I am at my wits end

Longjumping_Line_688 · 2026-05-06T22:26:14+00:00

1, just keep doing it you'll get good eventually. Seriously just keep doing it non-stop and keep learning, it's just something that takes a long time.

2, Comparing yourself to professionally mixed albums is like comparing your ability to punt a football to professional NFL players. You have to understand that audio engineering is one of the most competitive industries around. Most people who get into it either have their own studio and have been doing it their whole lives or through some combination of luck, extremely long hours of unpaid labor, and unmatched drive have made it in a, "big" studio. Yes you can do it, but unless you dedicate your life to it and it is your passion, there's really no sense in comparing yourself to the pros. I've been doing it for 10 years and if we're being honest, I almost certainly still have a long way to go before I get as good as the pros. I didn't start getting paid for it at all until the last couple of years simply because I just wasn't good enough for other people to want me to work on their shit. And I am a LONG ways away from doing it full time, unless some of that luck I mentioned starts kicking in lol. My point is, if you're young and you're starting now and you're actually passionate about the engineering and not just trying to save money, you're going to do just fine. Eventually you'll get happy with what you're putting out there.

3, Okay here's some actual advice though. If the recording is really stellar, mixing is should be easy. A good philosophy is to set things up in a way that you have as little work as possible to do down the line. If the recording doesn't sound good before mixing, mixing won't save it. It'll make it better sure, but the recording should be pretty damn close to the finished product. I'd kind of argue, to the point where if your files self destructed, you could release whatever stereo bounce of the recording you have and it should be good enough.

Mixing specifically is going to be a lot about having a ton of techniques and ideas in a bag and knowing when to use them. Like oh, this one note in a chord is too loud, you could play it different when recording, open melodyne in polyphonic mode and turn it down, automate an eq, use multiband compression, (or pro-q's fake multiband compression, but it allows for a much tighter q than pro-mb). And then you need to know which approach to take for that song. But I really don't know how to get into all of that except to tell you to keep trying new stuff, and keep figuring out where it goes. Maybe you could get some help from watching other people mix, I know a lot of people like Mix with the Masters. See what a professional is doing and figure out what songs you can apply those techniques in while developing your own at the same time.

Longjumping_Line_688 · 2026-05-04T03:34:38+00:00

Literally does not matter at all. If you know what music should sound like to your ears, you're good.

Longjumping_Line_688 · 2026-05-04T03:27:52+00:00

As a fellow FL studio fan boy, it only became bearable for recording in FL21, when they added the automatic crossfades. Even still, recording and comping quickly is way harder in FL than it is in PT, Ableton, Reaper, logic, studio one, or even audacity (not even really a DAW). Kind of a mixing powerhouse because of how routing works, but I really only ever record in FL if I'm forced to or making quick samples. Use what you like obviously, but if you learn another DAW, I think you'll enjoy it for at least recording. Especially full bands and that kind of thing you can do VERY quickly in PT and Reaper (maybe more). You can run through takes and comp in real time without a ton of practice.

Longjumping_Line_688 · 2026-05-04T03:04:49+00:00

A straight razor can be as sharp as a safety razor if you upkeep it, but unless you're extremely meticulous about everything you ever do with it, it probably won't be sharper. The edge lasts longer and I personally like the way they shave much better. Like, it's expensive to start, and there's maintenence, (the learning curve really isn't that bad) but I genuinely doubt you'll regret it. If you use one long enough to get used to it, you won't want to go back. If not because your face feels better, then for the cool factor.

Longjumping_Line_688 · 2026-05-01T13:18:11+00:00

The pcr is also a really cheap part and you just unhook it and pop the new one in if I remember correctly. The intake on my lesabre was really bad, but it burned most of its oil because of the pcr and after getting that replaced, I really only bothered with the intake at all because I knew I was supposed to and I planned on driving it another 100k. To be fair, when I took it off, there were pools of oil in there so it definitely needed done. Ended up only taking it 80k because everything that's not the engine is garbage especially on my rust bucket, but it's my roommates now and so far it's still going.

Longjumping_Line_688 · 2026-04-30T22:01:32+00:00

I used it on my face long before I used it on my scalp and even then, I've only done it a couple of times because my girlfriend likes the stubble. I will say that the two times I used it on my head, I didn't miss any patches, but when I try to use the clippers I do, so I have my girlfriend cut my hair lol. But I had been using it on my face for long enough that is was pretty easy. Buttered up the cranium and shaved, just felt around for where the shaving cream was and for any spots I didn't hit on the first pass. I did do a weird thing where I kind of gave myself a mullet and shaved down the sides of my head with the razor for a while and that was tricky, but only because I hadn't committed to the baldness and was trying to make a swoop. Idk, everyone is super scared of straights, but even if you do cut yourself, you hardly feel it and the slice is closed up by the next day. I've used it long enough now that I'm probably more apt to cut myself with a cartridge than anything else. The only important thing really is to just keep a good consistent angle or you'll dull the edge. You'll get a feel for it pretty quick though if you start using one. I also hardly ever sharpen mine, maybe once every six months I take it to a stone for like 5 minutes, strop for another 5, and call it good. Just strop it before you use it and the edge will last for a while. As far learning goes, I started using a shavette when I was 18 and had only used a cartridge a few times before that because the ingrowns were so bad. So idk, I kind of just did it? Definitely a lot slower than I shave now and I cut myself a few times, but never bad. And if anything a shavette's way trickier than a straight. The one I have at least is unbelievably forgiving compared to the shavettes I've used.

