Great video, I am lucky enough to work at a high school that just put in a 100k+ studio with a SSL Origin and a load of great rack gear and a crazy nice selection of microphones, guitars and drums. I'm not part of the music department but I teach audio engineering in my communications class and I am the only one with any experience with recording so they put me in charge of the studio. I have found that some of the gear makes a big difference and some of it does not justify the price. A lot of it comes down to how well things are recorded, but having all the gear adds to the fun.
@@PatrickIstefanidis We are a regular public high school, number one in our state. We have an alumni who is a famous songwriter who donated a bunch of money and a few wealthy families that made it possible.
Appreciate the raw honesty about the gear thing. Obviously you yourself could dial in a solid mix with limited gear but I think you would agree that it still wouldn't come close to what you could achieve in your own studio with your gear.
Exactly! I could certainly knock out a great mix with nothing but stock plug-ins, but it will be considerably better in my room with all the gear I have hand-picked to serve a purpose.
@@mookymookymooo Don't overcompress everything? A compressor don't affect frequency and panning at least so there you should still be able to work a lot with contrasts. And, in general, make sure to only use compressors where you need it. In mastering, it might be OK to use just a little bit compression and then limiters to increase volume/loudness. Got to keep some contrast and dynamics.
@@mookymookymooo I'll +1 for not over-compressing. Automating threshold/ratio/makeup gain on your track compression is a great way around it, too. You can slam the big parts and back off a bit for softer parts.
100% gear does absolutely matter. Great point to talk about. It’s irresponsible to say otherwise as a working professional. Yes, you can get a really good sound with cheap gear but you are going to work harder for the results. Great gear gets you to the finish line much quicker. Time is money and you can’t get an hour back! Efficiency is king.
Being open to buying gear that's great value for money instead of a high-brow, expensive piece is also a great strategy if you're a little light in the pockets. There are so many companies out there (Golden Age Project comes to mind) making great gear that costs less than what the "big ones" cost, while still delivering a high level of quality. Something to that.
Oh the gear DEFINITELY matters. Idc what anyone says. Yes, you can get a good mix on budget mics etc, but the difference between a decent Neumann and a Manley Reference or something of the like is literally night and day. Clean tracks are the biggest key to a good mix imo.
10:10 this is such an important point - it's too easy to spend money on attractive sparkly things when something less glamorous is what's holding us back. The weakest link shows the way forward.
Great video, sound advice, Namm was great this year, not to crowded and probably the quietest Namm Show ever! I look for quality at an affordable price. I found that Black Lion has accomplished this with their gear. I have the following Black Lion gear: 1. Seventeen Comp 2. Eighteen Channel Strip 3. Two Auteur Mic Pre's 4. (Arriving next) Bluey Comp......I got one used not in working order for $320. Black Lion said grab it because the cost to repair it will still make it way under the actual value it will be worth when working again. They run $999 new and $800 used.......So I think I did well...... Andy Tullis 3 Dog recording Studio
The gear 100% matters and not all gear is created equal. Much of it is hype. Some pieces are really stand out and make a big difference. And those pieces make it possible to achieve fantastic audio quality quicker as well.
I think the "gear doesn't matter" advice is mostly for beginners to not make excuses. Also, how there are diminishing returns once you hit a high enough threshold of quality
You really don't need to spend all that $$$ on gear. There is no more Radio Shack...but you can make great music with sub-$200 microphones (or even some sub-$100 models). There are plenty of inexpensive audio processing plugins that can yield great results working ITB. Paying 10X the money to get an extra 3% of sound quality isn't worth it. Especially since most people listen on headphones or comparatively low-fi sound systems. If your target market is audiophiles listening on $10K+ sound systems, then that is a different story.
I think it’s a bit of a strawman argument to say that people are saying gear doesn’t matter, what they’re saying is it’s more important to know how do use the gear even if it’s “stock plug-ins“. And that’s the truth. You can mix great with stock plug-ins if you know what you’re doing. Great gear is icing on the cake once you know what you’re doing. Just my opinion.
