Hey tinker bell, where are all these buttons everyone keeps talking about. And I’m not sure about these sliding fader thingies either 🤔 Although one of them does go to 11 👍
@@socialmeaslesinpartnership1252 inverse/converse/transverse/multiverse My brain sometimes scrambles them. When afflicted by uncertainty if I have occasion to use one, I generally hope the listener doesn't know either. Conversely, † I suspect like eight people preceding me, I have subscribed brimming in anticipation of being the first to know when the vegetable police might come for me. † :,)
Glenn was the last time you actually watched a computer hardware channel. Can I suggest you might like to try someone like Wendell at Level 1 techs, as a good start off point. (They might help with some video data backup solutions like 45 Drives) Why because I have just watched you suggest the equivalent to using a Canon Rebel 2i as a camera so that you can hack it to use Magic Lantern software. I am assuming being a TH-camr you might be using something more modern, I don't know something by Black Magic, like Henning does? Antec hasn't made a good case in something like 10 YEARS!! Try Fractal Design, they have only been leading lights for around for the past eight years or so.
"Don't mix with your eyes" Such a great tip! As a photographer, I've shot a lot of theater and music. I have a rule that I teach people: "Don't photograph with your ears" Its real easy to hear something that sounds awesome, but has no visual, and think that's the shot. The flipside of that is when something is a "sleepy" moment on the stage, but a great stage picture. Don't photograph with your ears, and don't mix with your eyes.
The worst part has to be shutting off the part of your brain that wants to listen to music so you can focus on visually getting a shot instead. I assume you don't necessarily photograph bands you enjoy listening to all the time though...
@@i-never-look-at-replies-lol I try to switch between listening to the music, and shooting for a few minutes. Its resulted in me missing a lot of cool "moments". Having said that, if you know the band really well, you know when they're going to create great stage pictures.
Well, that's his entire sjchpyeel :) but yeah it's very likeable. And it's a stupidness filter. If you get offended (eg as a bassist or guitarist), you rage quit, and then Glenn can focus on the rest of the audience that actually wants to listen to the message. And, we all feel like an in-crowd for it, so we can feel good about not being a pussy and being honest and intellectual. Yes, Glenn knows us well.
You’re not wrong about the drummer thing. A few years back we had a deal with Full Sail for recording…at one point we lost our drummer while the session was already booked. Having been a drummer for years I managed to tear myself away from the mirror (I am the singer after all) and answer the call. The engineer in charge of the lab seemed shocked at how laid back I was about having to move my gear around to get the best possible recording. Seriously did not know how many d-bags are out there!
I love how a lot of the advice Glenn Gives (e.g. "be easy to work with", "don't be afraid to make decisions") is stuff that should apply to basically everything - from professional work to private life. Shows how much the average person lacks in common sense. Dude, when Covid is over, I'd love to chug a beer with you.
"There's a lot more to this job than just pushing buttons" - For real. You have to turn knobs and slide faders too. Sometimes I fuck up and turn faders, push knobs, and slide buttons... man does that leave you with a mess.
Yes, if you have the space for a vocal recording booth, and a properly treated room, and the right equipment and, and, and. Or you can do it "wrong" and fix it in post. In my case, record voice-over for a podcast using my $1,000 Studio i.e. $150 of USB mic, an antipop windsleeve and $850 of iZotope Complete bundle bought in a big discount sale. Oh and the 12 core Zen 2 Linux box running OBS & Resolve on 128GB of Samsung B die & a 1TB SLC Raid 0 scratch drive.
I know I'm not alone, but #15 always hits home. Take care of people, and be a human. It's easy to write people off with, "Not my problem." It takes good people helping others to get to where we are. Kudos to you, Glenn, for pushing this.
Glen, thank you so much for for including #15 - Don’t take the path of least resistance. I work in television news (yes, I’m the devil!!!) and have been a production manager for half my life. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen my production staff do this and it’s caused animosity and trust issues between us and the on air staff. Simply put, our jobs are to make the talent look and perform their best at ALL TIMES. Even if sometimes that means doing shit we don’t want to do…like making sure an off-air monitor is at the perfect angle so they can delve deeper into their narcissism. Trust me, your life will be so much easier and the work you put out will benefit if you just make them happy. Obviously there are limits, but it’s a good rule to live by!!! Thanks for all the brilliant content!
Hey Glen! I'm a hobbyist musician/composer trying to actually start learning things about recording instead of just stumbling through it with no clue what I'm doing. The first thing thing that caught my attention about your channel is that you use Reaper, which I have been using for a few years now and I am blown away at the quality it offers at such an affordable price! What has kept me coming back is your awesome sense of humor and your amazing generosity with the blood-sweat-and-tears lessons you've learned in your career. A heartfelt thank you!
I have seen so many audio disasters live from people mixing with their eyes. This was a major issue back several years ago on the earlier Yamaha digital consoles that were also often used in studio environments. The issue being that the "engineer" would turn the knobs untill the eq looked like it was doing something, only to have disasterous results when they had been boosting or cutting everything by a minimum of 10 db. Something to remember is to learn a little bit of what the numbers mean. Boost or cut by 3db an you have either doubled or halfed that frequency.
Back in 1982 I did my first solo project " Ratatosk " on an Akai reel to reel with sound on sound. It took a whole lotta learning, and a whole lotta guessing. I still have a copy of the tape, and even if the sound is far from good, It's still great nostalgia listening to it
I don't do any mixing myself, but a good friend of mine is heavily into it, so you help me understand wtf he's talking about sometimes, and you crack me up. Cheers, Glen.
The over-perfection of modern recordings is starting to hit its limits. As production gets more sophisticated, hopefully we can add a little more freedom, humanity and slight imperfection back to popular music.
you could just start now by rejecting all the bullshit drum replacement software, beat detective and melodyne. if a band or artist can't play their songs in one take all the way through (ignoring vocal doubles, harmonies etc) then they shouldn't be in the studio, simple as that
@@f67739 ...or totally honest and soulful... Witnesses to sessions would come away astonished at the rank amateurism of the Stones in the studio, where they were capable of showing little more expertise than the newest band of nobodies working on their worthless demo tapes. But that recklessness was essential to the Stones process. "I've virtually based a career around what I learned in those three days," pianist Jim Dickinson says with a laugh. "It was so organic and natural, you just had to stop and think, 'Who's right and who's wrong here?' And they literally didn't have a clue as to what they were doing. They were making a record the way people off the street will come in and make a record." "They were the worst bloody band on the planet, the worst bunch of musicians in the world they could be for days at a time. Really fucking horrible. And you sit there wondering how on earth are we going to get anything out of this. They would play very badly, and that's how they played most of the time, very poorly, and out of tune... They were the worst band on the planet, BUT, when IT happened, they were transformed almost instantly from this dreadful band into THE ROLLING STONES, and blow you away. It was almost magical." - Andy Johns, recording engineer ♫
Never knew about the Kali's until I found this channel. Mixes changed forever after I got a pair of LP-8's. Those with a serious application of acoustic treatment and no more need for software 'fixes' like Sonarworks. Thanks Glenn!!
