Self Sufficient Musician

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need a million-dollar studio to produce a recording worthy of public consumption — or even mass success. There are times and occasions where it’s good to spend money, go to
a studio and let others worry about the recording end of things, but I
generally encourage musicians, particularly those who aspire to be Self
Sufficient, to learn how to record themselves.

Studio engineers tend to obsess over this gear and that, and they endlessly debate the merits of sonic difference only discernable in the very best of listening environments.  Sure, we’re making art — but music is also a communication.   The role of tools is to make Good Enough recordings so that imperfections are not distracting. Once that’s achieved, everything else is a marginal benefit at best.

That said, there are some fundamental competence you must master as a producer of a recording in order to have your recordings compete in the market place.

I’m going to discuss these qualities more in abstract here — there will be more focused articles that give practical tips on how to achieve these qualities. (continue reading…)