How To Get Results Faster Without Buying New Gear & Plugins

It’s no secret that we live in a consumer driven society and the temptation to constantly buy new things is an issue so many of us struggle with. Especially if you believe those products will improve the quality of your work or life in any way. It becomes much easier to justify the purchase. In today’s world of over the top marketing and advertising, it really does take a lot of discipline not to get sucked into it all. And it’s definitely no different for all of us in the world of music. Now more than ever it seems even harder to resist because of the sheer number of products that are available. We’re constantly getting bombarded from every angle with targeted ads of all of the great products out there that are “guaranteed” to give you instant results and make your music sound like the pros. So how can you not want them? Especially if you desperately want your music to sound better. And generally, the more serious you are about your music, the more desperate you are to get better results. 

And so the myth continues that new gear and more plugins will get you the results you’re after overnight.

So it becomes very easy to convince ourselves that having that $1500 dollar microphone, those $2000 speakers and that new $500 plugin bundle that your recordings and mixes will finally start sounding more professional. And why not, that’s what the marketing ads tell us and logically, it just kind of makes sense. If it’s “better quality” gear and software, then it should make our recordings sound better, right? So most people end up falling into the trap of spending and spending just to find out that the results still aren’t meeting their expectations.

Like all the rest of us, you’re sold the dream that amazing results will come immediately…

And while in some instances this may be true and some products can get you instant results but ninety percent of the time it’s just not the case. And if you keep paying attention to all of the ads and brilliant marketing, it’s too easy to fall victim to consumerism. Especially if you’re new to recording and don’t know any better. If this sounds like you, you’re definitely not alone in this. This is a trap that most people new to recording and music production end up going through at some point of the journey. And sadly, this cycle of buying new toys and the frustration of them not producing instant results usually goes on for years. 

I for one was definitely not immune to this “consumer disease” and was just as desperate as the next person to get fast results. That’s why this post is really important to me. I really want people to understand that this isn’t how you should be spending your money in the beginning. Through my experience, I completely understand this consumerism mentality that all of us home studio owners have when we're new to the game. But the hard truth is that it’s just not the solution to the problem and never will be. I truly believed that new plugins and new gear were going to take my recordings and mixes to a whole new level. But they rarely did. I pretty much had to lie to myself and believe that they were working to feel better about all of the money I had invested. But as time went on, it became very apparent to me and I realized that the majority of my growth and successes came from studying and applying what I had learned. 

And don’t get me wrong, I love new gear and creative plugins just as much as the next person but it’s just not the real answer. And I don’t want it to come across like I’m trashing the audio companies for selling empty promises because at the end of the day, they’re just doing their job and most of the time they are very well intentioned. In all honesty, a lot of the products are incredible and do have the potential to get you better results but only if you have the experience and knowledge to get the most out of them. So contrary to popular belief, if you really want to see improved results,

The smartest way to invest your money is into education, not more gear and plugins…

I truly believe that investing in education should apply to all of the things that are important to us in life and it’s especially true when it comes to recording. There are some great tutorials, teachers and online training available these days at very affordable rates. In fact, much less than the price of even one plugin. Trust me when I say a $100 invested in online training or education will increase your results in ways a new plugin or microphone couldn’t even scratch the surface on. Because it’s the techniques, knowledge and experience that get results, not having the powerful mastering software with no idea how to use it effectively. And I'm sure this makes sense to most people but in western cultures, people want immediate results without having to put in the work. That’s the honest truth!

I'm a huge advocate for starting out small, learning the tools you have and spending your extra money on education and here’s why.

What’s the point of having an amazing $2000 microphone if you don’t know how to mix properly. Your recordings are essentially going to sound the same as they did with your $200 mic. The same goes with plugins. What’s the point of buying a new $200 eq plugin if you’re still learning how to use an eq effectively on your tracks. It won’t be any different from your stock eq that comes with your daw. Understanding the tools and how to use them is much more important than having fancy tools without the education on how to use them in a way to get the results you want. 

So if education is the way to go, how should you go about getting it?

