Did you know that my first few recordings were absolutely horrific?
More specifically my first few YEARS of recordings were mind numbingly bad. Down right awful stuff people. The kind of stuff you would listen to in order to instantly feel better about your recordings.
But then I bought a really nice mic preamp and some acoustic treatment and my recordings improved a hundred fold overnight.
NOT!
Haha. What a joke. A sad joke, really, because we’ve all believed it at one point or another.
Via Hernán Piñera Flickr
Forget The Magic Bullet
The home studio (and pro audio) culture tends to perpetuate the myth of the magic bullet. That there’s some piece of gear out there, either hardware or software, that is the missing link for you.
What exactly that piece of gear is depends on who you are talking to at the moment, but the world view behind it is always the same. We like to believe that we are one purchase away from better recordings.
But please take my word for it. There IS NO magic bullet.
I honestly wish there were. If so, I’d work hard, save up my money, and buy that sucker! Then life would be simple and my audio quest would be complete.
But because it doesn’t exist, I had to find another way.
I Have Good News And Bad News
You can’t give a guy like me (whose recordings were pathetically bad) an expensive piece of gear and assume my recordings will improve drastically, if at all. It makes no sense.
Why? Because the gear wasn’t the weak link in the chain. I was.
And that’s both good news and bad news.
The bad news is that if your recordings sound terrible (or just not as good as you’d like) then, as Hoobastank would argue, the reason is you.
It’s not because of what DAW you record with, or what microphone you use, or what converters you own.
No, your recordings (and my old recordings) are bad because you haven’t developed enough in your craft.
You Can Stop Debating Gear
But therein the lies the good news. You don’t need any more (or different) gear to improve your recordings.
You can stop entering into pointless debates about what gear you really need to get a pro recording, and instead funnel all that energy and effort into doing more recording and improving your craft.
(One of my readers, Josh, gets this concept perfectly.)
Since YOU are the weak link in the chain, every moment you spend practicing and honing your skills, the better your recordings will become. Even if you never buy a new piece of gear again.
Why Do You Think My Recordings Have Gotten Better?
Going back to my point about my early recording days. They were horrible remember?
When you look at the progression of projects (both personal and for clients) that I have recorded over the past 15 years, what is the fundamental reason my recordings are (literally) 100 times better than they used to be?
The simple fact that I’ve done a ridiculous amount of recording for 15 years.
Like virtually every other skill out there, the more you practice it, the better you become. It’s inevitable! And that’s really good news!
You don’t need anything special. You don’t need a fancy recording room. You don’t need more money.
You just need to get to work, make a bunch of bad recordings, hone your skills, and watch things improve over months and years of doing this.
In fact, let’s test this right now. If you can listen to your most recent recording and say with all honesty that it is better than anything you’ve ever done in the past, let us know below.
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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. 
Amen to more practise and less GAS!
Utterly agree with this! If I listen to some of my recordings over the years, as I regularly do so that I can observe, and reflect upon, my progress, I can chart my development and hear improvements as I learn things from each piece of work and from others like you and Joe, as I apply them.
I can honestly say that my last mix is currently my best piece of work, but it’s NOT perfect. I can identify mistakes and omissions in the mix, but, as I reflect on those, I have figured out how to improve those things in my next mix. By applying a reflective practice approach to my work, I know that the next mix is always better than the last one!
Thank you Graham,
The music I get to create keeps getting better. When I look back on old recording and what and my more recent releases there is a big difference in the quality of the music I’m creating.
One of the best things I ever did was sign up on your mailing list, watch your free videos, and eventually buy your premium video tutorials.
Seriously you have taught so much in the last couple years. Thank you!
Thanks so much Travis.
I can’t agree with this more. I have friends who have simply cashed out on expensive gear, without the time and drive required to hone their own skills. I’ve found this in everything I do. The simple truth that it’s you not the machine can often be hard to come to terms with, and when it does, people get discouraged.
This is the total truth. I’ve never had money to buy the latest and greatest gear, but what I’ve leaned is to sizzle on a shoe string budget. Graham’s philosophy of taking way too many options forces us to look at what we have and start from there to make better recordings. Case in point. I put on and album in 2013 called “Under The Influence” basically for my own ego and because I had few songs I thought were good. I recorded them on a Roland VS-2400CD. I worked with some basic know how and I released it to the world…Proudly!!! When I discovered Graham on YouTube I started to truly and honestly as myself. Did I do as best job as I could have on that project. The answer was HELL NO!!! LOL. I go back and listen and my ears hurt! My ego got stripped away and I’ve really been studying and working at becoming a better mixer daily thanks to Graham.
yes man,
I realized that my mixes are improving day by day by using a simple trick : Being harsh on myself.
Real harsh, when i realized when i started following the recording revolution why my mixes didnt sound good i started researching and learning everg processor i use, why I use it.
And do a move in a mix for a purpose if at amy point of time i dont know why in doing something i stop there and just don’t do it.
My mixes are really having benefits from this!
Very good post! the reality is hard for anybody to face but when the reality is faced, can be easily improved!
Ignoring reality means cheating on ourselves in my opinion!
very eyes opening!
I have to agree here. I used a $20 dynamic mic from radio shack to record guitars for quite a while. It worked out just fine. Sure I had to make a few more EQ tweaks to compensate for the lack in the recording but I still got what I needed out of it. I think some equipment is necessary, I couldn’t for instance, use that mic plugged into my sound card to record an entire drum kit, but once you get past a certain point, gear really just makes things easier once you already know what you’re doing. If you don’t know how to drive, you’ll still wreck that $200,000 McClaren just as fast as you would a $500 Cavalier….
right on!!. some things help with the fingers, others like this helps with the mind..
So true. I’ve been harping on this recently on my own blog too. Gear is useless if you haven’t already invested in yourself.
Honestly, I think the two purchases that have helped my recordings and mixes the most are Joe’s Production Club, and of course Dueling Mixes. No piece of gear has ever come close to making the difference that those two pieces of training have done.
But here’s the kicker. With the Production Club, I produced two songs over the 19 week course. With Dueling Mixes, I mix a new song every month. Training is great, but only if you put in the work! And I can say from experience, it makes such a HUGE difference.
