Category Archives for "Engineering"
- in Book Excerpt , Engineering , Production , Recording by Bobby Owsinski
The 6 Track Editing Tips Every Mix Engineer Should Know
Mix engineers are called upon to do so much more than ever before. Individual track editing used to be done by the producer way before the mixing stage, but mixers now find that it’s part of the job they’re expected to do as part of the mix. Here are some tips for tweaking track timing […]
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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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Improve Your Mixes With These Mastering Compressor Tips
With powerful mastering tools now available to everyone, it’s easy to do more harm than good when self-mastering. Although you’re always better off going to a true mastering engineer, sometimes that’s just not in the budget. Here are a few mastering compressor tips that can also apply to mixing from the 4th edition of my […]
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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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Producer/Engineer Joe Barresi On Mixing Distorted Guitars
When it comes to hard rock guitar recording and mixing, producer/engineer Joe Barresi is considered the king. He’s worked with Soundgarden, Tool, Queens Of The Stone Age, Slipknot, among many others, and his work is widely admired by both artists and other top-of-the-line engineers. In this video he shows how he treats distorted rhythm and […]
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Believe It Or Not, Russian Hackers Are Trying To Save The Vinyl Album Sound
Even skeptics agree that once you’ve heard a recording on a well-cut piece of vinyl, it’s hard to go back to listening to anything else, especially to the digital streams that we’re all now used to. The problem with vinyl is that it’s not all done well, sometimes using inferior vinyl, and that it ultimately […]
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6 Things To Think About Before Miking A Grand Piano
Many engineers believe that miking a grand piano is the most difficult thing they’re called on to do. Getting it to sound natural can drive an engineer a little crazy sometimes, although that’s not always the sound we’re going for. That said, there are 4 main techniques and multiple variations of each outlined in the […]
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Old School/New School Mixing With Bassy Bob Brockman
“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, […]
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The Fix It Before You Mix It Checklist
Preparing 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 […]
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A One Word Description For Each Frequency Band
One of the things I’ve found over the years is that it’s easy to interpret the demands of a client during a mix if you understand what they’re trying to get across. It’s amazing how just a single word can describe a frequency condition if we know what to listen for. That said, it’s sometimes […]
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6 Tips For Adding Effects To A Mix
One 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 […]
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6 Exercises To Help You Visualize Your Mix
The 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 […]
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