$300 full home studio challenge

[nakedzen]

Just thought I'd share these vids Graham posted, in case someone is wondering how to get into home recording:

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uEfqnWKLLQ[/video]

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5o8weyzNUCA[/video]

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uqMD4_igNU[/video]

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Knywa1iHtaQ[/video]

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbjphM_IwQI[/video]

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtLilv9gUKY[/video]

[itchyfingers]

I just bought a Presonus Audio box to start making recordings! Thanks for posting these, NZ.

[Tortuga]

Graham Cochrane kicks all kinda ass. Excellent blog & vids. So much free stuff!

[nakedzen]

Graham Cochrane kicks all kinda ass. Excellent blog & vids. So much free stuff!

Yeah watching his vids have made a huge difference in my recording and mixing skills.

[Tortuga]

Best thing is his emphasis on learning and knowing your equipment, which can pay big time over trying to spend your way to better recording quality. Start with simple, decent (not expensive) gear, then make it work for you by using it as much as possible. Keep the recording process clean, making sure to capture the sound your looking for at the source (rather than trying to fix it later), and work work work work. Really like his thinking on reference tracks as well.

Planning to do quite a bit of work on all this over the summer. Can't wait to dig in!

[VTM]

Looking forward to checking these out. Thanks for posting.

[BroSlinger]

Can't wait to watch! Thanks!

[BroSlinger]

The guy is totally right. I just need to watch the mixing vid when I have 23 minutes to do so. I am interested to see what he does with plug ins.

But yeah, familiarity with your stuff will always sound better than splurging on shit with which you're not familiar.

[Ostinato Rubato]

The guy is totally right. I just need to watch the mixing vid when I have 23 minutes to do so. I am interested to see what he does with plug ins.

But yeah, familiarity with your stuff will always sound better than splurging on shit with which you're not familiar.

Yeah I had to make myself stop buying plugins and start using the ones I had.

[BroSlinger]

The guy is totally right. I just need to watch the mixing vid when I have 23 minutes to do so. I am interested to see what he does with plug ins.

But yeah, familiarity with your stuff will always sound better than splurging on shit with which you're not familiar.

Yeah I had to make myself stop buying plugins and start using the ones I had.

Me too!

[Devin]

Best thing is his emphasis on learning and knowing your equipment, which can pay big time over trying to spend your way to better recording quality.

Totally agree. This is why I use cheap shit for recording

[nightflameauto]

The guy is totally right. I just need to watch the mixing vid when I have 23 minutes to do so. I am interested to see what he does with plug ins.

But yeah, familiarity with your stuff will always sound better than splurging on shit with which you're not familiar.

Yeah I had to make myself stop buying plugins and start using the ones I had.

Except for Slate.

Dude is usually right on the money, but a lot of the hardcore recording dudes refuse to take him seriously because so much of what he says isn't geared towards splurging on the most possible expensive piece of equipment to get the job done, rather it's geared towards sitting alone in a room with your volume low and trying to use what you already have.

Ain't nobody serious wanna hear that shit.

Still helped me a lot when I went through a bunch of his vids. I need to get back to watching his current stuff. Been a while.

[nakedzen]

The guy is totally right. I just need to watch the mixing vid when I have 23 minutes to do so. I am interested to see what he does with plug ins.

But yeah, familiarity with your stuff will always sound better than splurging on shit with which you're not familiar.

Yeah I had to make myself stop buying plugins and start using the ones I had.

Except for Slate.

Dude is usually right on the money, but a lot of the hardcore recording dudes refuse to take him seriously because so much of what he says isn't geared towards splurging on the most possible expensive piece of equipment to get the job done, rather it's geared towards sitting alone in a room with your volume low and trying to use what you already have.

Ain't nobody serious wanna hear that shit.

Still helped me a lot when I went through a bunch of his vids. I need to get back to watching his current stuff. Been a while.

Well if your business is selling "big studio = big sound" to clients, someone spreading info that you can get the same thing done with a couple hundred at home isn't exactly good for your livelihood.

[BroSlinger]

FWIW, I still think people should spend more than $300. But, don't spend $5K on stuff if you've never recorded anything, then expect to sound better if you spend another $5K on top of that.

