Am i getting better or are the tools getting better?

[The-Zeronaut]

Lately i´ve been kind of bummed out thinking about my audio engineering skills...
I´ve been doing this for about 6/7 years now (mostly as a hobby)
i have recorded a couple of cds and a few eps.
i have read many books,watched a shitload of dvds/videos and i visit various forums about audio everyday but im still stuck at the "amateur" mix level.

As much as i love doing this i cant stop thinking if i really "have it" in me to be a good audio engineer :S
The other day i was using VTM for the first time and i remembered that CJ said something about putting the 1" tape machine ,fg9 tape and 30 ips was awesome in the mix buss...i tried it...and indeed it was awesome and clearly made the mix sound better...but i keep thinking...this has nothing to do about my mixing skills...i just pressed a button on a plugin...

have i really progressed as an audio engineer¿?
Or the tools are just getting better?
better drum samples, better ampsims, better compressor emulations, better eqs, etc...

and then there are those times when you hear some kid with 1 year audio experience putting out better mixes than you...

Maybe i just hit the max level one can ever achieve without actually being "gifted" or have very good ears or something...

end of the rant..

Here´s my latest recording (my cover band)
if someone is interested on hearing my actual engineering skills
http://soundcloud.com/markstudios/sets/chocolate-sexy-ep

 

[bryan_kilco]

Doesnt sound bad at all man!

And I know exactly how you feel. I've been doing this as mainly a hobby as well, except for my bands demos. I'll say I've really taken it seriously for the past 5-6 years.

Been feeling like I just don't have the ears, gear, or know-how to ever compete with the big guys out there.

 

[FarBeyondMetal]

Try this little friendly competition over at the REAPER forums. Mix the song posted with only one Reverb, one Compressor, and one EQ plugin. That should give you an idea of where your skillset is, instead of which plugins you have

http://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=123907

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

Everyone on this forum has got better in the past decade. I know I have.

 

[bryan_kilco]

Try this little friendly competition over at the REAPER forums. Mix the song posted with only one Reverb, one Compressor, and one EQ plugin. That should give you an idea of where your skillset is, instead of which plugins you have

http://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=123907

That seems like fun! Might take a stab at it.

 

[Nimvi]

I see tools as just that: something to help you translate your vision towards an actual real thing. If you need a hammer for job, and you only have a screwdriver...well, no amount of skill is going to help you there. So I think at least a decent toolbox is required to be able to become a good handyman.

But don't underestimate how important it is to learn how and when to use your tools, and how much time you have already invested into that. It becomes hard to keep an objective view of that over the years. Some plugins are easier to use, and more set-and-forget that others, I agree with that. But still... you instinctively want to use that plugin because your mix sounds a certain way and you think that a certain something is not the way you imagine it, and by using that simple tool, you hear a difference that is closer to what you have in mind. This is not a regular thing.

Not even to start about the fact that you have been reading this forum and probably some others over the past few years, and have learned a lot about the logic and terminology that goes into this art. So if you read some technical description about something here, you are able to translate that into your own workflow, and you are able to determine whether it actually improved something or not.

What I'm trying to say is that you may heavily underestimate your skill and investment because everything you have learned came in small modules and over a stretched period of time. But I guarantee you that you could tell a random guy on the street EXACTLY how you would mix a song from start to end, and he would still not even come close to your results. He wouldn't even have a clue what he was listening for! Remember the first time you used an EQ? I don't know about you, but I didn't know what the hell was going on...

Sure, there will always be someone better than you out there. But don't let that put you down. See it as an inspiration! What are they doing better than you? Which parts of your mixing skills are you not yet happy about? Practice those things specifically.

Learning to mix is very much like learning to play an instrument imo. You can come a long way by just playing a lot, but at a certain point you reach a wall where you have to break down your strengths and weaknesses and iron out those weaknesses one by one.
I think the two things required for that are self-reflection and discipline. You need to be able to pinpoint what you absolutely suck at, and then think: "Good! That means I can drastically improve in that area if I work hard on it". This is a good thing! Sure, some people make a jump in their first year, and some get better over time, but I think that every single person that ever got to the top of anything has put in the effort and hours. Let's put it this way: I have never heard of anyone doing something for thousands of hours and still sucking at it. The difference in skill between those that have put in the same amount of hours probably comes from their learning methodology.

Hang in there man! Your stuff sounds fine to me and I think you still have lots of potential to uncover, as do we all.
Maybe you just need a clear aim to work towards. For example, while I had your mixes running in the background, I thought they sounded well-mixed technically and it was also nice and punchy, but I felt like they were missing a bit of movement over the course of the song. I don't know exactly why that was, because I purposely had them running in the background, but the first thing that came to my mind was automation and originality in that. Have you used a lot of automation on these mixes? If not, that could be something interesting to emphasize in your next mix? Do you get excited by your own mix? If not, why not? That kind of stuff.

Wall of support out

 

[The-Zeronaut]

bump