So, I am going to need to replace my everyday computer with the one I've been using for music production, which means I need to upgrade my music computer. Currently using a Dell Inspiron 15 w/1TB memory and 16gb RAM. Interface is an older Focusrite Scarlett. I've had minimal issues, but occasional freezeups. I'm looking at ASUS (Tuf, perhaps) and plan to bump up the RAM. My questions are: 1. How important is the model, and the processor? I read that Pro Tools does not support AMD processors, so will probably go with Intel. 2. How much difference would a desktop with the same specs make?

Hi everyone. I hope you are all doing good. Today I celebrate one year of workouts, which is almost the same as one year on SoundGym. According to my wallet, I did my first workout on the 20th of August 2024 and did another 8 workouts from then since October of the same year. Then, on the 5th of April 2025 I bought the Pro version and haven’t stopped since (only one day I accidentally skipped the workout, but I did play some games). My first proper contact with EQ and compression was at the same time, through the free long courses on the topics by Mastering.com. Even though I was recording music prior to that, I never released anything, never mixed or mastered, never really used EQ and compression(!). Now, one SoundGym year later, I find myself with 14 million SPI; a percentile of 100%, consisting of above 99% on all 18 games (3 of them 100%); a percentile of 100% on BeatRace, holding the 10th position on its top legends; 48 medals of which 22 are gold; a gold medal on all but one of the last 12-16 weeks on EQ Ace (can’t remember the exact number). Lastly and most importantly, I find myself approaching my first release ever. It’s fair to say that I’ve grown a lot in this time, to a point I never believed was possible. I remember my first days on SoundGym, seeing great scores on the Olympics, the EQ Ace, high SPIs, and thinking: ‘no way I can go even in the vicinity of such level, let alone reach it’. I really did go from Zero to Hero, as they say, or, as Greek mythology has it, from Nobody (Οὔτις) to Odysseus (Ὀδυσσεύς). I want to say a big thank you to everyone in this community with whom I’ve interacted, and from whom I got support, whether musical or psychological. Mastering.com's Members Club was my first step into all this. Cheers to this great community, cheers to what’s to come!

I had almost finished 101 when the membership was switched to the Skool platform. Any reason I would need to go through and check off my previous progress, or is that just for me to know? Getting ready to move forward . . .

Hey everyone, excited to share the details of our next virtual event, which is a brand new format! It’s called the “Studio Launch Challenge” and in just 2 days, you will launch your home studio business, so you can start getting clients as a freelance mixing/mastering engineer or producer. Topics covered include: identifying your target avatar, creating your website, setting up your socials, client acquisition, marketing, sales, and more. RSVP via the link below. It’s free to attend, and replays will be sent to all registrants. Starts Monday, March 16th at 9am PDT / 12pm EDT / 4pm GMT / 5pm CET (Note the slightly different start times to usual due to clocks changing in the US but not the UK/Europe yet) RSVP HERE: https://courses.mastering.com/event_full/1772881798836x249903930068959230?utm_source=MemberSkool See you there! -Rob

With the Studio Launch Challenge coming up next week (info here) I thought it would be fun to get an idea of what everyone here is working towards. Answer below!