Also, another thing I like to do is take a song I really like the mix of and play it every once in a while to compare it to the mix I have. Usually regardless of what medium you're listening on, it can help you get an idea of your general sound and aspects you may want to tweak. Has helped me get back on track when my ears have adjusted/gotten fatigued to my own mix.
I mix on monitors (Kali LP6's) for the most part. I do mix my guitar tones on headphones when I'm dialing one in. I use the Waves NX plug in with a pair of Shure SRH440's and have gotten great results. I feel it really helps me focus better. But I always check the tone double tracked & stereo on my monitors before moving on.
Ya when you use calibrated headphones/software you can get some pretty great results... I'm using the same setup with the exceptions of the headphones which are Senheisser HD-280's and I'm really happy with the headphones and the Kali's as part of the mixing process.... You (and Glenn) are right, headphones for detail work are fantastic ...
Good quote. Zappa once said, "Art has to have a frame around it; otherwise, 'What's that shit on the wall?'" BTW, 'vain' means arrogant or conceited. 'Vein' can be either a blood vessel or a layer of mineral in the earth; e.g. "a thick vein of gold was discovered in the mountains." You wanted the second spelling. /Grammar Nazi
4:04 minor correction: if you place your monitors too close to the wall, you'll get a massive increase in bass response causing you to think your mix has more low end than it actually does, leading to mixes with LOWER bass because when mixing you'll perceive the track as having too much bass and you'll take out too much.
Actually depends on the speakers and room. This is more of a rule of thumb. Experimenting is crucial when setting up monitors. In my particular situation I get the most even bass response with the monitors right up on the wall.
"Walking out of the studio, talking on the phone for hours" - I once recorded in a studio where the engineer was doing this, and actually tried to charge us for the entire time we were there, despite the fact that he spent probably 2 to 3 hours talking on the phone in the other room. Then he got mad that we didn't "buy him lunch".
Re: "Don't Be Afraid to Make a Decision" Limitations, even artificial ones, breed creativity. So I'd add to this, don't be afraid to cut out the 1000 plugins and bring your process down to a simple as possible. You'll be surprised what you can achieve.
Not emotionally scaring the musicians by leaving the bathroom door open was the best one yet, i'd really like to know the backstory of that if you don't mind
As a student, I worked in municipal elderly home care. I saw weird shit. Literally. Nothing can shock me. Leave your bathroom door open for me and I will straight piss the crumbs off your wall if you want me to. (Maybe also if you don't.) I dare you.
You are very entertaining, and have lots of great advice. I am just getting started working on my own projects in the RV I’ve been living in since I’ve retired. I’ve played in bands, done live sound, live and studio recording since 1979 and so far I agree with everything you have been talking about in the videos I’ve seen you do so far. You have a happy subscriber. 👍🏼😎🤘🏼
The room where I mix is also used by my wife for sewing. To store all her fabric we hang up shelves in some corners. This is good acoustic treatment as long the shelves are fully equipped with fabric. My wife doesn’t complain when I tell her that she needs to buy new fabric. Win/win!
I'm so glad you gave the advice "don't be afraid to make a decision". Starting out with 2 tape decks and a DJ mixer back in the mid 80's, I thought I'd arrived when I got my first Tascam cassette 4 track! Sometimes I think the guys getting started with recording today have a lot of advantages, but the endless options can end up being a creative limitation. So glad I learned from having to bounce tracks and make a creative commitment. You just had to get that bounce mix right. You had to envision what the overall levels of the song would require, and try to compensate for that. And once those first tracks were recorded over, that was it, no going back. No redo button!
@ 4:49 😂😂😂 I’ve literally been planning my next “investment” into figuring out my bed situation because I moved into this new apartment a few months ago and decided to get a king size. I also recently got an MPC X along with a bunch of vintage ‘junk’ to sample from and new studio monitors among other things. Needless to say… there is a finite amount of space in my room. And I spent a whole day rearranging everything and making a mess. It was 2am… I took a good look and said “the bed… it has to go” and now I’ve been trying to give away this perfectly good bed and find an option with a better special budget. This part of the video spoke to me lmao thank you 🤝😂
Great advice. The speakers being by the wall depends on the speaker. I had mine 4ft into the room and I had a dip that couldn’t be corrected. GiK recommended putting the speaker as near to the wall as I could and it solved that problem. If the speaker is rear ported, then yes, good rule of thumb, don’t get near the front wall. If it’s front ported or sealed then it is worth trying them near to the front wall.
I am so glad i came across your channel. Fairly new to this and been breaking away from the dumb drummer stereo type. A year ago never thought id be watching a video on getting good guitar tones, and home studio videos, but i'm so thankful that you take time and give a few pointers. Currently just working on recording my band and all of these videos are super helpful and point me in the right direction. Rock on Glen, content is very much appreciated.
A long time ago, with a band I was in, we won a contest (something like battle of the bands) and our prize was to record one song in a "real" studio with a professional engineer. The recording went well but I remember, I sang the song 3 times and then sat down with the engineer to choose the best takes of each line (or almost each line). At some point, his phone rang, he got up and left for a long time and when he came back, he didn't even remember what we were doing. He had to look at his computer screen to see what we were doing and thankfully, we deleted the parts that we didn't like as we went, otherwise, we would have had to start all over again!
