tl; dr
Reached a peak of what I can achieve without further feedback. Will be patient and work on my studio instead.
2022
2022 is just around the edge, and it’s time for new year’s resolutions. And by resolutions I mean a plan which makes sense now, but will probably change during execution. Among many private things and non-music related stuff, I will be making a few changes to my amateur studio. Right now, it’s all pretty thin on the hardware end, while software-wise I’ve already gone pretty far with my investments.
DAW and VSTs
Now with an updated mastering suite, I approached mixing and mastering again, with much more precise caution. I’ve been musing with a LOT of tiny frequency ranges, mostly in the low end but also far above.
Without going into details, I’ve cleaned up a lot of troubling frequencies, and worked on my balance. It sounded better while mixing it, and now I’m not sure if I’m simply lacking the right listening equipment.
Hardware
I wouldn’t even call it a “Hardware” upgrade, but rather an “attempt to improve latency” upgrade. With the 17ms displayed under ASIO4ALL, my inputs from the keyboard sound appallingly wrong and out of swing. On a weighted piano, I play with much more sustenance and clarity, while my current keyboard sounds like some chopping, whacking cleaver thing while I’m at it. The recording is not precise enough to represent the accurate timing I choose to play.
In order to work towards a solution, I’ll haul my weighted electric piano up from the living room into my studio. If it doesn’t outright solve the issue, it could still prove valuable when recorded with a microphone.
Organization
If I’m going to continue this project and not get bogged down by slow progress, I need to maintain some order.
First, I need to create some templates. Sometimes I put a lot of effort into one of my songs yet it doesn’t end up in the album selection. I can extract some of the more interesting tracks and reuse them in later projects, including the whole effect chain.
Second, I’ll work some more on creating instruments. To have a challenge, I will create those instruments on a new synthesizer and attempt to master it.
Where’s the 2022 Album?
The 2021 Album is close to the final mastering after many, many hours of rehearsing and sharing with close friends. There’s still some uncertainty, which I hope will be resolved if I improve my studio.
Since this can’t be bothering anyone, I’ll just string the project along until some illumination hits me and I’m ready to go. But let’s agree that 2022 would be a great year to release it.