After comparing a load of my old tracks to the stuff ive started working on now, i noticed a distinct change in both the production of them, things such as automation, mastering and also of the use of music theory. It got me thinking about all the different things I've learnt as I gain skill in production. What would you guys define as the difference between an amateur sounding production and a proffessional sounding one?

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I think there is way too much emphasis on the "pro sound."

When I hear a lot of tracks, it seems obvious that the people who made them thought more about the "production" side than about the musical side, more about whether the track "sounded professional" than about whether it would really move people.

You can work very hard at dressing up a boring, heartless, and forgettable composition with nifty sounds and effects, and EQing and compressing it so that it sounds great on a club system. It will probably even get people dancing as long as it booms out of the speakers with plenty of force. But in the end it will still be boring and heartless.

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Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles I think there is way too much emphasis on the "pro sound." When I hear a lot of tracks, it seems obvious that the people who made them thought more about the "production" side than about the musical side, more about whether the track "sounded professional" than about whether it would really move people. You can work very hard at dressing up a boring, heartless, and forgettable composition with nifty sounds and effects, and EQing and compressing it so that it sounds great on a club system. It will probably even get people dancing as long as it booms out of the speakers with plenty of force. But in the end it will still be boring and heartless.

"Love" added to the list

good point though

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He's got doctors, nurses, fireman, churches,
Kindergarten, wedding bells and jet black hearses;
Passport, bankcard, maybe his own yard, Locks and alarms,
Trinkets and charms, Maybe a baby in his arms

A pro sounding track sounds balanced, and uses effects in places where the amateur track didnt.

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well for one, the camera quality is much more clear, and the chick usually gives off a better performance. amateur has some perks though...

but on a serious note. sometimes i just prefer amateur tracks to pro track. everyone wants this fucking perfected sound and sometimes that's just boring as fuck. if it doesn't have some faults and no memorable points, it's shit, i don't care if it's sounds so perfect it'd make every producer in the world question how they did it. for instance, ********, his tracks aren't well mixed own, but his ideas are fucking spot on, and the faults in his mixing and sometimes arrangement is what makes it that good.

i'd easily take deep amateur music over soul-less professional sounding music any day. even if i can't play out the amateur tunes, at least i know i have something to enjoy listening to on any day

sometimes the crap you just take a wing at and don't spend time obsessing over to sound perfect is better than the crap you take forever doing

in the end its all about making everything work for you when making all the elements you want and need in the track.

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Pro = The track is complete! its arranged, balanced/mixed/automated with full frequency spectrum covered.

Amateur = The track is never complete! one or more of the above elements has not had the required attention.

Its why dj's love there engineers,, because they are all production Amateurs(lol)

I'd say professional music is music that is mixed well and doesn't get boring (too quickly). Allthough I would rather see it was about the mixdown as well as the music.

The problem is the perception of each listener is different. A quality mix is easy to spot, while a lot of people will disagree on the actual quality of the music itself, as it cannot be measured. I guess this is why professionalism is only measured by the quality of the mix of a track.

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quote:

If less is more think about how much more more would be. -Frasier

quote:

Originally posted by Tom Scott After comparing a load of my old tracks to the stuff ive started working on now, i noticed a distinct change in both the production of them, things such as automation, mastering and also of the use of music theory. It got me thinking about all the different things I've learnt as I gain skill in production. What would you guys define as the difference between an amateur sounding production and a proffessional sounding one?

This is a good point. I have only been producing for a few months and am already seeing big improvemetns and differences compared to earlier stuff. I was wondering what kind of changes you mean in things like automation? like more of it in more parameters?

What other things do you guys notice that you do more or less of as you got better?

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Originally posted by JmanNZ This is a good point. I have only been producing for a few months and am already seeing big improvemetns and differences compared to earlier stuff. I was wondering what kind of changes you mean in things like automation? like more of it in more parameters? What other things do you guys notice that you do more or less of as you got better?

Well the fact i use automation I have some very horrific stuff where everything is introduced instantly and theres no flow to it at all. Big contrast to some stuff now where there is seeveral automation tracks running at the same time to keep the track sounding fresh and exciting.

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He's got doctors, nurses, fireman, churches,
Kindergarten, wedding bells and jet black hearses;
Passport, bankcard, maybe his own yard, Locks and alarms,
Trinkets and charms, Maybe a baby in his arms

As with many things in the world, you could say that everything that is made to make money with is 'professional' and all that happens mostly as part of a hobby or because you really like it is called 'amateur'.
Basically that shouldn't mean whether a production is good or bad, but it's how people use the terms.

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