So you want to actually release a new album or EP this year? Fantastic. Do you have a deadline in place? Smart move. But there’s one final piece of the puzzle; a “not so” secret to actually finishing your project on time. And truth is, I know most of you aren’t doing this. Skip this video at your own peril!
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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. 
Hey Graham how are you?
My name is David Brockie and I am a home studio mixing engineer as are you. I am 22 years old and VERY committed to my music and have what most artists in my genre of music (hip-hop) lack called passion. Its all about the money for most of the artists in my genre and you can hear it from their music with the exception of some very talented independent artists. I grew up with Rock and have a very different influence with the music that I make. I wish I knew you were located in Tampa in the past, I figure God puts things in place in the time that it needs to fit together though so it is what it is! I was very interested in working with you and maybe even getting some hands on experience collaborating together on a song. You are invited over my home if you are interested I live out in Seffner, FL at the moment and I can show you my set up and we can vibe out for the sake of making good music minus the business aspect, money, and all the other distractions from the art form of the creation. My music can be explicit a little at times so please excuse some of the material and look past it at the message and passion for what I am doing. Thank you so much, most of the recordings were done in a spare trailer bedroom until I recently moved my family out into a new 3 bedroom home that God has blessed us with. I tell you this so you can consider that while listening to the recordings lol. Have a blessed day brother! https://soundcloud.com/therealphoenix/phoenix-dont-look-back-prod-dj
Also, please do not go to the website if there are children around. Some of the material may not be suitable for kids. I apologize for the lack of that information.
This is great, and I admit, I don’t do this, but I see how it’s important as I’m about to release an album with my band this year. The problems I see are, self organization of your personal stuff so you can focus on your band’s music, and the most important, convincing your band mates of how important it is, because they have other jobs and bands and other things to care about, even though the band is taken seriously. I think some people see creative jobs as been more fun than work, but I think it must be a balance. I remember a company of digital marketing I have worked in which its jobs are completely creative and still they have really strict deadlines, and the job gets done (and well done) by the deadline (of course, with few exceptions). The thing is really to treat the band as a job (without taking away the fun of course, so it’s not worth it).
Great stuff as always!!! Thanks.
I would like to ask you a favour Graham: Please, angle your camera in a different way as the lens get reflected in your eyes and those circles look really weird, I’m telling ya. 🙂 Only a portion of your message gets through, because I get stuck by your alien-like look… 🙂
Best.
Hey Endre… it’s not the lens it’s a ring light 🙂
You look like a rockstar; don’t sweat it.
Seconded. The ring light is awesome.
Btw my apologizes much love on the video. You and Joe’s videos really help out and I really appreciate that. I did not mean to flood ur comments section with my personal info I am blocked from FB at the moment for (stupid reasons) and I took whatever means I had necessary to reach out.
Graham,
Thank you SO much for unraveling the mysteries of that weird calendar thingy…:)
A quote from Dave Ramsey, “Children do what feels good. Adults devise a plan and follow it.”
God Bless!
Nice one!
In my job I use this for projects http://www.ganttproject.biz/
And works, for music I do something primitive on paper, just notes, squares and drawing, but… works.
I work in psychometric evaluation for educators, so this thing about schedule and use of “paper ideas” it’s important in every way of life.
Hey David,
I just recently subscribed to your YouTube channel and started following your new project of releasing you Album as i want to do something similar. So i just wanted to ask you this question:
How to do you go about mixing and mastering vocals(Only), do you have a set of steps you take and maybe favorite Plugins i may try?
Check out some of my videos for mixing vocals. Also I have a dedicated series here: http://rethinkvocals.com/
Nice!
I took your challenge, yesterday I recorded demo drums for new single for my band, gonna finish it till the end of April
Hi. Pls i need help with choosing audio interface. Wich is better m-audio m-track plus or avid fast track solo or duo
Hi. Pls i need help with choosing audio interface. Wich is better m-audio m-track plus or avid fast track solo or duo?
1. What are you using it for? Band? Solo?
2. Which DAW do you use?
I want to record my band. I can choose from this three becouse this audio interfaces have pro tool express.
Well you definitely CAN record your band with two inputs but most people will tell you that you should have at least 4 and preferably 8 if you want to track your band live.
What’s your computer like? Do you have any microphones?
I have imac Procesor 3.5GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost
12GB pamäť RAM 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM
1TB interný disk SerialATA 7200 ot./min.
Christas gift.
I have rode NT1A a me friend have behringer .
And now im going for some shure mic
Ok well the good thing is that you have a good condenser. What kind of mic is the berhenger.
Without looking at your specific setup and knowing exactly how you want to record (individual instruments or all live) I’d recommend the following.
