JuicyLime's manifesto for the home recording musician.

[juicylime]

There are many experienced musicians/engineers/producers here on Gearslutz that are more qualified than me to offer advice. But sure I'm not going to let that stop me! I've published my own facetious manifesto as part of a blog on my website and thought I'd share it here too.

1/ No matter how good or expensive it is, your gear will not make you a better musician/songwriter/engineer/producer.
2/ Internet forums about making music will take time away from making music. Oh yes they will.
3/ Music gets better the more you work on it. Working and working and then reworking stuff is what pro's do and amateurs don't.
4/ More people make money from teaching people how to record on over priced courses than there are people who know how to record well.
5/ Don't be fooled by vintage being better. Some gear is better just because it is, not because it's old.
6/ Great gear costs a lot of money.
7/ Good gear doesn't have to cost a lot of money.
8/ You don't need great gear to make great music.
9/ If you're not great on an instrument get someone else to do it and don't trust MIDI to be your saviour.
10/ Don't trust stock samples to sound great in 10 years.
11/ Buying €500 worth of recording equipment because 1 day in the studio costs the same is very, very bad maths.
12/ Write in your home studio then record and/or mix with the pro's.

And finally:
13/ Despite what you think, you probably already have enough gear to make all the music that is in your head/heart/loin. So get off the internet and do it.

Please add your own too!
Original blog right here: Hamlet Sweeney blog

[Vandergraf]

Agreed! All good points.

Van

[atropos]

11 is debatable, but everything else is spot on.

[thedommer]

awesome! Thats pretty much my philosophy. 11 is definately debatable within reason though. your home studio should have a good pre or 2 and some converters and sweet speakers and a bit of room tweaking because there is nothing wrong with recording parts of an album at home if you want plus good equipment helps make demos sound better which for me anyways is great for inspiration.

[juicylime]

11 is not debatable! Many musicians honestly think that they can buy the cheap versions of pro gear for the same price as some studio time and achieve the same results. This is not true!

[mark.james]

Originally Posted by juicylime

1/ No matter how good or expensive it is, your gear will not make you a better musician/songwriter/engineer/producer.

3/ Music gets better the more you work on it. Working and working and then reworking stuff is what pro's do and amateurs don't.

12/ Write in your home studio then record and/or mix with the pro's.

I pretty much agree with everything you posted...

#1- I have used some awesome guitar pedals that have allowed me to play my guitar in a different way, obtain a different sound, and in my opinion, made my guitar playing better.

#3- In some cases, music gets worse the more you work on it. I have a tendency to over work my songs until they have lost the inspiration they were written with.

#12- Write in your home studio, track/mix sessions at a pro studio... make sure to watch the engineer and make it a learning experience. Eventually, your "demos" recorded in your home studio will get better and better..

[cavern5]

cheers for this post! but...

2 & 13...amazing irony.

it's about balance....there are solutions to problems i could never dream of...which is why i come here. i can sit there for hours trying to work something out or i could search here and take a shortcut.

[atropos]

Originally Posted by juicylime

11 is not debatable! Many musicians honestly think that they can buy the cheap versions of pro gear for the same price as some studio time and achieve the same results. This is not true!

The cost benefits of buying higher end gear are most certainly comparable to studio time, depending on how fast or slow a musician works.

Time is money.

[juicylime]

Oopps...missing points 4 & 5 now added.

[biggator6]

2/ Internet forums about making music will take time away from making music. Oh yes they will.

..says the guy with 700+ posts
"-)

seriously though, good stuff. thumbsup

[theblue1]

Originally Posted by juicylime

There are many experienced musicians/engineers/producers here on Gearslutz that are more qualified than me to offer advice. But sure I'm not going to let that stop me! I've published my own facetious manifesto as part of a blog on my website and thought I'd share it here too.

1/ No matter how good or expensive it is, your gear will not make you a better musician/songwriter/engineer/producer.
2/ Internet forums about making music will take time away from making music. Oh yes they will.
3/ Music gets better the more you work on it. Working and working and then reworking stuff is what pro's do and amateurs don't.
4/ More people make money from teaching people how to record on over priced courses than there are people who know how to record well.
5/ Don't be fooled by vintage being better. Some gear is better just because it is, not because it's old.
6/ Great gear costs a lot of money.
7/ Good gear doesn't have to cost a lot of money.
8/ You don't need great gear to make great music.
9/ If you're not great on an instrument get someone else to do it and don't trust MIDI to be your saviour.
10/ Don't trust stock samples to sound great in 10 years.
11/ Buying €500 worth of recording equipment because 1 day in the studio costs the same is very, very bad maths.
12/ Write in your home studio then record and/or mix with the pro's.

And finally:
13/ Despite what you think, you probably already have enough gear to make all the music that is in your head/heart/loin. So get off the internet and do it.

Please add your own too!
Original blog right here: Hamlet Sweeney blog

Mostly agreed.

With the possible exceptions of numbers 3, 11, and 12.


#3 -- I've done a lot of sessions with pros and with not-so pros -- and a few with rank amateurs. I'd say amateurs can have terrible problems knowing when to stop working on what is essentially a sow's ear. For some folks, every song they write and record is some kind of world-busting masterpiece. And they spend days, weeks, months, trying to refine something they should have been done with in a few hours -- because it should have just been a stepping stone, a learning stage. Take your lessons quickly and move on to the next.


#11 & #12 -- Many folks -- maybe most folks -- should not waste their money in a professional studio. They have no chance whatsoever of recouping that expenditure. They would be far better off putting the money and time into learning how to record themselves and so be able to get better without busting the bank, so that, when they're ready for a pro studio, they'll know what to do, have solid material and chops, and the whole project won't end up as spaghetti sliding down the wall.

The exception to that would be an experienced artist with solid material that's is ready for the studio and has some chance of paying back on its investment, on some kind of level. (Many on the talent side of the glass would be shocked to find out how many not-ready-for-the-studio projects come into affordable studios -- and even really expensive ones.)

[juicylime]

Originally Posted by Randall

Every point you have manifested and professed is debatable in one way or another

Surely that's a given!?