You are certainly correct, but it’s something that I’ve been seeing preached a lot more lately. Even specifically in the comments of my gear reviews. People dismiss a $3000 microphone because “you don’t need to spend anywhere near that much money to get a great microphone“… I’m noticing it become a mantra that is being taken a bit too far, in my humble opinion.
@@ColtCapperrune I agree - especially monitors. I switched from 2-way KRK to 3-way PSB towers and my wife could hear the difference (and she usually only cares as long as she can hear the words!). That's not even going high-end. It's no coincidence that my EQ and compression settings became far less aggressive.
I think the point of the argument was "do the best you can with what you have and once you have reached that point, investigate what might be holding you from progressing further" - I have noticed a huge difference switching to higher end gear, especially at the recording phases. Guitar pickups, microphones, speakers etc. The gear absolutely does matter. A pro mix engineer might be able to get a good mix using stock gear but it won't be the best mix they could have done. I don't think a lot of people appreciate that it takes time to acquire the gear, someone commented (after seeing my studio) that I must be super rich. The answer is no, it took me 26 years to acquire that gear. Working with high end gear makes life a lot simpler and the process of creating far more enjoyable. In closing, the only way you get to know what gear you need is by working with what you have, ears develop, you start hearing the nuances of the equipment. Also, my opinion :)
Thanks Colt, really appreciate these tips! Good food for thought...id like to hear youre thoughts on Def Leppard's "God's of war"...that would be one of the biggest sounding bass and drums around in a song! and it all seems to slam! ..perhaps you could break that down in terms of your point one...lets learn together!
Great video but No2 is not right at all. Instead the important thing is to monitor at a calibrated level you can always return to when you make critical mix decisions. Equal loudness curves dictate that your hearing is flatter at higher listening levels. Around 85dBs SPL is a recognised industry standard which is quite loud but not crazy. You can mix at lower levels but you need a way of returning to exactly the same level. Basically we need to stop turning the volume up and down randomly.
Having a calibrated level to always be able to return to is not a bad idea at all! However, I actually do believe it’s important to mix at differing levels. Thanks for watching.
@@ColtCapperrune Yeah in reality I actually work lower but I am painfully aware of the low level night time mix having too much bass in the morning syndrome. Why on earth is there not a USB monitor level controller out there. Mute,/Dim/working/reference on 4 buttons and a volume knob. Your No 1 tip is priceless! Somebody asked me how I got my bass sound when it was just an untreated sine wave under distorto drums n guitars. Cheers Colt video cheered me up.
Not sure if you were talking video monitor, or audio monitor. The video monitor is a Samsung 34 inch Ultra Wide. The audio monitors are the focal trio 11 Be. There are links in the description of this video for both
If you can ellaborate more in the 'mix quietly', please? as according to Fletcher-Munson curves, mixing at 85-90db for small amounts of time would provide you the best flat response in all freqs? I know you shouldn't mix at these levels for long periods of time, but shouldn't the mix translate better?
So 85 DB is where we hear the flat, but I will commonly mix between the volume of a whisper, and the volume of someone talking in a very normal voice. And then once every 20 or 30 minutes I’ll push it up to 85 or 90 DB for 10 or 15 seconds, then it’s right back down. In my opinion staying at 85-ish DB for longer than five or six minutes will drastically increased fatigue, which will decrease the amount of time you can work effectively. Hope that helps!
@@ColtCapperrune males sense thanks. Maybe because I get older and my heariing isn't that good anymore, I find myself mixing at 68-74 dbs so I can listen from low to highend more clearly. I''m curious to know at what levels people here mix.
I mix so that I can have a conversation with someone at normal talking levels. I'll check the mix at whisper quiet levels on the Auratones, to make sure things like snares aren't poking out louder than the vocal, or if I have a weird guitar on the left side that sticks out. Then as the mix is getting close to finished, I pump up the volume to loud levels. When my desk vibrates my belly, I know the mix low end is hitting right. Then move back to my normal mix levels to finish up.
