Seeing the way they use a digital audio workstation will help you learn how to navigate whichever option you end up choosing for your own work. If you watch them use that software a lot, you’ll learn a lot from them. That applies in a general sense but also with that piece of software specifically. Trying to learn Pro Tools by watching someone who uses Ableton won’t really work out too well in the beginning, so use what your most-viewed artist uses.
Where I want to draw a clear line in the categories of learning, self-educating, and “buy what you see them use” is in an area people will be talking about forever: plugins.
Plugins can be amazing tools in the toolbox of a music producer, but what a lot of people don’t realize (or maybe actively deny for some reason) is that your DAW of choice comes stock with some already powerful plugins - all without ever needing to spend an extra penny. There are plugins that you will see a lot of people use, you may even hear the words “industry standard” pop up here and there, but don’t feel pressured to spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars on a plugin that you don’t quite understand just because people say you “need” it.
When it comes to basic elements of mixing (equalization, compression, saturation, limiting) your stock plugins will be more than fine. Especially at the beginning. You don’t have to rush to drop $169 on products just because people tell you that you need to have them in order to make music. The only person who will ever know exactly what you used to mix a song is you.
If anyone tries to tell you that you need to buy certain plugins to “do something properly” I hope you’ll take a while to do research and really figure out if that’s true.
Two of the most important aspects in learning anything are exploration and experimentation. No matter what DAW you end up using, spend some time getting to know the stock plugins that come bundled with that program. Flip switches, turn knobs, push sliders, see how everything works and what you can do with it. More often than not, I use stock plugins in Cubase (my DAW of choice) for just about everything except some very specific effects, and that’s only because Cubase didn’t come with anything that could do those things.
Once you get a feel for how everything works, that’s when I would recommend starting to look around to see what plugins are available. Figure out your software’s strengths and weaknesses, find out the limitations (if any) of your stock plugins and see where you’d like to have some more flexibility, and use that information to inform any additional purchases. It has always bothered me to hear people say “You need to have X plugin” or “You have to buy Y microphone” or whatever the case may be, when that simply isn’t true. You can do a lot with what you already have and nobody will be able to tell unless they look at your project session.
A common source of discouragement in music production is seeing someone use a thing you don’t have and thinking to yourself “I can’t make music like that because I don’t own that thing.” Sure that can be the case from time to time. If you want to make music that sounds like it came from a Chase Bliss Mood, you can really only do that by using a Chase Bliss Mood. Outside of those specific pieces of gear, I want to encourage you and let you know you actually can make the music you want to make using what came with your DAW.
Back when I used to do more full-band stuff, I wanted to figure out how I could make programmed drums sound as realistic as possible. I’ll probably be sharing videos from these guys quite a bit throughout the lifetime of Field Tone Audio, but if you want some insight into how powerful stock plugins can be, here’s a couple videos on how to mix realistic-sounding and publish-ready programmed drums using only the stock plugins in Apple Logic Pro and Steinberg Cubase.
As an occasional Logic user, and even just as a music producer, this video has taught me so much about workflow and plugin efficiency. Nolly has such an extensive knowledge of music production and engineering, on top of being an extremely skilled multi-instrumentalist. As if that wasn't enough. He has many videos about music production that I'm sure I'll be sharing.
I cannot tell you how many times I've come back to both of these videos over the years. Whether it be for software input/output routing tips, plugin settings, mixing philosophy, I've been able to learn different things at different times and they never get old. Especially the Misha video, as a Cubase user myself.
I’ll compile some more resources about using stock plugins to their fullest potential as time goes on, but don’t give up on your music because of a made-up barrier to entry. You don’t need to spend any extra money to make the music you want to make.
Spend some time, not some money, to learn your tools and go forward from there.
If you’d like to discuss music production and share ideas and feedback with other creators, a link to our Discord community is available to members of all levels of our Patreon - even the free level.
