1

Avoid forums.

First of all, you should know that professionals never go on forums. (If you look at the offers and subscriptions of all pro software, you'll see that forums are only for non-pro versions ).

Why is this?

There are several reasons.

A pro works with pros, so he doesn't need to go to a forum or watch a YouTuber's video to find out if a software or app is any good. He'll ask one of his buddies.

Secondly, a forum, by definition, is on internet. So it's the worst place on the galaxy. You don't know who you're talking to, you don't know their background, nothing...

Most of the time you'll come across someone who just wants to show off.

(A good example: Cubasis 3, recommended by all the bloggers and people on the forums, and yet one of the biggest pieces of crap on the app store).

But Cubasis is famous, so you could show it off. I've got an iPad and I work with Cubase! Now we're going to have the same thing with Logic Audio, which even though it's not so bad, has a work flow that doesn't match my second piece of advice.

2

Work fast and dirty!

Home studios are great, but there's a trap where 80% of people get caught.

You think you've got the time, so you spend time working on a sound, making it look good...

There are three problems with that.

You mix up the creative phase with the mixing phase...

When you're creating, you have to go fast, and what's the point of spending time on the sound of my Synth when I don't even know how my mix will turn out?

In the creative phase, all you need is the idea of what you want.

In the end, I know people who have been working on their first album for 30 years.

Why work so dirty?

Because it will create harmanics, all kinds of things that will pollute your sound but which, if you listen carefully, will be a source of ideas for arrangements.

Last but not least, do you want to go pro?

Time is money...

We don't have time...

3

Don't mix with MIDI

There are several reasons for this.

You can never be sure of the clock of the device you're using.

Is your master device really that good? Does it have a good power supply?

Latency?

Visually, a MIDI track doesn't mean much.

OK, you've got an event on beat 1. Great!

And what does this event do?

It triggers a sample in one of your samplers or sound expanders. Are you sure the kick was sampled correctly?

Have fun testing... You're in for some surprises.

You're in luck, you've signed with a record company.

You're about to go into the studio.

And what do you think?

That the producer or sound engineer will work with your synchronized MIDI machines?

No, he'll put everything into his Protools and he'll check that the tracks are properly aligned. If they're not, he'll do your job and you'll lose days of studio time, and given the price of a professional studio...

One more thing about the latency.

I've been a Protools user during 30 years. (HD > TDM) for 2 main reasons.

The first one is that to me it is the better software.

The second reason is that I had a commercial mixing and recording studio and that there is still in 2023, only one system that guarantees a latency under 2ms while adding plug-ins.

A Protools TDM.

This is the reason why it is the only system you will find in a Pro studio.

4

Bounce your tracks without effects, then bounce your effects.

(You'll end up with 3 or 4 tracks).

What's the point?

Once again, if you go to the studio, you're not going to give a track treated with one of your Reverbs (unless it's more of an effect than a Reverb) to the sound engineer, when he's got a 480...

Stay at home then...

Secondly, treat an effect track as an audio track and the basis of sound design.

Instead of adding doublers and all kinds of other things that could ruin your mix, play with these effect tracks.

(Sometimes only Dry sound. Other times only Wet, both at different levels for each part...

Pass this effects track through other effects... Have fun...

Finally, send me your session.

Great stuff!

What do I do if I don't have your plug-ins?

(When you're an audio editor, you work in a team on big sessions. Each with their own hardware and software. Each with a specific task, and we're going to spend our time sending files to each other...)

5

Mastering...

This is the last and most important stage.

In one word, it's about correcting errors, mine, whether in my room or in my equipment.

Do I have the ability to correct myself?

I don't think so...

To amplify my mistakes... No problem.

Can I move my home studio to another room? Specially treated for mastering?

Do I have 4 other pairs of monitors to do this mastering?

2 other ears?

And finally, do I have the capacity?

A mastering sound engineer is really an engineer. He's not an artist. He's not the guy who recorded your album, or the guy who mixed it.

A mastering studio is much more expensive to build and equip than a mixing or recording studio...

It will also cost 10 times more per hour.

So, if you feel you can do the 4 or 5 Masters your record company wants, go ahead...

I don't.

Oh yes, 5?

Well, yes.

One for the CD, one for radio, one for clubs, one for the Internet, and one for vinyl if you make one.

I'm not talking about versions, 5+1, 7+1, and others if you're making music for movie...

To conclude, if you have a small budget for your album, save it for mastering.

If you can't afford it, ask one of your friends to do it, because at the very least, he'll have other monitors, and other ears.

And use this as a test when you want to work with someone...

Can you do the mastering for me?

Yes...

OK, you're fired...

6

Don't expect for half a second that a record company will listen to your tapes.

They don't have the time, and things don't work that way.

By definition, the record company wants a buzz...

Which means they've heard about you.

When I was at Sony, a long time ago, we worked with DAT. Digital cassettes that were very expensive. I always needed them. In my artistic director's desk, just to the left, there was a big basket with all the cassettes of the day. It was the DAT shop of all her Artists, ( horrible, I know... I always listened to the DATs before deleting them, and out of maybe 1000 or more, I only have one to return back to her).

The best thing to do is to contact the Artists you like. If you go to them with your children's eyes, with all the gratitude you owe them (generally if you like them, it's because they've influenced you...) and if your project is about something other than music. He'll help you...

7

You make music but have no fight, nothing to say...

You want to be a star?

Well, you're in trouble...

You're in direct competition with the children of stars, supermodels, actors, porn stars... All those people who want to make a record...

Basically, if you've got nothing to say, your only chance is The Voice...

To conclude:

Be honest.

(There's no switch from the nice blogger who smiles a lot, who loves everyone to get views and earn $, to the hurt, angry guy who wants to move this world...)

The only switch I've known is drugs to make me forget what a piece of shit I'd become, and no longer an artist...

My best

Ed