Archive

Monthly Archives: October 2016

New Music Gear Monday: A-Designs Mix Factory Summing Amp

A-Designs Mix Factory

Mixers either swear by outboard analog summing amps or don’t see the need for them at all, but the ones that do are very passionate about them. We’re now into the second generation of summing amps, and the latest ones are incorporating a lot of features that the the first gen didn’t have. That’s one […]

Continue reading

Deep Purple “Space Truckin'” Isolated Organ Track

Jon Lord

The original Deep Purple lineup had a very unique sound in the annals of rock, and much of that was because of Jon Lord’s organ. While most organ players want their Hammond’s to sound like the instrument they are, Lord treating his C3 more like a guitar, going as far as plugging it directly into […]

Continue reading

The Long Lost Secret To The AC/DC Guitar Sound

shaffer-vega wireless system

When we listen back to those great early AC/DC albums like Back In Black and Highway To Hell we think of what may be the epitome of hard rock guitar sounds. While on the surface you’d look at Angus Young’s fingers on a Gibson SG into a JMP 100 Marshall amp and think that was the sound (and […]

Continue reading

The 5 Ways To Become A Studio Musician

The Wrecking Crew

On the journey to becoming a successful studio musician, a lot of roads lead to the same place, but the way it usually works is that someone hears and likes your playing and either hires you or refers you as a result. This excerpt from my Studio Musician’s Handbook (written with studio bassist Paul ILL) outlines the […]

Continue reading

Dirk Ulrich From Brainworx And Plugin Alliance On Episode #132 Of My Latest Inner Circle Podcast

Dirk Ulrich

Dirk Ulrich is the founder of 2 great music plugin companies, Brainworx and Plugin Alliance, but his journey into software development involved an extensive stint as a studio owner and producer first. In this interview, we talk about some of the company’s very cool plugins, Dirk’s outlook on the future of plugins, as well as […]

Continue reading

New Music Gear Monday: MXL DX-2 Dual Capsule Microphone

MXL DX-2

Most directional condenser microphones have dual capsules, but they’re almost always identical, and it’s how they’re placed that makes the mic directional. That said, what if you created a mic that had 2 capsules, but one was a large diaphragm and the other was small so you could get a combination of the sound of the two […]

Continue reading

Choosing the Right Microphone For The Job

Choosing the right microphone

While it’s safe to say that most engineers rely on experience when choosing which microphone to use in a given situation, these are some things to consciously consider when selecting a microphone. Here’s a list of items to think about from the latest edition of my Recording Engineer’s Handbook. There’s no one mic that works well on everything. […]

Continue reading

Mike Dias From Ultimate Ears On Episode #131 Of My Inner Circle Podcast

Mike Dias

If you’re like me, you don’t have a huge amount of experience with in-ear monitors. I’d just gotten fitted for a set, and thought it would be a great idea to find out as much as I could about them, so I asked Ultimate Ears sales director Mike Dias to come on this week’s podcast […]

Continue reading

New Music Gear Monday: Drawmer MC3.1 Monitor Controller

Drawmer MC3.1

One almost essential accessory for any computer-based DAW is the monitor controller, and there are a lot of them to choose from these days in just about all price ranges. Most of them in the sub-$1,000 range, while quite capable, are usually without some feature or features that you wish it would have. That’s what […]

Continue reading

Michael Jackson “Beat It” Instrumental Track

beat it instrumental

It’s time to listen inside another big hit from the past. This time it’s the instrumental version of Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.” It’s actually pretty amazing what you can hear once you strip the vocal off, although it shouldn’t be too surprising since it is the center of attention. Here’s what to listen for: 1. […]

Continue reading