Rewatching a lot of your videos as a friend gave me (yes, gave) an old Tascam 388 8-track 1/4" tape recorder/desk/studio. Kinda like a Portastudio on steroids. This has given me the opportunity to finally build up my own personal analogue studio in my bungalow that I've always wanted, just to multitrack myself for to gain skills and have fun. Your videos, tips, and inexpensive gear reviews have been extremely valuable especially considering this is just a hobby and not a business. One piece of advice that has also clicked with me is from a 40+ minute video from the early 90's of Steve Albini showing off his "shitty 8-track studio" in his basement, where the video finishes up where he is asked "What are the simple hard necessities you need for a studio?" Steve then stressed the necessity of good microphones and how no amount of effects would make any difference without them, essentially "putting frosting on a turd". That appears to be a running theme among advice given by good engineers - first and foremost always get down the best sound you can, don't try to fix it in the mix as it will always sound inferior. Thanks again.
So true with let's fix it in the mix. The same goes "for let's fix it ln the master" The master won't magically make everything sound smoothe and well balanced - you have to do that in the mix!
My buddy saw my bedroom when I gave him a tour of my apartment, and his initial impression was “Well that was nice of you to give yourself a mattress in your mixing space.”
I am so happy you did this video. I started building my new 400 square foot studio last year and am in the finishing stages right now. Should be moved in a couple more weeks. I made the walls 12" or a foot wide using heavy gauge steel stud, double layer 5/8" type x drywall with green glue and insulated. I have some really neat sound treatments for the doors. Man I am so excited to be almost done this, dreams do come true when you work hard and stay focused on your goals.
I bought a 3 bs house for a recording studio in the Scottish Highlands. I wish I had paid for studio time in a city instead. It end up feeling like the overlook hotel in the film the shining.
I love this guy, you tell me in simple hard words how things can be done right. When needed you scream to make an important point. Thats how you teach the hard way. Good work man. I've been engineering for decades (stage & live sound), and love what you teach me. THank you!
I have to mix on headphones. Literally at any minute of the day, someone is asleep and I can't record my amp or mix on my monitors. It sucks but that's the way she goes, man.
Worst case you just go to your car to listen to your mix, but headphones do the trick enough for me. Obviously Monitors a better but I cant have any here either so its fine.
Slate headphones with the room emulation sound significantly better than most headphones I've mixed on in the past - not better than monitors but still nice!
It's all about finding that balance for the mix! I'll mix on headphones, then listen through my bose sound system, then my gaming headphones, then my sonos, then my car stereo, then on earbuds, etc. Want to make sure it sounds good on all mediums! That was probably the best advice my dad ever gave me about mixing. Listen to your track on EVERYTHING and you'll be able to really clean it up well.
I wouldn't recommend SSDs or other flash drives for long term backups though, cause they may start losing the data after some time without power. Also, I managed to make one cheap SSD unreadable after switching it between computers. To my understanding also CDs and DVDs start wearing out after a certain time. HDDs are a bit slower and more susceptible to physical damage (at least when the drive is spinning), but they can hold your data more reliably for long time periods, cause its physically written on an actual metal disc. Always having the files in more than one place, SSDs or HDDS or whatever, is probably the best way to go though. Cloud storage is pretty handy too.
I think most people who voted headphones(Me included) are people recording their own stuff on a tight budget or just getting into recording. Atleast I hope so haha.
Most definitely but I'm not going to mix my own work though. I can't acoustically treat my bedroom nor do I have the space for the monitors or monitor stands. I'm basically just going to record through D.I. dry, programme my drums and bass without any effects and then send off.
having the space to do """"real production/mixing/mastering"""" is such an insane premium nowadays that headphone mixing has had to become the norm. shared housing and restrictive rentals are almost never taken into account by people giving "avoid this!"-type breakdowns. it's a shame that there isn't a better focus on how to use headphones instead of people just saying "don't! buy monitors!"
I know I'm commenting on an old video, but I gotta state, this one is truly invaluable. Great workarounds for someone who's starting out on one of those kits with nothing else. Plus knowledge where to first upgrade. This one's quality should improve over repeat viewings. Thank you.
Yes, computers on the floor collect *more* dust than on a small end table. And every year take that computer outside and blow all the out dust, dog hair and other crap with a cheap air blower. Canned compressed air is okay but in the long run you'll save money with a cheap air blower.
Also don't smoke / vape in the same room as your computer. Or your electronics. I used to fix computers and game consoles, and I lost count of how many people smoked so much they gave their electronics cancer.
11:50 💯💯💯💯 I only use headphones to live monitor when placing the microphones. Then I go back to monitors because too many wires and they make noise when they cross. I worked in a bunch if warehouses and they make these rubber sheets to grip under skids.. I've got a couple hundred lbs both under and on top of my subwoofer. My room currently isn't gonna work so.. practice. I always treat one of every opposing wall. Often both.
Glen thanks for this, my son convinced me to start recording after we went into lock down. Everything was and is trial and error so I'm really glad to see all the great information you are providing in small digestible chunks. Looking forward to seeing and learning more...thanks again.
I mix with both, and sometimes I have just one headphone on while cocking my open ear to my monitors as well...and NEVER settle before I hear it on both...another great vid Glenn!
For backup I highly recommend some type of cloud based solution. I am using Dropbox, but there's plenty to choose from these days. If your hard drive is mirrored directly in the cloud, you never run the risk of forgetting to make a backup. If your studio burns down with all your disks in it, you still have all your recordings secured. You also have the benefit of being able to reach your projects wherever you are.
I'm really far from owning a pair of studio monitors. Being poor and being in a poor country with shitton of taxes with anything that comes from the outside doesn't help much. But hey, I've learnt how to use my headphones and people is happy with the results so, it's going ok so far.
Haha I love those "audiophile" guys that brag on how good their system sounds because they spent a fortune on the monitors, cables and vinylplayers and what not. Only that they are listening to their music in an acoustic terribly treated room.
Arguabely one of if not the best channels of this type on youtube. Been a fan for about 2 or 3 years now. Thank you, Glen. I had a dream to learn guitar and put togeather my home studio, and the things you put out have always pointed me in the right direction. Thanks again and f you Glen! 💯
I had an early (8:00 am) session ad the clients complained that there was no time to get breakfast on their way up. Took off my engineer hat. Put on the chef hat. Made breakfast for everyone and talked pre production. Had a great day!
Love that shirt! My first album was mixed on headphones and you can tell, compared to my new album. I couldn't afford monitors early on and besides that, my room was nowhere near set up for them. I now have a pair of KRK Rokit 5's. They're not the absolute best, but so much better than using headphones alone. My next step is to make and install some room treatment... baby steps.
