That one neighbor who keeps giving unsolicited mixing advice

Guy from three houses down walked into my backyard studio last Saturday without knocking. Told me my kick drum was "too boomy" and offered to show me his EQ settings from 2003. I stood there holding a mic cable for like 30 seconds before I said anything. Anyone else deal with random locals acting like they run the place?

2 comments

2 Comments

john_hunt210d ago

That thing about handing him a tambourine is gold. I used to think people like that were just annoying and you should kick them out. But honestly, that story changed how I see it. If you can just give them something simple to do, they usually chill out and even feel like they're helping. I had a guy come by last month complaining about my snare sound. I just handed him my phone and asked him to record the next take. He sat there quiet as a mouse for twenty minutes scrolling through his own camera roll.

ross.jessica10d ago

Heard a story from my buddy Paul... some retired guy showed up at his garage jam session holding a beat up copy of Sound on Sound from 2005. Pointed at Paul's interface and said "that's not gonna cut it, son." Paul just handed him a tambourine and said "here, you play this then." Guy actually stayed and shook the tambourine for like an hour before wandering off...