Archive
Monthly Archives: May 2017
Monthly Archives: May 2017
Many producers using home or small studios are forced to use headphones late at night so they don’t disturb the family or the neighbors. That’s obviously not a method that many would recommend for a great mix, but it’s possible to attain something reasonable using headphones if you’re aware of the pros and cons involved, which […]
Continue readingArtists, producers and record labels have been obsessed over final mix volume levels for over 30 years now, as mix levels are raised to ridiculous levels where even distortion no longer matters. The problem is that we’ve known for a long time now that severely compressed low dynamic range mix levels are counterproductive and can even hurt it […]
Continue readingWhen drum machines first came out in the 80s we loved the programmability but hated the sound limitations. It’s funny how things work, but today it’s those limitations that everyone remembers and wants to recapture. One way to do that is with Wave Alchemy’s Revolution, a virtual drum machine that emulates the authentic sound of […]
Continue readingEngineer Eric Sarafin has had great success with artists like The Pharcyde, Tone Loc, Ben Harper, Lifehouse, Barenaked Ladies, Amy Grant, and Foreigner, among many others. He’s a great engineer/producer, and certainly deserves all the accolades that he’s received for that, but you might know him better for his writing under the name of Mixerman. […]
Continue readingHere’s something that I posted a couple of years ago that I felt I should repeat. There are a number of questions that I constantly get in emails, blog comments, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube – you name it. The same themes keep occurring so I want to present a few parameters so I can help you better. Here’s the […]
Continue readingJust like the acoustic bass (and just about all instruments), a great bass sound is dependent upon the instrument itself, the player, the amp, and the room. The player has to be able to achieve the tone you’re trying to record with his fingers first and foremost. This excerpt from the 4th edition of my […]
Continue readingVance Powell is one of the many engineers who has transitioned from mixing live sound to working in the confines of a studio. He’s worked both as monitor engineer (the toughest job in show business) and front of house for legend Tammy Wynette and Jars of Clay. But as a producer/engineer Vance has really shined, […]
Continue readingIt doesn’t matter how large or small your studio is, you have a mix of both analog and digital gear, and if you want to be able to access everything quickly and efficiently, then you need some sort of patchbay. Designing the signal flow and wiring of a patchbay takes some thought for sure, but […]
Continue readingSylvia Massy has an incredible resume that covers Queens Of The Stone Age, Black Crowes, Smashing Pumpkins, Johnny Cash, Prince, Tool, Lenny Kravitz, and many more. But what’s so cool about Sylvia is that she’s absolutely fearless when it comes to experimenting in the studio (check out her “pickle filter” video from a recent post). […]
Continue readingYou may have been here before. You’re producing a band but the song just isn’t coming together. If you’re experienced you probably know exactly what to do, but even after a couple of steps you might hit a dead end. This excerpt from my Music Producer’s Handbook provides 10 questions to ask in order to troubleshoot a […]
Continue readingThis is one of the best drum miking walk-throughs I’ve ever seen. In the video below, Neil Dorfsman (Dire Straits, Sting, Paul McCartney, Def Leopard, Bruce Springsteen to name just a few credits) covers how he mikes a drum kit, and he has several unique approaches that I’ve rarely heard before. Actually I’ve heard of most of […]
Continue readingI’ve been using coaxial monitors as part of my regular studio setup for a long time. As far as I’m concerned, there’s something about their “single-point source” nature that sounds right to me, and it’s something that other speakers with separated drivers just can’t seem to deliver, at least to my ears. Don’t get me wrong, […]
Continue readingBill Smith got a chance to do what most of us just dream about, and that’s assist for some of the engineering luminaries during his days as an assistant at Capitol Studios in Hollywood. But it gets better. For many years Bill was the personal assistant to the great Al Schmitt. There’s nothing like learning […]
Continue readingLet’s face it – when we have a choice between a windowless studio and one with bright sunlight we’ll take the one with windows all day long. The problem is that even though we can get some good isolation with some standard double pane glass and a third piece of plexiglass on top, it’s often […]
Continue readingRoom mics bring an overall finish to the drum sound and help to glue it all together. In many cases, they’ll fill in the sonic holes in the drum mix and make all the individual drums sound more like a complete drum set. That said, many times they are positioned rather randomly without much thought. […]
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