After more than 500 episodes of @RecordingStudioRockstars , Lij Shaw has spent countless hours exploring how other producers, engineers, and artists make great records. In this episode, we flip the script and explore the artist behind the podcast.
Lij joins Nate and Neil to trace his unconventional journey from architecture school to playing blues five nights a week in Hong Kong, discovering recording engineering, and eventually building The Toy Box Studio in East Nashville. He also opens up about the growing need to create music for himself after decades spent helping other artists realize their musical dreams.
The conversation explores Lij’s month-long songwriting retreat in Costa Rica, the portable setup that helped him write and record on the beach, and the power of collaboration, accountability, and shared ownership. Lij also offers thoughtful advice for anyone building a home studio: decide whether you’re creating a critical listening room or a space that makes it effortless to pick up an instrument and create—because those priorities don’t always lead to the same room.
Key Five Takeaways:
1. Helping others create doesn’t replace creating for yourself
2. Collaboration creates accountability—and better records
3. Changing your environment can change your creative behavior
4. Build your studio around what you actually want to do
5. The best creative tool is the one that helps you finish music
Resources and Links:
More Lij:
Recording Studio Rockstars - https://recordingstudiorockstars.com/
The Toy Box Studio - https://www.thetoyboxstudio.com/
Lij Shaw on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/artist/493pQhEnKsrrRaJFHo1rK5
Poetry Scores - https://poetryscores.blogspot.com/
Lij Shaw’s Nashville home-studio case - https://ij.org/client/lij-shaw/
Songwriting and Music:
How to Write Songs - https://howtowritesongs.org/
How to Write Songs on YouTube - @htws
GoHill Records - https://www.hollywoodrecordingstudio.com/gohil-records
Studios, Education, and Media:
Middle Tennessee State University Recording Industry program - https://www.mtsu.edu/program/recording-arts-and-technologies-bs-m-f-a/
Mix Magazine - https://www.mixonline.com/
WRVU Nashville - https://wrvu.org/
Bonnaroo - https://www.bonnaroo.com/
Gear Mentioned:
Martin Backpacker Guitar - https://www.google.com/search?q=martin+backpacker+guitars
Carl Tatz Design and PhantomFocus - https://carltatzdesign.com/
ADAM Audio D3V - https://us.adam-audio.com/products/d3v
Grace Design - https://gracedesign.com/
Lynx Studio Technology - https://www.lynxstudio.com/
Slate Digital VSX - https://stevenslateaudio.com/vsx/
Native Instruments - https://www.native-instruments.com/
iZotope - https://www.izotope.com/
Listen to Sound Discussion:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-discussion/id1727711992
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4QLiTjT6OpY3prLIL8QoqD
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Sound Discussion Is:
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