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Distorted Guitar Guitar Editing Made Easy

Distorted guitar editing

I don’t know about you but I’ve always found that it’s really difficult to do precise edits on a distorted electric guitar track. Here’s a great guitar recording tip that I got from Richard Chycki, engineer for Rush, Dream Theater, Aerosmith and many more that easily solves the problem. I liked it so much I’ve used […]

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What To Look For When Buying Your Next Direct Box

Your next direct box could be a Radial JDI, post on Bobby Owsinski's Music Production Blog

Direct boxes are something that we use every day in recording, yet take for granted because of their simplicity. If you’re not familiar with what they do, then you might be tempted to purchase the cheapest one you find, but there’s a real difference in the sound between brands and models. This excerpt from my […]

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Producer/Engineer Mack On Getting Great Guitar Sounds

Reinhold Mack image

With a who’s who list of credits such as Queen, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, The Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath, Electric Light Orchestra, Rory Gallagher, Sparks, Giorgio Moroder, Donna Summer, Billy Squire, and Extreme, the producer/engineer who goes simply by the name Mack has made his living making superstars sound great. Having recorded so many big […]

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The “Can’t Seem To Get This Sound To Work” Tracking Checklist

Tracking Checklist image

Did you ever try to record something that just didn’t sound quite right no matter what you did? It’s a lot more common situation than you might think. While it’s easy to just try a bunch of random things, sometimes that makes you more confused than ever. That’s when it’s time to break out this […]

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11 Considerations When Recording Background Vocals

Recording background vocals is a distinctly different process from recording solo vocals because of how they will eventually fit in the mix. That requires a different technique for both recording and production in order to get the best result. Here are 11 background vocal-related points lifted from the 4th edition of my Recording Engineer’s Handbook […]

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8 Tips For Getting A Singer’s Best Vocal Performance

Vocal Performance on Bobby Owsinski's Production Blog

One of the hardest things to record can be a vocalist who is not comfortable with the studio conditions. Even a seasoned pro sometimes can’t do his or her best unless the conditions are just right. Consider some of these suggestions culled from the 4th edition of my Recording Engineer’s Handbook before and during a […]

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5 Condenser Microphone Fallacies That Will Make You Think Differently About Them

KM54 condenser microphone on Bobby Owsinski's Production Blog

Condenser microphones are fraught with fallacies that often lead to misuse and poor results thanks to unreasonable expectations. This excerpt from the 4th edition of my Recording Engineer’s Handbook looks at 5 popular misconceptions about condenser microphones, along with why the real reason might not be what you think. 1. A large-diaphragm condenser has more low […]

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10 Tips For A Better Electric Guitar Recording

Electric guitar recording on Bobby Owsinski's Production Blog

There’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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Checking Drum Phase By Using Your Ears

drum mics phase

The chances for a phase problem are far greater on the drum kit than in almost any other band-level situation because it usually has more mics on it than any other instrument. That said, there is a simple technique for checking for a problem as outlined in this excerpt from the 4th edition of my […]

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Drum Tuning Techniques Every Engineer Should Know

drum tuning techniques

There’s no doubt that getting a drum sound is the number one priority for any recording that has a drummer. Sometimes you luck out and the drums sound great by just putting the mics in front of them, but other times they require more care in order to make them sound the way you want. […]

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8 Things To Check Before You Push The Record Button

Record button

“Everything set up? Cool, let’s record. Oh, wait, it doesn’t sound like I think it should.” At this point you can continue to record and deal with the consequences later, or stop and troubleshoot, but you might be chasing your tail and it could take longer than you want to get to where you want […]

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