Thanks Graham!
Oh and thanks by the way. Now I have “The Reason” stuck in my head….
Mission accomplished!
Graham,
Thanks for everything you’ve taught us! Watching you videos has helped my mixes in so many ways! I have a completely unrelated question about gain staging and I was hoping to get your input. I track through a Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 with my signal typically coming in at -15db. I’ve recently added an ISA One(with A/D card) preamp to my setup via S/PDIF. Since the ISA is an analog pre, should I be recording hotter signals? I haven’t experienced any noise issues with the ISA, it sounds very transparent. I don’t completely understand conversion and the noise floor issues associated with analog gear. Do you record hotter levels from your ISA430 as opposed to your Saffire?
Thanks
Hi Matt, all that matters is does it sound good, and 2) is it still a conservative level hitting your DAW. You still don’t want to record hot into a digital format, because the converters likely don’t sound great at that level.
Master your mics… Use your ears to place them… Use minimum post production effects and equalization… Keep the signal path to a minimum… Find out how to eliminate ground loops and noise on your system… Go to the Rane website to learn how to wire up interconnects for your specific purpose… Wash, rinse, repeat… (m.)
Hi Graham. My recordings have been improving from a lot of your helpful tips. I’m learning how to use eq much more effectively, and your tips on a heavy mix bus have been adding a lot of life to my demos. I enjoy your tips. Keep em coming!
Glad to help!
Like my wife told me once, after I was disappointed with a crappy recording: “well that’s great! You’re one turd closer to greatness!”
At least she didn’t say,”Well that’s great! You’re one turd, closer to greatness!”
haha, yeah, that wouldn’t be so encouraging 😉
Bahaha.
well, it only makes sense. I’m not a pro at this. I record my band live about 1x/month and mix with REAPER and for the most part, its stock plug-ins. More practice at this means both that I become a better listener each time and I learn more about how to use my DAW. It doesn’t meany buying more plug-ins. The end result is that it takes less time to get better results than when I first started recording the band.
Not totally true. I can make the same recording on my newer equipment and the old and there is a big difference in the cheaper equipment. It sounds bad. I have compatibility problems between various types of equipment that cause pops, drops, noise, my laptop to hang up, etc. Some are easier to use than others. Microphones sound totally different for my voice. Some sound tinny.
Gear DOES make a difference. Some gear is good, some gear is great, and some gear just sucks.
The point of this post wasn’t to say that gear does not make a difference. Just that it doesn’t make a magical difference that suddenly makes all of our problems go away. Yes, it may make some problems go away, as you’ve described. But sometimes I think we put too much emphasis on the difference that it can make.
I think as you grow in your ability, you start to appreciate the nuances and differences in quality between different pieces of gear. Case in point: for my entire first EP I used a $75 microphone, and it worked just fine for me. Recently, however, I’ve started being annoyed with the type of sound it gets me, and I bought a more expensive one.
Did I think that the new microphone was going to magically fix everything? Nope. But it is just a little nicer, and sounds a little better. My ear has developed enough that I can tell the difference and use it to my advantage.
So yes, better gear can be helpful. And if you’re running into nasty compatibility issues, upgrade to something that works! But don’t fall into the trap of thinking that the next gear purchase is going to fix everything 🙂
I just proved this to myself last week. Inspired by Graham’s 1-mic EP, I decided to see if I could get a song done with a single mic. And I even went dynamic with it – SM57 just to keep it low end. I used an M-Audio Fast Track 400 as the preamp/interface. I mic’d the drums center of kit. I used an amp sim for guitars.
I own way too many DAW’s (Pro Tools 9 MP, Studio One Pro, Sonar X3, Reaper, Tracktion 5, Reason 7, Harrison MixBus, and Logic X even though I don’t have a Mac anymore). In the past, I’ve always found that mixing in Reason always left my mixes kind of dull, even with the great SSL mixer built-in. But this time, I decided to just use Reason because it’s quicker and easier to actually record. And since I was only using a single mic, editing the drum timing wouldn’t be too bad.
What do you know – best mix I’ve ever done, and it’s not all that close. It’s not because Reason sounds better or that I had a great room (acoustic guitars & vocals were all done in my unfinshed basement office that shares a room with a full sized refrigerator and the forced air furnace!), or that I used a great gear chain. It’s just that I had more of a plan and made better decisions with arrangement/instrumentation and I’m getting better at mic placement as it relates to the finished product. The weak parts come down to performance – that can only get better with practice or hiring somebody do to those parts. But the mix has more energy and punch than anything I’ve put together before.
What’s surprising is that I LOVED the way my acoustic came out double-tracked with just an SM57 on them. It just reminds me – recording “rules” are stupid. The drums came out cool, too.
Graham – I’ve learned a ton from you, but most of it I could get from anywhere. What you and JG do that sets you apart: removing excuses and focusing on what matters – developing skills through repetition. Truth is, the last 3 or 4 songs I’ve done each has set a new standard for me. It all comes down to practice, and if it weren’t for the motivation you provide, I’d still be spending all of my time researching gear/plugins/technique/etc. and never actually using any of it. Thanks!
So awesome to hear Jonathan!
Amen, Brother Graham! The ONLY way to improve your game (whatever your game is) is to PRACTICE! My most recent recording is light years beyond my earliest stuff— of course, I can also attribute that to using some of the techniques I learned from YOU, so, thanks!
I can no longer support this stuff Graham
(For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to
day with their unlawful deeds;) 2 peter 2 :8
Spirit Or Message of Rock Music
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Voodoo Religion of Rock Music
tinysa.com/sermon/922131958556
When Israel Had a Rock Concert
tinysa.com/sermon/922131717127
Rock Musicians:Wizards With Familiar Spirits
Wow…way to turn people off of a good thing.
