I sent this originally to Owen but wondered if anyone else felt this way too as part of this learning journey. Background: been producing for ~20Y - and reached my "self taught" limit - could never reach the levels of production excellence I wanted despite being almost obsessive about detail - hence joining this amazing group. I was getting released by some of my favourite labels but increasingly felt unhappy with the quality of my production and especially sound design compared to the scenes top artists. Quality is improving at such a rate and I feel left behind When I started on OTG and started reviewing content I was massively overwhelmed at first - I estimated it'd be 18m-2y to unlearn 20y of self taught/youtube guru bad habits and start embedding new techniques on autopilot rather than focusing so heavily on the techniques while writing. I can't feel/write vibes when I'm thinking technically(kinda like having two brain modes which don't operate simultaneously - I can't learn and exploit that learning at the same time). For me it currently it's all business - when that becomes automatic, it'll be more pleasure. I can write songs, but that bit seems to have been lost because I'm focusing so technically. I still think it'll be that long to start seeing that advance. It's a good thing and it's exciting - I guess this is just my personal journey. What I can categorically say is that the value of this learning is unquestionable - it's incredible. Anyone else been through/going through this journey?

I'm thinking to cover reverb on kicks (as part of the new kick design META)... Also, I've had a request to answer "how come their hi hat sounds so flipping good and mine sounds harsh?". The answer might surprise you... A maverick de-resonating technique we haven't covered yet. Works especially well for high frequency percussion (cymbals, rides, shakers, tambourines).

A clone of Fab Filter. The Multiband envelope shaper looks promising https://signalworkaudio.com

A few people have asked me about situations where the bass seems overpowered, and they've remedied this by pulling the bass down a little bit. NO! We don't retreat! We never surrender! If the mix sounds bass-heavy, the best solution (although not always easy) is to bring up the mid/high instruments. You don't ever need to back down on bass. Any exceptions? Not really. Sometimes the bass parts are too dense for a particular track, which can compromise the rhythmical feel. In those cases, you could bring more clarity to the mix by refining the bass (more breathing space, not so relentlessly flat). However, that's not the same as bringing the bass instrument faders down in a static way. Any questions feel free to private message me, or respond below. 👍

Update: it is now a game. See how you do! The worse you do, the better RhytmEcho is!! https://way.net/rhythmecho/tests/stereoize.html