Archive
Monthly Archives: March 2017
Monthly Archives: March 2017
Unless you live in a big media center like NY, LA or Nashville (or any big city for that matter), most artists and songwriters probably don’t have access to the caliber of musicians needed to really make their tracks as good as they can be. A company called Custom Tracks is trying to change that […]
Continue readingJust when you thought the world’s most prestigious recording studio couldn’t get any cooler, Abbey Road goes and launches not one, but two new recording spaces in the famous facility. The Gatehouse and The Front Room are aimed to be more affordable aimed at artists with budgets that can’t yet afford to work in one of the larger […]
Continue readingWhen it comes to a live drum sound during a tracking session, sometimes the smallest details can make a big difference when you consider that there are usually multiple mics involved. Changing one thing can sometimes make a difference, but sometimes it’s the fact that many small adjustments have a cumulative effective on the overall sound. […]
Continue readingThere’s no question that vinyl is back with a bang, and as a result, so is the turntable business. In fact, most turntable manufacturers both big and small have experienced double digit sales growth in the last few years, a trend that looks like it won’t be stopping anytime soon. But what exactly goes into […]
Continue readingMost processor plugins these days fall into roughly the same categories (EQ, compression, effects, denoise and utilities), so when a plugin comes along that starts a new category it’s big news. The plugin I’m talking about is the the Eventide Fission, which uses what the company calls its new Structural Effects (that would be the name of […]
Continue reading“Don’t Stop Believin’” is one of those classic rock songs that keeps on going and refuses to fade away. You hear it at sporting events, on television and movies, and on the radio even after 35+ years since it was recorded. Journey had a lot of success at its peak, but this may be song […]
Continue readingI’m a purist when it comes to guitar pedals I must admit. Back when I was a serious player, my guitar rig devolved from one with the typical half-dozen+ pedals to none, as my sound came the “classic” way from just the guitar and amp (and sounded great, by the way). The same with the […]
Continue readingIf you’re doing a session in Los Angeles and you want your drums to instantly sound great, then your first call is to the Drum Doctors to either rent a fantastic sounding kit, or have your kit tuned. Ross Garfield is the Drum Doctor and you’ve heard his drum sounds on platinum recordings from Bruce […]
Continue readingIf you were going to show someone how to make it in the music business, you’d point to engineer and mixer Drew Drucker as the perfect example. Drew graduated from recording school, then worked his way up in the business by starting as a runner and moving up the ladder thanks to hard work, paying […]
Continue readingIf you love old recording desks, then you have a chance to buy not one, but 2 iconic consoles that have huge pedigrees with tons of hits. The first is the EMI TG12345 MK IV from Abbey Road Studios made famous for the recording of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon, and albums by Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Kate Bush, […]
Continue readingSometimes style and image is a higher priority than the actual sound of a device, and if that describes your place in the music business, then you’re going to want to check out the Von Erickson Labs Skull Microphone. Von Erickson already makes jewelry based around a certain creepy zombie theme, so a microphone was an easy reach […]
Continue readingUsually on a Friday I post an isolated track from the studio mix of a hit song. The studio is one thing, since we’re after perfection and there are many tools to help achieve that (including hard work). That said, top artists make most of their money from live performances, so maybe we should take a […]
Continue readingMany musicians feel threatened by the artificial intelligence programs that are now trying to create songs based on the music that they’ve learned. Yes, it’s scary when the robots take over, but perhaps we’re looking at it all wrong, as illustrated with this Google AI music experiment. A.I. Duet, as shown in the video below, is […]
Continue readingI was asked by a guitar player recently why his tone wasn’t what he wanted, and the first thing that got my attention was the maze of stomp boxes he was using. Although that wasn’t the only problem with his rig, it was a good place to start, since everything was connected more or less […]
Continue readingIf you’re a Mac computer owner then there’s a good chance that you’ve purchased hard drives, memory or accessories from Other World Computing or OWC (I know I have – a lot). OWC founder and CEO Larry O’Connor joins me for a conversation about new and old Macs, upgrades, and performance enhancements on this week’s […]
Continue reading