I saw a video of a producer or engineer stating that he prefers digital audio production but for a beginner he suggests they learn on analog first then move to digital the same way a beginner driver should learn to drive on a stick shift car and then move on to automatic. Any thoughts?
Learning audio production on analog?
- Thread starter Jermainne
- Start date
krushing
Moderator
Learning-wise it's a good idea - all kinds of routing, gain staging, mixing & fx concepts are probably easier to grasp when you're handling actual devices and cables. Come to think of it, I think it isn't even necessarily about analog as such, but rather using hardware.
That said...I really doubt many people are gonna go down this route. It's not like you can't learn the same stuff in a DAW environment, and it's probably ten times cheaper to get up & running. A lot of us end up with hybrid setups in the end. I'm old enough to have gone through from all hardware, to all software, to having a bit of both. All analog is nice when everything is working and connected, but it's a pain in the ass to set up & keep that way - plus if you want to go all in & also record & mix in analog, it's gonna be expensive.
That said...I really doubt many people are gonna go down this route. It's not like you can't learn the same stuff in a DAW environment, and it's probably ten times cheaper to get up & running. A lot of us end up with hybrid setups in the end. I'm old enough to have gone through from all hardware, to all software, to having a bit of both. All analog is nice when everything is working and connected, but it's a pain in the ass to set up & keep that way - plus if you want to go all in & also record & mix in analog, it's gonna be expensive.
Thank you so much
. You seem like you are very knowledgeable on the matter, so my question to you is this, should I go to a school in nyc (sae institute) that teaches analog and digital or should I go to a school in nyc (dubspot) that teaches ONLY digital? Any feed back would be GREATLY appreciated.preppypmp_82
God & The Streets
I would say go to neither. Music school is costly. Now think about this: how many producers you know that have made it went to school to do so? Not saying that they don't exist, but It's not necessary.
Learning music production using actual hardware will teach you the foundation, the core of how things work. But, we're in 2016, and an all digital setup is just as functional as a hardware setup.
I too have been around long enough to see the switch in the studio, Pro Tools changed everything. I would even go as far to say that if you can learn Reason, you can learn how hardware works, as it is designed to mimic hardware devices, routing and everything.
If you want to go to school and can afford it, by all means do so, but if it will be a stretch, I'd advise against it. Just practice. You'll get there.
Learning music production using actual hardware will teach you the foundation, the core of how things work. But, we're in 2016, and an all digital setup is just as functional as a hardware setup.
I too have been around long enough to see the switch in the studio, Pro Tools changed everything. I would even go as far to say that if you can learn Reason, you can learn how hardware works, as it is designed to mimic hardware devices, routing and everything.
If you want to go to school and can afford it, by all means do so, but if it will be a stretch, I'd advise against it. Just practice. You'll get there.
krushing
Moderator
Sorry, I don't really know anything about those schools, being on the other side of the Atlantic. But without commenting anything on the quality of the schools themselves, if I had the chance to be able to learn on analog, I would. The technicalities of digital can be learned at home; of course how good they teach the process side of things, how to mix, what to listen, how to process things and such - that's the valuable part.
rhythmgj
Character in Spades...
I would say that it depends on your personal orientation and proclivities, which you might have to spend some time thinking about. Are you an artist, producer, or engineer? A DJ? If you do a little of all of them, which one is your real "home"/go-to/default position?
I haven't been to either school, but I must say that Dubspot looks real cool to me; if I had the $$ set aside for a short time program, I might consider it myself. For the DJ/Producer/EDM-oriented person, it seems like a perfect fit.
On the other hand, if you are looking for skills with perhaps more broad application, and definitely want a more analog flavor, then SAE might be for you. I did meet some people from the SAE program in Nashville, and I can say that they seemed like a nice and well put-together bunch. But you'll have to make your choice based on a number of factors, including time that will be necessary to complete the program, financial investment, analog vs. digital orientation, and your own personal ideas of who you see yourself as within the music/audio production spectrum.
I would also look at class sizes (very important), instructor experience, amount of hands-on training vs. theory, class structure (is it 50 people working separately in cubicles, or is it a small group working together collaboratively in an environment where you get to use a variety of gear, rather than only a laptop?). I would also try and interview a few former and current students from each program...
GJ
I haven't been to either school, but I must say that Dubspot looks real cool to me; if I had the $$ set aside for a short time program, I might consider it myself. For the DJ/Producer/EDM-oriented person, it seems like a perfect fit.
On the other hand, if you are looking for skills with perhaps more broad application, and definitely want a more analog flavor, then SAE might be for you. I did meet some people from the SAE program in Nashville, and I can say that they seemed like a nice and well put-together bunch. But you'll have to make your choice based on a number of factors, including time that will be necessary to complete the program, financial investment, analog vs. digital orientation, and your own personal ideas of who you see yourself as within the music/audio production spectrum.
I would also look at class sizes (very important), instructor experience, amount of hands-on training vs. theory, class structure (is it 50 people working separately in cubicles, or is it a small group working together collaboratively in an environment where you get to use a variety of gear, rather than only a laptop?). I would also try and interview a few former and current students from each program...
GJ
Last edited: