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Recording Tier List: Most of This Matters Less Than You Think

Mixdown Online

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Where do expensive mic preamps, high-end converters, and 96kHz sample rates actually rank when it comes to making a professional record? After the viral Jim Lill video testing cheap interface preamps against a legendary Neve, the home studio world went into a frenzy. In this video, I take a step back from the noise to give you my honest Music Recording Tier List.

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⏰ Timestamps ⏰
00:00 Intro
01:08 The Music Recording Tier List
01:28 Do Higher Sample Rates Really Sound Better?
02:46 The Song Itself
03:33 Expensive Audio Interfaces
05:13 Does Your DAW Matter?
06:05 Instrument Setup and Tuning
08:05 The Room You Record In
08:55 Bit Depth (16 vs 24-bit)
10:29 Recording Techniques and Mic Placement
12:24 High-End Microphone Preamps
15:00 Recording With Compression and EQ
16:01 Microphone Selection
17:39 Music Arrangements
19:24 Gain Staging
20:22 High-End Audio Converters
21:07 Boutique Audio Cables
22:18 The Most Important Part
22:51 Final Thoughts

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20 Comments

@willerichey 3 months ago

I don't need fancy preamps. "I just need.." "I just need.." "I just need you and a car that runs"

@Mugician9988 2 months ago (edited)

Dude!!!! So timely! I was just having this convo with a client yesterday because I tried something "crazy" with their vocals and it turned out great. I used a $70 SDC on his vocals just to "set gain" and "warm up their voice" but he ended up keeping every take because it sounded awesome LOL
With today's inexpensive or even free resources it's amazing that people are still making excuses about gear. I had a friend visiting his family in Cuba and he took with him a $100 interface, four $20 dynamic mics, and a free DAW; and with that they cranked out a ton of amazing recordings. The common denominators were great material, great arrangements, great performances, and great mic placement. It was all recorded in somebody's patio, not even a studio. Great content, brother. As always.

@Michael_Teems 3 months ago

Thanks Chris! A great video that helps dispel the rumors and myths of gear and such. Also, you are totally correct about the performance aspect. Musicians have to be on when they record. If not, everything suffers, including the musician who is having a bad day. We must always strive for the best performance we can do and as engineers, we have to help get the best from everybody. Just my opinion.

@kdcyp 3 months ago

Chris, you have created such a brilliant video not only for home recording artists who are starting out, but for every part of their/our journey when racking our brains to make those mind boggling choices! Even when not in the market for gear or when short of money, your tips for making a quality piece of music by focusing on performance, tuning, mic placement etc are all no cost and better ways of improving the final outcome! Bravo! 👏 and thank you 🙏

@tonumeistars 3 months ago

I agree with absolutely everything. Very valuable content.

@BruceLeeMani 3 months ago

Nice to have you weigh in on this, Chris :). It's been quite a trip since Jim dropped that vid.

@sortefar 1 month ago

Hi Chris. Thanx for a really well done and MUSICAL rundown on this.

@Leyor-z1f 2 months ago

You've hit the nail in the head 100% I agree with everything you said. My entire home studio setup was around 3 grand, and I can get very professional production results with it that rival far more expensive setups. It's more important to take the time and care to do everything correctly and capture good performances of good songs.

@petermoonband7181 3 months ago

I like that you offer straight up zero bs opinions on this stuff Chris. You are always a reliable source for solid info on Cubase and other audio related questions!

@OG_Cornman 3 months ago

Finally somebody I’m fully aligned with. New sub!

@DavidBolaños-OfficialArtist 2 months ago

Spot on Chris. Love that you kept it straight to the point and thoughtful.

Selecting a preamp has a deliberate choice for its specific color, based on what the objective is, if color is what the song needs. It is about choosing the right sonic flavor to fit the song.

While I appreciate the analytic data that created so much buzz recently, music is ultimately part art and part science. Both must play well together to get a great sounding song. If making music were purely about hard data analytics, I don’t think most of us would be doing it in the first place. Great video!

@jeffneufeld2083 2 months ago

Love it! I think you're pretty well spot on, and the evidence can be found in countless popular modern recordings.

A well written and performed song can be recorded in a bedroom with a bit of treatment, a good instrument, some knowledge in how to use a mic well and a good arrangement. From the mid tier on down, none of those things are NEEDED if the top two tiers are there. BUT if you're a professional looking for consistency, improvements to workflow, versatility, quality of life, marketability, those next two tiers become considerations and have their place.

@gfromshankside 3 months ago

I enjoyed this video a lot! I played along like Jeopardy! 😁

@konstantinosS300 3 months ago

This is a great, honest and very educated and educational presentation of the facts that matter. Thank you! Excellent job!

@GeorgeAmodei21 3 months ago

Glad you did this...make sense. Thx for sharing this!

@rogerkumara 1 month ago

Great vid!

@projectptube 3 months ago

Could not agree more, perfect breakdown

@housewithnonamestudios6269 3 months ago

THE QUALITY OF THE PLAYING! THE PLAYERS SOUND!

@jeffneufeld2083 2 months ago

One category you missed, plugins! Maybe too broad of a category, but where do third party VST's sit in that list for you?

@JayYarbroughMusic 3 months ago (edited)

Just bought a Capi VP28 to go with my RND rack and am thrilled. Neve & API on the way in and I'm loving it. The value of discrete hardware lies in its ability to introduce non-linear color and saturation.