Category Archives for "Book Excerpt"
- in Book Excerpt , Engineering , Production , Video by Bobby Owsinski
The Reason Why You Can’t Hear Your Bass On Small Speakers
It’s happened to us all. We get a mix that’s just rocking out of our main monitors, yet when we play it on some tiny computer or phone speakers the bass instrument completely disappears. Here are some steps to take to ensure that the bass on your next mix will speak on just about any […]
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My Favorite Guitar Amp Miking Technique
There are about as many ways to mike an electric guitar amp cabinet as there are opinions on which music is the best, but there’s one that’s always been my favorite. The reason is that it provides a lot of versatility in sounds, something that we’re always looking for especially when guitars tracks are stacked. […]
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Ken Scott On Working At Trident With John Lennon And George Harrison
In an excerpt from his autobiography Abbey Road To Ziggy Stardust (which I was lucky enough to co-write), legendary producer/engineer Ken Scott describes what it was like to work at the famous Trident Studios in London with former Beatles John Lennon and George Harrison. “Trident Studios was located at 17 St. Anne’s Court, just off […]
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10 Points To Consider Before Recording Electric Guitar
There’s so much more that goes into recording an electric guitar that goes beyond just slamming a 57 up against the grill cloth of the speaker cabinet. Here are 10 points culled from the 4th edition of my Recording Engineer’s Handbook that you might want to consider before your next guitar recording session. 1. An […]
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Get That Gig With These 6 Audition Tips
It’s the dream of many musicians to get a gig with the touring band of a major artist, but getting the audition is a lot easier than getting the gig. Here’s an excerpt from my Touring Musician’s Handbook that provides some great audition tips from some of the top touring musicians. “Depending on how you look at […]
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The 10 Traits Of A Great Assistant Engineer
You may never work in a studio that has an assistant engineer, and if you own your own gear, you may never be one yourself, but it’s good to find out what an assistant in a major facility such as the Record Plant, Capitol, or United Recording really needs to know. Some of these tips come […]
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What To Look For When Choosing New Monitors
Choosing a set of monitors is a subject that I’ve gotten a lot of questions about lately, and it’s also something that I’m experiencing myself. I posted this before but it’s a good time for it again. It’s surprising that so many monitors speakers are purchased just from a review or word of mouth, since they’re […]
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How George Martin Changed The Finances Of The Record Business
When iconic record producer George Martin passed away a few years ago 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 […]
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An Interview With Producer/Engineer Ed Cherney
If you don’t know about producer/engineer Ed Cherney then you really should. Ed is one of the best engineers on the planet, with credits like Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, The Rolling Stones, Willie Nelson, John Mayer, and even Spinal Tap, among many others (you can see them all on his website) and he’s won 2 […]
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5 Basic Tips For Mixing Hip-Hop
It’s fair to say that most people reading my Mixing Engineer’s Handbook are mixing songs recorded with live musicians, but it’s a brave new world out there, and sooner or later you’re going to get some hip-hop in to mix. Needless to say, what works with most other genres won’t necessarily work here, especially when […]
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How To EQ For Size
There are many methods of adding EQ to a mix. EQing for clarity, resonant frequency EQing, and frequency juggling immediately come to mind. That said, one of the most overlooked technique is using the EQ to add size to an element, which is particularly important in sparse mixes. Here’s an excerpt from the 4th edition […]
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Troubleshoot Your Drum Sound With This Checklist
Like the foundation of a house, the drums are the foundation of a recording. When it’s strong, you can build almost anything on it that you or your clients can imagine. That said, sometimes you just can’t find the right drum sound and can’t figure out why. Here’s an excerpt from the 4th edition of my […]
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The Difference Between The Groove And The Pocket
Thanks to the world of DAWs, loops and samples, many producers, engineers, musicians and bands don’t know what the “groove” and the “pocket” of a song is. Because most every recording is placed exactly on the grid, it’s easy to come up with a beat or song that’s perfectly in time, but lacks a groove […]
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So You Want To Record In Jamaica
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, Richard Feldman has an equally rich history in reggae music production. With credits of amazing reggae music stars like Andrew Tosh, Joe Higgs, Junior Reid, The Congos, I Threes and Wailing Souls, he also won […]
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Make Your Session Run More Efficiently With This Overdub Checklist
An overdub session, especially one involving multiple players and parts, can deteriorate quickly into chaos without a plan. It’s easy to spend hours looking for the right performance or sound, but you can spend even more time experimenting if the producer didn’t expect that to happen and allot time for it. That’s why it pays to […]
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