Have Trouble Writing Lyrics? Let This AI App Help You.

I 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, […]

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Imagining The Perfect Home Studio: What Would You Buy?

Let’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 […]

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This Free Online Audio Tool Can Remove Vocals, Change Keys, Find The Song BPM, And More

There 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 […]

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Pete Townshend Isolated Guitar Track On “Won’t Get Fooled Again”

This 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 […]

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New Music Gear Monday: Mastering The Mix Expose 2 Quality Control App

It’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 […]

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Prep Your Drums For Recording With This Checklist

Whether 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 […]

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The 6 Principles For Adding Effects

A 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 […]

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The Arrangement And Performances – The Intangibles Of A Mix

It’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 […]

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New Version Of Audacity Has Users Worried About Their Personal Data

You 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 […]

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My Top 10 Channel Plugins For 2021

I 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 […]

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7 Tips For Getting Your Voice Ready For Your Next Gig

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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Check Out Pete Townshend’s “Pinball Wizard” Isolated Guitar Tracks

We 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 […]

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Get A Great Sounding Drum Kit With These 3 Keys

It’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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The 10 Products That Shaped Music History

If we take a global view of the history of music, we find that over the last 100 years or so technology has driven the art form more than many realize. That said, if it wasn’t for a number of products that represented real advances, music would not only sound different today, but be delivered […]

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12 Steps To Great Overdub Performances

Many times the ear candy of an overdub session can really make or break a song, but sometimes it’s not easy to create to capture that magic. Here’s an excerpt from the second edition of my Music Producer’s Handbook that can act as either an outline or as a reminder to check a number of critical points both […]

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