What Makes a Home Studio Pro 

Regularly being paid to do a thing makes one a professional at that thing. That's pretty much it.

Barry I can’t tell you how much peace this brought me today! I left social media over two years ago because I found myself talking more about what I planned to do than actually doing what I was talking about. You tube has been a great source of free education. And the same goes for Masterclass. But no one tells you what you just said. This is probably one of those life changing bite size nugget of truth that cuts right through the bull crap. Glad I found you on my daily RU-vid education.

I love how this is so down to earth. Many people need to see this. I've seen amateurs like me always say "oh my vocals would sound amazing if I had a set of 1073s with some U87s". To which I say "no, the mic will sound terrible if you don't know how to dial the sound for it and you're also a terrible singer". One might as well extract the best they can out of that SM57, or that AT 2020. I've had reasonable recordings done with a single Guitar Hero USB Microphone. I did what I could. I hear my old recordings and say "wow, it doesn't sound half bad judging by what I had" because I was forced to use it. I'm no pro by any means, but I put myself in a position of not buying unless it's a justified purchase and 10/10 I don't need it. I'm not a pro so I don't need that stuff... yet.

Great rant I agree 100%. 10 years ago when my band got signed they sent a top producer out from LA to AZ. I had spent like 20k on premium studio equipment and I remember the producer brought his Digi003 board and used that instead of my stuff. He did use my 4033 which was the cheapest of the lot. Though the purpose was only to record a demo/ideas it sounded amazing. There comes a point IN EVERY endeavor when opening your wallet no longer moves the needle forward and then it comes down to you and you only.

Is not the gear, is the man!, well said Berry!!!

Every kid out there, running after latest & fancy gears should watch this episode. Thanks Barry!!!

You're definitely correct about the need to conform to professional standards, but the real definition of Professional, is making a livelihood from what you're doing. You can turn out what you think are great mixes all day and night, but unless you're making a living from doing that, it's not "professional" by definition.

Thank Barry. I needed to hear that. I've been honing my skills over getting gear since it's extremely hard and expensive over where I live. I get what I can when the money permits but at the end of the day it's your skills with all your tools that matter. Thank you.

Nailed it! It’s not the gear it’s the guy/gal!

Thanks for the inspiration and insight. I hope you continue to experience all the best this life has to offer. Thank you for sharing.

Barry, your content is rapidly becoming my most watched. Keep up the excellent teaching and advice.

Getting paid for what you do, makes you a pro

Great PEP Talk Berry as I round the corner doing just what you say right here right now. Takes Time, Dedication and Soul. Thanks !

It's not the car that wins the race, it's the driver who wins the race. It's not about the gear, it's the engineer. Great video, Barry.

Really good lighting Barry

Love it. Incremental experiential path to excellence! Well said.

May Yahweh bless you, for that wisdom!!!!!🙏🙏🙏👍👍👍🙌🙌🙌

Thanks a billion Barry for this "Master class" !

Well said! Loved the truthful and thoughtful perspective. Really enjoyed this video! 👍🏽

GREAT video!! Spot on!!!!

Thanks Barry you make great content! You had me hooked on the RME/Cubase tutorials (which I am looking forward to seeing more in the future) but you touch on all kinds of great topics. Thanks!

Well said! If been recording for over 33 years & I've done projects in my bedroom were ppl thought I did it in a big studio. Proper mastering evened the playing field for me.

Great as always Barry 🤘

A great reminder, thanks Barry!

Great video and talk.

Great video and great wisdom. Prince was a phenomenal guitarist who could have made a $100 guitar sound like a million bucks. We should strive to be the best producers, engineers, sound mixers, etc. We should not strive to have the most gear.

Peace, One of the BEST vids i have seen regarding Music..Your approach is perfect and the content exactly what I needed...THANXXX!!

Thank you so much. This is the most important thing I've heard career-wise in a long time.

You sir just earned a new sub. Thx for this.

Great Advice!!! Thanks a lot.

