- Product
- Production Club
- Type
- Music Production
- Brand
- Price
-
$997.00
Do any of these describe you?
- You have a hard drive full of unfinished songs.
- You could spend hours in your studio and sometimes not accomplish anything.
- You feel like you’re spinning your wheels.
- You never know what to do next on a song.
- You’re overwhelmed.
- You simply want to know how to get to the next level with your recordings.
If so, then keep reading…
The production club is an all-inclusive, in-depth online training course, where you will walk with me through the entire recording process. I will record an entire song from start to finish. From song idea to finished, mastered recording, ready to be sold (or shared with your mom).
And over the next 19 weeks, you’ll be right there, following along the entire time.
Step 1 – Pre-Production (2 weeks)
This is the planning phase, the phase most people skip out on. They just jump right into recording guitars and drums and glockenspiel. Slow down there, cowboy. If you don’t do some basic planning, you’ll potentially waste HOURS recording the song the wrong way.
As a Production Club member, I’ll show you exactly how I go through the pre-production process. It’s really a lot of fun, possibly one of the most fun parts of the entire process. And if you do it right, you end up having more fun during the next 4 steps.
Topics Covered:
- 6 reasons you should be doing pre-production on EVERY project you work on.(And how it actually ENHANCES creativity, rather than stifling it.)
- The two parts of pre-production that will MAKE OR BREAK your song. (And how they play off of each other.)
- My specific (6-step process) for doing pre-production. (Which you can easily adapt to your own specific process.)
- Tools I use for pre-production. (Including one I never thought about for YEARS, and it was sitting right under my nose.)
- How to handle pre-production for different styles of music. (How to handle singer-songwriter demos vs electronic music.)
Step 2 – Recording (5 weeks)
Obviously, recording is an important part of the process. Whether you’re recording a full band, MIDI-only, or an acoustic EP, I’ll show you how I go about recording all sorts of instruments. You’ll see why it’s so important to get it right at the source, and I’ll show you exactly how I do that. No guessing, no hoping, just making sure it sounds great from the get-go.
Instruments we’ll record: Drums, Bass, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Vocals, Percussion, MIDI, and even a choir!
We even recorded a full drum kit over at my friend (and pro drummer) Tim Horsley’s house.
Topics Covered:
- The 4 Keys to “Getting it Right at the Source”. (And how to make sure you get it right EVERY time you record.)
- The one thing that’s more important than mic choice or EVEN room acoustics. (If you get this one thing right, the rest tends to fall into place.
- How to quickly pick the right room for your studio. (And how it makes a bigger difference than you might think.)
- “Real” vs home-made acoustic treatment. (HINT: I use both.)
- My Home-Made Vocal Booth (And how it helps me get a clean, dry recording…without spending thousands of dollars on a fancy booth.)
- How to choose the right mic. (And how owning only one microphone can be a blessing.
- The key to mic placement. (It’s easier than you think…)
- How proximity effect can be your best friend or your worst enemy. (And how to use it to your advantage.)
- Debunking the “fix it in the mix” mentality. (If you do your job right during recording, you won’t NEED to fix things in the mix.)
- How both real and virtual instruments have important roles in your recordings.(And why I choose real over virtual and vice versa.)
- Recording multiple takes the right way. (How I record takes in a way that gets a great performance without taking FOREVER…)
- Session Prep (How to make sure your recording sessions go smoothly AND quickly.
- My “L.A.R.” method for recording ANY source and making it sound great. (It’s so simple, yet EXTREMELY effective.)
- Recording Live vs. Overdubbing (Why I’m a big fan of both, and how to pull it off effectively.)
- Why recording in “sections” vs full takes is okay. (Sometimes it even makes for a BETTER performance.)
- Mono vs stereo mic techniques. (When to go stereo, and when it just doesn’t matter.)
- Free percussion samples you can use on your recordings. (I literally use these same samples ALL the time, and they’re yours to keep.)
- How to use basic percussion to make a HUGE difference in your recordings (And how to pull it off even if you don’t have a great percussionist.)
- Recording MIDI parts quickly. (How to keep from getting bogged down with the technical side of recording MIDI parts.)
- How to make 7 singers sound like a 100-person choir. (PLUS…how to record 7 singers without needing ANY additional headphones.)
- How to get a good performance out of a singer, even if he/she is having an “off” day. (How I adapt my workflow ENTIRELY based on how the singer is singing that day.)
- Techniques for getting consistent vocal tone. (And a one-second change to INSTANTLY get better-sounding vocal tracks.)
Step 3 – Editing (4 weeks)
Once all those pretty tracks are recorded, you need to make sure they’re sounding tight together and are READY to be mixed. This includes comping together multiple takes, editing timing mistakes, tightening up performances, and even possible doing some tuning. It’s a more technical part of the process, but it really separates the so-so mixes from the fantastic, polished mixes. Trust me on that.
Topics Covered:
- What is editing? (And why I edit, even when the performance is AWESOME.)
- The 5 components of editing.
(And why some are necessary and others can be skipped.) - Why editing isn’t cheating. (And how to prevent yourself from doing too much editing.)
- 5-second task that can save you HOURS. (AND it gives you an easy way to track your editing process.)
- What is pocketing? (Also, the right and wrong way to approach it.)
- How to tighten up bass and drum tracks. (And make them REALLY groove.)
