Get Ready For Some Deals As RAM And SSD Prices Are About To Fall

There’s good news if you’re about to update your workstation. It looks like both RAM and SSD prices are about to plummet, and we’re all going to be the winners as a result. As you probably know, your pocketbook can get raked over the coals when it comes to either of these upgrades, even if […]

Continue reading

The Ins And Outs Of Reference Tracks

The use of reference tracks is a topic that has been popping up a great deal lately and there seems to lots of confusion as to how to select and use them. Here’s a quick guide that will tell you all you need to know on the subject. Why Use A Reference Track? The reason […]

Continue reading

Stairway To Heaven Lawsuit, Rickenbacker Dumps Guitar Center, And AmplifyX Founder Adam Cowherd On My Latest Podcast

My guest on the podcast this week is Adam Cowherd, the founder of AmplifyX, a company that bridges the financial gap between musicians and fans by letting supporters invest in artists like startups. When his work with Ernst & Young in the financial sector landed Adam in Los Angeles, it wasn’t long before he started seeing gaps in the music […]

Continue reading

New Music Gear Monday: Empirical Labs Big FrEQ Equalizer Plugin

Equalizer plugins are a dime a dozen. Every DAW comes with at least one, and every plugin developer offers one. Why then does the world need another EQ plugin, you might ask? When the developer is Empirical Labs, you know that it’s going to be different, and Big FrEQ certainly is. Big FrEQ is an […]

Continue reading

Engineer Andrew Scheps On The Value Of Your Work

Andrew Scheps has a long list of great mixing credits, from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Adele to Metallica to Justin Timberlake and many more. He’s also one of uber-producer Rick Rubin’s go-to mixers. His excellent advice on the value of your work comes from The Music Business Advice Book, which excerpt from his […]

Continue reading

Dewey Bunnell From America, No Artist Pay For Airplay, And New Acoustic Advances On My Latest Podcast

My guest on the podcast this week is Dewey Bunnell, who’s a founding member and half of the band with a lot of big hits that you probably know well – America.  Dewey’s best known compositions include “Horse With No Name,” “Ventura Highway,” “Tin Man” and “The Border,” among many others. During this long interview we talked about […]

Continue reading

New Music Gear Monday: United Plugins Quick AG Acoustic Guitar Plugin

Mixing acoustic guitars can be finicky mostly because there’s such a wide variance between them and the ones you have handy might not compliment the track. Many mixers who can get an electric guitar to fit in the mix in no time sometimes can take ages with an acoustic, and that’s why the new Quick […]

Continue reading

A Guide To Miking Brass Instruments

If you’ve not had much experience miking brass instruments then your first inclination might be to put a mic right on the bell of the instrument and call it a day. That probably won’t get you the result that you want though, but these tips culled from the 4th edition of my Recording Engineer’s Handbook […]

Continue reading

Music Videos Coming To Facebook, Capturing The Sounds Of Mars, And Songwriter/Entrepreneur Adam McInnis On My Latest Podcast

My guest on the podcast this week is Adam McInnis, who’s a singer/songwriter most known for his work on tv and film as well as for collaborating with the top DJ’s of EDM.  He has interests in 3 publishing companies, a recording studio in Austin, a skin care line, and a yearly songwriter camp in Costa Rica called […]

Continue reading

New Music Gear Monday: Aston Element Microphone That’s Crowd-Designed

It’s difficult to be surprised by a new microphone these days. After all, the basic designs haven’t changed in more than a hundred years, and for the most part, we just get tiny evolutions with each new model that’s introduced. The new Aston Element microphone is breaking that trend though, as it has a couple […]

Continue reading

Get Better Sounds With This Microphone Selection Checklist

One question that I get on a regular basis is, “What microphone should I buy for my vocals?” The expectation is that I’m going to say, “Definitely buy XYZ because it’s going to make you or your clients sound like a million bucks!”, but unfortunately things are never that cut and dried. Regrettably there’s no […]

Continue reading

Gen-Z Influencing Listening, The 5 Mix Elements, And Composer David O On My Latest Podcast

My guest on the podcast this week is David O, who’s work as a composer is enhanced by his unique skills as a multi-faceted music-theatre artist, pianist, conductor, arranger, vocal coach, and sometimes actor.  He’s received numerous awards and accolades over the years for his work, including Ovation Awards, LA Weekly and LA Drama Critics Circle Awards, Backstage […]

Continue reading

New Music Gear Monday: 2gether Audio Space Duck Ducking Delay And Reverb Plugin

Audio ducking, or the process of automatically lowering a sound when another one is introduced, has been around for a long time and you’ve probably never noticed it. How about at an airport when the background music is automatically attenuated when an announcement is made? Or a boardroom where all the other members mics are […]

Continue reading

UK Gives Music Venus Aid, Red Bull Studios Close, And Austrian Audio CEO Martin Seidl On My Latest Podcast

My guest on the podcast this week is Martin Seidl, who spearheaded the drive to start Austrian Audio from the ashes of AKG after Harmon decided to close the company 3 years ago.  In what might be an unprecedented move, Martin managed to keep the core of AKG together to start the new company and keep it operating […]

Continue reading

New Music Gear Monday: SamSystems Integral Close Cab Miking System

Mic stands can be a pain because they’re always in the way. Whether in the studio or on stage, you can bet that the stand is going to be hit at some point and the mic will soon be pointing where it’s not supposed to be. That’s especially true for a guitar or bass amp, […]

Continue reading