Category Archives for "Production"
For beginning musicians and engineers, it’s sometimes difficult for them to find the groove of a song. That’s usually because they haven’t been exposed to a groove-monster player who makes everything sound better just by laying it down. That experience will forever stick in your brain and you’ll always know a groove the second you […]
Continue readingOne of the problems that I consistently hear in the song and mix critiques that I do is uneven song endings. The majority of them have endings where the tail of the reverb or the fade is cut off, or the fade on the last note isn’t smooth. The problem is that anyone that listens […]
Continue readingI think it’s fair to say that most songwriters have their own approach to writing. Some start with the music or beat and then write to that; others have the lyrics first and then fit the music to them. For many writers, the music is easy but the lyrics are difficult. If that describes you, […]
Continue readingLet’s say you want to build the perfect home studio. There are some restrictions though, in that you can’t do any physical construction and you don’t have enough room for a console of any type. What would you buy? I have some ideas. Keep in mind that my suggestions below have lots of alternatives that […]
Continue readingThere are a lot of very cool audio tools available these days, and more are released every week. Thankfully we’re getting to the phase where developers are reaching for new capabilities instead of just replicating the processors of the past, but that’s another story for another day. One very cool new online audio tool is […]
Continue readingThis is a fun one. For everything that thinks they know how to play The Who’s iconic “Won’t Get Fooled Again” guitar part, think again. Here’s the original isolated guitar track in all its glory and you’ll probably gain new respect for Pete Townshend as a result of a listen. One of the things about […]
Continue readingIt’s pretty common for a musician or artist to finish a mix and not know how it’s going to play against other songs in the real world. Yes, there are plugins that allow you to do a listening comparison, but most don’t give you much more information than level differences. That’s where Expose 2 from […]
Continue readingWhether you do it before you hit the studio or at the studio before the session, the drum kit will need some time to be prepped so it will sound it’s best. Here’s a simple checklist from my Recording Engineer’s Handbook to follow to prep your drums before you set up any mics. Have the […]
Continue readingA major element of a mix is dimension, which is the ambient field that the track or tracks sits in. Dimension can be captured while recording, but it’s usually created or enhanced when mixing by adding effects such as reverb, delay, or modulation. Dimension might mean re-creating an acoustic environment, but it could also mean […]
Continue readingIt’s easy to think that getting a good mix is just a matter of pushing up some faders, getting a reasonable balance, adding some effects, and you’re finished. Although that might work for a rough mix, there are still a number of intangibles that are vitally important to a great mix. Awareness is always the […]
Continue readingYou kind of expect your data to be collected and shared from any number of websites, social networks, and ecommerce sites these days, but when those practices are adopted by your DAW, does that finally cross the line? When the free DAW Audacity changed its terms of service agreement on July 2nd for its upcoming […]
Continue readingI get asked often what plugins I usually use. Just like everyone else, I change the plugins in my standard template that I use more often than I realize. That’s because mixing tastes change, new plugins are introduced, and different combinations seem to work best with one another. That said, here are the Top 10 […]
Continue readingThe 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 […]
Continue readingWe haven’t done an isolated track for a while so it’s time for another one. For those of you who have heard The Who’s “Pinball Wizard” over and over for the last 50 years, you’ve probably never heard some of the parts in great detail (I know I haven’t). Here are the isolated acoustic and […]
Continue readingIt’s true that different people have different ideas of what constitutes a great sounding drum kit, but in the studio it usually means a kit that’s well-tuned and free of buzzes and sympathetic vibrations. Free of sympathetic vibrations means that when you hit the snare drum, for instance, the toms don’t ring along with it. […]
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