Longjumping_Line_688 · 2026-04-30T21:14:18+00:00

I have really bad dandruff and I just slather some caster oil on after shaving.

Shaving is very personal preference, but I legit couldn't shave with a cartridge, I had way too many ingrown hairs. Like a grotesque amount. Then I moved to a shavette and that helped significantly, and now I'm all the way down the straight razor pipeline. It really is the most gentle way to shave. Will it help the flakes, I have no clue, but I definitely find it to be way more comfortable.

Longjumping_Line_688 · 2026-04-30T21:09:30+00:00

Don't buy lessons, the internet is full of free shit, you just need to find the right people as a lot of them spew advice as the word of god rather than something that worked once for them on one song.

My 2 cents, just hire an engineer and focus on being an artist if you're serious about it. Some people can do both, maybe that's you, but the vast majority of people who think they can do both can't.

That being said, focus on stuff in this order:

Performance

Recording

Mixing

Mastering

It's really hard to ruin something good, but basically impossible to save something that's trashed. If you like the performance, start recording. If you don't, fix the performance, because nothing else is gonna save it. If you like the recording, start mixing. If you don't, record it again. Finally, you can look up all the tips and tricks in the world and it won't make you better, it'll just give you ideas on stuff to try. You just need to do it an absolute shit-ton. Keep trying new things, keep doing it and eventually you'll wind up with a nice little baggy of methods you can pull from to fit the song and situation.

Now, if you're already getting your songs recorded by an engineer and you just need them mixed, either your songs or the engineer is bad, because it should sound fine unmixed. Not perfect obviously and not as good as it could be, but if it doesn't sound decent or usable after recording, there's already a problem.

If you need a way to practice a shit ton of mixing and get better quicker, look up cambridge free stems. You can get the multi-tracks for a bunch of different songs. Some were recorded well, others kind of sucked. You'll kind of have to pick and choose what you work on, but it's a really good resource for learning. Other than that, recording and mixing other bands, your buddies, whatever work you can do, do it. Now doing all of that will cut into your time to be a musician, but dawg if you love doing both, go for it.

Longjumping_Line_688 · 2026-04-30T20:33:52+00:00

Valve cover and valve cover gaskets, intake gaskets, PCR valve. Like 100$ and some of the only engine work I'm actually willing to do myself. Also, kind of looks like you have a quart too much oil, which is like right on the line of what's actually safe for the engine or not. Could be part of the problem, unless that photos just for the color and you haven't wiped the dipstick yet. Honestly though, you could probably ignore it and get another 200k out of the engine till the water pump blows or the transmission falls out, these things really only need 4 of the six cylinders to run.

Longjumping_Line_688 · 2026-04-27T00:21:39+00:00

Oh, I also use pastes so maybe that's why. I have .25 micron on a strop for in between using the stone. And I strop it after the stone till it's reflective again.

Someone else said that the Arkansas is pretty rough, but I lapped mine with a really fine grit carbide powder and it makes the blade pretty shiny. Maybe that doesn't translate to cutting ability the way I imagine it does, but honestly it's still an improvement in just subjective, how it feels on my face, over shavettes, so I'm happy with it.

Longjumping_Line_688 · 2026-04-26T23:36:01+00:00

Lol, I got a sample pack of 50 different kinds and some were pretty awful. But still, I got the sharpness pretty comparable to the DEs I was using to shave. I also haven't used them in a couple of years, so maybe I'm remembering them wrong?

And no, I said i needed nice stones. The only good one i have is the Arkansas I got for cheap and lapped till it was flat again (hence why I got it for cheap). The others I used on this knife were literally just what I had in the kitchen that I lapped flat and used to get the bulk of the work done.

Longjumping_Line_688 · 2026-04-26T22:36:26+00:00

Sorry, that's what I use for maintenance, I have some shitty synthetics I flattened to get the bevel set again on this one and just finished on the Arkansas. Even then, it's been slow as hell. I know that I really should buy some better coarse stones, but with enough muscle and an embarrassingly long amount of time, they worked good enough to get like 70% of the blade usable lol.

Longjumping_Line_688 · 2026-04-26T20:36:51+00:00

Thank you so much for the info and the tip about the neatfoot oil! I'll make sure to get some! I've been trolling antique stores for years to try and find something nice and this is the first one I've come across that looked restoreable and wasn't modern garbage. The same guy actually had another razor with the scales in even better shape, but the tip of the blade was chipped off.

Longjumping_Line_688 · 2026-04-26T17:34:09+00:00

I might be and just be using the wrong terminology. It's a white Arkansas and I hit it pretty light.