Not sure who said that, but in my experience, I got some incredible results. Basically, any large box filled with soft stuff wil become a bass trap. In this instance, leaving the doors open sounded better than with them closed. It's certainly worth a shot!
You are an absolute gem, sir. I’m on the musician side of this, and want nothing more than to ensure any project we provide to our engineer/producer is as easy for him to work with as possible. I’ve only recently found your channel, but in the ten videos or so that I’ve watched, I don’t think you’ve said one thing I don’t 100% agree with. As a former Drill Sergeant and retired Infantryman, I fucking love the way you present it all too. So perfect. Thank you so much.
My monitors sit on the floor under my computer desk because my mixes don't sound good when I have them ear level. Just trying to make Glenn cringe a little!
@@emissaryofcharybdis105 No real reason. I guess because H comes before M, lol. I'm pretty lazy too, so I usually don't reach back behind my monitors to turn them on until towards the end of a mix.
Glenn, I have to say that this is one of your best videos. You have a lot of great advice here. And I know "locking the bathroom door" one is kind of humorous but it is important in the sense that it speaks to a level of professionalism in your own home studio. Just because the studio is in your home doesn't allow you to be too casual. You should act in the same professional way that you would if you were in a venerated professional studio. Great vid.
I love how he says fix it before the mix. I do this on my kit a lot of people ask if my kit is triggered live and in recordings I say no I just have them tuned so low they sound triggered. Then they ask to look and I let them go look. In don't use any muffling on my kit minus an e-mad kick drum head. A little eq and the engender is happy.
Man, thank you so much for these killer videos! Ive been playing for decades, but just getting started with home recording. You have already avoided a half dozen mistakes thanks to you!
I started recording in 1995 with one blackface ADAT and a Mackie 1604. I had a single reverb unit and a cheap compressor. Having this limitation taught me a lot about recording and about learning to use what I DID have rather than worrying about what I DIDN'T have.
"There is a lot more to this job than pushing buttons". Man is that the truth!! hahahahaha....... I've been doing this a long time and I can tell you I have been a therapist, taxi, secretary, instrument tech, cook, best friend, worst enemy, the list goes on and on. I love it tho. Being able to help people make this dream come true is very rewarding!
Dude.. you should do a "roast my studio" kinda thing, would love to see what kinda crazy shit they have going on.
this
This
This
Yes
This
"There's a lot more to this job than just pushing buttons", said at the very end of this vid, is a very underrated statement. Rock On Glenn!
Hey tinker bell, where are all these buttons everyone keeps talking about.
And I’m not sure about these sliding fader thingies either 🤔
Although one of them does go to 11 👍
@@JTPiano2011 Haha! Word up!!
To quote my brother (not an audio engineer, but an effects animator. It still applies though.): There is no "make pretty" button.
Indeed. It also involves moving sliders.
"There's a lot more to this job than just pushing buttons" that should be framed on every studio's wall
Now now hold on there , you might be giving a mildly enthusiastic "DeeJay" some ideas .
What do you mean man? I just flip that power switch on my Behringer mixer and GOOOOOOOO...
Or Writer ⌨️
"Expensive equipement doesn't beat basic physics." I'm gonna drop this one at every excuse. It won't stick, but it will annoy the right people...
@StringerNews1 Small speakers being a prime example. But some people need to stop taking marketing talk seriously... 😉
@@socialmeaslesinpartnership1252 inverse/converse/transverse/multiverse
My brain sometimes scrambles them. When afflicted by uncertainty if I have occasion to use one, I generally hope the listener doesn't know either.
Conversely, † I suspect like eight people preceding me, I have subscribed brimming in anticipation of being the first to know when the vegetable police might come for me.
† :,)
@LuisNunes I'm right there with ya man. Love this.
@@zedmelon 👍
Glenn was the last time you actually watched a computer hardware channel. Can I suggest you might like to try someone like Wendell at Level 1 techs, as a good start off point. (They might help with some video data backup solutions like 45 Drives)
Why because I have just watched you suggest the equivalent to using a Canon Rebel 2i as a camera so that you can hack it to use Magic Lantern software. I am assuming being a TH-camr you might be using something more modern, I don't know something by Black Magic, like Henning does?
Antec hasn't made a good case in something like 10 YEARS!! Try Fractal Design, they have only been leading lights for around for the past eight years or so.
"Don't mix with your eyes"
Such a great tip!
As a photographer, I've shot a lot of theater and music.
I have a rule that I teach people:
"Don't photograph with your ears"
Its real easy to hear something that sounds awesome, but has no visual, and think that's the shot.
The flipside of that is when something is a "sleepy" moment on the stage, but a great stage picture.
Don't photograph with your ears, and don't mix with your eyes.
The worst part has to be shutting off the part of your brain that wants to listen to music so you can focus on visually getting a shot instead. I assume you don't necessarily photograph bands you enjoy listening to all the time though...
@@i-never-look-at-replies-lol
I try to switch between listening to the music, and shooting for a few minutes.
Its resulted in me missing a lot of cool "moments".
Having said that, if you know the band really well, you know when they're going to create great stage pictures.
Mixing with eyes is great unless you have blurred vision
"Dont fart with your mouth"
Man, I'm not even listening when I'm shooting stage. Who does that?
"Restraint goes a long way"
Screams his eyes out every video.
Love Glen's videos
When it comes to editing? Yes.
When it comes to making a point that will be remembered? Maybe not. Context is key.
@@SpectreSoundStudios people love taking everything out of context.
@@SpectreSoundStudios Glen, If you haven't murdered a bassist yet then you are *definitely* exercising restraint!
I like that this guy acts like a hard ass but you can tell that he genuinely wants us to understand and be better
Well, that's his entire sjchpyeel :) but yeah it's very likeable. And it's a stupidness filter. If you get offended (eg as a bassist or guitarist), you rage quit, and then Glenn can focus on the rest of the audience that actually wants to listen to the message. And, we all feel like an in-crowd for it, so we can feel good about not being a pussy and being honest and intellectual. Yes, Glenn knows us well.
@@rijden-nu exactly
You’re not wrong about the drummer thing. A few years back we had a deal with Full Sail for recording…at one point we lost our drummer while the session was already booked. Having been a drummer for years I managed to tear myself away from the mirror (I am the singer after all) and answer the call. The engineer in charge of the lab seemed shocked at how laid back I was about having to move my gear around to get the best possible recording. Seriously did not know how many d-bags are out there!