Spot On!

mac laptop/antelope discrete 4 converter/focusrite isa one preamp/roswell delphos 2 mic/a midi keyboard/high end plugins and a well treated bedroom, and im banging out some crazy stuff close to or same as what some high end commercial studios produce!....... Its crazy how technology has evolved and that it really does come down to the individual person on how they utilize those simple tools. All my stuff is Hip/Hop Rap BTW....My 2 cents :)

Perfect! Nail, head, hit!

Great video. Had a friend produce an entire album on a cheap pawnshop $75 PC with a free version of Sony Acid and a pawnshop $50 scarlet 2-channel interface. Used $60 At2020 mic off reverb and some Walmart $19 headphones … a $300 or less rig … He got a DJ to rotate his songs in a poplar dance club. So anything is possible. How bad do you want to achieve your dream ? DO IT!

Man your videos are great! Love your advice

Solid advice wow thanks

Yep. Learn every day, practice what you learned, and start working asap.

Thank you sir! 🙏🏽

I was in a cover band once with a guy who was always buying new gear. Every gig he would show up with a new guitar, new pedal, new amp, etc., and he loved to show it off to everyone. The thing is, his playing never improved. He had over 30 guitars but it didn't improve his playing one bit. I have to remind myself of that because I get a little obsessed with recording gear. At the end of the day, its the reps we put in creating music that help us improve. I want all of the fancy tools but sometimes we just need to settle for adequate tools and get to work. Great message in this video!

Great perspective, thank you!

Well said Barry. Hear, hear..

Hey Barry another great video! I have been in the industry for 40 years myself and have had this conversation with many, many people starting out! If I bought a formula 1 race car, I'd still not likely win the Indy 500. Quite likely I'd end up going too fast and due to my inexperience crash the darn thing into a wall! My friend produced music for many many theatre and TV shows with some basic mics (SM 57, 58) and an 8 track reel to reel and some stock plugins in an older version of Logic Pro with a very very basic older mac. His skills were what mattered. Thank you again for talking about this, as it is too easy to chase after the latest and greatest equipment, and become a "gear collector" and never really get to being a "producer". Cheers!

God bless you Sir!!!

I love this channel

I have a few friends that still record on a tape 4-track that blows my mind.. it always sounds so warm, clean, clear.. I’ve gotten pretty good at getting a balanced mix .. and it sounding good on all systems, but i always feel like it’s missing something.. and i use a UAD system with tons of options..

great points. I have been live recording on location for over 25 years, and know what you mean about working with various genres of music. I have recorded nearly every type of music you could imagine, and I still learn new things every day. I just started building a bonified studio (end of an era of on location live recording). With the build I am Combining my acoustic knowledge with my structural engineering knowledge, and hopefully it will pay off when it's done. I wont have the 100k of outboard gear in the studio, but I will have a great space that is hopefully acoustically neutral.

Word sir thanks

Great wisdom

Thank you for this! That's validation for sure.

You pulled some teeth to get to it but I liked the points you made, great advice. Thanks!

This really helped me rethink everything. I’m a developing producer and kinda put me in my place

Love the rant. I mean, it is the sum of all parts. With the user at the center. So, sure. Being a pro starts of course with your ears and expertise in knowing what to do. But the title is about something different, right? What Makes a HOME STUDIO Pro. To me - treated room, decent converters, enough mics to whatever needs miking and fairly good monitors. Because to me a studio goes beyond just mixing and mastering.

YES!!! Some of my best work was done during a time when I didn't even have a home studio. I only had good monitors and interface. I worked entirely ITB. Now that I am back to having all the tools/toys, I can of course do even more. But it's my 30 years of experience in getting "pro results" is what makes me a "pro." I live in the Philippines now, where most people only consider gear defining someone/some place as "pro" -I've been working hard to change that perception. Thank you for making this video!

THANK YOU!!!.

Thank you

I have about 30k of outboard gear I'm selling. Thanks to oversampling, plugins are getting there! I just need a dope interface and dope vocal recording chain

Needed this video.

