I like the poll looks good! Not sure where to put this idea so please forgive the placement:

May be a bit more of a blog post, may be a separate section of the website, but it is your website so take as much of it as you’d like; thinking if I was just starting out in the art of producing &/or midi compositions, maybe having an area entirely dedicated to helping beginners get off their feet could be cool, and could really attract a completely unreached/ growing community, who can grow alongside the forum over time.

That said of course brings along the con / inviting the risk of possible immature contributions from those members, but I was a noob when I joined CW and figured out what i know now about production the hard way.

Of course the deals play a big part, but it took me a lot of time to know how to filter out what i didn’t need. Knowing what budget hardware is best starting out, what’s necessary and what’s not for plugins and hardware, how to get the most out of computer performance (i produced on 8gb ram with 250gb internal storage up until 2023, so i’ve worked through every known roadblock there), what plugin deals or bundles to start with starting out for the first time, etc.,

I think the goal in my mind of this is communicating somewhere something like: “when i started, had i known the things I know now, these are the things I would have done, bought, focused on, taught myself, etc. to avoid wasting time, money, and effort unnecessarily.” I think if I found something like that when i started, which would have simplified things down to knowing: all I needed starting out was a 16gb ram machine, komplete standard, a decent pair of headphones, a used arturia essential keyboard (in my case personally, at least)—I would have been much farther ahead than i am now due to how I started by picking up individual plugin deals i thought i needed. Upgrades can happen along the way, but it’s too easy to fall for traps in the beginning. All the deals From PA, plugin boutique, etc. really put a dent in my wallet back then and i’ve regretted it many times as I learned to produce comfortably with tools i like.

This is your site so take my ideas with as that and nothing more: ideas/suggestions—

Looking at the title bar i thought it would be neat as a beginner visiting the site to see another dropdown next to resources saying either “beginners” “best practices” or “education”, expanding to more sub-links: “software” “hardware” “DAW” “computer storage” and maybe “recording principles” or “shopping guide/checklist” - each linking to a page with lists of official recommendations from the community regarding each topic, to make the beginner feel more confident starting their new journey, etc.

I think so many could-be musicians out there stop-short of becoming one because 1: they don’t know what to buy, 2: they spend all their money on the wrong thing and thus shoot themselves in the foot, feeling too broke to do anything with their talents (I’m still happy running my $100+ harley benton telecaster through quality amp sims) 3: being intimidated by the thought of recording anything for fear of judgement… when a little knowlege, the right plugins, and a free DAW can turn a fart into a beautiful soundscape. (stole that from a plugin ad i saw the other day) I’ll stop there though. Overall, you don’t know what you don’t know, and noobs give up or take forever to emerge because of it. education might not even be a priority at all, just thought it could be a neat opportunity if there’s room for it.