I applaud your initiative to take your recording career to the next level, but I don't think spending thousands on high end converters and pres is a very wise decision if you're not comfortable with your abilities, as you say. Sure, you'll end up getting that sexy equipment if you keep at it and develop your recording chops, but it's like buying a $7000 Les Paul for a beginner. They can't/won't appreciate the high end gear unless they've mastered the lesser gear.
A lot of people who want to be AEs look at so-in-so's gear page... "oooh he's got a Lavry Gold and 50 Neumann U87s. I'm going to take out a bigass loan, buy that stuff, and my recordings will sound just like so-in-so's!" Then they buy the gear and are extremely disappointed when they don't know what the hell they're doing and turn out crap. They get discouraged and sell all that fancy gear, when they should have been "practicing" on low end stuff to prepare for the big boy toys.
But that's just what I think.
Totally agree
No, he's right on all levels. 2 years? I was a working staff engineer at a busy studio for 3.5 years before I moved to L.A., where they made me start all over because I really didn't know shit - even though I thought that I did.
I've been playing guitar for about 20 years and I still wouldn't say I'm anywhere near the point where I'd say I know it all. I'm sure even guys like Mr Sneap would say the same of themselves. As soon as you think you know it all, just quit because at that point, your metally guitarded.
If you need good plugins, get a UAD-2 card, their stuff destroys Waves and is cheaper.
Intrigued... UAD-2?
Precisely. Anyone who has burnt a cd or watched a downloaded movie is just as guilty if not even more than someone who isn't making a dime with pirated software. All the software that I'm currently using has been purchased or is freeware but I must add that a couple years back being able to use pirated software prevented me from making a few horrible purchases. If you really wanted to go deep into the morality of piracy you might as well destroy every mix tape you've ever been given. Making money off of piracy is where I draw the line because thats complete bullshit but at the same time you wouldn't spend $40,000 on an automobile without ever taking it for a test drive would you?
I don't say things like 'Yarrr me mateys!' much but I know a little about piracy. I've never made a dime off anything I've ever done besides working for a living but that doesn't mean that it's right for me to download the things I have in the very, very, very, very, very, very distant past 2 days.
You know, I don't really give a rat's ass whether someone uses cracks or not...Pretty much everyone has at some point. It's just not a good idea to be doin' it here for the sake of the rest of us.
Chris Rock said it best... 'Yeah, you can do it, but that don't mean it's a good idea!' On a serious note, cracked warez have certainly helped me figure out what I wanted, needed out of software and which ones were sweet in a press release versus the ones that were sweet to use. I'm all for try before you buy but I would undoubtedly pay for any software I used before using it to make money. Or...
the po-po's be knockin on my do
talkin bout some booty some pirate gave me the day befo
2 feds and and a dude named Fred came up in my crib
They took my Pro Tools and ma bed and locked me down fo what i did
Now I'm rappin in san quentin and my baby mama cryin
Lost them papers I made with them Waves bundles and my rap career is dyin
I got lyrical skills like Dr Suess and a iLok crack like a digital noose
Bound to end up locked up payin the Man for his ho's I used and abused
What the hell is a crack?
