The DOWNFALL OF Home Recording

Summary

In this reflective video, the creator discusses the stagnation of home recording quality despite technological advancements. He theorizes that the constant pursuit of new plugins, overemphasis on mixing, lack of editing, and conflicting information contribute to this issue. The video also touches on the loss of collaborative spirit in music production and the laziness induced by technology. The creator offers a free training to help improve home recordings, emphasizing the importance of knowledge and experience over tools.

Takeaways

• 🎙️ Home recording technology has improved significantly over the past 20 years, yet many home recordings still sound amateurish.
• 🔄 The constant pursuit of new plugins and tools can lead to inefficiency, as professionals of the past became masters of their limited toolsets.
• 🔧 An overemphasis on mixing can detract from the importance of proper recording and arrangement, which are foundational to professional sound quality.
• ✂️ Neglecting the editing process in home recording can lead to unpolished tracks, whereas professional producers prioritize editing for track perfection.
• 🤔 The abundance of conflicting information online about audio production techniques can confuse home recordists and hinder their progress.
• 🏭 The isolation that comes with modern home recording technology has diminished the collaborative aspect of music production, which is historically beneficial.
• 📱 Technology and instant gratification may be making musicians lazy, with a decline in pre-production activities like demo recording and tempo mapping.
• 📚 The speaker believes that knowledge, education, and experience are more critical than tools in achieving professional-sounding home recordings.
• 👥 A lack of community and collaboration in home recording might be impacting the quality of final productions.
• 🎁 The speaker offers free training to improve home recording and mixing techniques, emphasizing the importance of understanding one's tools.
• 🎤 For those interested in improving vocal recording quality, the speaker has a video tutorial on producing professional vocals with inexpensive equipment.

Q & A

What is the main concern expressed in the video script about home recording?

The main concern is that despite advancements in technology, home recordings still sound amateurish and, in some cases, have gotten worse over the years.

What was the expectation during the mid-2000s regarding the future of home recording?

The expectation was that all musicians would be recording themselves professionally at home due to the availability of affordable interfaces and DAWs with plugins.

Why does the script suggest that home recordings have stagnated or worsened over time?

The script suggests that the constant pursuit of new plugins, an overemphasis on mixing, lack of proper recording and arranging skills, and the absence of editing are contributing factors to the stagnation.

What is the issue with constantly buying new plugins as mentioned in the script?

The issue is that people are not becoming proficient with any single tool, leading to inefficiency and a lack of development in their sound quality.

Why is the mixing process becoming an obsession for many home recordists according to the script?

The script implies that the focus on mixing is due to the abundance of educational content on the subject, while other crucial aspects like recording and arranging are often neglected.

What is the importance of editing tracks in the context of the script?

Editing tracks is crucial because it helps to ensure that the source material is as professional as possible before mixing and mastering, which is often overlooked in home recording.

How does the script describe the impact of conflicting information on home recording?

The script describes it as a problem that leads to confusion and indecision, as there is an overabundance of differing opinions on best practices in audio production.

What role does collaboration play in the context of the script's discussion on home recording?

Collaboration is presented as a historically important aspect of audio production that has been lost with the rise of technology, potentially leading to less polished and professional sounding recordings.

How does the script suggest technology has affected the work ethic of musicians?

The script suggests that technology has made many musicians lazy, as they rely on instant gratification and are less inclined to put in the effort required for pre-production and demo recording.

What is the script's final stance on the potential improvement of home recording quality?

The script concludes that there is hope for improvement if musicians prioritize education, knowledge, experience, and community over the constant pursuit of new tools and technology.

What exclusive training is offered in the script to help improve home recording and mixing?

The script offers an exclusive training that shares techniques for prepping guitar tracks, creating clarity in mixes, controlling mix levels, and crafting radio-ready vocal mixes using stock plugins.

Outlines

00:00

🎙️ The Stagnation of Home Recording Quality

The speaker reflects on the evolution of home recording technology over the past 20 years, noting that despite advancements, many home recordings still lack professional quality. They express concern that while tools like DAWs, plugins, and USB interfaces have improved and become more affordable, the overall sound quality of home recordings has not significantly progressed. The speaker intends to explore theories behind this phenomenon, recalling their audio production education in the mid-2000s when the potential of home recording was a topic of discussion. The expectation was that technology would enable musicians to produce professional-level recordings at home, but this has not been the universal outcome.

