Category Archives for "Book Excerpt"
Chuck Ainlay is one of the new breed of Nashville engineers that brings a rock approach to a country music sensibility. With credits like George Strait, Dixie Chicks, Vince Gill, Trisha Yearwood, Patty Loveless, Waylon Jennings, Wynonna and even such rock icons like Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler, Chuck’s work is heard world-wide. Here’s an […]
Continue readingWe all love big wide stereo soundfields, especially the ones that come from the stereo output of an electronic keyboard. If you pan too many elements hard left and hard right however, you end up with “Big Mono,” which is a term that my friend Ed Seay likes to use. That means that you actually […]
Continue reading“Bassy” Bob Brockman has a wide range of awards and credits, including more than 30 Grammy nominations with two wins, and an Oscar nomination. His many credits include Mary J. Blige, Toni Braxton, the Notorious B.I.G., Babyface, Aretha Franklin, Al Green, The O’Jays, Brian McKnight, Jodeci, Faith Hill, Korn, Laurie Anderson, Vanessa Williams, Christina Aguilera, […]
Continue readingPreparing for the mix can be as critical as the mix itself, since it allows for a more comfortable and efficient mixing session that minimizes mistakes and hassles. This prep occurs before the first fader is raised but sets the stage for an easier and mistake-free mix by having the files properly labeled and all […]
Continue readingMany artists at varying levels of success put little thought into their stage presentation, and it shows. It’s a rare performer that can captivate an audience by his or her performance alone, and most audiences, even on a club level, expect to be entertained on multiple levels these days. In the following excerpt from my How […]
Continue readingOne of the reasons why we record elements in stereo is to capture the natural ambience of an instrument. Because we can’t always record everything this way, we must create this aural space artificially, and that can be a problem for some new to mixing. There are so many choices and variables available with effects […]
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 taken from my Audio Mixing Bootcamp book that […]
Continue readingEven if you never intend to record an ensemble larger than a standard rock, pop, or jazz rhythm section, a good grasp on the many techniques for stereo recording is essential and will come in handy sooner or later. One basic stereo technique is the spaced-pair, which is two identical mics placed several feet apart and […]
Continue readingA condenser microphone can sometimes require some extra attention that other types of mics don’t need. Here are a number of tips from the 4th edition of my Recording Engineer’s Handbook that can not only prolong the life of your mic, but also keep its performance as high as the day it left the factory. […]
Continue readingOne of the most overlooked or taken for granted elements in mixing is panorama, or the act of placing a sound element in the soundfield. To understand panorama we must first understand that the stereo sound system (which is two separate audio channels, each with its own speaker) represents sound spatially. Panning lets us select […]
Continue readingBest known for his work the hard rock bands Dio, Dokken, Foreigner, Bad Company and Great White, engineer Wyn Davis style in that genre is as unmistakable as it is masterful. From his Total Access Recording studio in Redondo Beach, California, Wyn’s work typifies old-school engineering coupled with the best of modern techniques. Here’s an excerpt […]
Continue readingBefore you can even delve into creating a great mix, it’s good to be aware of the traits of one that isn’t there yet. These 7 signs of a amateur mix come from the 4th edition of my Mixing Engineer’s Handbook and are useful in picking out problem areas, looking at it from a global […]
Continue readingAfter maintenance stints at such prestigious facilities as the Hit Factory in New York City and Ocean Way in Hollywood, Bock Audio Designs (formerly Soundelux) founder and managing director David Bock went from repairing vintage microphones to manufacturing them. David now utilizes his expertise to produce updated versions of the studio classics 251, U 47, […]
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, but there are some very simple general guidelines that can be an enormous help for those new to […]
Continue readingThere’s so much to more to getting a great electric guitar sound that goes beyond just slapping a miking in front of an amplifier speaker. These 10 tips from the 4th edition of my Recording Engineer’s Handbook will help take that guitar sound to the next level in the majority of situations that you’ll run […]
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