“Always check your mix in the car” most important tip ever lol 💯
I love how a lot of the advice Glenn Gives (e.g. "be easy to work with", "don't be afraid to make decisions") is stuff that should apply to basically everything - from professional work to private life. Shows how much the average person lacks in common sense. Dude, when Covid is over, I'd love to chug a beer with you.
"There's a lot more to this job than just pushing buttons" - For real. You have to turn knobs and slide faders too. Sometimes I fuck up and turn faders, push knobs, and slide buttons... man does that leave you with a mess.
🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽
🤣🤣🤣🤣
XD
This made me laugh waaaay harder than it should have lolol the visual i got killed me. Great comment!! xD
Oh man the worst is when you try to light up a joint but set fire to your mixing console instead. I get confused like that sometimes.
"Dont fix it in the mix just dont record shit" should be a shirt!
Dead on big guy , Bullseye , and hey , i would get one of those shirts . lol
I remember a teacher once said to me "amateurs fix it in Post, experienced fix it in Pre... because its easier"
Or, the old saying: “ You can’t polish a turd.”
Yes, if you have the space for a vocal recording booth, and a properly treated room, and the right equipment and, and, and. Or you can do it "wrong" and fix it in post. In my case, record voice-over for a podcast using my $1,000 Studio i.e. $150 of USB mic, an antipop windsleeve and $850 of iZotope Complete bundle bought in a big discount sale. Oh and the 12 core Zen 2 Linux box running OBS & Resolve on 128GB of Samsung B die & a 1TB SLC Raid 0 scratch drive.
"Shit in, Shit out"
I know I'm not alone, but #15 always hits home. Take care of people, and be a human. It's easy to write people off with, "Not my problem." It takes good people helping others to get to where we are. Kudos to you, Glenn, for pushing this.
Glen, headphones are superior for mixing because they reduce the “complaining girlfriend” frequency by about 6db.
I have developed a plug-in that completely cuts out complaining girlfriend frequencies. Uad is sponsoring us.
@@MisterRorschach90 I predict many downloads of your plug-in. Does it send text alerts that lure girlfriends away from the mixing area?
@@caliskaterdrummer BOGOs on shoes would work almost every time...
@@a2ndopynyn @StacyMcMillan @jordansecrist
woefully underrated thread.
Ahh. The dreaded screech track.
Glen, thank you so much for for including #15 - Don’t take the path of least resistance.
I work in television news (yes, I’m the devil!!!) and have been a production manager for half my life. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen my production staff do this and it’s caused animosity and trust issues between us and the on air staff.
Simply put, our jobs are to make the talent look and perform their best at ALL TIMES. Even if sometimes that means doing shit we don’t want to do…like making sure an off-air monitor is at the perfect angle so they can delve deeper into their narcissism.
Trust me, your life will be so much easier and the work you put out will benefit if you just make them happy. Obviously there are limits, but it’s a good rule to live by!!!
Thanks for all the brilliant content!
Hey Glen! I'm a hobbyist musician/composer trying to actually start learning things about recording instead of just stumbling through it with no clue what I'm doing. The first thing thing that caught my attention about your channel is that you use Reaper, which I have been using for a few years now and I am blown away at the quality it offers at such an affordable price! What has kept me coming back is your awesome sense of humor and your amazing generosity with the blood-sweat-and-tears lessons you've learned in your career. A heartfelt thank you!
I have seen so many audio disasters live from people mixing with their eyes. This was a major issue back several years ago on the earlier Yamaha digital consoles that were also often used in studio environments. The issue being that the "engineer" would turn the knobs untill the eq looked like it was doing something, only to have disasterous results when they had been boosting or cutting everything by a minimum of 10 db. Something to remember is to learn a little bit of what the numbers mean. Boost or cut by 3db an you have either doubled or halfed that frequency.
Thanks for that man
Absolute truth!
Back in 1982 I did my first solo project " Ratatosk " on an Akai reel to reel with sound on sound. It took a whole lotta learning, and a whole lotta guessing. I still have a copy of the tape, and even if the sound is far from good, It's still great nostalgia listening to it
I don't do any mixing myself, but a good friend of mine is heavily into it, so you help me understand wtf he's talking about sometimes, and you crack me up. Cheers, Glen.
The over-perfection of modern recordings is starting to hit its limits. As production gets more sophisticated, hopefully we can add a little more freedom, humanity and slight imperfection back to popular music.
you could just start now by rejecting all the bullshit drum replacement software, beat detective and melodyne. if a band or artist can't play their songs in one take all the way through (ignoring vocal doubles, harmonies etc) then they shouldn't be in the studio, simple as that
@@f67739 and why you think like that?
@@derfred9571 because its dishonest and soulless.
Getting off "The Grid" addiction will go a long way in restoring what we're missing.
@@f67739 ...or totally honest and soulful...
Witnesses to sessions would come away astonished at the rank amateurism of the Stones in the studio, where they were capable of showing little more expertise than the newest band of nobodies working on their worthless demo tapes. But that recklessness was essential to the Stones process.
"I've virtually based a career around what I learned in those three days," pianist Jim Dickinson says with a laugh. "It was so organic and natural, you just had to stop and think, 'Who's right and who's wrong here?' And they literally didn't have a clue as to what they were doing. They were making a record the way people off the street will come in and make a record."
"They were the worst bloody band on the planet, the worst bunch of musicians in the world they could be for days at a time. Really fucking horrible. And you sit there wondering how on earth are we going to get anything out of this. They would play very badly, and that's how they played most of the time, very poorly, and out of tune... They were the worst band on the planet, BUT, when IT happened, they were transformed almost instantly from this dreadful band into THE ROLLING STONES, and blow you away. It was almost magical." - Andy Johns, recording engineer ♫
Never knew about the Kali's until I found this channel. Mixes changed forever after I got a pair of LP-8's. Those with a serious application of acoustic treatment and no more need for software 'fixes' like Sonarworks. Thanks Glenn!!
The sound proofing demonstration with the sliding doors is way more satisfying that it has any right to be.
Also, another thing I like to do is take a song I really like the mix of and play it every once in a while to compare it to the mix I have. Usually regardless of what medium you're listening on, it can help you get an idea of your general sound and aspects you may want to tweak. Has helped me get back on track when my ears have adjusted/gotten fatigued to my own mix.
