Category Archives for "Book Excerpt"
With so much music being created with loops and samples, it almost seems like having a group of real musicians play together is becoming a lost art. Because going the electronic route is so easy, many producers or potential bands give up when things don’t sound right, and they don’t know why. The fact of […]
Continue readingEqualization is one of the most difficult parts of recording to get the hang of since there’s literally almost an infinite number of possibilities. Most of us learn by experience and usually massive amounts of trial and error before our ears become trained to recognize EQ problems when we hear them, but there are some very […]
Continue readingThe essence of mixing is the balance between instruments or mix elements. No matter how good you are at other aspects of the mixing process, if you don’t get the balance right, you don’t have a mix. Here are some questions to ask yourself as well as 6 exercises that will help you visualize your mix before […]
Continue readingWhen iconic record producer George Martin passed away in 2016 it brought effusive thoughts, memories and well-deserved accolades from all quarters of the music business. Most dwelled on Sir George’s creative accomplishments, and truly there were many. Just his work with The Beatles alone changed the way we make music forever, not to mention his work with other top selling artists […]
Continue readingThere are a lot of musicians that think they can play reggae, but unless you’ve actually been to Jamaica and exposed to the culture, it’s usually just a hollow rendition. Although known more recently as a music publisher with his Artist First Music as well as being the former president of the American Independent Music Publishers association, my good buddy […]
Continue readingIt’s inevitable. No matter how many times you’ve built a studio, you have that “Oops, I forgot,” moment at the end. If you’re lucky, it’s something that isn’t major, but a lot of people have been known to do things they’re sorry for later, like close up the walls before installing the electrical or the […]
Continue readingFor an artist, musician or band, not all gigs are created equally, mostly because of the stature of the artist and the purpose of the gig dictates the type of venue he or she plays. As a result, gigs can be divided into six general categories; local shows, one-offs, fly dates, mini-tours, full tours and corporate […]
Continue readingIf you’re recording a live performance, then you want to pick up some of the audience to make it sound realistic. Here are some techniques and considerations culled from the latest edition of my Recording Engineer’s Handbook. “Audience recording is both the key and the problem with live recording. It’s sometimes difficult to record the audience […]
Continue readingYou may have been here before. You’re working on a song but it 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 readingOne of the hardest things for many mixers to determine is when a mix is finished. In fact, engineers new to mixing may think a mix is ready in an hour, but a pro will usually take considerably longer in most cases. How much longer? Well, some big hit maker mixers that I know may spend up […]
Continue readingMany delay plugins today are either trying to directly emulate tape delay or have a tape delay setting. Setting up a tape delay used to be one of the first things you learned how to do when you started in the studio back in the analog days, since there was no other way to accomplish […]
Continue readingWhen you’re recording basic tracks, especially in an expensive commercial studio, it’s easy to get off track in a way that not only causes you to waste time, but money as well. These 5 session tips from the latest edition of my Music Producer’s Handbook will ensure that not only your tracking session, but all […]
Continue readingEven if you are great at recording drums and have a great sounding studio with an excellent signal chain, the two chief variables in the recording are the drummer and his or her drums. No amount of technique or gear can overcome a bad sounding kit or a drummer that hits inconsistently, but these enhancement […]
Continue readingI recently received a couple of questions on how sound isolation is determined, so I thought it would be a good time to bring this post back. One of the things that many musicians and engineers don’t realize is that there’s a tried and true way to actually measure sound isolation. This excerpt from my […]
Continue readingThere are a lot of immersive audio formats, and it’s easy to get confused in where they all fit in. In the latest 5th edition of my Mixing Engineer’s Handbook, I’ve made the distinctions between them more obvious by placing the various formats into one of 3 historical generations, as you’ll see in this excerpt. […]
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