@@luckyknot I mix at the volume where the sound opens out but no louder - it's crucial not to trigger the compressor that's in our middle-ear. I also do the really quiet listening approach. I don't bother measuring - I did the whole Bob Katz thing back in the day and learnt a lot but found it ultimately got me focused on the wrong things. BTW I only measure the SPL of pink noise - never music because it's not meaningful with music.
@@NuclearDeathWalk thanks for sharing, the desk vibration for low-end check is brilliant :) . I also read somewhere to check the way the drivers bounce in and out to callibrate lowend presence.
love these! thanks for the shout out 😘😘😘😘
Good hanging with you!
Great video, I am lucky enough to work at a high school that just put in a 100k+ studio with a SSL Origin and a load of great rack gear and a crazy nice selection of microphones, guitars and drums. I'm not part of the music department but I teach audio engineering in my communications class and I am the only one with any experience with recording so they put me in charge of the studio. I have found that some of the gear makes a big difference and some of it does not justify the price. A lot of it comes down to how well things are recorded, but having all the gear adds to the fun.
Wtf kind of high school is this!? Wish I had this growing up. All we had was classical guitar....
What gear is really standing out for you?
@@PatrickIstefanidis We are a regular public high school, number one in our state. We have an alumni who is a famous songwriter who donated a bunch of money and a few wealthy families that made it possible.
Appreciate the raw honesty about the gear thing. Obviously you yourself could dial in a solid mix with limited gear but I think you would agree that it still wouldn't come close to what you could achieve in your own studio with your gear.
Exactly! I could certainly knock out a great mix with nothing but stock plug-ins, but it will be considerably better in my room with all the gear I have hand-picked to serve a purpose.
That first tip about contrast is very interesting, I’ve never thought about it like that. Great vid!!
Hope it helps!!
It's an interesting one, in the mastering process I find that compression ends up running that contrast a lot. I wonder how to get around this
@@mookymookymooo Don't overcompress everything? A compressor don't affect frequency and panning at least so there you should still be able to work a lot with contrasts. And, in general, make sure to only use compressors where you need it. In mastering, it might be OK to use just a little bit compression and then limiters to increase volume/loudness. Got to keep some contrast and dynamics.
@@mookymookymooo I'll +1 for not over-compressing. Automating threshold/ratio/makeup gain on your track compression is a great way around it, too. You can slam the big parts and back off a bit for softer parts.
The absence of a bass guitar was a huge setback for my funky tunes. And this is about to change tomorrow! I'm excited.
100% gear does absolutely matter. Great point to talk about. It’s irresponsible to say otherwise as a working professional. Yes, you can get a really good sound with cheap gear but you are going to work harder for the results. Great gear gets you to the finish line much quicker. Time is money and you can’t get an hour back! Efficiency is king.
YOU ~ ROCK ! ! . . . Might ya make a basic Protools Template / 30 sec Song and show how you build n make it happen…? 🤛
Balance IS everything
Being open to buying gear that's great value for money instead of a high-brow, expensive piece is also a great strategy if you're a little light in the pockets. There are so many companies out there (Golden Age Project comes to mind) making great gear that costs less than what the "big ones" cost, while still delivering a high level of quality. Something to that.
Mr. Capperrune, we've got an imposter here...
If I could send the first 2 mins to the 20 year old me….. OMG you hit it right on the nail!!!
Oh the gear DEFINITELY matters. Idc what anyone says. Yes, you can get a good mix on budget mics etc, but the difference between a decent Neumann and a Manley Reference or something of the like is literally night and day. Clean tracks are the biggest key to a good mix imo.
10:10 this is such an important point - it's too easy to spend money on attractive sparkly things when something less glamorous is what's holding us back. The weakest link shows the way forward.
The Contrast advice is the best ever ...thanx
Great video, sound advice, Namm was great this year, not to crowded and probably the quietest Namm Show ever! I look for quality at an affordable price. I found that Black Lion has accomplished this with their gear. I have the following Black Lion gear: 1. Seventeen Comp 2. Eighteen Channel Strip 3. Two Auteur Mic Pre's 4. (Arriving next) Bluey Comp......I got one used not in working order for $320. Black Lion said grab it because the cost to repair it will still make it way under the actual value it will be worth when working again. They run $999 new and $800 used.......So I think I did well......