Here supporting Glen and the family 👍
I mix on monitors (Kali LP6's) for the most part. I do mix my guitar tones on headphones when I'm dialing one in. I use the Waves NX plug in with a pair of Shure SRH440's and have gotten great results. I feel it really helps me focus better. But I always check the tone double tracked & stereo on my monitors before moving on.
Ya when you use calibrated headphones/software you can get some pretty great results... I'm using the same setup with the exceptions of the headphones which are Senheisser HD-280's and I'm really happy with the headphones and the Kali's as part of the mixing process.... You (and Glenn) are right, headphones for detail work are fantastic ...
Joking aside, on the vain of limits, one of my favorite quotes is by Orson Welles: "The lack of limitations is the enemy of art"
Good quote. Zappa once said, "Art has to have a frame around it; otherwise, 'What's that shit on the wall?'"
BTW, 'vain' means arrogant or conceited. 'Vein' can be either a blood vessel or a layer of mineral in the earth; e.g. "a thick vein of gold was discovered in the mountains." You wanted the second spelling.
/Grammar Nazi
Wahahahah yeah in my defense I was hung over when I typed that
@@thegreatmarondraith8741 No worries. Just a heads up.
@@a2ndopynyn Love that Zappa quote! Hey bud, never apologize for following grammar rules. They are essential for accurate communication!!
4:04 minor correction: if you place your monitors too close to the wall, you'll get a massive increase in bass response causing you to think your mix has more low end than it actually does, leading to mixes with LOWER bass because when mixing you'll perceive the track as having too much bass and you'll take out too much.
Actually depends on the speakers and room. This is more of a rule of thumb. Experimenting is crucial when setting up monitors.
In my particular situation I get the most even bass response with the monitors right up on the wall.
Not if you choke off the rear ports up against the wall.
I listened to British Steel a few weeks ago ... and it DOES sound killer.
"Walking out of the studio, talking on the phone for hours" - I once recorded in a studio where the engineer was doing this, and actually tried to charge us for the entire time we were there, despite the fact that he spent probably 2 to 3 hours talking on the phone in the other room. Then he got mad that we didn't "buy him lunch".
Great video Glenn!!
Glenn, you're like that annoying friend who really _does_ have your best interests at heart...
Re: "Don't Be Afraid to Make a Decision"
Limitations, even artificial ones, breed creativity. So I'd add to this, don't be afraid to cut out the 1000 plugins and bring your process down to a simple as possible. You'll be surprised what you can achieve.
Nobody used 1000 plugins ever
@@MrSkinkarde Shoegaze Artists: You underestimate my power
Not emotionally scaring the musicians by leaving the bathroom door open was the best one yet, i'd really like to know the backstory of that if you don't mind
Ya when I heard that all I could think was, "you KNOW there's a great story behind that one" ;-)
@@robblazik7185 exactly, im constantly checking the discord if glenn is on, i just want to know who got traumatised by seeing whos balls
It was me, and yes, therapy is helping.
A guitarist probably ran out of TP and put a guitar strap to rest. . .
As a student, I worked in municipal elderly home care. I saw weird shit. Literally. Nothing can shock me. Leave your bathroom door open for me and I will straight piss the crumbs off your wall if you want me to. (Maybe also if you don't.) I dare you.
You are very entertaining, and have lots of great advice. I am just getting started working on my own projects in the RV I’ve been living in since I’ve retired. I’ve played in bands, done live sound, live and studio recording since 1979 and so far I agree with everything you have been talking about in the videos I’ve seen you do so far. You have a happy subscriber. 👍🏼😎🤘🏼
Getting it tight at the source is HIGHLY undervalued.
The room where I mix is also used by my wife for sewing.
To store all her fabric we hang up shelves in some corners. This is good acoustic treatment as long the shelves are fully equipped with fabric.
My wife doesn’t complain when I tell her that she needs to buy new fabric. Win/win!
Love this guy. He knows what metal heads want to hear. His "rules" are totally fing true
I'm so glad you gave the advice "don't be afraid to make a decision". Starting out with 2 tape decks and a DJ mixer back in the mid 80's, I thought I'd arrived when I got my first Tascam cassette 4 track! Sometimes I think the guys getting started with recording today have a lot of advantages, but the endless options can end up being a creative limitation. So glad I learned from having to bounce tracks and make a creative commitment. You just had to get that bounce mix right. You had to envision what the overall levels of the song would require, and try to compensate for that. And once those first tracks were recorded over, that was it, no going back. No redo button!
As a cinematographer, I can say “Let’s fix it in the mix” compares to “let’s fix it in post” and A L W A Y S sucks 😂
@ 4:49 😂😂😂 I’ve literally been planning my next “investment” into figuring out my bed situation because I moved into this new apartment a few months ago and decided to get a king size. I also recently got an MPC X along with a bunch of vintage ‘junk’ to sample from and new studio monitors among other things. Needless to say… there is a finite amount of space in my room. And I spent a whole day rearranging everything and making a mess. It was 2am… I took a good look and said “the bed… it has to go” and now I’ve been trying to give away this perfectly good bed and find an option with a better special budget. This part of the video spoke to me lmao thank you 🤝😂
You’re hilarious and insightful at the same time. Rare dude!
Great advice. The speakers being by the wall depends on the speaker.
I had mine 4ft into the room and I had a dip that couldn’t be corrected. GiK recommended putting the speaker as near to the wall as I could and it solved that problem.
If the speaker is rear ported, then yes, good rule of thumb, don’t get near the front wall. If it’s front ported or sealed then it is worth trying them near to the front wall.
First to realise I'm doing everything wrong. Cool.
You are not alone
You are not alone (2)
The only way to do it right is to do it wrong a few times...or many times.
Crap… same here! 💩
I can't even play, what made me think I could record?? Literally doing everything wrong!
I am so glad i came across your channel. Fairly new to this and been breaking away from the dumb drummer stereo type. A year ago never thought id be watching a video on getting good guitar tones, and home studio videos, but i'm so thankful that you take time and give a few pointers. Currently just working on recording my band and all of these videos are super helpful and point me in the right direction. Rock on Glen, content is very much appreciated.
