So I just acquired a great new piece of studio gear - called the t.c. electronic Finalizer and it cost me a pretty $2000 of my hard-earned green. When I think about it, although I'm quite happy about all my equipment purchases, there are no other items that stand out quite as much as the Finalizer and my pair of K-ROK near-field monitor speakers.
While sound modules and effect units have spurred creative new compositions and productions, there's really nothing quite as liberating as knowing that the sound that my ears are hearing compares to the sound quality that is found on commercial recordings. Conversely, in evaluating myself and my progress in composing, performing, producing, and engineering, there's been nothing more frustrating - when comparing my songs head-to-head with commercial hits as the reference - than feeling that somehow my songs' sound quality and punchiness is compromised by lacking the professional mastering processes used in larger studios - buried, as it where, under a layer of grime.
This then leads to doubts and insecurities as to the quality of the actual music itself - the lyrics, music, arrangement, production, performance, and engineering. All spurred by the fact that the commercial hits "strike" out at you. Now, I'm under no illusion that my newly acquired end-stage sweetening has made my music stand up there with all the great pop hits, but at least I can make a more objective and clearer assessment of how the actual content measures up - or doesn't measure up. It's as if I was looking at the hit reference content through an open window and looking at my content through fogged up glass with several years of accumulated muck on it. Well, no longer.