Mixing/mastering and making music go hand in hand so I'll cover that as well. POPULAR DAWS (if you don't have one) ==================================== I've included videos of some popular producers/musicians using some of them to give you an idea of the workflow. You can do most common kinds of audio related work in any daw. Pro tools is the industry standard, but I think it's old and outdated and a pain to work in. Some people use reaper. It doesn't really matter which one you end up choosing since the tools are essentially the same across the board, and you'll get used to it. Watch some videos and see what you like. Don't spend too long thinking about it. Ableton https://www.ableton.com/en/ (I use this one) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRkudFcTWGs (Tennyson) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj-Ym2a6stM (Mr Bill) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciBi3C2dBnw (Lophiile) FL Studio https://www.image-line.com https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzob7RiOznI (monte booker) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h55D98bG5U (moe shop) Logic https://www.apple.com/logic-pro/ (Mac only) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfsjaD6sV-A (Jordan Rakei) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaaMw8ijdvk (Disclosure) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEHoeaA-NjU (jacob collier) Reason https://www.reasonstudios.com https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubg6tOv0KLc (iglooghost) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUXoGQmI4Q4 (sam gellaitry) Cubase https://new.steinberg.net/cubase/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pmoiyPlMus (mxxwll) Reaper https://www.reaper.fm (has no stock instruments, also supports multichannel audio for surround sound/vr applications) Bitwig https://www.bitwig.com (made by former ableton devs, works on linux) Pro Tools https://www.avid.com/pro-tools (industry standard) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EogPSBXg33s (mixbustv - hes a mixing/mastering engineer) MIXING/MASTERING/SOUND DESIGN RESOURCES (that I have used) ========================================================== https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYTlN6wjcvQ Audio myths, a good primer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal-loudness_contour Essentially, your ears hear different frequencies louder when sound is played at different volumes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHxMsawJsTc Mixcon 2017 with Bob Power, good summary of what mixing and mastering really entails His credits here: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/bob-power-mn0000060494/credits https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6e8wfdmIuLGALV-6x3arKIK2Hw5Mjlxx Beginner's guide to various important effects, narrated by Dan Worrall, another mix/master engineer These videos all use fabfilter plugins, but the concepts apply to all effects https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNNHQbT3rbzXBS1BmnA6p3uyKFeWBNEhc Another fabfilter playlist on mono compatibility and mixing in stereo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuU0pVohkPw&list=PLqsobmO-YS_53zR4u9MMA9IoMNaXmaZU5 Thorough playlist on compression, a very important effect that many people don't understand. https://www.youtube.com/user/mixbustv/playlists (mixbustv) https://www.youtube.com/user/IIRs (dan worall) Very thorough, no bullshit videos on various topics that you might come across. I've found most of what I need on these channels. The next few links are resources for producing, and have helped me learn about sound design and related topics. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqeYOThebLKYlvVeozxeR1Q Uploads twitch streams of well known producers. Useful for learning how to produce and do sound design. https://www.youtube.com/c/MrBillsTunes https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDxTQYPyq4JQzYc29ltUgBh8LkMVnNFbl Sound design concepts (mostly in ableton, but they carry over) from Mr. Bill and podcasts with well known producers For podcast episodes, I recommend checking out anklepants, the flashbulb, woulg, frequent, au5, deadmau5, virtual riot, richard devine, little snake, mick gordon, when you're more familiar with producing. https://www.youtube.com/user/woulg/videos Sound design concepts by woulg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNrjRYy-7U8 Sound design concepts by dr derg (RIP), mostly for neuro https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjEK32QlJe0Dy4nXxelXrww Sound design concepts in ableton, presented by an ableton certified trainer. