Category Archives for "Book Excerpt"
There 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 […]
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It’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 […]
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For 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 […]
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If 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 […]
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You 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 […]
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One 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 […]
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Many 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 […]
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When 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 […]
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Even 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 […]
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I 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 […]
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There 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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Knowing the proper studio etiquette while recording is almost as important as doing your gig. If you make people uncomfortable or do something that’s considered out of place, chances are that you won’t be asked back. Let’s look at the way everyone expects you to act during the session with these 11 tips. Most of […]
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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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“How do I choose a set of studio monitors?” This question comes up a lot, and although I’ve addressed it before, it’s time to do it again. When it comes to monitor speakers, there are certainly plenty of choices, and currently there’s no single favorite. A Standard? It would be great if there was a […]
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The pandemic is on the downward slide, many areas are now fully open, and pretty soon artists and bands will be back gigging again. It’s time to get those chops back up to speed, which means voice as well as fingers. Since the vocalist is the only musician who can’t put their instrument away in […]
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