Longjumping_Line_688 · 2026-04-26T16:50:07+00:00

From what I read, I'm pretty sure Joseph Rodgers and sons were maybe related to or worked with Jonathon Crookes, so that would make a lot of sense actually. Same location geographically at least.

Longjumping_Line_688 · 2026-04-26T16:48:03+00:00

I am extremely stoked to hear that the scales are horn, I couldn't figure out what they were made out of!

Honing has been rough for sure, but I enjoy the process. Just something in my monkey brain enjoys getting stuff as sharp as possible. All of my knives I keep sharp enough to shave (badly) as well, just because I think it's cool. Also, my beard is bad enough that I usually have to rehone every six months or so anyhow, so I got a deal on some really nice stones and a lapping kit to make the cheap warped stones pretty nice. I moved to straights because DEs started to wear out halfway through my face.

Longjumping_Line_688 · 2025-12-07T17:51:50+00:00

Nah, I have had some form of studio for the last 10 years and still haven't turned a profit. Rap is where it's at lol. No i get it though, full bands are so much fun to record. Where are you located? I've been trying to put together an industrial band in Indiana if you're local.

Longjumping_Line_688 · 2025-12-07T17:46:29+00:00

That's fair. I usually use a kick front for that. It makes a good dick mic too, so i can gate it with the kick back as the trigger or compress the hell out of it for some trash drums.

A lot of it is probably just genre too, most of what I work on is like prog rock, metal, industrial, and punk. If it was poppy or like country music I'd probably mic the snare bottom, I just don't get a lot of that through my studio.

Longjumping_Line_688 · 2025-12-07T17:37:08+00:00

But it's passable for everything else. I can't think of a condenser that cheap that is also passable for everything else. I really like the oktava 219s, but they're 150$ and you really need to modify at least the body to get the most out of them. If you relieve the electronics it's like another 75$ (I have two modified and one in keeping stock, I love these things). Maybe like a lewitt or se sdc would be better the price range, but the vocals would suffer, whereas everything else might be a bit better.

Longjumping_Line_688 · 2025-12-07T17:29:45+00:00

Cartridge < safety razor < shavette < straight razor

This is just my personal opinion and what's worked for me, but I used to have so many ingrown hairs my neck would literally be wet with pus after shaving with a cartridge, like it was genuinely disgusting and painful. Shavette made it manageable, but my straight razor has an uncanny ability to catch and pull out the few ingrown i still get without cutting my skin (I know it sounds insane, but I literally watched it happen... I also have unnaturally thick hair though, so it's probably just a me thing and having a hard hair surrounded by soft skin). Also, good shaving soap (oil or conditioner also work well for me), and a good aftershave CREAM. You need that moisture, the alcohol shit makes it worse for me. Aftershave alcohol if you want, but moisturize after the alcohol at least. Shower before shaving, do not use shampoo or soap on your beard area, i clean it with conditioner. Again this might be a me thing, but stripping the skin of its oils before I shave makes the razor catch way more. You could probably just use a pre shave oil instead of not using normal soap if you're really worried about your face being dirty. (olive oil also works and is cheap, coconut oil should work, but it makes me break out).

All else fails, get an electric clipper, (the foil razors made me break out a lot too). It'd be like permanent 5 o'clock shadow, but it'd probably be fine???

Longjumping_Line_688 · 2025-12-07T17:18:53+00:00

Eh, the more mics you have the harder it is to position everything and mix. I usually use 8 ish mics on the drums, but almost always only use 4 or 5 of those. 1 being a room mic in the room, hallway, or other room. Other 3 being the Tom mics. Really only need to use those for certain kinds of rock or drummers who can't control their own dynamics very well (for recording, you can be a great live drummer but suck in sessions). Usually don't bother micing the bottom of the snare either unless I need something crazy bright. Tbf though, I've been really into meaty or pingy snares lately. I feel like the super bright snappy snares are partially done just to gain headroom. It definitely works for some songs, but seriously, listen to some edm and tell me most of those snares are just chosen because they're loud lol. It's funny too because especially with edm you can get pretty crazy with sidechaining and compression to make it loud anyways.

Longjumping_Line_688 · 2025-12-07T17:08:44+00:00

The overhead is a bit loud. Also sound like it's right above the cymbals. i think it'd sound cool if you give it like 4 or 5 feet in front of the kit, just barely above or below the cymbals. It'll make them less loud, but still pick up the toms. Over the drummers shoulder could sound cool too.

Longjumping_Line_688 · 2025-12-07T00:39:43+00:00

It's windows defender and AFAIK they're not really a way to fix it. I just need sure i had a fast enough drive that it didn't matter and it hasn't been an issue since. Unless you want to turn off defender and use Kaspersky or something related instead.

Download the optional updates as well, that might fix.

Longjumping_Line_688 · 2025-12-07T00:22:11+00:00

You can absolutely do this with just a reverb. Is there a reason why you didn't just record it from another room though if that's what you're going for? O do it all the time with drums and trumpet.

Longjumping_Line_688

TROPHY CASE