Since you already have a mac (and a very good one) you could get yourself a good interface from the Focusrite line. The 2i2 (2 inputs), 6i6 (4 audio inputs plus 2 S/PDIF), and the Focusrite 18i8 which gives you four pres. Both the 6i6 and the 18i8 would require outboard preamps (or a mixer) for their additional inputs. Check their website to see what I mean.
What I was getting at with your Mac was that it has Garageband included for free and you can get Logic Pro X on the App store for about a quarter of the price of a new version of Pro Tools 11. Personally, I use both Logic Pro X (Tracking and editing) and Pro Tools 11 (Mixing) so I have no bias. What I can tell you is that Logic is just as capable of producing high quality mixes as Pro Tools and only personal preference separates the two in my opinion. The cool part about Garageband is that you can learn to record your band on it and if you choose to upgrade to Logic it will open the Garageband files seamlessly.
Since you have a condensor mic and you say you want to get some shures, you can’t go wrong with a couple of 57s.
Obviously this is all personal preference and if anybody else has a different suggestion I totally understand. Ultimately you will have to pick what suggestion works best for you.
I do recommend going to Graham’s You Tube channel to go through the fundamentals like gain staging, mic placement etc. so that you can understand the basic techqiques to getting good recordings. If you master those, your choice of DAW or interface is a very distant second.
Hope that helps a bit.
Th Cristopher. I dont know now what kind of behringer my friend have. ok you recommended me focusrite. logic pro x and shure sm57 . i must see some videos for good mic for guitar.
Roland,
I recommend you look into focusrite, Logic Pro X and an SM457 or two.
I also recommend you ask other people for THEIR preferences as you might find that you like their suggestions better or that they will work better for you.
Watch You Tube videos on Logic Pro X, Pro Tools or any other DAW you might be interested in. Use You Tube for the interfaces as well.
Don’t buy anything until you’ve done some research and got a few people’s opinions. It’s easy to spend money in the wrong places.
Just make sure you have the interface that will allow you to record your band, a DAW that you will feel comfortable with and a few mics.
Most importantly use this site and others to learn how to use the gear you buy. Technique is far more important than gear.
OK. thank for your help.
After all these years…
Every Day I think of trying something new and the project from the day before is only good for looking nice in the project files menu in my DAW.
I’m gonna jump on this train and going to abuse my calendar.
Thanks.
Take that Calendar down!
Hi All,
I like that. Take that Calendar down.
TAKE THAT MTHFCKR DOWN B*TCHES!!!
Aloha …
I used to send out “demo’s” to my family and friends for their opinions and reviews. What I discovered was that their input was not always as helpful as I was looking for (“I think you should have sung that note a third higher” or “how about changing the chord patterns to such-and-such”) so I have started sending out a “survey sheet” with specific questions about the demo that detailed MY particular questions (length of song, song title, tempo, lyrical content/quality) AND at the end a section for their personal comments.
It has made a HUGE difference for me … and the input NOW becomes more valid and valuable for MY purposes.
Just a comment ….
DaKineMusicMan
Kauai
Graham,
Any chance you might share some examples of your calendar? Like some basic ideas of how long you plan out some of those phases? It would be really helpful to see how you do this, or at least your thoughts on how long you plan out different parts.
Thanks,
Brandon
Hi Brandon, great idea. I’ll post my schedule on Twitter and Facebook this week.
Guy’s,
the real secret is…..
divorce from your wife or dump your girlfriend.
You will have plenty of time!
The kids you can keep if there are kids,but the wife has to go!
The kids are going to sleep on a normal hour.
The time you have to spend on the sofa with your wife in the evening is the time you can spend on your music.
No calendar needed,party every day!
And if you need a wife …there are plenty of one night stands to hook up with in the disco or bar.
My secret for free,a pro tip from an amateur.
Thanks Graham for all the great tips and advice and your time! Declan
Hi Graham, I’ve started a Arts, Multimedia, Events, Networking gifts based ministry at my church (A.M.E.N. Ministry) and the concept of starting with the end in mind was a huge help in getting things started. Thanks for the input and wisdom
Glad to help!
This has helped me to decide to commit! My band started tracking our album in October and have been steadily pushing forward but there was never a clear end in sight. I just booked with the mastering engineer in the middle of February, even though we still have some last minute tracking to do! This will help keep the fire under us
This is positively a weblog that people need to get behind. The problem is, no one wants to do a huge deal of reading and not have something else to stimulate the mind. This is the world wide web, after all. Maybe if you added a video or two to emphasise your point. Ill stick around, FOR SURE. But, I dont know if others will.
Longchamp Dark Beige http://www.orgasmdenial.com/blogs/article/440