It’s funny how we can look back in horror at how bad our ears were. I have found, for me, I notice progress tangibly not only by the end results sounding better, but also in noticing how my ear picks up on new things that I didn’t five years ago. A sort of obscure and funny example is a piano sample that I bought a while back. When I first got it I hated it and didn’t use it until about a month ago when I loaded it up because I forgot what it sounded like. Guess what. I really love it. I have no idea why I didn’t like when I first bought it, but obviously something about how I am actually hearing audio has changed. That’s what it is all about. Training your ears over time to mature and progress musically.
I tracked drums in the living room yesterday. I’m doing some of my good friends’ 2nd ep.. i did the first back in summer of 2012. Same mics, same drummer. Last time we rented a studio for the day for a few hundred bucks. I was really happy with the recordings. This time though, holy moly! I got so amped about the sounds! I recently built some mid freq absorption panels so we hung a few of those and i have some pvc pipe/moving blanket gobos we set up. I’m really impressed. Time, practice and critical thinking are the magic bullet, you’re spot on Graham.
Yes man, you´re so right. But the one thing I like about getting better and better by practise – and I got way better in the last year of doing one song per week for my Youtube-channel – is, that I am no longer lost in the jungle of trial and error. With every recording I do, I know better, what to do and why. I understand what to do and that saves me so much time for the main thing: writing more songs! And this is by the way one craft, that I am learning, too, better and better by doing. So thanks Graham for all your passion and your wonderful way of teaching us to believe in us, not in gear!
Glad to do it!
Take note: if your first recording and mix were the best you’ve ever done. You probably waited too long to start. There are 3 things that will improve your skill at anything: 1. Practice and then there is Practice and lastly, do not forget to Practice. It is an age-old recipe for improvement. If you are not passionate about practicing, your mixes will show that. Keep at it and you will get better. some people progress faster than others. Continue to hone your craft and skills. Who knows where it may lead, but is exciting to think about it.
Good luck to all those who are passionate about making great music.
I was actually talking to an artist I recorded a year ago and asked them if they would come back so I can rerecord them now that I know so much more! Thanks for reiterating what i was thinking!!!
As always, totally agree with you Graham!
It’s crazy to think that the well known mixers and producers passed that state of “bad mixes”. I can’t imagine that Dave Pensado or CLA have at least one bad mix under their belts, can you? 🙂
Thanks for your post!
Nah, those guys probably came out of the womb mixing perfection.
Graham this is brilliant. Thank you. You’ve really inspired me. I’ve gone back to basics recording and have come up with some of my best stuff lately. It’s not incredibly creative but I recorded this the other night in my front room with an sm58.
https://soundcloud.com/stevenheathsings/somebody-that-i-used-to-know-landr
You must have been in my head last night?
While fleshing out a new song I dropped a sketch mix ( clutter mess of ideas, riffs, etc) into media player. As I took notes on what I wanted to keep, expand, trash…) I popped up preview on some mixes from last year and immediately got a “warm fuzzy” from hearing my progress. Even this sketch was so much better than what I consider the best I could get 6-12 months ago. What changed? Practice. Both in performance and mixing technique.
As you know, Graham, my mixes have improved greatly because of your website. That being said, I’ll take exception to this last post with one comment. Spending the money to treat my room was money that did instantly improve my mixes, because I could actually hear them. I know that I could mix with headphones to get a good mix, but I find that headphones make it very hard to correctly place stuff in the appropriate ambience. But as far as plugins, etc. I would agree with you – experience and doing it every day is the way to do anything better. Keep the good stuff coming – we all depend on it.
I’m not against spending money 🙂
it’s been 4 month since i practice to record and mix my own song, i know i’m not good enough.. But at least i know i’m getting better. Thx for your youtube channel and website
a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step – Lao Zi
It certainly puts perspective looking/listening back to past works and comparing them to recent ones. It is still a constant climb for improvement in the various areas of recording, and it’s nice to see there has been an advance over time. Not just sound wise, but also workflow and project management.
Thanks Graham!
TRUE! I had a boss tell me one time, “Mark, SUCK is halfway to SUCCESS”, and it’s true. Since setting up my studio over 2 years ago & just keeping on “plowing” & recording/mixing/producing, my recordings are 10x better … Maybe in 15 years, they’ll be 100x better… But, I haven’t bought A SINGLE THING since I originally setup my home studio 2 years ago — NOTHING! It’s just the repitition of recording, experimenting, etc. that’s made my stuff better…
Graham,
I’m a huge fan of your truthful and inspiring articles! I must admit I had to learn my lesson the hard way, dismissing your advice and opting for the “pill” option. The quest for good recordings is similar to the fitness world. Many people (myself included) rather take the new miracle diet pill instead of increasing their knowledge of the human body and applying that knowledge to their diet and exercise regimen. Learning your craft is the most valuable tool at your disposal, is ultra portable, and doesn’t break down. Knowledge?…Reading?…Hard work?…Who wants to do that though? LOL Well, my friends the answers is SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE.
“It’s not because of what DAW you record with, or what microphone you use, or what converters you own.”
Oh my f*cking god… No way. For the DAW, maybe. It’s just a pen, it doesn’t really change your writing. But go record a singer with a Samson C01 and make the same take with a Neumann U87, try to put some compression and some EQ on it and you will NOT say “Well, that’s the same.”
Same for the converters, even if on our days, all the converters are pretty much the same.
And to finish, yes, it is important to have skill. But if I had good skills and access to a 1000$ studio, I would record and mix a pretty good album. If I access a 10,000$ studio with the same skills, I would record a very good album. And here is the difference.
I think that’s true when you get to a certain level. The gear definitely does make a difference, and it’s important to try to find, for example, the right microphone for the job.
On the other hand, I’m pretty sure that Dave Pensado could make a better album than me, even if he had a $1000 studio and I had a $10,000 studio. Gear makes a difference, but skill makes MORE of a difference. We often want to believe that it’s the other way around: that we can cover up our lack of skill by spending more money on gear. In my experience, it simply doesn’t work that way.
Gear is def part of the equation once you know what your doing with it. But this article is aimed towards people who are starting out and looking for direction. Beginners can get stuck obsessing over and saving for gear, instead of working hard and learning the tools at your disposal that will translate to whatever gear you have access to in the future.
Exactly!
