Category Archives for "Engineering"
- in Book Excerpt , Engineering , Production , Recording by Bobby Owsinski
Drum Tuning Techniques Every Engineer Should Know
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. […]
Continue reading- in Engineering , Uncategorized by Bobby Owsinski
Things About Tinnitus That You Didn’t Know
If you’re in the music industry, chances are you’ve had a bout of ringing in your ears at some point, and maybe it’s now even there permanently. Maybe the sound you’re hearing is a rushing sound, or a series of high frequency clicks, or even white noise. If that’s the case, the condition is known […]
Continue reading- in Engineering , Gear by Bobby Owsinski
Graphene Balls May Change Our Audio Devices
You might not have heard that there’s been a huge advancement in battery technology that’s likely to surpass anything that’s come before it. Samsung has developed a technology using graphene balls that not only will extend a battery’s capacity by 45%, but speed up the charging process to be about 5 times faster than what we’re […]
Continue reading- in Engineering , Production by Bobby Owsinski
Adding Depth With A Transient Designer Plugin
My good buddy Dave Pensado is always way ahead of most of us in so many areas of mixing, and one area in particular is his use of transient designer plugins. In the video below, Dave shows us how a transient designer plugin can actually increase or decrease depth in a mix. Of course, depth is […]
Continue reading- in Book Excerpt , Engineering , Production , Recording by Bobby Owsinski
8 Things To Check Before You Push The 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 […]
Continue reading- in Acoustics , Engineering by Bobby Owsinski
Cymatics: Music That You Can See
We all know that music is a series of vibrations, but we hear those effects and generally don’t see them. What if we could see them though? That’s what the science of Cymatics is all about. It allows us to see those audio vibrations, and the results are surprisingly orderly and beautiful. In this excellent […]
Continue reading- in Engineering , Gear , Production , Recording by Bobby Owsinski
6 Things I Bring To Every Recording Session
Over the years I’ve learned that there are a number of very simple items that I must bring to every recording session I go to just to be sure that my time in the studio is productive and comfortable. These items aren’t expensive, and while they may not be quite as important as your favorite mics […]
Continue reading- in Engineering , Production , Video by Bobby Owsinski
The Andy Wallace EQ Philosophy
Andy Wallace is one of my favorite mix engineers, with a wide variety of credits across different genres, ranging from Korn, Avenged Sevenfold and Nirvana to Kelly Clarkson and Faith Hill. Andy’s still old school in that he’s a console-in-the-studio guy, but that doesn’t diminish his mixes one bit. In fact, that very well may […]
Continue reading- in Book Excerpt , Engineering by Bobby Owsinski
An Interview With Andrew Scheps
Andrew Scheps has worked on mega-hit albums for a who’s-who of superstar artists such as Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, U2, Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, the Rolling Stones, Linkin Park, Jewel, Neil Diamond, and Adele. We had an excellent chat that was included in the latest edition of my Mixing Engineer’s Handbook, and here’s part of […]
Continue reading- in Book Excerpt , Engineering , Production , Recording by Bobby Owsinski
6 Editing Tips For Solid Natural Tracks
Mix engineers are called on to do so much more than ever before. Tweaking the track timing used to be done way before the mixing stage, but mixers now find it’s part of the job they’re expected to do. Here are some tips for tweaking track timing in you DAW from the Advanced chapter in […]
Continue reading- in Engineering , Production , Recording by Bobby Owsinski
Unusual Overdubs With Andrew Scheps
Noted engineer/producer Andrew Scheps is not afraid to think outside the box when it comes to recording or mixing. Many of us (especially if we’ve been in the business for a while) sometimes have one way to do something and stay ridged in that approach. You can’t do that with music though, since each song […]
Continue reading- in Engineering , Production by Bobby Owsinski
Jimmy Douglass On Mixing Justin Timberlake’s Vocals
After learning at the knee of engineer/producer Tom Dowd during Atlantic Records’ glory days, Grammy winning engineer Jimmy Douglass (affectionately known as “the Senator”) has gone on to become one of the most sought-after engineer/mixers in R&B, hip-hop, and rock. One of the few engineers who can cross genres with total ease and credibility, Jimmy […]
Continue reading- in Engineering , Production by Bobby Owsinski
Is Remastering Really Necessary?
With the introduction of some very nice mastering plugins that allow you monitor your mix as it would sound on various streaming services comes the misconception that you have to submit a different master for each one, which means “remastering” your master. It’s easy to see why one might think that, but actually this is […]
Continue reading- in Computer , Engineering , Gear by Bobby Owsinski
YuMi The Robot Shows How To Conduct An Orchestra
If you’ve followed this blog for any length of time, then you know that I post a fair amount about musical robots. I don’t know if it’s because of admiration or fear, but how they’re used in music is worth being aware of. As anyone who’s ever used a drum machine or software app knows, […]
Continue reading- in Book Excerpt , Engineering , Recording by Bobby Owsinski
6 Techniques For Miking A Drum Kit With A Single Mic
Just because you have a lot of mics and tracks at your disposal, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll get a great drum sound. Sometimes, the simplest methods can provide a realism that you just can’t get from close-miking every drum. Here are 6 techniques culled from my Recording Engineer’s Handbook that show how you […]
Continue reading