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXCXxhRVYvBOX45_gxr0iHA Christian Henson, founder of spitfire audio https://twitter.com/daddykev/ Daddykev mastered many of my favorite albums. He occasionally tweets good advice. Founded the Low End Theory club in LA. FREE PLUGINS (that I use) ========================= https://www.airwindows.com Channel9 (mix console emulator) Console7 (I use this on everything) ToTape6 (very good tape saturation, I use it on most things.) Density2 Baxandall (subtle high/low shelf filter) Interstage Monitoring (useful for monitoring, when you want to isolate mid/side/left/right channels or subs/highs for closer listening) Focus Pressure4 Buttercomp2 ChromeOxide (more tape saturation) PhaseNudge These plugins are lightweight mixing/mastering tools, mostly designed to emulate analog hardware. https://www.patreon.com/analogobsession These are on patreon, but they're free. Good analog emulation. https://maxforlive.com/library/index.php (ableton only) Max MSP is a programming language for making visual and audio stuff. It's integrated directly into ableton so people can make their own plugins easily. This website is where a lot of people share the stuff they've made. https://labs.spitfireaudio.com Free, high quality, realistic instruments. These are sampled from real instruments. Spitfire audio makes some of the most comprehensive libraries. Works very well for film scoring too. The piano is nice. https://asb2m10.github.io/dexed/ Yamaha dx7 emulator https://vital.audio Spectral warping wavetable synth, sounds complicated, but is very intuitive. Some say it's a serum killer, if you take the time to learn it. https://vcvrack.com Modular synth emulator, has hundreds of free modules and emulations of real modules. Cpu intensive PAID STUFF (that you can find for free somewhere) =================================================== Fabfilter Pro q3 My favorite digital EQ. 24 bands, transparent, has dynamic eq, stereo processing (m/s and l/r), can identify resonant peaks for you, has an eq matcher that will create an eq curve to match another signal. My favorite feature is that if you have 2 instances on multiple channels, it'll highlight clashing frequencies between both channels, which makes decisions about where to cut or boost easier. Fabfilter Saturn All around good saturation plugin, has tape, tube, and other kinds of saturation. Can also work as a multiband saturator and transient shaper. Fabfilter Pro L2 Limiter, has features to let you monitor loudness as well. I use this on everything I do oeksound Soothe2 it's marketed as a "dynamic resonance suppressor." essentially functions as a dynamic eq that automatically determines where resonant peaks are and cuts them depending on your settings. very useful if you need something done quick. Ghz Faraday Limiter, Sonnox Oxford limiter 2 colorful limiters. Daddykev uses the oxford limiter a lot. Kilohearts Phaseplant Another "serum killer." Everyone uses serum, so just try something different. Uhe Diva Versatile synth Spectrasonics Keyscape/Trillian/Omnisphere Omnisphere has 15,000 presets. Keyscape and Trillian are for keys and bass, theyre sampled from real instruments or synthesized. I don't think these are particularly worth the space they take up, but many people use them. Some demos of keyscape and omnisphere: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa1KR1weoFc (cory henry) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sUfa05cZOA (domi) https://youtu.be/AUYiV7Pygd4 (robert glasper) https://youtu.be/1DKOspp-BnA (Herbie) You may want to use pianoteq over keyscape, but I think pianoteq sounds fake because of the high end. It might sound good in context or with a high shelf. waves j37, uhe satin, toneboosters reelbus Tape saturators Klanghelm MJUC analog modelled compressor, intuitive to use https://www.brainworx.audio Brainworx makes analog modeled software. They have software emulations of some popular consoles, limiters, compressors, etc. Many people use them. Useful if you don't own analog hardware. Addictive Drums 2, Superior/EZ Drummer For realistic drum sounds. Izotope Rx8 audacity on steroids. Essential if you're doing anything film related with dialog, or any post production work where you have to clean something up. IMPORTANT ========= If you take the time to go through these resources, you'll find most of what you need for any production related work, be it scoring, editing podcasts or dialog, or producing. How you use these resource is up to you, I'm just sharing. I think it's pretty comprehensive and accurate, although someone more experienced than me might think not. You don't need these 3rd party plugins. Out of the ones I listed, I end up only using fabfilter, airwindows, analog obsession, and soothe2. The rest is all done with stock plugins. Don't start downloading a bunch of stuff because I said it's useful. Get it when you need it. And these are just personal recommendations. What you need might not be on this list or might not even be invented yet. Some people claim that certain daws have a sound, which is mostly false, and partially true. If you do a null test on audio exported from two different daws, you won't hear anything, as expected. Where they differ is in their stock plugins, workflow, and the math behind their faders and