Frustrations of young producer-engineer. anybody with me?

S

soso def!

New member
seriously guys....sometimes i could just &%$?§' freak out.... am i actuall the only person who's getting frustrated with all this mixing stuff...eq here compression there...delay...wtf...when i read through this forum i sometimes get the impression that im the only one here who feels that way....dont get my wrong i love mixing and producing to death and i dont wanna do nothing else but...man sometimes..all these knobs questions...will i ever make money wit dat?! what if im not good enough..i dont wanna talk big in front of my friends and then deliver crap... i just wanted to know if there is anybody feelin me here..or sharing my frustrations...

#sometimesyoujusthavetoletitout
 
thx for letting me know...i really sometimes feel like im the only one who s dealing wit dat...i know im still young n my brotha s always telling me to stay focused and dats what i do... but u know..like eq and compression is freakin me out sometimes...and how to put it all together so that it sounds like what u hear on the radio and so on...you feel me?

!

and how do you deal wt dat?
 
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You're impatient, very impatient. If you want to make money and make tracks that sound as good as the radio. You're making music for the wrong reasons in my opinion. Talking big to your friends is your own problem, don't tell them anything. The day you have a track you are proud of say "hey guys listen to this". It doesn't seem to be your production skills getting in the way, it's your ego.

Slow down, enjoy creating in the sonic spectrum. It's a gift to be able to do that, with time and effort you will slowly master eq, compressor whatever it is that's stressing you out. Just enjoy man
 
You're not gonna make money at it for a long time. And if thats only what you're waiting for odds are you aren't gonna make it there anyway.

What do you expect people on the forum to do? Its up to you to figure stuff out for yourself. The fact that you made this thread pretty much just to complain about not knowing anything, then didnt include one technical question just tells me you don't care about learning. You just wanna be good at it.

Felt like you did 3 months ago..Its not that it's too complicated, its that theres too much. I can promise you its not just gonna randomly 'click' one day without actually trying to learn it. And I don't mean reading forums to try learning or youtube. That could just make you more confused. Find a solid source to learn from and use it. Stop trying to piece everything together video by video because there is TOO MUCH to learn and it'll just confuse you like that. Which it has.
 
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hey guys...thanks a lot for your advice. i do here what you are saying. for real. and i appreciate it.

i dont necessarily agree with the money issue tho. but maybe we dont have too... cause in my mind there is nothing wrong with wanting to make a living from what you love the most, be it chemical engineering sound engineering or construction work. i would rather say if you never start focusing on making money with what you love, chances are high you never will. my grand pa was a jazz musician and he always said the difference between an amateur and a professional is the professional gets paid. period. lolll ....

but letting that aside...i do hear and appreciate what you are saying. thanks again! i just wanted to know if somebody actually shares my feelings on this .... i thought it could be helpful for others to see as well that they are not the only ones who do struggle sometimes...

thanks a lot for your feedback!
 
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You just gotta keep at it. You improve the most when you're having fun and enjoying what you're working on.

The best thing you can do is finish a lot of tracks. This will give you a better idea of how not to use compression and EQ in the context of a full track.
 
soso def! said:
seriously guys....sometimes i could just &%$?§' freak out.... am i actuall the only person who's getting frustrated with all this mixing stuff...eq here compression there...delay...wtf...when i read through this forum i sometimes get the impression that im the only one here who feels that way....dont get my wrong i love mixing and producing to death and i dont wanna do nothing else but...man sometimes..all these knobs questions...will i ever make money wit dat?! what if im not good enough..i dont wanna talk big in front of my friends and then deliver crap... i just wanted to know if there is anybody feelin me here..or sharing my frustrations...
Click to expand...

There's a lot of stuff that's important to my career that is difficult to understand.

For example, SEO is a lot more complicated to learn than any EQ or Compressor!
This is because:
- the search engines don't want you to manipulate their rankings,
- the people who know what they're doing don't want to share what took them ages to get down, and
- what worked yesterday won't necessarily work tomorrow, thanks to algorithm changes.