I have to admit and testify that since I’ve been follow Recording Revolution tips and tutorials, my mixing and mastering skills have grown 100 times over. I’m glad I became a part of the revolution…
#boom
I was on the gear trip for awhile. All though it did help, I soon learned that what I did with it was much more important then what I had to use. I have now down sized to the very basics, taking the advice from you, I now have a much clearer view of my direction, my work flow, and my craft. I have downsized to the point that you almost can’t tell I have a studio.
My computer, Firestudio 2626, Monitors, a few Mics, 2 Guitars and a Bass. Most of my work is recording and Mixing. Software has replaced almost everything else. When I say software, I include my brain!
I wonder if I had never stumbled onto your video’s, if I would have come as far as I have.
I doubt it…
Thanks for your journey!
Well, yes and no…. there is no magic bullet, but there is a magic phrase of that when put to use, it’s works! I have learned this from both Graham’s teachings as well as other very useful online tutorials. That phrase is “the accumulation of subtleties” There is such a fine line to walk with that phrase. Here is where I do agree, but also disagree with Graham’s opinion on gear. Getting good recordings and great mixes start with practice, practice, and more practice. Your ears must be trained to “hear” what sounds good and natural. Your ears must be trained to “hear” the little subtle nuances that certain eq moves will do to the material you’re working with. All that comes with practice and watching the pros do it. I’ve been teaching myself to record music since I was young…always trying new things and sometimes not always able to get the greatest gear. I’ve had a lot of practice since then…and yes, still learning as of today.
A great sounding mix and/or recording is the ACCUMULATION OF THE RIGHT SUBTLE MOVES all the way across the spectrum….and that includes having the RIGHT GEAR. Will your recording sound great using only a $50 mic and a $200 converter/interface? If you’ve had enough practice at the craft….and, you make all the right subtle eq and compression moves…then YES IT WILL SOUND GREAT.
Now…take that same song you just recorded through budget gear and your know-how of what you know sounds good, and re-record it through higher end mics, converters and yes, even better sounding monitors (that’s a whole topic in itself)… you WILL hear a difference in quality. Your music will sound bigger, clearer and more pro. How do I know? Because I’ve been there. I started YEARS AGO with a Tascam 4 track cassette recorder, then moved up to a Korg D32 digital recorder. Then after so many years of struggling to get pro sounding recordings, finally moved up to a powerhouse PC music workstation. Those jumps in gear DID help my recordings get better. But it didn’t stop there. Graham’s teachings as well as others such as PureMix helped me realize another very important thing. My ears needed to be trained to listen more closely for subtle changes, not drastic ones. And THAT’S MY POINT….a long chain of subtle things.
Pro recordings take both patience, practice and the right SMALL moves down the way. It’s ALL RELATIVE in the long audio chain. The subtle sonic quality jump with a nice mic and preamp is only part of the chain….but it DOES make a difference at the end of that chain. Gear is not mandatory, but it really helps to have it. You will NEVER walk into a pro studio and say “Hey, where’s all your gear?” Why? Because pro studios DO have all the right gear they feel they need to get pro recordings. Isn’t that what WE are after in our home studio? To get pro sounding recordings with our stuff? But….
Train your ears first. Get some good monitors. Get better at your craft…. then, you can and should upgrade a few key pieces of gear if you have the funds.
“Gear is not mandatory, but it really helps to have it.”
Well said. As long as you have put in the time, effort, and practice improving your skills, the right gear can make a big difference.
If, on the other hand, you buy new gear hoping that it will make ALL the difference and save you from having to put in the hours, then you’re wasting your money. Get better with the gear you have first, and then you’ll have the skill and the insight to know what higher-end gear you need.
Well said Guy
When I first started recording, I was bouncing tracks between two cassette decks. I can say without hesitation that my recordings would have been much better with better gear. Today it only takes a few thousand dollars to put together a world-class recording system, and a few hundred to get something that works.
I just got my new Sweetwater catalog, and it’s nearly an inch thick. Holy crap, there’s a lot of gear in there. Choice is a good thing, but I can’t imagine anyone needing more than a tiny fraction of it, and I do wonder if some things in there produce benefits that are marginal at best.
My last track has improved significantly then my previous ones! I produce electronic music, so minimal recording… Smarter mixing, and compression, and EQs are what have made the difference.
Thanks Graham, you are exactly right – the more we practice, the better we get. Period.
I am a pro drummer, and have been for a long time…and the reason I got good a that was that I practiced about 5 hours a day for all of my teen-years. By the time I was an adult, I was already a pro-level musician. Now, when I am writing and recording my own music in my home studio, I still think of myself as a “seasoned musician”, but the fact is that I am very new to being my own recording engineer and mixer – and that’s my weakest link.
Thanks for reminding me that I have to practice recording and mixing as much as I practiced learning to play instruments. 🙂
I’m here to help 🙂
It’s not even funny how correct you are about stuff dude. Since I began watching/reading your content I’ve noticed a huge improvement on my mixes. Less is more!
I use to blame a lot the lameness of my mixes on my shortage of plugins, and now I’m using stock plugins from Sonar X3 and that’s about it.
I felt like I just made the best mix I’ve ever done in 5 years doing this. Just setting the right compression and eq and boom.
Couldn’t be more stoked. Thanks Graham!
Stoked FOR you!
My recording have been improving every time that I mix and there is a huge improved when I listen to my first recordings. Recording is something that I love and I have spend too much time on it. I used to think that my gear was the problem or my software and I spend money on new gear and plugins and there were a small improve on quality but not a huge improved. Thanks to Graham, he made me realize that the problem of the audio quality was not because of my gear or software, it was me. The game changer for me was when I started to pay attention to Gain Staging. Now everything that I have learned now made scene. At first, I always recorded the levels signal too hot, then it was like 6 db lowers but, since I saw some videos talking about Gain Staging everything improved. Now everything I learn from Recording Revolution and others Youtuber or Articles make a big different on my recording.
And the simplicity of having just few plugins, helped me to mix more quickly. ( I use to have installed a lot of different plugins now I just simplify to 10 plugins.)
Also, since I’ve been follow Recording Revolution the tips and tutorials that he provides inspired me to get better.