A long time ago, with a band I was in, we won a contest (something like battle of the bands) and our prize was to record one song in a "real" studio with a professional engineer. The recording went well but I remember, I sang the song 3 times and then sat down with the engineer to choose the best takes of each line (or almost each line). At some point, his phone rang, he got up and left for a long time and when he came back, he didn't even remember what we were doing. He had to look at his computer screen to see what we were doing and thankfully, we deleted the parts that we didn't like as we went, otherwise, we would have had to start all over again!
Rewatching a lot of your videos as a friend gave me (yes, gave) an old Tascam 388 8-track 1/4" tape recorder/desk/studio. Kinda like a Portastudio on steroids. This has given me the opportunity to finally build up my own personal analogue studio in my bungalow that I've always wanted, just to multitrack myself for to gain skills and have fun. Your videos, tips, and inexpensive gear reviews have been extremely valuable especially considering this is just a hobby and not a business. One piece of advice that has also clicked with me is from a 40+ minute video from the early 90's of Steve Albini showing off his "shitty 8-track studio" in his basement, where the video finishes up where he is asked "What are the simple hard necessities you need for a studio?" Steve then stressed the necessity of good microphones and how no amount of effects would make any difference without them, essentially "putting frosting on a turd". That appears to be a running theme among advice given by good engineers - first and foremost always get down the best sound you can, don't try to fix it in the mix as it will always sound inferior. Thanks again.
Best tip: “Don’t edit out the humanity!” @ 12:04
So true with let's fix it in the mix. The same goes "for let's fix it ln the master"
The master won't magically make everything sound smoothe and well balanced - you have to do that in the mix!
My buddy saw my bedroom when I gave him a tour of my apartment, and his initial impression was “Well that was nice of you to give yourself a mattress in your mixing space.”
I am so happy you did this video. I started building my new 400 square foot studio last year and am in the finishing stages right now. Should be moved in a couple more weeks. I made the walls 12" or a foot wide using heavy gauge steel stud, double layer 5/8" type x drywall with green glue and insulated. I have some really neat sound treatments for the doors. Man I am so excited to be almost done this, dreams do come true when you work hard and stay focused on your goals.
I bought a 3 bs house for a recording studio in the Scottish Highlands. I wish I had paid for studio time in a city instead. It end up feeling like the overlook hotel in the film the shining.
@@andym28 O ya bro! I am enjoying the finished studio and it sure is nice its 15 ft from my house in the city.
I just use headphones for a reference always good to check your mix on things people are listening to . The Kali's are so sick though
I love this guy, you tell me in simple hard words how things can be done right. When needed you scream to make an important point. Thats how you teach the hard way. Good work man. I've been engineering for decades (stage & live sound), and love what you teach me. THank you!
I have to mix on headphones. Literally at any minute of the day, someone is asleep and I can't record my amp or mix on my monitors. It sucks but that's the way she goes, man.
Worst case you just go to your car to listen to your mix, but headphones do the trick enough for me. Obviously Monitors a better but I cant have any here either so its fine.
Do you mix at a day care center?
Fuckin' way she goes bud....sometimes she goes, sometimes she doesn't
Get a Revv G20,
Slate headphones with the room emulation sound significantly better than most headphones I've mixed on in the past - not better than monitors but still nice!
It's all about finding that balance for the mix! I'll mix on headphones, then listen through my bose sound system, then my gaming headphones, then my sonos, then my car stereo, then on earbuds, etc. Want to make sure it sounds good on all mediums! That was probably the best advice my dad ever gave me about mixing. Listen to your track on EVERYTHING and you'll be able to really clean it up well.
Boo to Bose. Very unnatural speakers.
Im legally deaf in one ear, with loss in the other
Mixing on headphones is the least of my problems lol
This might be one of my favorite videos you've done. Definitely sharing this with my friends in audio
Hey Glen, you forgot to mention "if you have a Mac system, make sure you have a time machine backup".
Noted!
I wouldn't recommend SSDs or other flash drives for long term backups though, cause they may start losing the data after some time without power. Also, I managed to make one cheap SSD unreadable after switching it between computers. To my understanding also CDs and DVDs start wearing out after a certain time.
HDDs are a bit slower and more susceptible to physical damage (at least when the drive is spinning), but they can hold your data more reliably for long time periods, cause its physically written on an actual metal disc.
Always having the files in more than one place, SSDs or HDDS or whatever, is probably the best way to go though. Cloud storage is pretty handy too.
I think most people who voted headphones(Me included) are people recording their own stuff on a tight budget or just getting into recording. Atleast I hope so haha.
100% that (though I do want to upgrade this long term, but I'll need a good space first)
But I record and mix with a pair of 20,000 dollar audiophile cans from hifiman.
Yep. Lol. Headphones are way cheaper...
Most definitely but I'm not going to mix my own work though. I can't acoustically treat my bedroom nor do I have the space for the monitors or monitor stands. I'm basically just going to record through D.I. dry, programme my drums and bass without any effects and then send off.
having the space to do """"real production/mixing/mastering"""" is such an insane premium nowadays that headphone mixing has had to become the norm. shared housing and restrictive rentals are almost never taken into account by people giving "avoid this!"-type breakdowns. it's a shame that there isn't a better focus on how to use headphones instead of people just saying "don't! buy monitors!"
I know I'm commenting on an old video, but I gotta state, this one is truly invaluable. Great workarounds for someone who's starting out on one of those kits with nothing else. Plus knowledge where to first upgrade. This one's quality should improve over repeat viewings. Thank you.
Computers collect a lot of dirt when placed on the floor. I have mine on a small end table that sits behind the main mixing desk.
Yes, computers on the floor collect *more* dust than on a small end table. And every year take that computer outside and blow all the out dust, dog hair and other crap with a cheap air blower. Canned compressed air is okay but in the long run you'll save money with a cheap air blower.
Also don't smoke / vape in the same room as your computer. Or your electronics. I used to fix computers and game consoles, and I lost count of how many people smoked so much they gave their electronics cancer.
11:50 💯💯💯💯
I only use headphones to live monitor when placing the microphones. Then I go back to monitors because too many wires and they make noise when they cross.
I worked in a bunch if warehouses and they make these rubber sheets to grip under skids.. I've got a couple hundred lbs both under and on top of my subwoofer. My room currently isn't gonna work so.. practice.
I always treat one of every opposing wall. Often both.
I use headphones really just to setup guitar tones or vocal levels then get a more final sound with monitors
Headphones are fine for solo tracks like that.
Same here.
