I Left Recording for 15 Years. Coming Back Was a Shock.

After taking a 15-year break from recording music, I built a new studio and found myself right back in the middle of recording bands, mixing albums, and producing music again. A lot has changed since I left the industry in the late 2000s. In this video I share my observations after returning to recording and mixing in 2026. From home studios and affordable recording gear to customer expectations, streaming platforms, YouTube tutorials, plugin chains, editing workflows, and modern production techniques, the recording world is very different from the one I left behind. Some changes are fantastic, some are frustrating, and some were completely unexpected. Whether you're a recording engineer, music producer, home studio owner, musician, or someone interested in how music production has evolved over the last 15 years, I hope you'll find something interesting here. Topics covered: • Recording studios then vs now • Home studios and affordable recording technology • Modern music production workflows • Mixing and mastering in 2025 • Customer expectations and streaming-era releases • Audio plugins, editing, and production trends • Returning to recording after a long break • Lessons learned from building a modern studio Let me know in the comments what changes you've noticed in recording, mixing, and music production over the last decade. Part 2 coming soon! #RecordingStudio #MusicProduction #AudioEngineering #MixingEngineer #RecordingEngineer #HomeStudio #MusicProducer #Mixing #RecordingMusic #StudioLife #AudioProduction #MusicIndustry #ProAudio #RecordingBands #MusicTechnology 👉 Don’t forget to LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and COMMENT below with your own experiences - I’d love to hear what gear or plugins you’re using! My Studio: https://rs2.uk If you want to purchase anything I use please consider using my Thomann affiliate link: https://clickfi.re/RABzXKVa Get 10% Off Dehancer Film Emulation Plugin! Use code DDF for 10% off at Dehancer.com Watch The 2020 Rendezvous band related comedy drama mini series:    • 2020 Rendezvous All Episodes   http://www.daviddomminney.com   / daviddomminneyfowler     / domminney     / domminney   00:00 Intro 01:22 Customer Expectations 06:02 Home Recording And Equipment 08:37 Car Testing Your Mixes 09:41 Monitoring 13:06 Power Consumption 15:04 Recording Roles Have Changed 18:49 Recall & Delivery 21:39 Playback System Inconsistencies 24:55 Summary & Goodbye