Yes Sr Barry! It's just like that. 👍🏻

33 years in the "biz", if you will, here. i used to simply think "pro" meant getting paid. i still have the check stub from a reputable indie label for remixing one of their top selling artists. when i listen to what i did nearly 20 years ago (!) now, i realize how green i was then. but it's also very fun to get to walk into someone else's (very expensive) studio, play those files on their setup, and have them be blown away knowing i did it on my macbook and digi 002r interface... i made a LOT of records with that setup. i am still learning something new with every session, and looking forward to my experience growing ten, five, even one year from today...

Facts on facts, once again!

Super 👌 👍

Great POST:))

you need both!

I told you a year ago VSX!!! glad you finally came around. I hate buzzwords but they’re “game changers”.

Great points, Barry. The mind is the most important tool in all this. People are often obsessed with “industry standard” or “professional”, but they really have to carve their own path. A lot of “professional” stuff just sounds like objective garbage. Maybe some people don’t mind. But if your sound is so distorted that it makes one snare hit sound like two, then that result should be questioned even if it’s a famous artist and engineer responsible for it. Gear is like an enhancement of a good foundation. VSX enabled me to get the best and most balanced mixes I ever did. Adding a Fusion was a major enhancement. All the skills in the world can’t create genuine analog saturation and nonlinearities out of thin air. I’ve had people tell me that I can’t be considered legitimate if I’m using VSX instead of majorly expensive monitors. Yet almost the whole industry has normalized this idea that badly distorted mixing and mastering jobs are not only “professional” but can be considered worthy of awards. The industry is like a cult almost. And its cultists will attack you if you are do something opposite of the established orthodoxy. You’re willing to say a lot that isn’t conformist nonsense and I really respect that. Btw, I’m still gonna watch all your woodworking stuff once I’m done researching several hardware pieces to see what I want to put with Fusion and the Aurora N. I may go with an Alpha. SHMC, or Unfairchild first. I’ve studied the Fusion to death and gotten a lot out of it. That’s the thing really. You have to be willing to learn, study, and practice. I’m glad that you’ve really hit on that in this video.

Another great perspective Barry. I got the fastest race car! But I've never placed in the top 12.

Great video thank you so much for making this video. Ive never considered my little master bedroom recording studio pro, its just there to make beats for my other youtube channel for background music so i dont have to worry about copy rights lol plus i record beats in sequence 😅

The nut behind the controls

Wow Nice Way How To Brutally Saying The Experience Truth !!! So Lucky To Have A knowledgeable Seasoned Experienced Person,To School Us Not Sugar Coat Tactics Audio Gear & Theory.✝️👐🏻🙌🏼🙏🏻✌🏻

As we say in the tech world when we go shopping for software to solve some problem or other, "an idiot with a shovel is still an idiot". That is, having the tools doesn't matter if you don't know how to use them and what problem you're trying to solve. I've tried to apply that thinking to building out my studio. On the other hand, I do love me some buttons, knobs, dials, and lights. 😀

thank you merci

Professional studio is the studio that has everything necessary for a Professional engineer to get professional results in a professionally acceptable time frame. As Nolly Getgood has shown, that can be a MacBook Pro with a pair of ATH-M50X and nothing but plugins. Currently I'm not using any plugins that do not come with LogicPro and set my goal to mix at least 20 songs like that and bought a couple of courses. After that, then I'm looking into the plugins I already have and maybe the VSX.

I like where you went here

I have a friend that has mixed major projects for television including Disney and HBO using only a laptop and a pair of Yamaha HS5 monitors. He gets booked because his work meets the highest professional standard. I have a ton of gear in my studio but yet he makes more in a month than I make in an entire year.

Hey Barry, love the show! Question, if you can only have 2 of each. two mics, 2 preamps, 2 comp, 2 EQ that you could only use for 100 songs what would it be? Taking into account cost to need factors. II think this would help others find a starting point on goals. Most starting up tend to think they music don't sound right is because of the gear they don't have, and thin also thinking that they need the more expensive gear. Like a real 1176 over a Lindell or plugin for that matter. In SOOO excited to know your answers! In this list you can replace anything for plugin if you want! Mic: 1. 2. Preamp: 1. 2. EQ: 1. 2. Compressor: 1. 2. Bonus: Two of any type of hardware or plugins: 1. 2.

