Hi Friends,
I’ve recently been looking back over my career, reflecting on the incredible journey I’ve had. All of the hard work I’ve had to do and obstacles I’ve had to overcome have truly been a blessing, without them I wouldn’t have the skill set I have today and the understanding of the Artist’s journey, which allows me to have the empathy I need to be able to bring out great performances in them. I am truly grateful for everything that has lead me here to this place in my life and career.
Starting the Produce Like A Pro Youtube channel was my way to be able to give back and most importantly help people get the information I couldn’t find anywhere else as I was coming up in the industry. Those of you who watch my videos will notice I try to pack as much information into each of my videos as possible, showing you all of the different tricks I did on my mix breakdowns, trying as hard as I can to answer the questions that I get! It’s getting harder to do that, but I’m trying my best to keep up with them! I want to share as much as I possibly can, I’m not into elitist attitudes, there are no secrets to this, I strongly believe we should share information and skills, which will really really help each other get better and create amazing music!
One of the most important things that I want to talk about is equipment. Is it important to have the right gear? Yes it is. But what is the right gear?
The right gear is the equipment that helps motivate and inspire you to make the best music possible!!
For most of us home recordists a computer, either a PC or a Mac, a basic Interface with either one or two inputs, Headphones, an inexpensive mic and a DAW that suits our needs is all we need! Now if you are a vintage gear fanatic who wants a specific sound offered by a particular piece of equipment, whether it is an RCA Ribbon Mic, a Tube Mic Pre or an instrument such as a Banjo, Mandolin, Toy Piano, whatever it is that inspires you to make great music those things are all of course extremely important to you to help you on your musical journey!
But the one thing I cannot stand behind is the dogma, the idea that unless you use a specific piece of equipment then you are not doing it ‘properly’. As they say here in the US that is BALONEY, complete and utter RUBBISH!
Most of the best music (at least in my humble opinion) has always been created outside of the establishment. The Beatles were turned down by every label in England, they were eventually signed to a comedy label, Parlophone, by George Martin who was their A&R guy and their Producer. There are countless examples of this, the Velvet Underground and Iggy Pop for instance heavily influenced David Bowie who is one the greatest musical innovators. So many major trends in music have come from independent bands and artists outside of the establishment!
When I listen to Lorde’s huge worldwide smash ‘Royals’ I hear an amazing song that could be made on any DAW with any reasonably priced mic! That song is $500 worth of equipment, an amazing song and incredible vocal performance!
Creativity is king! Let’s make great music with whatever equipment we have and help each other along the way!
Many thanks
Warren Huart
https://www.producelikeapro.com/video/the-5-key-home-studio-components/