05:01

🔄 The Pitfalls of Constantly Upgrading Plugins

The speaker identifies the first reason for the stagnation in home recording quality as the continuous pursuit of new plugins. While acknowledging the impressive capabilities and increased accessibility of modern plugins, they argue that this abundance has led to a lack of mastery over any single tool. Home studio owners, often hobbyists rather than professionals, frequently swap out plugins, which hinders the development of an intimate understanding and proficiency with any particular tool. This behavior contrasts with the practices of renowned engineers and producers of the past who became highly efficient with their consistent use of the same tools over time.

10:02

🎚️ The Overemphasis on Mixing and the Neglect of Fundamentals

The second reason discussed for the lack of progress in home recordings is an overemphasis on the mixing process. The speaker points out that while mixing is crucial, it is only one aspect of music production. A professional mix cannot compensate for poorly recorded tracks or a flawed arrangement. The focus on mixing has overshadowed the importance of recording techniques, arrangement, and songwriting. Professional producers spend significant time perfecting these elements before even considering mixing. The speaker laments that the current trend neglects these foundational aspects, leading to a reliance on mixing to salvage inadequate recordings.

✂️ The Importance of Track Editing in Professional Recordings

The speaker highlights the critical role of track editing in achieving professional-sounding recordings, a practice often overlooked in home studios. They argue that professional producers always edit tracks to ensure the highest quality before mixing and mastering. The lack of editing in home recordings contributes to their amateurish sound. The speaker admits to refusing to mix tracks from home studios that have not been properly edited, emphasizing that patience and thoroughness in editing are essential for high-quality results, something that many home producers seem to lack in the age of instant gratification.

🤔 The Confusion Caused by Conflicting Information

The fourth theory presented by the speaker is the overabundance of conflicting information available to home producers. They share their personal experience of being overwhelmed by differing opinions on soundproofing methods, which led them to hire a professional designer. This confusion extends to production techniques, with varied advice on mixing approaches and vocal compression, leaving home producers unsure of best practices. The speaker empathizes with the difficulty of navigating this sea of advice, especially for those working in isolation without guidance.

🏭 The Loss of Collaborative Spirit in Music Production

The speaker discusses the historical collaborative nature of audio production and how it has been eroded by technology, leading to more musicians working in isolation. The advent of MIDI drum software and amp simulators has reduced the need for live collaboration, which the speaker believes is problematic. They argue that the lack of interaction can result in imbalanced mixes, such as overly loud guitars or poorly mixed vocals, as musicians without the benefit of diverse perspectives may not achieve the same level of production quality as a team effort.

📚 The Solution: Education, Experience, and Community

Concluding the video script, the speaker expresses optimism that the situation can improve. They believe that as musicians and home studio owners recognize the importance of education, they will focus less on tools and more on knowledge and experience. The speaker offers a free training to help producers improve their recordings and mixes, emphasizing that the key to overcoming the plateau in home recording quality lies in better understanding and applying audio production techniques. They invite viewers to engage with the community and share their thoughts on the topic.

Keywords

💡Home Recording

Home recording refers to the process of creating music or audio in a personal or non-commercial studio environment. In the video, the theme revolves around the stagnation of home recording quality despite advancements in technology. The script discusses how, even with better tools, many home recordings still do not achieve a professional sound.

💡DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations)

DAWs are software applications used for recording, editing, and producing audio files. They are central to modern home recording and have been around for over 20 years. The script mentions that despite improvements in DAWs, the overall quality of home recordings has not significantly improved.

💡Plugins

Plugins are software components that add specific functionalities to a DAW, such as equalization, compression, or reverb. The script points out that while plugins have become more powerful and accessible, the constant pursuit of new plugins can hinder the development of proficiency with any single tool, affecting the quality of home recordings.