Great Video Barry, sure we need competent equipment to get the job done, but your knowledge and the ability to listen to the material and determine which tool to reach for and how to apply it is what makes a "pro". So can a home studio truly be pro without a great mix engineer?

Indeed.

Just here to say thanks.

Commenting before I even watch the video here.........😂 Knowledge & the right application of it. Anybody can go buy the best hardware/software and a cool treated room/building to work in; doesn't mean they know how to use those to get pro results. There you go....Barry confirms it.😊

Any tips on good RU-vid channel/courses to learn abou recording and production?

Enough said, thank you for the exhortation

Great video, but here is a simple definition of being a pro studio. If you have clients paying you, whatever your skills are, you are professional.

My personal opinion: Pro results is just a word used today to mean Top Results or the best of the best results. If I had your studio, I would have a Pro Studio just like I have one on my iPhone. I can get pro results without using compression or much knowledge as long as it sounds great or as long as I’m getting paid to do it. Anything Professional means that it is a thing that pays you. If I use my iPhone to record people who pay me for this service and I live well off of that income, I Am A Pro. Any computer as is can be a pro studio and give pro results. So all computers and iPhones and recording tools can become a Pro Studio just like a Formula 1 race car is a car that if used correctly can produce professional results “can make you money”. Pro is also a placebo in a way because it’s subjective. Love you show and I watch it all the time👍🏾

I saw 30 minutes and i wanna give the answer. It's the knowledge, experience and personality of the person in front of the gear. 🤪

What primary skill do I learn first, then what follow up skill do I learn after that? Also, recommendations for competent learning resources? 😎

I'd say the answer is: "satisified happy clients" - if you make music the way client likes and enjoys, he'll call you a Pro, that's it :)

Great topic! Does anyone know if you can use the VSX headphones without a computer? Feels like it’s stuck inside software..... I just use standalone gear, MPCs, Moog, no DAW, I’d be using headphone jack out of a mixer. Looking for a great mixing pair of headphones.

I have a B.A. Degree in Audio and 90% of my skill comes from what I learned myself.

100% FACT !!!

Great. Is good to say , that also you don’t need the new plug in , just the stock plug ins plus a couple you can get great or pro results. Is you need to much plug ins, probably you need to study and practice more. Just because there is so much marketing about miracles plug ins.

Barry, I know you mix through your gear attached to your Pulse 16, but are you also able to track through the gear routed through the Pulse without any detrimental latency?

ABSOULUTELY:))

Results. That is pretty much it.

Hi, my name is Sukhwinder Singh, I am from India, apart from being a civil engineer, I am also a writer and poet. I have written many poems. Now I want to record my poems professionally. Can you tell me about audio interface and microphone? Some say take dynamic mic and some say take condenser mic. I am getting very confused. Tell me a mic and audio interface that I can buy without any hassle and that gives me crisp and professional quality within a budget of $350.

Yuppers x3

I think at the moment the gate is wide open for a pro recordist, because there doesn't seem to be any around.

Ears is the best Studio Pro!!

💪🏿

Thank you for the video I agree with 95% 90% of what you said... In your logic I might be coming from the back door. Nevertheless I think you will understand where I'm coming from. I need people a friend an non friend another set of ears... you know someone else. To that is how we as studio owner become pro. I'm not talking about a full time partime employee. You half to bounce things off of other engineers etc. We all have limitations. Let's face it. The thing about the old school that we don't talk about is the. That from Chris Lord Alge down. He talks about mr Clearmount was his. People. Thats to me what makes you pro. If you half to mix and master yourself out of necessity. Having another ear to help you.

I would say you as person ha to get the experience and knowledge how to mix and master stuff is professional