwriter or artist. Just making music for fun on my ipad. So upgrading is never an issue for me.🙂
I’m glad you made this Video! I’ve been there in the no upgrade zone for a while and started to feel a little pressured because I didn’t want to upgrade what has been working for me. My MacBook Pro is mid 2010, my IO is 10. Something, my ProTools is 12.4 I think…..🤔, I’m rockin’ Logic 9 and it’s all good. The only thing new is the UA Apollo MK II but that’s because my PreSonus Pro 40 interface died 1 year ago.
COULD NOT AGREE MORE!!! Studio La Fabrique –where Mix with the Masters happens– says this on their website “Pro Tools HDX 10.3.9 on Mountain Lion 10.8.” (That’s a 7 year old OS). Fatboy Slim recorded his 1999 hit “Praise You” on a 1986 Atari computer (your Fitbit has more computing power). It’s all about the ears, being thorough and working hard.
I’m not going to upgrade instruments, or recording software, recording hardware, or computer in the near future.
The hard drive running windows XP in my 19 year old computer is starting to not boot up anymore. So I may upgrade my music notation software that’s stuck on that machine from a very old Sibelius to Dorico on my laptop… next year.
Hi Rob, I had the same problem. If the harddisc is running aggain, you can clone it on an other new harddisc (if you get it). Than change the harddisc and thats it. Only I have taken back from web my old PC because danger from E-Mails. If you do well, you don´t need Microsoft for running XP.
I enjoyed your comment. I use an old logic pro 7 and also version 9 to record, for the same reasons you mentioned in yr video. My question is : what do you do if you need a certain plug-in and they tell you that it does not support older models?
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Honestly, I had thoughts upgrading my DAW, but after seeing this video, I’m staying with my Presonus Audiobox USB and Studio One 3. Makes sense to go with stuff you’re already familiar with and can maneuver around.
Thanks for the encouragement, Graham!
Honestly, I was giving thought to upgrading my gear. But, after seeing your video, I’m staying with my PreSonus Audiobox USB interface and Studio One 3 DAW. I’m familiar (more like still getting familiar) with it, and it will save me time from having to learn or master something new when I should be doing that with what I already have.
Thanks for the encouragement, Graham!
I have a 2015 iMac and a apogee duet and I am not going to upgrade
I use a 2007 MacBook running protools versión 8. The 002 rack mount hardware still runs clean
and smooth. I have good mics and record with fine instruments túned often. I agree, it is not the equipment but the song integrity, and how well it is practiced before hitting record. You can not make a mediocre song great with fancy toys. Rock on!
Hi Graham,
Very well said, and it so true about that GAS problem! Old is Gold and really this video should open many minds from the GAS problem.
Thanks for this wonderful video Graham, Keep rocking!
I’m running a 2009 Mac Pro. Yes. I flashed the firmware so the world thinks its a 2010 or something. It runs great. I’m keeping it for now. I’ll continue to use it until, 1. It chokes on large sessions with lots of sample VIs. or 2. When the hardware becomes unreliable.
New computers are like new washing machines. They really don’t do anything the old one didn’t do. They’re just new.
I upgraded to Mojave before upgrading Pro Tools. Big Ooops.
Thank God for Time Machine. Super inconvenient but did not lose a thing. Now I wait for months before any upgrading. It is certainly not urgent.
This is so true.
Like cell phones or other things that we have but don’t always need the newest flashiest gizmo.
My cats chewed my old desktop speakers to shredds and they worked for many, many years. On top of this the UVI piano I was using in my DAW sounded great but I knew I wanted more. I’d recorded and produced tow albums and done a number of films under my belt, finally decided to spoil myself on sweetwater last week. God some new spakers, a new mic to record on the go and a new UVI piano platform and It’s great.
Next week UVI releases a new piano VST and I like it, but I realized I don’t need it because I’ts not the type of music I compose
Love and use what you have. Reward yourself when you know you need to upgrade to get the sound you want and can afford it.
So true! Still running PT10 with OS10.8.3 on a Hackintosh I built in 2012 here! Really the only thing that I think *would* make my life easier if I upgraded would be offline bouncing and being able to freeze tracks from time to time to reduce CPU load.
I’ve used Cakewalk since 2007, and have upgraded to X3 a few years ago, and now use that in conjunction with Cakewalk by Bandlab, with all the old stuff installed. Still use Roland’s V-Vocal for tuning and pitch correction. Even though I have waves; why? Because I know how to use it and to me V-Vocal is a lot simpler.
Excellent post, Graham. Newer isn’t necessarily better. If I know how to use something really well, then I can actually do good work with it, rather than worrying about all the bells and whistles!
Why do I Feel my wife loves me more than before 😀
Imagine changing a tape machine every few years , lol , great post I still use my Tc konnect 48, and apogee ensemble audio interfaces with my 2009 mac pro ,lock x with my krk vxt 6 monitors , just about to add the tannoy gold 7 monitors cause I’m use to the classic speakers
Hello,
I love this rule and I have followed this for a long time and I teach the same to everyone who’s taken sessions from me. I like to put it this way – Do you NEED it or do you WANT it? And I help my students recognise the difference between need and want.
I decided not to upgrade my audio interface, my 2012 iMac (despite the display burning out and I picked up an external display and it runs just fine)
my guitar pedalboard, my guitars, my DAW (unless its a free update that’s rolled out to fix issues etc), my studio monitors and definitely not fall into the whole fix your room with a software. I instead chose to work with my ears and my skills and develop them and I can definitely say, overtime, I have grown so much better and more confident with my work and today I am running a professional studio and recording paid clients and making a living with that by not upgrading anything in the studio and guess what, I am able to offer professional results and slowly making a tiny following for myself in my local area.