In spite of chasing a moving target with little effective instruction (or perhaps BECAUSE of it),
I feel like I'm competing in a worthwhile challenge.
I don't get frustrated, because I know that I don't need to master it all today!

I suggest that you take a little bit of money and invest in a subscription to a quality video tutorial site.

MacProVideo, Groove3, and Lynda are some great options for learning.
They'll help you understand much more effectively than forum comments or cheap YouTube videos can.

soso def! said:
#sometimesyoujusthavetoletitout
Click to expand...

I think that this is the first time I've seen anyone try to use a hashtag on a music production forum.
Lol.


-Ki
Salem Beats (+Reviews)
gpWmqu
 
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soso def! said:
will i ever make money wit dat?! what if im not good enough..i dont wanna talk big in front of my friends and then deliver crap...
Click to expand...
Wrong perspective, IMO. You need to make music because you love making music. Money will come in time. Also, you care a lot of what people think or will think of you, when you should just be yourself. Music is art, and art is unquestionable. If your friends don't like what you do, simply tell them that they are not forced to listen to your music. And keep it up.

Frustration comes from time to time to everyone, from the guy who started today, to the guy who has 30+ years of experience. And that is the fun of doing music: to overcome this frustration and get better and better.
 
Ddream said:
Frustration comes from time to time to everyone, from the guy who started today, to the guy who has 30+ years of experience. And that is the fun of doing music: to overcome this frustration and get better and better.
Click to expand...

Yep. I was watching NFL yesterday and saw both Tom Brady and Peyton Manning both looking very frustrated for extended periods of time in their games.
They're a couple of the best in their own business. Keep that in mind - it's just something that you work through.


-Ki
Salem Beats (+Reviews)
gpWmqu
 
cool! okay..i get you! thanks a lot for all the feedback!. what were your biggest challenges when you just started out? like in general??

i mean eq and compression sometimes is buggin me out sometimes when im looking for a certain sound ... but i also found it hard to actually charge people for what i do because everybody is always like "you have to do it for the love" etc... but let s keep it real man.. i also wanna do it for my kids (i mean im only 17 and i aint have kids yet..but u know..later i wanna have family) and my family and everybody who supports me and give back... anyway..i found that really hard to actually start charging people..anyone feeling me? what is challenging you guys?
 
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soso def! said:
cool! okay..i get you! thanks a lot for all the feedback!. what were your biggest challenges when you just started out? like in general??

i mean eq and compression sometimes is buggin me out sometimes when im looking for a certain sound ... but i also found it hard to actually charge people for what i do because everybody is always like "you have to do it for the love" etc... but let s keep it real man.. i also wanna do it for my kids (i mean im only 17 and i aint have kids yet..but u know..later i wanna have family) and my family and everybody who supports me and give back... anyway..i found that really hard to actually start charging people..anyone feeling me? what is challenging you guys?
Click to expand...

Dude get out of the future. Have you graduated high school yet? You're thinking about kids and money....you've fallen into the human condition before you had a chance to escape. You're 17 damn years old. You have way more time to learn that most of the producers on this forum. Thinking about the future just causes stress and anxiety and doesn't let us live in the moment.

Nobody has their life sorted at 17. If they do they are lying. Live man, don't have a mid life crisis. You've found your passion, treat it as a passion. Not a future employment opportunity.


Also maybe try some Meditiation. I'm no life coach but ican guarentee you stressing this much about unnecessary future crap will send you down a very dark road....
 
soso def! said:
cool! okay..i get you! thanks a lot for all the feedback!. what were your biggest challenges when you just started out? like in general??

i mean eq and compression sometimes is buggin me out sometimes when im looking for a certain sound ... but i also found it hard to actually charge people for what i do because everybody is always like "you have to do it for the love" etc... but let s keep it real man.. i also wanna do it for my kids (i mean im only 17 and i aint have kids yet..but u know..later i wanna have family) and my family and everybody who supports me and give back... anyway..i found that really hard to actually start charging people..anyone feeling me? what is challenging you guys?
Click to expand...