Andy Tullis
3 Dog recording Studio
Nice vídeo! The best tip? Keep your working space CLEAN! That is important and inexpensive!🤘
The gear 100% matters and not all gear is created equal. Much of it is hype. Some pieces are really stand out and make a big difference. And those pieces make it possible to achieve fantastic audio quality quicker as well.
First tip is most important.
waayyy different topics than i expected but really helpful advice!
Incredible advice on keeping perspective!
Yep, that cyclical thinking about buying gear to solve the most immediate issue is gold
Oh, I know this one! It's me. I ruin my mixes.
Hi, thx for the Vid.
Question: How you listen to your Microphon-Signal (Headphone, closed..)? In the same Room? How you can trust them?
I think the "gear doesn't matter" advice is mostly for beginners to not make excuses. Also, how there are diminishing returns once you hit a high enough threshold of quality
Unless you get booked solely for you analog gear or mic locker
100% there are mics in the 100s that are marginally worse then those in the 1000s
Oh look it’s me in the Audioscape B roll!
That first tip🤯
You really don't need to spend all that $$$ on gear. There is no more Radio Shack...but you can make great music with sub-$200 microphones (or even some sub-$100 models). There are plenty of inexpensive audio processing plugins that can yield great results working ITB. Paying 10X the money to get an extra 3% of sound quality isn't worth it. Especially since most people listen on headphones or comparatively low-fi sound systems. If your target market is audiophiles listening on $10K+ sound systems, then that is a different story.
I think it’s a bit of a strawman argument to say that people are saying gear doesn’t matter, what they’re saying is it’s more important to know how do use the gear even if it’s “stock plug-ins“. And that’s the truth. You can mix great with stock plug-ins if you know what you’re doing. Great gear is icing on the cake once you know what you’re doing. Just my opinion.
You are certainly correct, but it’s something that I’ve been seeing preached a lot more lately. Even specifically in the comments of my gear reviews. People dismiss a $3000 microphone because “you don’t need to spend anywhere near that much money to get a great microphone“… I’m noticing it become a mantra that is being taken a bit too far, in my humble opinion.
@@ColtCapperrune I agree - especially monitors. I switched from 2-way KRK to 3-way PSB towers and my wife could hear the difference (and she usually only cares as long as she can hear the words!). That's not even going high-end. It's no coincidence that my EQ and compression settings became far less aggressive.
I think the point of the argument was "do the best you can with what you have and once you have reached that point, investigate what might be holding you from progressing further" - I have noticed a huge difference switching to higher end gear, especially at the recording phases. Guitar pickups, microphones, speakers etc. The gear absolutely does matter. A pro mix engineer might be able to get a good mix using stock gear but it won't be the best mix they could have done. I don't think a lot of people appreciate that it takes time to acquire the gear, someone commented (after seeing my studio) that I must be super rich. The answer is no, it took me 26 years to acquire that gear. Working with high end gear makes life a lot simpler and the process of creating far more enjoyable. In closing, the only way you get to know what gear you need is by working with what you have, ears develop, you start hearing the nuances of the equipment. Also, my opinion :)
I am 20 :). THANKS FOR THE VIDEO!!
Thank you so much ❤️
1 minute 52 seconds in, 💎💎💎
sylvia!!!
Thanks Colt, really appreciate these tips! Good food for thought...id like to hear youre thoughts on Def Leppard's "God's of war"...that would be one of the biggest sounding bass and drums around in a song! and it all seems to slam! ..perhaps you could break that down in terms of your point one...lets learn together!
Hows the new focals focus mode compared to the auratones? Hope you had a great trip
The perfect complement. The trio full range, plus focus mode, plus Auratone is my favorite combination I’ve had to date
you are Cult, no miss spelling Colt hehehe
YOU'RE MY CULT
And you weren’t wearing a hat there either. Haha classic
Gear matters, but not before skill!