💡USB Interfaces

USB interfaces are hardware devices that connect musical instruments and microphones to a computer, allowing for the recording of audio signals. The script notes that despite improvements in these interfaces, the overall sound quality of home recordings has not necessarily improved.

💡Mixing

Mixing is the process of balancing and adjusting the levels of different tracks in a recording to create a cohesive sound. The video discusses an overemphasis on mixing in home recording culture, which can detract from other important aspects of production, such as proper recording techniques and song arrangement.

💡Arranging

Arranging refers to the organization of musical elements in a composition, such as the structure and the instrumentation. The script argues that poor arrangements cannot be fixed by mixing alone, emphasizing the importance of strong songwriting and arrangement before recording.

💡Editing

Editing in the context of audio production involves selecting and refining the best parts of recorded tracks to create a polished final product. The video script laments the lack of editing in home recordings, suggesting that professionals always edit tracks to ensure a high-quality source before mixing and mastering.

💡Conflicting Information

Conflicting information refers to the presence of contradictory advice or techniques within a field, causing confusion. The script describes how the abundance of conflicting information about audio production can lead to indecision and poor practices in home recording.

💡Collaboration

Collaboration is the act of working together with others towards a common goal, often essential in creative processes like music production. The video script suggests that the solitary nature of modern home recording can be detrimental to the quality of the final product, as it lacks the dynamic of working with other musicians and producers.

💡Isolation

Isolation in the context of the video refers to the practice of creating music alone without the input or interaction of other musicians or producers. The script implies that isolation can lead to a lack of diverse perspectives and hinder the overall quality of home recordings.

💡Education

Education in this video script pertains to the knowledge and skills necessary for high-quality audio production. The speaker believes that a focus on education, rather than solely on tools and technology, is key to improving the quality of home recordings.

Highlights

Home recording technology has improved significantly over the past 20 years, yet many home recordings still sound amateurish.

The abundance of DAWs, plugins, and USB interfaces has not necessarily translated to better-sounding home recordings.

The speaker shares their theory on why home recordings have stagnated or even deteriorated in quality.

During the mid-2000s, there was a belief that all musicians would soon be recording professionally at home.

Despite technological advancements, the actual improvement in home recording quality has been limited.

People constantly buying new plugins may hinder the development of proficiency with any single tool.

The pursuit of new tools and plugins can lead to inefficiency and a lack of deep understanding of the tools being used.

An overemphasis on mixing can detract from the importance of proper recording and song arrangement.

Professional producers spend significant time on song arrangement before recording or mixing.

Lack of editing in home recordings is a common issue, as editing is crucial for professional sound.

Pro producers always edit tracks to ensure they sound professional before mixing and mastering.

An overabundance of conflicting information online can confuse home studio owners.

Isolation in home recording can lead to a lack of collaboration and diverse perspectives.

Technology may be making musicians lazy, with less focus on the collaborative and creative process.

The speaker offers a free training to improve home recording and mixing techniques.

The belief that home studio gear is the key to professional sound is challenged, emphasizing the importance of knowledge and experience.

The speaker invites viewers to share their thoughts on the stagnation of home recording quality over the past 20 years.

Transcripts

hello Bobby tours of fright box

recording here now over the last few

years there's really been something

that's been on my mind a lot it's

weighing heavy on my mind and that's the

fact that home recording as we know it

Daws plugins and USB interfaces have

been around for a long time now well

over 20 years but if you've been paying

attention maybe you've noticed that home

recordings still are sounding like home

recordings even though technology has

gotten better and these tools that we

purchase for our home Studios have

gotten better more efficient and less

expensive most home recordings don't

sound that great they're not really

getting much better and in some cases I

found they're getting worse now this is

a video I've been thinking about making

for a long time and I'm going to dive

into my theories on why this might be

happening let's

[Music]