- How to edit 11 electric guitar tracks. (And not lose your mind.)
- How to edit electric guitar tracks. (Even when the waveforms make it hard to see transients.)
- How to polish the lead vocal and get it ready for mixing. (Karate chop any unwanted noise quickly and easily.)
- How to deal with vocal pitch issues WITHOUT any tuning software. (I honestly don’t own any pitch-correction software…but I’m still able to take care of pitch issues.)
- How to edit mediocre percussion tracks (And make ‘em sound professional.)
- How to manipulate MIDI tracks. (And bend to your will.)
Step 4 – Mixing (5 weeks)
If you did your job in steps 1-3, mixing will be all about you enhancing the already-great-sounding tracks, not “fixing” a bunch of things. I’ll take you through my process for mixing a song, starting with getting a great-sounding static mix in mono before ever reaching for a pan knob or a plugin. Yep, that’s right.
We’ll dive DEEP into using EQ to carve out space in the mix for each instrument. We’ll look at how to use compression to add punch to the mix. We’ll look at all sorts of effects and how to use them to enhance the mix without muddying thing up. We’ll learn how to deal with the low end in the mix, making it punchy without being boomy and muddy. I could go on…and on…and on…
This will be the most in-depth mixing tutorial I’ve ever done.
PLUS! You’ll receive the multi-track recording of my song to mix on YOUR system.
Topics Covered:
- What mixing really IS. (And what it ISN’T.)
- How to mix in mono. (And why it could be the single best thing you do for your mix.)
- Easy way to clean up your recording sessions prior to mixing (This helps keep your sessions at a manageable file size.)
- Drum tweaks that WORK. (Rather than throw a bunch of drum mixing “concepts” at you, I’ll show you the plain and simple techniques that I use to get a big ol’ drum sound.)
- “Secret ninja trick” for getting the bass and drums to go from sounding great to sounding AWESOME. (This one makes me happy every time I do it.)
- How to mix bass without actually touching the bass track. (Sometimes the bass sound is perfect, it’s just everything else that needs to change.)
- How to make acoustic guitar cut through the mix without being muddy. (Without sounding thin and lifeless.)
- How to make 11 electric guitar tracks work in the mix. (It’s actually NOT too many guitar tracks, and can sound awesome, if you do it right.)
- How to give each electric guitar a space in the mix. (And sound HUGE at the same time.)
- How to mix percussion tracks. (In less than 1 minute.)
- How to use automation to put the final polish on a mix. (And how to do it quickly.)
- How I set deadlines (and keep them) when it comes to mixing. (I literally have used a timer to keep myself focused on the mix.)
Step 5 – Mastering (2 weeks)
Once you’ve got that earth-shattering mix, you need to master it. Mastering is essentially preparing it to be heard by the world. It involves gain, multi-band compression, and limiting, among many other things.
I normally recommend having someone else master your mixes, so you get a fresh set of ears putting the final touches on your mix, but if you plan to do any mastering on your own, I’ll show you how I do it (and I get surprisingly good results).
Mastering can be a big mystery for a lot of people. I’ll de-bunk a lot of myths and clear a lot of things up for you.
PLUS! You’ll get full-resolution downloads of my unmastered AND mastered mixes, so you can practice mastering on your own system and compare your results to mine.
Topics Covered:
- What is mastering? (And why do we do need it?)
- What specific tools are involved in mastering? (Software, plugins, formats, etc.)
- My EXACT step-by-step process for mastering. (This will give you a solid starting point for you to begin mastering your own mixes.)
- How multi-band compression affects the sound of a mix (both good and bad). (And how to handle it properly.)
- How to use a reference track when mastering. (And why it’s a life-saver.)
More Specifics
So I’ve told you the major topics we’re going to cover, how will it all be delivered? You’ll access everything through a private members-only website. Here are the details:
- Content Delivered WEEKLY – Every week for the next 19 weeks, you’ll receive NEW content to download and watch. If you sign up on a Tuesday, you’ll receive new material every Tuesday for the next 19 weeks. Your class starts as soon as you join.
- 5 In-Depth Webinar Training Videos – Each of the 5 steps of the recording process (Pre-Production, Recording, Editing, Mixing, and Mastering) is covered in-depth in a dedicated webinar training video.
- HD Video Downloads – Aside from the webinar videos, each week you’ll receive custom tutorials, shot in HD video and delivered to you via download. There’s well over 20 hours of solid, practical, actionable material that you can use to start getting better recordings immediately.
- Video Format – These will be MP4 files you can watch on your computer, iPad, or even iPhone or iPod. And they’re yours to keep forever. PLUS, you’ll get audio (mp3) versions of all 5 webinars videos.
- Member Challenges – I want you to do more than just learn this stuff, that’s why I’m setting things up a little differently. I want you to apply what you’re learning and work through a song on your own as a part of the class. At the end of the class, my song will be done, and I want yours to be done, too. I’ll be available to answer questions and “prod” you along to make sure you’re getting things done. Obviously, you can simply watch the videos and soak it all in, but I’m convinced that you learn these things the best when you APPLY them to your own recordings.
- LIFETIME Access – You are joining Production Club 2.0. Everyone who joined the very first Production Club have access to ALL the new material for FREE. As a member, you’ll have lifetime access to this material, plus any new content I release in the future…no extra charge.