I'm not saying I'm good at recording, or an expert, but I definitely hear the difference between spending $1500 vs. $300.

But, I still agree with him for the most part..

[nightflameauto]

Well if your business is selling "big studio = big sound" to clients, someone spreading info that you can get the same thing done with a couple hundred at home isn't exactly good for your livelihood.

I was thinking more along the lines of the recording fashionistas, not dudes selling shit. Like the LP or firewood crowd around here. Except those dudes seems serious about it. Like TGP level serious.

And I agree with BroSlinger there, but I think dude's point here is more that you don't HAVE to spend $5,000 to get an acceptable recording setup for learning shit. My first recording setup was level shit, but I learned tons from it and still had some almost acceptable output. Is it better now that I have better equipment? Sure. But it would still sound like shit if I started with that I have now because I had zero digital recording knowledge. Lulz recording to the red.

[BroSlinger]

Well if your business is selling "big studio = big sound" to clients, someone spreading info that you can get the same thing done with a couple hundred at home isn't exactly good for your livelihood.

I was thinking more along the lines of the recording fashionistas, not dudes selling shit. Like the LP or firewood crowd around here. Except those dudes seems serious about it. Like TGP level serious.

And I agree with BroSlinger there, but I think dude's point here is more that you don't HAVE to spend $5,000 to get an acceptable recording setup for learning shit. My first recording setup was level shit, but I learned tons from it and still had some almost acceptable output. Is it better now that I have better equipment? Sure. But it would still sound like shit if I started with that I have now because I had zero digital recording knowledge. Lulz recording to the red.

Yeah, I cut my teeth on a Yamaha all-in-one AW16G unit. I made some pretty dope recordings on that thing. I still have it. It has a cd burner built in.

[Physical Riffiti]

Thanks a million for posting this topic.

I've been kicking around the idea of a home recording setup, but was lost as where to start. This is straight forward and practical - a lot less intimidating than I imagined.

[Sex Panther]

FWIW, I still think people should spend more than $300. But, don't spend $5K on stuff if you've never recorded anything, then expect to sound better if you spend another $5K on top of that.

I'm not saying I'm good at recording, or an expert, but I definitely hear the difference between spending $1500 vs. $300.

But, I still agree with him for the most part..

This. You can't record everything with $300...you just can't. If you want crappy demos with fake drums...sure.

With that said, I've made what I consider to be at least decent recordings with crap gear.

[nakedzen]

If you think the point of those vids was "you should only spend a couple hundred" you missed the mark by a continent.

[neilrocks25]

Best thing is his emphasis on learning and knowing your equipment, which can pay big time over trying to spend your way to better recording quality. Start with simple, decent (not expensive) gear, then make it work for you by using it as much as possible. Keep the recording process clean, making sure to capture the sound your looking for at the source (rather than trying to fix it later), and work work work work. Really like his thinking on reference tracks as well.

Planning to do quite a bit of work on all this over the summer. Can't wait to dig in!

This times a billionty

[Tortuga]

Dude is usually right on the money, but a lot of the hardcore recording dudes refuse to take him seriously because so much of what he says isn't geared towards splurging on the most possible expensive piece of equipment to get the job done, rather it's geared towards sitting alone in a room with your volume low and trying to use what you already have.

This is exactly why I think he's awesome. The guy's not making a dime giving away all that free knowledge and info, other than saying he's got even more if you really want to pay.

Anybody check out the dueling mixes thing he does with Joe Gilder? If you're serious about this stuff, it sure look like a great way to get your work critiqued against some heavy talent.

And, while it may take more than $300 to record with greater efficiency, I think that amount goes a long way towards getting a feel for the basics and do some solid ground work. Kind of like going to junior college to do the first 2 years of a degree, giving a chance to see what you like and don't like before spending the bigger bucks to finish studies at a university.

[Sex Panther]

If you think the point of those vids was "you should only spend a couple hundred" you missed the mark by a continent.

tl;dw

[BroSlinger]

If you think the point of those vids was "you should only spend a couple hundred" you missed the mark by a continent.

I didn't think that was the point. I'm just sayin.