jackquinox wrote:owengriffiths wrote: 'producing' tracks is a complicated subject. Production itself is complicated. It seems like the only way you could ever master it would be to study it from GCSE level, move up to A-Levels, Degrees, Masters Degree, PHD... and still never understand it. That's why we need engineers, and the cheeky fuckers know how skilled they are and that's why they charge so much!
I never got GCSE option for music mastering!
Think your confusing producing/composing with actual mastering my friend and believe me theres alot of people never got a college degree that can work pro tools.
Agreed.In fact,most people I know of who have degrees and use ProTools,have degrees in something other than music.
There is a difference,I think,between some producers and others.There are those who approach it as a technical thing,calculating time signatures and tweaking frequencies the way they think it is "proper".Then there are the producers(like many on this forum) who love music,and do the same thing in creative and interesting ways.Some of the greatest producers in the world(in all genres)never went to school for it...they just feel the sound.They know what they like to hear and make it sound like that,as opposed to a lot of slick,mainstream producers who go by the book so that everything sounds like top 40.And if you notice,there has been a trend in the last few years with the majors hiring buttloads of young,unsigned,non-ProTools educated producers,mixers,engineers(not all of them have degrees in music either),because the "proper" way just isn't enough anymore.It really wouldn't surprise me if majors are looking to romance dubstep producers,maybe even trolling this forum in silence,searching for a way to get 50Cent,Madonna,and Nelly Furtado thier very own 'Midnight Request Line'-ish single(Skream would probably be at the top of thier list.I hope he likes flowers and candy!

).That's what sort of how it happened with Neptunes.