Good forum member Thrashhead shared this back in 2019, and I think it needs to be seen/heard again now.

A wise man (the wisest of all, I maintain) once said, "Be careful then, how you hear." We often think that 'this pre-amp' or 'this plugin' or 'that hardware' will be so much better than what the other guy has, or what you now have. Don't believe it. Yes, vst's and equipment quality are important and constantly improving, but for the most part, how you mix with what you have and how you listen to what you do is what makes or breaks a great recording or mastering session.

My personal experience with a well-established mastering house in Toronto taught me that you can't trust that with enough money and enough high-end toys, the man behind the desk is going to make your recording sound superb, fall in line with industry-standards and top notch. If you're mixing a turd, you can polish that turd as much as you like, but the turd remains.

Best free guidance out there on recording @ home? Recording Revolution's Graham Cochrane. Check him out on YouTube. He'll help you save a lot of time and money.

Best to all,
Cardamom

 

Last edited: Oct 1, 2021

Gold.

 

Some of the GS members really hate Graham Cochrane. They said that he's a pure businessman.

 

Agreed, the best tools are what you have now and the know-how on how to operate them.

I personally prefer a tool with reasonable UI/usability and my experience with them. There's no reason for me to install say a new EQ even if it had better specs and features. I can get better results with something I already know how to use. I'm not saying there's no need for innovation or learning new tools, but the fact is we're dealing with nuance of a nuance here.

And when people venerate older gear, you have to remember they were operated by people with great ears and those were the only tools they got. In my opinion the magic is not in the box but the hands and ears of the people using the stuff.

 

The industry has come up with something new to sell new products and to continue to make money:
A.I = Artificial Intelligence
Research institutes in the US have found that when people hear A.I, they sell better.
In short, some are A.I crazy and have fallen for the trick of the marketing strategists.

 

This because people are hoping artificial intelligence will be able to do what they have become unable of doing since the invention of the Internet which made them even more stupid than they already were.

 

I think Poppy Crum is pretty.