The Home Stretch - Posted on 2015-10-04 by John Nelson

What a wild ride this course has been.  Two mentors.  Eight Months.  Lots of writing and recording.  But in the end, I feel like I've come out the other side a better musician and recording engineer.  Don't get me wrong...I have a lot left to learn, but I feel a lot more confident with my skill set and with pro tools than I have before.  This final chapter on "Mastering" was a nice 'cherry' on the proverbial cake.  It took this 800 pound gorilla and made it into something that is more 'mundane' and part of the overall process.  Furthermore, the thought of actually mastering in Pro Tools hadn't even crossed my mind until I had seen it done at my mentors studio.  Then to see it being done in the chapter just corroborated that I have more tools at my disposal than I realize.  This chapter reinforced the concept that a "little goes a long way", but that getting a good sound with even volume is achievable within my home studio.  They say that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step...I feel like I've whittled off a few of the initial steps with this program.  Though I didn't get as much hands on experience in the studio as I would have liked, I certainly feel better prepared for the next steps I will take to making music recording a much more integrated part of my personal and professional life.