Thank you for all the tips. Starting out after 20+ years inactive in music is a challenge for me, your videos have been quite helpful.
Yo glen, when do we get a “glen rates home studio’s” series with maybe some pointers/advice?
That would be an awesome series! Great idea
Thank you. Rock on. 🥰
Glenn just basically called all of us bass players unintentionally
What makes you think it was unintentional?! 🤣
Glen thanks for this, my son convinced me to start recording after we went into lock down. Everything was and is trial and error so I'm really glad to see all the great information you are providing in small digestible chunks. Looking forward to seeing and learning more...thanks again.
Headphones come into play when you're working at night and you have neighbours! 😇🤣
I mix with both, and sometimes I have just one headphone on while cocking my open ear to my monitors as well...and NEVER settle before I hear it on both...another great vid Glenn!
I mix on headphones until I'm almost done, then I switch to monitors. I do a final check in the car. But I'm no pro.
If you have decent monitors try mixing on those and spot checking with headphones.
Zactly what I do. Seriously.
You've become one of my favorite TH-camrs, Glen - Can't wait to submit my mix one of these Mondays
Glenn at this time (8am)... better than coffee!
For backup I highly recommend some type of cloud based solution. I am using Dropbox, but there's plenty to choose from these days.
If your hard drive is mirrored directly in the cloud, you never run the risk of forgetting to make a backup. If your studio burns down with all your disks in it, you still have all your recordings secured. You also have the benefit of being able to reach your projects wherever you are.
Glen, what do you think about plugins like waves' NX series that emulates control rooms like Abbey Roads Studio in your headphones?
You must be the type of person those 4am TV informercials cater to...
Hold up let me just become an affiliate for slate real quick.
I think I have a pair of headphones you’d be interested in. lol
@@nic8129 bruh I can get the plugin for free from shady russian torrent sites. Its really not a big deal
My man, you are a wealth of knowledge. Working with you would be crazy fun. Glad someone out there still tells it how it is.
I'm really far from owning a pair of studio monitors. Being poor and being in a poor country with shitton of taxes with anything that comes from the outside doesn't help much. But hey, I've learnt how to use my headphones and people is happy with the results so, it's going ok so far.
I can appreciate the direct honesty and amount of useful information on this video.
Haha I love those "audiophile" guys that brag on how good their system sounds because they spent a fortune on the monitors, cables and vinylplayers and what not.
Only that they are listening to their music in an acoustic terribly treated room.
Glad I watched this, Glen. You have affirmed that most of what I'm doing is right. I'll work on the rest. Thanks!
17:36 I close my eyes when I'm making eq changes.
Arguabely one of if not the best channels of this type on youtube. Been a fan for about 2 or 3 years now. Thank you, Glen. I had a dream to learn guitar and put togeather my home studio, and the things you put out have always pointed me in the right direction. Thanks again and f you Glen! 💯
I had an early (8:00 am) session ad the clients complained that there was no time to get breakfast on their way up.
Took off my engineer hat. Put on the chef hat.
Made breakfast for everyone and talked pre production.
Had a great day!
"can you add more bottom end to the eggs ? and maybe compress the butter a bit more on the bread track !"
5:38 just make sure that it isn’t on carpet. If you don’t have hardwood floors you can make a little table/riser out of pallets
This is why I make Lofi lol it's literally called "bedroom recording"
Black Metal artists agree
Love that shirt! My first album was mixed on headphones and you can tell, compared to my new album. I couldn't afford monitors early on and besides that, my room was nowhere near set up for them. I now have a pair of KRK Rokit 5's. They're not the absolute best, but so much better than using headphones alone. My next step is to make and install some room treatment... baby steps.
I thought the closet thing was discouraged because it won't absorb low end.
Not sure who said that, but in my experience, I got some incredible results. Basically, any large box filled with soft stuff wil become a bass trap. In this instance, leaving the doors open sounded better than with them closed. It's certainly worth a shot!
You are an absolute gem, sir. I’m on the musician side of this, and want nothing more than to ensure any project we provide to our engineer/producer is as easy for him to work with as possible. I’ve only recently found your channel, but in the ten videos or so that I’ve watched, I don’t think you’ve said one thing I don’t 100% agree with. As a former Drill Sergeant and retired Infantryman, I fucking love the way you present it all too. So perfect. Thank you so much.
My monitors sit on the floor under my computer desk because my mixes don't sound good when I have them ear level.
Just trying to make Glenn cringe a little!
Words of wisdom delivered with volume and intensity. Subscribed.
Monitors+headphones. That option wasn't there so I just picked headphones.
Why didn't you pick monitors, then?
@@emissaryofcharybdis105 No real reason. I guess because H comes before M, lol. I'm pretty lazy too, so I usually don't reach back behind my monitors to turn them on until towards the end of a mix.
@@emissaryofcharybdis105 👊👍
Glenn, I have to say that this is one of your best videos. You have a lot of great advice here. And I know "locking the bathroom door" one is kind of humorous but it is important in the sense that it speaks to a level of professionalism in your own home studio. Just because the studio is in your home doesn't allow you to be too casual. You should act in the same professional way that you would if you were in a venerated professional studio. Great vid.
I love how he says fix it before the mix. I do this on my kit a lot of people ask if my kit is triggered live and in recordings I say no I just have them tuned so low they sound triggered. Then they ask to look and I let them go look. In don't use any muffling on my kit minus an e-mad kick drum head. A little eq and the engender is happy.
Thank you Glenn🔥🤘🔥
Man, thank you so much for these killer videos! Ive been playing for decades, but just getting started with home recording. You have already avoided a half dozen mistakes thanks to you!
*already helped me avoid...
one of your BEST videos 11.43 is the most important things .. more of this please! .. greetings from Indonesia
This channel never gets old. Glenn you're killing it.
I started recording in 1995 with one blackface ADAT and a Mackie 1604. I had a single reverb unit and a cheap compressor. Having this limitation taught me a lot about recording and about learning to use what I DID have rather than worrying about what I DIDN'T have.
"There is a lot more to this job than pushing buttons". Man is that the truth!! hahahahaha....... I've been doing this a long time and I can tell you I have been a therapist, taxi, secretary, instrument tech, cook, best friend, worst enemy, the list goes on and on. I love it tho. Being able to help people make this dream come true is very rewarding!
Great Video!!! Thanks yet again for your hard work Glenn.