discuss I remember when I was earning my

degree in audio production back in the

mid 2000s this was sort of at the

beginning of the modern-day home

recording boom and I remember having a

lot of different conversations with my

classmates and even some of my

professors and the main concern back

then was that in the near future all

musicians would be recording themselves

I mean even back then interfaces existed

Daws with inexpensive plugins existed so

you know it would make sense that if the

technology was that good back then

before you know it everyone would be

recording Pro level records in their

houses well here we are almost 20 years

later and that didn't happen now yes of

course there are people recording and

producing great sounding stuff in their

home Studios but I'm going to be honest

in my experience that's more the

exception and not the rule as a matter

of fact I found that home recordings

have really stagnated and in some cases

they've actually gotten worse so the

question is why is this happening I mean

clearly the tools have gotten better and

better the software has gotten better

and better the interfaces the

microphones everything has gotten better

and better so why haven't the results

gotten better and better well I have a

few different theories and that's what I

want to talk about in this video all

right so the first reason why I think

home recordings have actually stagnated

and even gotten worse is that people are

constantly buying new plugins now the

truth is plugins are more amazing than

ever they're also more in expensive than

ever which as a whole is actually a

really good thing we all have access to

amazing tools now there are no excuses

but the flip side is that because these

tools are so readily available and

accessible is that we're constantly

swapping them out trying new plugins

trying new drum software trying new

guitar Sim software and we have to

remember and think back to the old days

the all-time great engineers and

producers and mixers were not swapping

out their consoles all the time they

were not not buying new analog outboard

gear all the time back then that's all

that existed there were no plugins but

the thing is because they used the same

tools for years and maybe even decades

they would end up becoming very

efficient and very good at using these

tools and the problem is most home

studio owners they're just hobbyists

they're not pros and then throw in the

issue of constantly chasing new tools

and plugins and you're never going to

get used to and develop an ear for the

tool that you're using I see this all of

the time I've gone into people's mixes

where they have hundreds hundreds of

different plugins on their tracks and

they don't even know what the plugins

are doing that's a problem it's very

difficult to make progress with your

recordings and mixes if you don't know

your tools inside and out and it's

blatantly obvious that this has become

more and more of a problem as time has

progressed okay reason number two why I

think home recordings are not

progressing is that more and more people

are becoming more and more obsessed with

the mixing process obviously ing is

extremely important but it's only one

part of the production process as a

whole it is impossible to produce a

prole mix if your tracks were not

recorded properly in the first place and

to go even deeper it's impossible to

produce a pro level song If your

Arrangement is jacked up now as much as

I love YouTube and I love education

there's such a heavy focus on mixing but

no one seems to care about recording no

one talks about microphone placement or

arranging or the craft of songwriting

well in reality in Pro Studios Pro

producers spend a ton of time working on

the song before they even think about

recording let alone mixing and I've

noticed as time has moved on more and

more people seem to only care about

mixing and this isn't good you can't mix

your way out of a bad Arrangement or

poorly recorded tracks and this is a

nice segue into reason number three why

home recording usually don't sound good

and this is a simple one I found that

nobody edits their tracks I know editing

is boring honestly editing kind of sucks

but here's the thing Pro producers

always edit their tracks and more

importantly they do whatever it takes to

make the source tracks sound as

professional as possible before they

even think about mixing and mastering

now this has gotten so bad that I

actually won't even bother mixing

someone's track that they produced out

of their home studio now there are

exceptions shout out to Dennis from

inventure he did an amazing job

recording his band's record and I had a

great time mixing that album but again

that's more the exception and not the

rule most people do not want to edit but

they want a pro sounding track well I

have news for you in all the big studios

all the pro producers are editing their

tracks and we live in a day and age

where people just don't have the

patience for things I found and they

want to kind of short shortcut their way

to results it ain't going to happen you

have to edit your tracks okay well this

leads me into Theory number four on why

I believe home recording has plateaued

and that is that there is an

overabundance of conflicting information

out there now before hiring a designer

for my new studio I was stuck in this

trap myself I was diving more in depth

on soundproofing methods for my new

studio and I was confused one person was

saying this another person was saying

this it was driving me insane to the

point where I just decided to hire a

designer and not even worry about it

myself and this is definitely happening

