The single upgrade with the biggest potential to improve your recordings

Today, lets address the one thing that has the biggest potential to improve your recordings. It’s the one thing that we all know could make a huge difference to our recordings if we upgraded it… yet most of us don’t. We try to upgrade everything else first.

Any guesses as to what this one single upgrade might be?

Could it be your monitors? No!

What about the instruments that you use? Nah!

How about your microphone collection? Wrong!

What is the single most important upgrade you can make to improve your recordings?

The single upgrade which has the biggest potential to improve your recordings is… your own ability!

Taking the time to learn and practice audio recording will go much further in helping you to improve your recordings than upgrading any piece of equipment ever could. In my experience, a producer who takes the time to learn about production and practice their skill set will get far better results from a £100 microphone than a producer who upgrades their gear, but not their ability, will ever get from a microphone that costs ten times as much.

So before you go out and buy any piece of equipment, hoping that the upgrade will improve your recordings, take the time to upgrade your own ability as a producer. Because in reality, the gear you use is rarely what makes or breaks a recording. It’s all about your skill set.

Upgrading your ability is the most cost effective way to improve your recordings.

The great thing is, there are so many ways to learn how to improve your recordings. Most of which are completely free. You can learn from YouTube, read online blogs or borrow books from your local library. You could even study a course at college or uni. (I break down this option in more detail here.)

So, before you start upgrading bits of your equipment in the hope of getting better results from your sessions, can you honestly say that there’s no way for you to improve your own ability? Wouldn’t it be better to improve your own skill set first in order to improve your recordings using the equipment that you already own? Leave your comments below and share your thoughts. What blogs, YouTube channels, books etc. would you recommend to other producers. What are the best resources to help learn the craft of music production?