I’m so excited that The Walking Dead is back on TV. It’s one of two or three shows I pay attention to.
(Quick summary if you’ve never see the show: Zombie apocalypse. There, done.)
The new season started last weekend, and it’s getting gooooood already.
One of the things the characters have done is start up a small “farm” to grow crops and raise animals for food. See, a few years after the world comes to a screeching halt, it gets harder and harder to find food, so you have to grow it yourself.
My wife and I were talking about it, and we’re fairly certain if we survived the initial onslaught of zombies, we’d starve to death pretty quickly.
Because we have NO survival skills. We wouldn’t know how to set traps for animals, much less grow and maintain a garden. Take away Target, and we’re hosed.
What about you?
Specifically, what about you and your mixes?
What if I took away all your fancy plug-ins? What if I left you with just a single, boring EQ plug-in. Could you make good mixes?
What if I took away all your microphones and preamps and left you with just one mic and the stock pre on your interface. Could you make great recordings?
What if I took away your studio monitors and handed you Apple earbuds. Could you get great mixes?
If your answer is “no,” then I suggest rethinking your approach. If your success in the studio depends more on the “stuff” than on you, you might be in trouble.
Hone your skills. Upgrade YOU as you upgrade your gear. It’s the only way to get better.
And if you’re looking for a “training camp” to hone your mixing skills, you might try Dueling Mixes.
Joe Gilder is a Nashville-based engineer, musician, and producer who also provides training and advice at the Home Studio Corner. Note that Joe also offers highly effective training courses, including Understanding Compression and Understanding EQ.