Archive
Monthly Archives: July 2016
Monthly Archives: July 2016
Although it may not be entirely obvious if you’re not listening carefully, music production has changed immensely from the early days of 16 and 24 track recording until now (hits made before multitrack recording were even more different by virtue of the limited tracks available). Here are some observations on how the production of today […]
Continue readingIf you’re a guitar player you may own a Les Paul, and if you’re an engineer you probably have to record one from time to time. That’s a good enough reason to learn all you can about the instrument, so here’s a great video that points out 5 things you probably didn’t know about the […]
Continue readingWith virtual reality becoming more and more popular, surround sound is making a comeback. While most of the concentration on the audio side of things is on mixing, the fact of the matter is that there’s a lot of interesting information that can be captured during recording. Here’s an excerpt from my Recording Engineer’s Handbook […]
Continue readingWe all love vinyl and if you’re an artist you’d like to release your next album on it. The problem is the long 6 month+ wait times at the pressing plants and the big orders that you have to place just to get in line. Qrates.com offers vinyl orders for as few as 100 copies, […]
Continue readingIt looks like Fairlight will be leaving the audio business soon as it recently put those assets up for sale. The Australian company has been a pioneer in digital audio in both music and more recently postproduction and has always made very robust hardware and software, but in a market that’s increasingly going downmarket in terms […]
Continue readingEven back before the cassette days engineers and producers checked their mixes in their cars. Back then, some studios maintained a low power AM transmitter on site so you could run out to your car to make a quick check, but now we use all sorts of portable files to check on everything from computers to phones to even […]
Continue readingUsually you’ll find an isolated post or song analysis here on a Friday, but after a number of years of doing that and really taking a close look at many of the classic songs that we all grew up hearing, I thought that an overall analysis would be worthwhile. The 60s and 70s were a […]
Continue readingI know that you love the look of your front studio wall so much that you hate the fact that those unsightly studio monitors are blocking it, but now there’s a solution. It’s Turtle Beach’s new Hypersound Glass speakers that have the added benefit of radiating directionally as well. Turtle Beach has been working on […]
Continue readingIt’s inevitable that it’s going to happen during some point in the project. There’s going to be a strong disagreement between two of the parties involved, and the producer is going to have to diplomatically sort it out. Even worse, the conflict can come between the artist and the producer, which requires a deft hand […]
Continue readingI know that it’s common to feel like you’ve just heard the loudest sound in the world when leaving your local club after a metal band does its thing, or maybe compare that to the launch of Saturn V vehicle, but neither of those are even close. According to a fascinating article in the FiveThirtyEight, the loudest sound in […]
Continue readingOn this week’s Inner Circle Podcast #118 I’m happy to feature Bobby Summerfield, my compadre from the AudioNowcast, as my guest. Bobby’s worked with a variety of great artists ranging from Michael Jackson to Carole King to world music superstar Johnny Clegg to the legendary Harry Belafonte. He’s also a composer with his own music […]
Continue readingWe’ve been used to the keyboard, mouse and trackpad as our main computer interface for a long time now, but didn’t you ever wish for more control than these single dimensional input devices provide? Meet the Sensel Morph, a multi-touch pressure sensitive controller that rethinks the way we input data in just about any application. The […]
Continue readingHere’s a real treat. It’s the isolated vocal track from the title track of David Bowie’s iconic Ziggy Stardust album and it features not only David’s excellent vocal skills, but producer/engineer’s Ken Scott’s impeccable production as well. For those of you who don’t know or don’t remember, I co-wrote Ken’s autobiography Abbey Road To Ziggy Stardust […]
Continue readingSince 1983 Rane Corporation has been manufacturing well-engineered, well-respected audio gear that, unlike other audio gear manufacturers, is made exclusively in the United States. The Seattle-area company began in the inexpensive band and studio gear space, but soon found that it’s products were better suited to the sound contractor niche, and later, innovative DJ gear, where it has […]
Continue readingOne of the things that many musicians and engineers don’t realize is that there’s a way to actually measure sound isolation, and this excerpt from my Studio Builder’s Handbook (co-written with Dennis Moody) shows a real world comparison between different materials and isolation levels. “Before we get into how sound isolation is accomplished, we need […]
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