The beauty of music is that anyone can choose to pursue it. From using one’s voice, to drumming on buckets, to playing on top end guitars there are many instrument options available for free, as well as for a hefty sum. Acquiring the highest end of sonic tools is not indicative of a musician's ability, skill is. Skill forged from endless hours of practice and learning. From experimentation, finding lessons in failures and successes, from learning how to pair natural ability with learned technique. These are the traits that separate one musician from another and stand as identifying markers to the listener.

The audio engineer walks on a road parallel to the musician. As computers become more powerful, as the digital vs. analog fervor continues to settle, as room acoustic knowledge becomes more commonplace, and headphone room emulation becomes more refined and accessible, professional quality tools will be in more abundance than ever before. An engineer's value will be stripped down to its most basic measurement, skill. Skill defined by the ability to take all of one's knowledge, creativity, and taste and put it to the task of record making. Knowing how and when to make adjustments, knowing how to communicate with a client, knowing how to assist a client in reaching their goals are the most important traits an engineer can possess in today's world, and will be the only traits that matter to musicians seeking engineers in the future. When anyone can have a studio, the only questions a musician will want answered is "can you help me more than I can help myself and what separates you from everyone else?" Successful engineers will have an answer.