Hello Graham,
I completly respect and support your opinion concerning the “buy-less-practice-more” effort!
As soon as you can understand the stock plugins and workflow methods you’re getting better results!
When I listen to old songs I mixed and edited I can hardly do anything but laugh. They were bad, really bad – don’t get me wrong, my current mixes are still not really good, but they are better than the ones I made couple of years ago.
I am confident with where I am going and that’s all that matters to me!
The opportunity to buy more gear is still nice, but it’s kind of overwhelming on how much gear companies claim you “NEED” to buy in order to make the best recordings but buying one piece of gear and getting to know that piece is the best thing someone could do in order to get better mixes!
Have a great evening guys!
Greetings, Jan.
I normally keep cd’s of my greatest tracks around for reference. One day I heard some me stuff I did like in 2000 …I LAUGHED!! By 2004 , I gotten better. I still needed a few things like a better preamp and mic because the first one I had was terrible. (trust me lol!) 2009-10, my wife and I made sure me a investments and got a new mic , pre amp, and vocal booth. Also a few plug-in from my music colleagues. I went to school and learned how to use this stuff combined with Graham’s youtube videos and Pensado’s Place. I now have everything I need to have a great outcome in my sessions. I was missing the the information on how to use what I have.
I still continue to look at Graham’s videos for guidance.
Thanks bro!
I have decided to buy a new interface as my mbox mini is driving me up the wall. and i will get a light version on cubase with it which is cool because i am sick of pro tools at the moment. the cool thing about the version of cubase is limitations and that’s what i want i used cubase le for years but went to pro tools for more options. ironically i want to go back because of less options. i have good gear mics and e drum set amps an electric a bass and an acoustic and a midi piano it’s all about the source like a previous post says so having a limited software will keep me honest and focused on the music because i am tired of having half songs done lol. it’s time finish some
Magic bullet? No but I would argue that the closest thing to it would be acoustic treatment.
If you know what good music is supposed to sound like, and you understand the concepts of recording (eq, compression, mic placement, etc) then your just fighting a completely unnecessary battle against your own ears if you don’t invest in treating your room.
Sure you can learn to adjust and through trial and error figure out that there are standing waves almost completely nulling out various lows and low mids in your room and after many long and arduous mixes finally figuring out what your room is fooling you into hearing…
But why? If your even half way serious about music, why not just pony up a few hundred bucks and make some DIY diffusers, bass traps, and absorption panels?
Your right Graham that only through practice and repetition are you going to get better, but if you can’t accruately hear what your practicing then are you really doing your self good?
Funny how listening to you helps me to kind of step outside my own thought process and see things from another angle. Great stuff. Yep. The problem with my “stuff” is me. I have tried to adopt a non amateur attitude toward my work. By that I mean I used to write a song and when it came time to lay down a track I would play five or six guitar tracks and figure I could blend them into one track at mix time. I told myself, “doesn’t have to be great, I’m an amateur”. But though I AM an amateur, I found myself “living down to my expectations”. Kind of like a free pass for quality control. Now, things in my attitude have adjusted so that I don’t want to arm the record track until I know for certain what’s getting played. I don’t do free form jazz improv, so I’m not trying to script the life out of an improv piece. I mean a simple song. This means having a chart for myself, if nothing else. Definite parts. I may jam for an hour figuring it out, yes. But I have to be the quality control guy, too. This has made my approach totally different. It’s a simple application of self discipline. I don’t expect “amateur sounds” from myself anymore. I expect “amateur evolving into a professional” sounds, lol. I have found that in my own mind, it is the same as the adage that “people tend to either live up or live down to what their environment expects of them”. You can influence someone to negative outcome by expecting less or nothing from them. You can influence someone to a more positive outcome by expecting more or greater things of them. Kids respond to parents and authority like this. I respond to my own inner thought like this too as I create my own inner environment of thought. So, I’ve started expecting more from myself than ever before. And it’s beginning to work. Thanks as always for a “good word”, Graham!
My pleasure.
Good gear and Great ear will absolutely blow away Amazing gear and a Bad ear. I agree whole heartedly that the more you practice mixing the better and better the recording will sound. I just re-tuned my monitors to my room and wow what a difference from good sounding to amazing mixes. Smartest thing I’ve ever done… and my old mixes from years ago are hideous in comparison.
Ehm, basically true, BUT: Actually there ARE some magic bullet plug-ins – at least for me. These plug-ins inspire me and show me new ways of listening and mixing. So my point is: Whereas practice will certainly make you better and just buying fancy gear won’t, gorgeous plug-ins will drive your creativity and inspiration. Like a good music instrument like me beloved 80 year old Steingräber funky upright piano.
At the moment I am raving over neve vintage emulations (EQ and compressor). Just knobs and sound! No distracting fancy displays and other frippery. I learn to listen and to adjust by ear and I am getting so much faster during mixing …
I sort of had to learn this lesson the hard way by spending 7+ years buying, swapping, & selling guitars, amps, and pedals in a quest to find exactly what I was missing in my tone. In the end you of course realize longer practice sessions fix your sound far more effectively (and economically) than that expensive new compressor you bought. This article would have certainly been a valuable breath of fresh air had I read it back then, but it was great having the reminder. ..Especially considering I’ve had new headphones on my mind the past month. No!
Besides being a guitar player and singer paying in alternative rock oriented bands and recording tracks, I am producing tracks and doing remixes in the EDM space since years. When I look back, I sometimes feel ashamed about the garbage I published in terms of mixing and overall audio quality. But so what … More recently made a submission on Beatport in the Mord Fustang Pop remix contest. My goal this time was NOT to win this contest or meet the expectations of the genre and label, but to do a great mix by putting into practice what I’ve learned so far Graham. In case you have never ever before entered a remix contest, you can’t imagine what a painful experience this can be. Actually people don’t care a shit about your track, about the work you did, whether the arrangement is great or it sounds fresh and original … everyone is just out there for hunting votes. And no one, really NOONE would ever drop you a comment or vote without asking you to vote back. That’s the game and you have to accept it. To make a long story short, I was more than surprised to see comments and votes coming in for my mix … simply because of the quality of my mix. So far so good, but it came even better, when some guys sent me private emails asking for my mixing secrets.