1. Don’t only use youtube and free content to educate yourself 

Don’t get me wrong here, youtube is great and you can pretty much learn anything on the platform but there’s a huge downside to educating yourself with only free content. The information isn’t streamlined in a professionally well thought out format like traditional curriculums. And when it comes to skills like recording, mixing and music production where there’s so much to be educated on, you should have a structured learning format from a trusted professional to really get the best results. Yes, Youtube may be free but it’s not efficient long term and unfortunately I found this out the hard way. Learning one random technique at a time with no direction or foundation is one way to learn but definitely not the best way. I found that it actually caused me even more confusion simply because there was no reference point for me to connect the dots properly. I was trying to walk before I could crawl without even being aware I was doing it. How sad is that. But that’s just how it is when you try and learn an entire skill set on youtube. And this became painfully obvious when I started paying for structured online courses. My fundamental understanding of everything went through the roof and I simultaneously realized I needed to learn how to crawl. There needs to be a balance of free content and structured learning if you really want to get the best results. 

2. Online Courses

In all of my years of studying recording and music production, the most effective training I’ve come across in my journey comes from education and courses that I’ve paid for. So if you’re going to spend your hard earned money on anything, it should be into education. If you take anything from this post, I really hope this is it. And this has absolutely nothing to do with being in the business of online education and trying to sell you on something. 

After spending thousands of dollars on gear and software in my early years hoping for results to come immediately, I can confidently tell you that the results I was after never came in that way. Most results came through education and experience. I know that’s not what you want to hear but you can count on me to always give you the truth. But there is an upside to all of this and that it actually saves you money in the long run. You’re not wasting your money on a bunch of plugins and gear you essentially don’t need and that won’t get you the results you want anyway. 

Free helpful information and education in any form is great but streamlined, well thought out structured information from trusted professionals is so much better. But the key words here are trusted professionals. With so many people out there trying to make a quick buck, you have to make sure you source out trustworthy educators for your information. Generally speaking, if people or organizations aren’t willing to offer a free trial or a money back guarantee, they probably don’t have the best products and shouldn’t be trusted with your money.  

3. Private training/mentorship

This is an important one and by far the most overlooked way to get educated in recording and music production. For some reason, people just don’t treat music production like learning how to play an instrument. Of course you can teach yourself how to play an instrument and some of the greatest musicians we know are self taught. But most of us aren’t Jimi Hendrix and require some form of training to get really good at something. And it’s no different with music production. From my personal experience, paying for private training has been the best investment I've made in my career by a long shot. Nothing has got me better results faster than having hands on training. Online courses are very necessary and powerful but not quite in the same way as having hands on one on one training. Having a professional right there to walk you through things and concepts you don’t understand has no equal. 

The problem is that it can be very difficult to source out the training. It’s not a popular service that’s commonly offered and therefore it can be challenging to source out qualified teachers. So if you’re new to recording and music production and don’t have a network of people you know that can connect you with someone that can help, you can always find online mentorship with people that offer this service through 1 on 1 video calls. But if you do know a few people that are really good at what they do, just ask them if they would be willing to teach you privately. I guarantee this will get you much better results than buying a new microphone and plugins.

Always remember the importance of applying what you learn...

So if education is the main key to achieving desired results, we must not forget what really brings us success, which is applying what you learn. From my own personal experience I can tell you that it’s way too easy to get caught up spending too much time watching tutorials, doing online courses and reading books and not putting in the hours practicing the techniques you’re studying. Anxiety and fear of failure can and will paralyze you from taking action. But like the old saying goes, knowledge without application in the real world is pretty much useless. Some great advice would be to not go more than one day without applying what you have been studying and learning. This keeps the information fresh so you won’t forget it and the learning process balanced. 

Make sure to check out my courses & products here

My Final Advice

As much as we all love new gear and plugins, my advice is to spend money on the gear software once you feel you’ve earned it and can actually get the most out of it. Don’t buy things out of consumerism and wanting quick fixes. Take it from somebody who has been through it and made all of these mistakes already. I guarantee you will see the results you want if you invest in education!

We hope this information helps and gets you recording better music with better results.