Well, if you don't know what you're doing,
you probably shouldn't be charging people.

When should you charge?
You should charge when someone feels like he got a great deal by buying from you.
Put together a portfolio of mixes to show that you know what you're doing.
If you're having a hard time finding good content to mix, there's practice material available over the Internet!


-Ki
Salem Beats (+Reviews)
gpWmqu
 
Salem Beats said:
In spite of chasing a moving target with little effective instruction (or perhaps BECAUSE of it),
I feel like I'm competing in a worthwhile challenge.
I don't get frustrated, because I know that I don't need to master it all today!

I suggest that you take a little bit of money and invest in a subscription to a quality video tutorial site.

MacProVideo, Groove3, and Lynda are some great options for learning.
They'll help you understand much more effectively than forum comments or cheap YouTube videos can.
gpWmqu
Click to expand...

x2. Groove3 is only 15 bucks. You literally cant go wrong once you see the info on there. Im almost done with it, well not done..but I'm almost ready to move on to Lynda.

Salem Beats said:
Yep. I was watching NFL yesterday and saw both Tom Brady and Peyton Manning both looking very frustrated for extended periods of time in their games.
They're a couple of the best in their own business. Keep that in mind - it's just something that you work through.
gpWmqu
Click to expand...

HA. Maybe Brady. Peyton doesnt get nervous, or scared, or feel feelings.
 
soso def! said:
cool! okay..i get you! thanks a lot for all the feedback!. what were your biggest challenges when you just started out? like in general??

i mean eq and compression sometimes is buggin me out sometimes when im looking for a certain sound ... but i also found it hard to actually charge people for what i do because everybody is always like "you have to do it for the love" etc... but let s keep it real man.. i also wanna do it for my kids (i mean im only 17 and i aint have kids yet..but u know..later i wanna have family) and my family and everybody who supports me and give back... anyway..i found that really hard to actually start charging people..anyone feeling me? what is challenging you guys?
Click to expand...

first things first. You need to be confident on what you're doing, before charging people for it. That's why we have a section here at FP just for feedback on our production. With more time and experience, you'll know exactly what you want to achieve with your songs.
 
Salem Beats said:
I have a copy of last year's Super Bowl that I can reference anytime I want to see Peyton's face showing frustration against my Hawks. :P
Seattle's our home team up here in the Pacific Northwest!


-Ki
Salem Beats (+Reviews)
gpWmqu
Click to expand...

I only live a couple hours from Seattle, right across the border in Vancouver. I like the niners though. Vancouver is a Seattle team city. Not me tho.
 
Hi! Dont worry i can guarantee you that you are not the only one with that feeling and this is one of those hobbies that can be very expensive and frustrating, i love producing mixing and all that stuff but i now that sometimes you just get to a point of "screw that, i'll never make it" and its normal when you put so much effort and love into something and then you can't get it right it's frustrating but that's the journey we all have to make sometimes we fail sometimes we win we just have to carry on following our dreams and if you are not sure if you are good enough always remember "Hard Work beats Talent". I hope it was helpful to you and to everybody in the same situation :)
 
Most feel daunted when the get into audio. Over time, stick with it, and it can be rewarding.
The most important overlooked things, are room acoustics, and actually learning some music theory.
If your room is not up to par, you will chase your tail, making things sound good in your
room which may not be the best acoustic environment, until treated.
Then you take them out to the car, or stereo, and the sound does not translate.
Sounds totally different from when you were in your room.

Learn each process until you master it.
Learn everything about EQ, practice, listen for things. Learn what frequency sounds like what.
Then go onto the next process, such as compression. ect...

Then you have song creation, arrangement, theory, ect.
 
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