Here’s a question I got via Soundcloud:
“Hi, I listened to your awesome jazzy remix of “Pop” at beatport.
In addition to your creative job I also dig the quality of mix a lot and I wonder how you managed to get a mix with so many different sounds or instruments played simultaneously sound so clear – you hear every detail clearly !? I do not want you to tell your “secrets, but I guess an eq is your main tool, isn´t it ?”
You who are all following Graham know what the “secret” is. And this guy already guesses that it’s NOT gear.
Thanks Graham!
Alien Graffiti
Awesome.
Definitely agree, with an additional thought.
Just yesterday I was listening to some old demo’s of mine and was really surprised at how good they sounded. I was using a couple of 58s, the free version of Pro-Tools (which meant no reverb, no automation and no bussing), no monitors and I think I was using a Yamaha PA head into the “mic” input of my Macintosh G3. I literally had nothing, but I think that’s why they sound as good as they do. I had to be very careful about the work I was doing and really trust my ears.
I’m not saying that these recording are better than what I do now, just that I can hear the care that went into the recording, and some lazy habits I’ve picked up since I got better gear.
I agree to a point. And I’ll agree more when somebody wins a Grammy with a 16bit digital recorder and a couple of Behringer mics!
This is difficult to debate, because as we improve the gear that we use improves too. And I don’t see anybody selling their Neve desks to spend the money somewhere else because they have discovered that they can achieve the same results with something much, much cheaper.
Nevertheless, I do agree that it takes time to master this trade, and it is and ongoing and never ending process.
Exactly!
Hey Graham,
This really is the absolute truth that too forever for me to accept.
But I just wanted to thank you for you consistent inspiration and encouragement. It really helps me stay focused on what really matters.
Thanks man!
Nathan
You’re welcome Nathan.
Graham, I have been a subscriber for several months, and I am a happy Rethink Mixing customer. My latest recordings really do represent the best work I’ve ever accomplished, and I managed to record and mix them so much more quickly than ever before. It is all thanks to investing in my skills, rather than the gear. I am so impressed by your videos – you have a knack for clearly explaining the process, at a good pace, and demonstrating a workflow which gets to the heart of the matter quickly and decisively. I look forward to each new post on theRecordingRevolution.com. Best wishes to you for a long and fruitful career in music.
Thanks for being a student Allister!
Excellent article. It’s similar to learning any instrument, there are no magic tips to become better. Practice, practice, practice is the only way to do the things your idols do. Guitar players always want someone to show them how to employ pick harmonics, but there is not way to do it by being shown. I would practice for at least 4 hours every day when I was learning. One day I heard a pick harmonic and though, “I did it!!” Before the week was out, I was employing pick harmonics at will.
In the studio, it’s the same thing. You have to spend a lot of time in there everyday to develop the skills you need for your preference of music. Going out and buying the hottest plugin is a waste of money and time.
Graham, I agree and I respectfully disagree. First let me say that you have helped me over the years to become a better engineer and I completely support you and everything you do. That said, nothing beats the staple gear in the industry proved time and time again on countless hit records. Why ? Plug ins in DAW’s do not sound anything like their analog emulated counterparts. None of the plug ins actually sound the same as what they claim to emulate. Not UAD, not WAVES, or Softube or any of them. However, you can make a good mix in a DAW. But, the best vocal chain for rock music is and always will be a Tele 251 through an original 1073 slightly compressed with an LA2 or Urei 1176. As far a mixing on a large format console? No mix tracked on a DAW will ever compare to a Neve 8086 console for tracking.
Although few of us will ever have the opportunity to get our hands on this kind of gear, isn’t it still ok to dream?
Thanks for the comment. And I respectfully disagree with you 🙂 No knock on the vocal chain or gear suggestions you made, just not true that it’s the only way to go.
Without a doubt, my most recent is better than all the ones in the past. I’m still learning and working at it though. I remain grounded, no ego to get in the way… for now. Muahahahahah! Just kidding
You know Graham….you couldn’t have driven that home any better than you did.I’ve been with you for a couple years now and the one and most important thing that you got thru me was to learn how to use what you have ( your DAW,your Plugins and routing ). I don’t have an elborate studio room with acoustic treatments and etc.,but I learned to my monitors to the room as well as what I have in my Daw.What an amazing difference when you finally know what you are doing with what you have.Thanks for all you doing cause I learn something new everytime you post and I always will.Recording and mixing will always be a project of new ideas…..
Thanks Greg
Graham, you are a God send. My recordings are so deliciously better since I have been following your tips. Thanks.
Mmmmm. Delicious.
Right now I can’t help feeling like if Graham was out there with this website at all in 2003 or 2004 that one thing that would have been good to have found it, is because back then when my recording skills weren’t like they are now I had a black guy I was doing recording for who wasn’t really quite happy with some of my recording of him. One day when he came to a room of mine I only had in an old hotel place in StevensPoint Wisconsin, and pointed at my equipment and just because it was the old physical equipment said, see all this it’s garbage! I kind of hate to be calling it that, but that’s what it is is garbage! I wish I would have been learning this kind of stuff from you Graham back then, because I would have liked to have been able to tell that black guy I was recording for, that gear is not the whole reason I was doing any not so good recordings. I would have liked to tell him that it’s more to do with me having needed to get better, and that I needed to keep getting enough recording opportunities to get enough more practice in order to get better. That’s especially when it came to most of the recording I was doing for him being live recording. This stuff you teach Graham on posts like this would have been so good to been able to tell that black guitar and keyboard player, because he was one who really sounded like he thought the old actual physical gear I could only afford back then was the reason for any not so good recordings I was doing for him. It would have been able to get him to understand that it was just needing to keep getting enough more recording opportunities to enough more practice, that was going to make my recordings get any better.