Lots of good pointers, i just dont agree entirely with "monitor quietly."
I guess "monitor at all levels" is more appropriate?
You've got a great channel
Thank you so much for the video )
Great spending advice
Jokes on you. I have 7 things ruining my mixes.
I wish there were more thumbs up i could put on this vid bro, thanks for this one!
On clean your room… Jim Scott said “sloppy studios make sloppy records”
Great video but No2 is not right at all. Instead the important thing is to monitor at a calibrated level you can always return to when you make critical mix decisions. Equal loudness curves dictate that your hearing is flatter at higher listening levels. Around 85dBs SPL is a recognised industry standard which is quite loud but not crazy. You can mix at lower levels but you need a way of returning to exactly the same level. Basically we need to stop turning the volume up and down randomly.
Having a calibrated level to always be able to return to is not a bad idea at all! However, I actually do believe it’s important to mix at differing levels. Thanks for watching.
@@ColtCapperrune Yeah in reality I actually work lower but I am painfully aware of the low level night time mix having too much bass in the morning syndrome. Why on earth is there not a USB monitor level controller out there. Mute,/Dim/working/reference on 4 buttons and a volume knob. Your No 1 tip is priceless! Somebody asked me how I got my bass sound when it was just an untreated sine wave under distorto drums n guitars. Cheers Colt video cheered me up.
Expensive video 👍
Who makes that GIANT MONITOR I see in this video??
Not sure if you were talking video monitor, or audio monitor. The video monitor is a Samsung 34 inch Ultra Wide. The audio monitors are the focal trio 11 Be. There are links in the description of this video for both
@@ColtCapperrune The VIDEO!!! I gotta' get me one of these!! Does SWEETWATER sell them???
If you can ellaborate more in the 'mix quietly', please? as according to Fletcher-Munson curves, mixing at 85-90db for small amounts of time would provide you the best flat response in all freqs? I know you shouldn't mix at these levels for long periods of time, but shouldn't the mix translate better?
So 85 DB is where we hear the flat, but I will commonly mix between the volume of a whisper, and the volume of someone talking in a very normal voice. And then once every 20 or 30 minutes I’ll push it up to 85 or 90 DB for 10 or 15 seconds, then it’s right back down. In my opinion staying at 85-ish DB for longer than five or six minutes will drastically increased fatigue, which will decrease the amount of time you can work effectively. Hope that helps!
@@ColtCapperrune males sense thanks. Maybe because I get older and my heariing isn't that good anymore, I find myself mixing at 68-74 dbs so I can listen from low to highend more clearly. I''m curious to know at what levels people here mix.
I mix so that I can have a conversation with someone at normal talking levels. I'll check the mix at whisper quiet levels on the Auratones, to make sure things like snares aren't poking out louder than the vocal, or if I have a weird guitar on the left side that sticks out. Then as the mix is getting close to finished, I pump up the volume to loud levels. When my desk vibrates my belly, I know the mix low end is hitting right. Then move back to my normal mix levels to finish up.
@@luckyknot I mix at the volume where the sound opens out but no louder - it's crucial not to trigger the compressor that's in our middle-ear. I also do the really quiet listening approach. I don't bother measuring - I did the whole Bob Katz thing back in the day and learnt a lot but found it ultimately got me focused on the wrong things. BTW I only measure the SPL of pink noise - never music because it's not meaningful with music.
@@NuclearDeathWalk thanks for sharing, the desk vibration for low-end check is brilliant :) . I also read somewhere to check the way the drivers bounce in and out to callibrate lowend presence.
Hashtag Gear Matters
My weakest link in my chain are my ears. Can i buy some new one with better freq response? 😂
6 things: me, me, me, me, me & er me. If there's a 7th that would be .....me🤣 on a serious note, another great video thanks. 👍
Moms told me to clean my room too 💀
HOLY SHOOT
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Or you can just buy Metric halo and if you are talented, you will win grammies like Serban 💖😁
"Cult - the Cap of Runes"
😂😂😂