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The Pro's & Con's of Audio/Production Mags
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| Energy_3 |
I have been contemplating getting myself an audio/production mag for a read and have been thinking if its worth my while like musictech their unbiased views on equip reviews (i think). Or is it best to get a few decent books. I a while ago got An Introduction to Computer Based Music Production which, i found useful to some extent.
Or, is it best to just scale the internet for the countless amounts of information that can be found even on here, in particular. Any ideas most helpful! :tongue2 |
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| echosystm |
| The reviews are useless, the techniques are amateur and there is usually too many advertisements. They're a waste of money for anyone who has been producing more than 2 years or so. That said, if you just want something to read on the ter, they're not bad. |
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| Kismet7 |
| They're good for passing some idle time when you're out somewhere and have time to kill, and there happens to be magazine stand. I dont subscribe to anything at the moment, but do read some once in a while when im within a few feet from a bookstore. |
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| cryophonik |
| I like Sound on Sound magazine a lot. They have good reviews and articles on production, equipment, etc. and you get access to everything online when you have a subscription. I agree that you can probably find most of the same info on other websites, but I like having physical media to read. I need SOME time away from the computer. :p |
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| Eric J |
| quote: | Originally posted by echosystm
The reviews are useless,
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Pretty much. I'm fairly certain that good reviews are given in exchange for ad purchases, so there is a definite conflict of interest going on there. There is nothing in there that you cannot find online, and frankly, I trust the opinions of people who use the stuff much more than a formal review.
| quote: | | Originally posted by echosystm if you just want something to read on the ter, they're not bad. |
Pretty much.
The only real value I find in any of them are when a producer I like is doing one of those "In The Studio with" videos on the accompanying CD. Its kind of cool to see how other producers do things in the event that I may pick up a trick or two. Mostly its about seeing something they might do and think "Gee, I never thought about trying that".
You'll find the videos on reposted YouTube sometimes, but I like the high quality vids on the CD because its usually difficult to see detail on YouTube and sometimes you need to see what they are doing to understand. Darren Tate once did a 3 hour video for CM a few years ago that was really fantastic. He built an entire track from scratch and showcased a lot of tips and technique. Unfortunately, its no longer online as I guess CM went after the site that posted it. |
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| mysticalninja |
| sound on sound seems the most advanced. and i agree, forget gear reviews. |
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| Energy_3 |
| quote: | Originally posted by echosystm
The reviews are useless, the techniques are amateur and there is usually too many advertisements. They're a waste of money for anyone who has been producing more than 2 years or so. That said, if you just want something to read on the ter, they're not bad. |
ha good point and thats where my only music mag is at the moment, next to the crapper! |
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| Energy_3 |
I have seen sound on sound but havent had the chance to read one as of yet. I did think that it could be a waste of money, perhaps like a car magazine or something! But then its valuable if you get good tute dvds, etc and some sample discs along with the mag.
But definitely a good past time if you have a spare moment either on the crapper or traveling or something. |
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| tehlord |
Agreed that reviews tend to be useless in these magazines. CM for example very rarely scores anything at less than 8/10 and very often 10/10. So everything is therefore brilliant. Advertising revunue must be hard to come by ;)
FM has some very useful interviews on it's DVD. A lot of people will tell you they're crap and useless, but they're not. I always find it interesting, useful and sometimes even inspirational to see the way that other people construct tracks. After watching a couple of them I discovered TC Character (which is rarely mentioned) so I went out and bought a powercore. Best thing I ever did and was a direct result of those videos. |
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| Cryogen |
| quote: | Originally posted by Eric J
I'm fairly certain that good reviews are given in exchange for ad purchases, so there is a definite conflict of interest going on there. |
I know someone in journalism and can guarantee you that's the case. They've written reviews for things before and the editor has told them to rewrite it or the company will pull their adverts from the magazine. |
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| Stef |
| IMO there aren't really any cons since you are getting knowledge regardless, I don't buy them but when I'm by a major book store i go in and browse the magazines and write down the more useful information. For example there were a few interesting things about drum and bass production and heavy metal studio work that i picked up and applied to my trance stuff. |
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| tehlord |
| quote: | Originally posted by Cryogen
I know someone in journalism and can guarantee you that's the case. |
+1
An old work collegue of mine was GIVEN a £7500 motorcycle in exchange for a good review as he was known as 'the man' in the motorcycle reviewing world at that time. |
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