I so agree. After listening to my first mix ever in 2010 & my latest mix this month there’s no question my mix sounds way better. And like you said a better guitar or remodeled studio hasn’t helped my mixes get better. It’s been me that’s made it better. I’ve put in hours of working on my guitar playing in the last 4-5 years so that I can record better guitar tracks so I have less editing & mixing. It’s actually fun now when I get to mix my songs…it was a drag before & kind of non inspiring at times when I’d have to edit long guitar tracks.
I used compression and equalization and reverb for the first time but guess what I went to far and it clipped. I think I am progressing . Anyway check out the gambler under Jim Dinan on youtube.
Thanks for your inspiration – btw – sm58 and an older sure with the focusrite – movie maker and audacity –
I’ve been engineering and producing almost 10 years and am yet to purchase a pair of studio monitors, but just from learning, practicing and making a lot of bad recordings, improving my ears and hearing my mistakes I can say my most recent production I’ve finished for a client is my best work so far.
Look up Hamish Gilmour on reverbnation and hear “Departure List” for the track I mentioned.
As the Beatles said, ” Its getting better al the time” and I believe that is all in the ear and repetition, Love to read your posts!!! Thanks Graham, God bless!
I can say my mixes are 1000 times better. I was the poster child for thinking better gear would improve my mixes. I was upgrading gear before I even treated my room. I’m like a lot of people who never went to school for this. My only education came from music itself. It was professor Google.com that told me about “the recording revolution” and “into the lair.” Since I’ve been following you, the only gear I’ve bought was a new audio interface when my old one went out on me. I recently recorded a vocal take with my old mic and one that I blew my whole tax return on. Just to see. Obviously there was a difference. But I got a more than acceptable end result working with the older, cheaper mic. Thank you so much for dedicating so much time to the recording revolution. You have single handedly made it possible for poor people like me to save tons of money and get the knowledge to get the full potential out of what’s at my dispose.
Graham is absolutely right. Practice may not lead to perfection; but, it certainly does improve things! That said, gear is really a mixed blessing. I’ll buy something, then feel compelled to use it . . . sometimes it sounds great in a song, then sometimes I feel like a total moron for spending the bucks. However, there is one piece of gear I’ve added that I use on absolutely everything because it DOES make that much of a difference. I use the BBE Sonic Maximizer as part of my record chain. That gadget really adds a sparkle and clarity that I’ve yet to achieve through my “talents.” But, to reference Graham’s point, if I had used the BBE five years ago, my MIXES (compared to my current mixes) would still sound like MIXES that were done five years ago, regardless of the improved clarity during tracking.
Totally true. Much much much better than before and I still use the same tools and gears used before. I subscribed just some months ago and bought your basic training video tutorials and I have to say that a a significant and tangible improvement has been immediate. And I’m not the only one who noticed this, even my label. So many thanks for what you’re doing for us
My recording/ mixing was improving only very slowly with practice until I started getting Graham’s emails and putting them into practice. Now I how solid direction, a sound philosophy and a plan moving forward thanks to Grahams mentorship and have found that my recording / mixing is improving in leaps and bounds with practice. With practice it’s not just my knowledge that is increasing but my EAR and Musicianship.
I am about to buy Grahams Rethink Mixing and Rethink Vocals training literally when I finish this post.
Practice, Direction, Practice, Knowledge, Practice = Build those mixing muscles.
Hi Graham! Please be informed that my mixes are so much better than they used be in the past.I do not have the gear Chris Lord Algie and JJ Puig have,but with what i have i practice my craft coupled with passion and i m getting better at it.Thanks to you,Dave Pensado,Herb Trawick and many others on the net who reveal a lot of Knowledge to us.Continue to receive more blassings.
High Regards
LMC
Thanks Lameck
Fair enough ! Once again…
Thx Graham
Graham definitely speaks truth about honing your craft. I have been listening to my old “horrific” recordings for the last few days in order to appreciate how far I’ve come, although, I may not be quite where I want to be yet. And certainly my music is MUCH better today; STOP – rephrase: certainly my MIXES are much better today. I used to write some really good MUSIC, but had little to no knowledge about how to EQ or compress or use reverb effectively. Now, about 15 – 17 years later I have a clue! Thanks in part to the Recording Revolution.
That being said, I do have to make ONE disclaimer. I am more of a composer than I am a “recording engineer”. And in that, most of my old “recordings” were using super cheap midi tone generators (these will never sound real no matter what you do to them, because they’re not – that doesn’t mean that can’t sound good). The one exception I will make to the whole ‘gear is not the answer’ standpoint is this: If you’re using sound libraries, a real sampled instrument (like EWQL’s symphonic orchestra) will always sound more real than a midi violin – but that brings us back to one of Grahams other teachings – get the recording right on the way in; start with the sound that’s closest to what you want at the end so you don’t have to “fix it in the mix” or “fix it in mastering”.
For me, a real clean sound (from a genuine sound library) did make a world of difference on the front end, BUT IT DID NOT!!! make me know how to EQ or compress or use reverb. I STILL had to learn those by doing painstakingly MANY “recordings” (compositions). And I’m still learning daily.
Check out these before and afters:
“Carousel” from about 2002
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fbg2lm8k33gxce0/01%20-Carousel.mp3?dl=0
“Real-Life (The Prologue)” – a sample from something I’m currently putting together.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fl5o7l282k1ad7f/Real-Life%20%28Sample%29.mp3?dl=0
Thanks!
I am getting better mixes than ever before since I bought myself Toontrack EZDrummer 2.0.
At first, I used a PlayStation Game (CodeMaster’s Music 2,000) to program drum beats on, which I then recorded onto my Yamaha MD4 Home Studio. The problem was – being a game for multiple users, often with NO experience or real theoretical knowledge of music, it was stuck in 4/4 time signature, and I couldn’t change that. My workaround? I worked out that I could program a beat over 3 bars and then triple the playback tempo! This was only a part fix though.
After that, I used PC Pro Drummer (Not very Pro, if you ask me), and was never happy with that either, BUT it WAS better than the PS Game). LOL
More recently, I uploaded some Original songs to ReverbNation which I recorded using PC Pro Drummer. I had a go at programming in Guitar Pro 5 which is better for programming but still sounds horrible.
