I’m sure you’ve noticed, but in case you haven’t, everyone has an opinion of what is the “right way” to record. You’ll see it in audio forums and other online groups.
Someone might post about a heavy rock track they’re recording and say that they’re using 16 mics. The first comment will be someone telling them that The Beatles only used 4 tracks- and that they’re wrong. While this may have worked for the Beatles, that does not make it the correct approach for every other genre.
Another common problem is that a lot of engineers tend to only work on their favorite genres and seemingly ignore other genres. This can potentially lead to stagnant sound and lack of innovation within that genre.
Today, I’d like to challenge you to listen to a genre you normally wouldn’t listen to. One of the best ways to grow as a musician/producer is by listening and absorbing influence from artists outside of your usual taste.
It’s also worth mentioning that most of the top guys, the one’s who stay busy and do the best work, tend to work on everything. Go to AllMusic.com, look up a producer/mixer that you admire and scroll through their credit list. You’ll probably see that they’ve worked with many artists from different genres/styles of music.
In the video below, I dive deeper into these ideas and explore the benefits of working in multiple genres. Produce Like A Pro is a place for producers, mixers, musicians, etc., to help each other out, learn from each other and advance their skills to the next level.
Please watch the video, and ask a bunch of questions in the comments! I really enjoy hearing from you!
Thank you so much for watching the video, if you found it helpful please share it, there may be others that need or want to see it! I am very thankful that you are a part of the Produce Like a Pro community!
Have a marvellous time recording and mixing,
Warren
Well said, Warren. You hit the nail right on the head. After over fifty years of messing around with music, I still don’t know the difference between all the new genres, it’s all just music.
Thanks ever so much @barrymeintjes:disqus!! Please feel free to like and share the YouTube video! I really want this to be a huge topic, it’s very important to me! Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks, Warren
its about love music ,i work for 40 years as a eng, prod, in sweden ,from year 1977 and its the same 2017 but i still love learning !
Yes indeed! Many things have changed with technology, however we only have to look back and hear Beethoven and hear such beautiful music to be reminded that the barriers were broken down centuries before we arrived! Have a marvelous time recording and mixing many thanks Warren
Thanx for these videos Warren, as a new comer to DAW software (in the last three years) it was quite a struggle to understand mixing producing mastering ect. Actually its still quite a learning curve trying to improve things but I feel I’m getting better thanks to videos like yours as I feel it speaks straight to the point and tries to demystify a process (were others don’t). I couldn’t agree more about listening to other genres as you cant grow without experiencing things even if its just another angle one idea leads to another. Cheers mate. Arnold Dawson
Warren, like most of your videos, this one is VERY good. The difference with this video is that it hits home with an impact that very few things that I encounter on the web have.The genres that I hang around are just the ones that I relate to. That’s not to say that I am negative to a lot genres, it’s just that they don’t create the feelings that certain ones do. If you walked in here right now and said, ” I want to record an EDM song or a HipHop song”, my response would be , OK let’s set up some mics and get started ! ” I would be more involved if the project were country, blues, swamp pop, or jazz, but I am not proficient in the others and tend to shy away. But, I am willing to learn……just teach me. Eventually I will be in the same as you in terms of being receptive to all genres, but I’m not there yet…….
Warren, I really enjoy and appreciate your PLAP, and have learned a lot from it over the years that it’s been going. I’ve been involved with making music since I was 10……(63 years of calluses on my fingers)a little before you had any thing going on PLAP. Keep up the important work please keep producing this quality of videos,
Dwayne Hunt – Southeast Texas country Boy
Thanks warren,I really love music, guitar and recording/mixing I want to make it more of my life again especially when you realize how quickly life can throw you curves example is my wife was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in February and had to undergo a huge surgery and 6 months of chemo really brings things into perspective, it looks as though she may be given the all clear signal from her Dr next week. fingers crossed. I say If you really have a passion for it and important to you and it doesn’t hurt others in your life go for it.
For me being 57 years old and new to this < 1 year I am trying to make DAW and equipment decisions, keep studio one or go pro tools?, upgrade mics ,dump the windows computer get a Mac…blah blah blah I think for a beginner I am making decent recordings and mixes but I keep getting told -yeah but…you have to have pro tools and a mac for anyone to take you seriously and most "real" plug ins only work well with pro tools /mac's like the very pricey ones from UA and the best interfaces are made for and work better with a Mac. Here's something else from me is I know a good mic will make the job easier or sound better especially for crystal clear vocals, the best vocal mic i have right now is an AKG P220 but if your using something to distort the vocal in the mix anyway do you really need that $5000 Neumann? So many questions that's why I joined PLAP thank you for your time and input. i don't know where you find the time for everything you do but it's great
Astonished by your decision to NOT begin with ‘hoping you’re doing marvellously well’ and relieved that you still hope we will have a ‘marvellous time recording and mixing’ Warren! I would suspect your post was written by an imposter if there was no ‘marvellous’ anywhere!
Your latest topic is so very apt. And, as usual, very instructive. Thank you.
Haha it happens every now and then @richardperriment:disqus!! haha Have a marvellous time recording and mixing, many thanks Warren
But Sammy Hagar says “there’s only one way to Rock”? LOL Seriously though, great video as always and something that needed to be said. Not just for different band set ups but even for the same instruments… I wouldn’t mic and mix an acoustic guitar in a dense pop mix the same way I would an intimate guitar vocal demo. Same instrument but serves different purposes in both of those.
Superb Warren…. totally agree! Peace ?
Well said! P.S. Is that a LEGO space shuttle up on top of that rack?
Thank you Warren for articulating these important ideas. I have preferences to music I listen to, although I find something I love in almost every type of music, maybe with the exception of Beijing Opera (ha ha). Almost every consumer I meet has ‘their’ genre and has several styles of music they ‘hate’ But no style of music exists in a vacuum, they all inform each other and influences bleed across styles, sometimes by happy accident, sometimes with intention, i.e. Run DMC/Aerosmith, Miles David-Bitches Brew, heck even early twentieth century composers who introduced Latin rhythm and folk music to the classical world. Since joining Produce Like A Pro I feel like I’m finally getting a sense of what working in other genres is like, and I feel so blessed to have found a place to really learn about mixing and producing a broad range of stuff. Thanks for all you do.