in the world of production one guy is

telling you you have to use top- down

mixing the other person is saying top

down mixing is a myth one person is

saying to not compress your vocals too

much it's going to damage your recording

another person is saying compress the

living crap out of your vocals that's

how Pros do it well how are you supposed

to know what to do this is a problem and

I totally get it because I've

experienced it myself especially when

you have no one to talk to and maybe

you're working on your music completely

on your own and that's another problem

is that so many of us are working in

complete isolation with the Advent of

midi drum software and amp Sims I've

noticed that a lot of musicians don't

even bother playing with other musicians

anymore they just produce their own

music in complete isolation on their own

which could be cool but it can also be

very problematic audio production

throughout history in general has been a

collaborative process and we've really

really been losing that over the last

few days decades and I don't know I'm

starting to think it's not a good thing

people send me a lot of songs where I

can clearly hear it's a guitar player

programming the drums or it's a guitar

player that mixes the track because the

vocals are non-existent and it's you

know the guitars are super loud or maybe

the kick drums are Extremely Loud

because a drum mix the track and they

Outsource the guitar parts or something

like that and of course I have heard

amazing music that was produced this way

don't get me wrong but again more often

than not I don't know I think it holds a

lot of people back unfortunately I think

the technology is both a blessing and a

curse the other thing as far as

technolog is concerned that I found is

that it is making so many of us

extremely lazy funny story for you so

after I graduated college and I earned

my degree in audio I was recording a ton

of bands and I noticed around 2010 2011

2012 2013 more and more bands were

recording demos out of their home

Studios which is great it made producing

so much easier when bands would come in

prepared they'd come in with their

tempos mapped with guitar profiles I

loved it it was awesome but here's the

funny thing as I've gotten older and the

bands have stayed the same age so

there's more of a generation gap so I'm

in my you know late 30s 40 and the bands

are 20 21 what I've been finding in

general not always but in general is

that a lot of the younger bands don't

bother with technology as much I know

this sounds crazy because so many of us

are glued to our phones and we're

constantly on social media but it's it's

crazy in the past few years a lot of the

younger bands I've worked with don't

record demos anymore the Guitar Pro

thing seems to be a thing of the past

it's almost like we've gone back to the

old days where bands just jamming a room

again which is cool in one way I don't

know I'm starting to maybe think that

all these apps that we use and all of

the instant gratification is making us

lazy and Tempo mapping and recording

Demos in your home studio is just too

much work now of course I'm generalizing

I have worked with younger bands that do

do pre-production but the truth is I've

noticed it's become less and less common

at least in my experience and I think a

lot of this has to do with the fact that

technology is distracting us it's just

making us lazy like I said so it's true

I think that home studio recordings

really have plateaued and in many cases

like I said have gotten worse but I

believe there's hope I think as time

goes on more and more musicians and home

studio owners will realize how important

education is and hopefully people will

realize just how little the tools

actually matter and that the attention

will be diverted to what really matters

which is knowledge and of course

education and experience and also

Community I'm willing to bet that you

already own all of the gear necessary to

produce the results that you have in

your mind the only barrier is your

knowledge now I want you producing

amazing sounding results for your music

right now because of this I'm offering

you access to my exclusive training four

dead simple ways to massively improve

your recordings and mixes in this

training I share my number one technique

for prepping guitar tracks that

virtually mixed themselves I also show

you firsthand how you can create

instantaneous Clarity within your mix

using any old stock EQ plugin you'll

also learn how to finally take control

over the levels in your mix so that

instruments stop fighting each other and

then finally I'll show you how to craft

Radio Ready vocal mixes using only stock

plugins now full disclosure if you're

one of these people that's constantly

scrolling through Tik Tok and you have

the attention span of a squirrel please

don't waste your time this training is

indepth it's almost an hour long and

it's meant for people are serious like I

was about audio production the training

is absolutely free right now and you can

have direct access by clicking the link

below in this video description so I'm

curious to know have you experienced

this yourself have you noticed that home

recordings really haven't gotten much

better in the past 20 years leave a

comment below this video and let me know

your thoughts I'm curious to know what

you think and also if you're interested

in recording prole vocals regardless of

the quality of the vocal mic that you

currently own check out this video in

the video I share with you how I

produced prle vocal tracks using a cheap

dynamic microphone until next time drink

that spin drift