automation. The ableton workflow/stock fx might steer you towards a specific sound, and the Fl workflow/stock fx might push you towards a different sound. One example I can think of off the top of my head is the grain delay/erosion combo in ableton that's so popular in neuro. It's a very deep subject, so don't think about it. If you want to do anything music related, then you HAVE to listen to all kinds of music, even styles of music you don't like. Don't just stick to video game soundtracks. Learn about the artists and people behind all the music too. Discogs, bandcamp, youtube, soundcloud, and spotify are all valuable tools for finding new music. When you listen, listen closely to all the details as they are, but not to critique them and say you can do better, otherwise you won't enjoy music anymore. Enjoy music. Scoring for film, art installations, or video games is very different from just making music. It's hard to articulate, but you'll find out if you end up doing it. It's a good experience. Animators often upload drafts or scraps on vimeo that you can use to practice, if you're looking to build up a portfolio. Video game sound design can get very complicated (see the Mr Bill podcast with Mick Gordon). Gearslutz is valuable if you know how to filter the bullshit and know exactly what you're looking for. Would not recommend for beginners. There are a lot of bullshit audio myths that people online believe, don't fall for gold plated cables. I have found that monitoring at low volumes reduces ear fatigue and helps me make better decisions, especially with headphones. Speaking of headphones, don't fall for all the bullshit marketing. Test new pairs of headphones or speakers out on your own. I like to use albums that I'm extremely familiar with to test new stuff. Speaking of headphones specifically, many people say you can't mix and master well with headphones. I would recommend getting at least a cheap pair of speakers, even if your room isn't treated or you can't play music loud. If your main thing is headphones, then get very familiar with them. Most headphones don't do bass very well. You can test your mix in your car to check bass. Some people say you need analog equipment to mix and master properly. I actually bought a tape machine to run all my stuff through, but it was bulky and slow, and it didn't fit my workflow very well. What you should get out of that anecdote is that, like everything else, it's up to your preference. If you want the analog sound, go for it. I like the analog sound, but I don't have space, so I make do with software. Nowadays, I think you can get by with software well enough for mixing. Mastering is different, and if you aren't a mastering engineer, you should outsource to a real one. Mixing and mastering are 2 completely different things, but they're related. A good mix will get a good master. Using sonarworks reference is like getting new headphones. It'll take time to get used to. Get off /mu/. You will get worse if you stay there. The most important thing, and the quickest way to learn, is hands on experience and experimenting. You can watch all the tutorials in the world and learn nothing. I Hope this helps. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I think all of the other advice on here is pretty solid, but I'll make one potentially controversial point that's more relevant to composing music than it is to mixing and mastering. Feel free to ignore if that isn't what you're reading this for, or if you disagree. It's more of a personal opinion than anything else: If you want to write music or play an instrument, you should study jazz. If you don't like jazz, start with modern jazz and work your way backwards. The Blue Note catalog is a good start. The last few pages of John Riley's "The Art of Bop Drumming" and "Beyond Bop Drumming" also have many good album recommendations. Find them on libgen. Ryo Fukui - Scenery is NOT a good start, that album fucking sucks. Every good musician I have come across, jazz musician or metal or anything else, has listened to a lot of jazz or jazz influenced music. Lady Gaga loves Coltrane. Modern western music is mostly based on jazz, even electronic music. Keep in mind that jazz isn't about doing crazy harmonic shit like jacob collier, it's about freeing your mind up to play whatever comes to mind, and SOUL. The musicians are doing crazy shit, but they're feeling it out. Fuck jacob collier. There are many resources online for you to learn jazz harmony, and I'll link a few. https://www.youtube.com/c/weeklypiano/playlists run by Greg Spero, check out his band Spirit Fingers https://www.youtube.com/user/openstudionetwork open studio, run by peter martin who has played with christian mcbride, wynton marsalis, josh redman, roy hargrove, greg hutchinson and terence blanchard, among many others. https://libgen.is/search.php?req=omnibook&lg_topic=libgen&open=0&view=simple&res=25&phrase=1&column=def 60 Charlie Parker solos Don't ignore classical music either.