So, late last year I finally bit the bullet, so to speak, and purchased Toontrack software after extensively checking out videos, reviews and the Forums.
The only problem I have now is, the Toontrack software in “Standalone” mode will not recognise Tempo & Time Signature changes in the GP5 MIDI files I Drag ‘n’ Drop into it (I am bugging TT to include Multiple Tempo & Time Signature Mapping/Recognition into the Standalone product in an update, hopefully very soon?).
I am still having to “write” a song as multiple files to open one after the other, while Recording them onto my MD4, pausing to open each new file & alter the Tempo as need be. What a hassle, I must say!
I AM, however, getting the best drum sound I’ve ever gotten in my recordings. And that makes me feel real good!
I don’t own a DAW as yet. I plan on getting a Steinberg UR-44 Audio Interface asap, (which includes Cubase AI 7) as I’ve an Alesis DM5 Pro e-kit I wanna hook up for getting beats down a lot faster and easier, seeing as I am a drummer as well as a guitarist & vocalist.
My very long-winded point here is: I bought something that right out of the box, makes my music sound better than ever before. Though this may not be true for a lot of Pros out there, if you’re a Home Recording Artist/Producer such as myself, you cannot go past Toontrack EZ Drummer or Superior Drummer. It saves a lot of money on mics, and a heap of time working out Mic placement, etc… It has ALL been done for us!
😀
Now all I need is my DAW. And a ton of practice. Hahaha.
And… Thank you very much Graham, for all the top tips and advice on recording. I love your Recording Revolution. I just wish I had the equipment to put most of your lessons into practice. Oh well, one of these days.
Self improvement is the natural progression for anyone who puts in the time and effort. Of course my recordings have improved over the years. I’ve spent countless hours with ear training as well, which has paid off in spades! And the gear I’ve acquired over the years as well as the new studio space almost ready for me to move into, well, those toys are the icing on the cake 😉 Will those things *make* me a better engineer or artist? Nah. That’s about skill. But will they help me feel pure joy every time I get in there work; will they give me more options about how to get my sound…you bet! But Graham is right on when he says forget about gear or your room, because you have to build those skills first.
Here’s an interesting thought experiment on the topic: You take two people, ideally twins, who are just starting out, you put one in a high end studio with all the bells-and-whistles, the other guy gets his parents basement bedroom 😉 Then you give them each 10-years of hard work. Now, and here’s the best bit, 10 years later you tell them to switch places and finish a project. Which person’s work sounds better?
The knowledge that I have gotten from The Recording Revolution and a few other sources has really been the best plugin or piece of gear anyone could ask for. While I have a very modest setup…
Apogee Duet into an iMac, Focusrite ISA One premap, an external used DBX 160a. Basic protools 10. Now, what I started to do was built a basket of gear such as.. microphones, other non protools plugins so there the $$$$ was going out.
But I never really felt anything was improving to my ears until I began to take a step back and stripped away the stuff and started to concentrate more on learning, songwriting, production, arrangement and of course audio engineering.
At best I consider myself an intermediate level tech (this is NOT my day job). So much to learn, and once I stopped searching for the next best thing $$$, and started listening more of what I was doing wrong or right, having a great relationship with a Mastering studio, and of course utilizing the priceless knowledge from folks like Graham, has my hope of becoming better at this craft more within reach.
I’m reminded of this every time I put on the oldies channel and hear some recording from the ’50s that was probably done in one live take on a 4-track tape (or 2 track?), and it still sounds WAY better than my mixes. Bass, keys, vocals – everything tight and clear. Dang. But…I am slowly getting better, bit by bit…
I just blew myself away with my latest Mix, definitely my best work to date. There was no secret gear, new plug-in or mic technique. It happened when I felt inspired to mix. This inspired mix has more warmth than I thought I could produce, mid-range clarity and top end shimmer. I compared it to my previous mix (yesterday) and I am now going to have to re-mix yesterdays work to make it sound as good as this mix.
Thank you Graham for your inspired teaching and human approach.
Thank you, Graham, very motivating! 🙂
Hi Graham,
You are so damn right at this point. Comparing my three latest tracks to what I’ve done with my second band a few years ago, makes a huge difference. It has nothing to do with the DAW I am using, it is only about my musical development over a few years!
Thank you Graham for doing this blog! It helps me out everyday!
I won’t say my current mix is the best, but the truth is i don’t know much about plugins. I am used to overtweaking stuff with amp sims, and put an amplitube 3 with some IR’s and cheat eq’s and thought it was gonna get better, but the truth is i tried an EzMix after sometime frustrated with the tone, on both guitar and bass, with EZDrummer as drums, and everything sounded much better. Having that said, it improved immensely compared to the first ones, but they’re still pretty bad compared to professional ones, or even more advanced amateur ones.
Yes I totaly agree. Your gear should serve your art not the other way around. What I have noticed from my years of recording and mixing, is that it’s your knowledge and experience, as you have said, that will take you to the next level. Also, sometimes it’s just a piece of gear that gives you the confidence to try new things and that’s what really gets you to the next level.Once you see that you’re getting better recordings, then it’s time to leap and get that new piece of gear that will give you better sound quality. At this point now you’re just enhancing your sound, not depending on a piece of gear to get you there.
In a nutshell “it´s not the gear; it´s the years and the ears”
Nicely put!
I don’t need to listen songs which I made a few years ago. I really see changes on almost every song.
I’m really glad that most of the extra gear I have accumulated since I started has been free plugins. I’ve gotten to the point of realizing the truth of Grahams premise – practice is where it’s at. When I listen to stuff I did just a year ago I can hear the difference, and it’s not that the recording is ‘cleaner’, or ‘crisper’ or whatever – it’s the input was more professional. Since my voice is my “instrument” I need a minimum of gadgetry to put in down – but getting the voice RIGHT for whatever the script is, only practice will get it there.
Thanks for reminding me Graham
Quite welcome!
First joke made me lol 🙂 Going over your vids for the third time, this time with implementation in mind x)
Have fun!
So true, your own ability is the most important ‘studio upgrade’ that you can make
This is gonna be a big help for me going forward.