Get A Better Product With The Album Mastering Checklist

Putting together a collection of songs into an album requires additional data beyond what’s needed for an individual song. This applies to any format that the album will be released in, but especially for CDs and vinyl. Follow this album mastering checklist so you don’t miss anything. ◻︎What are the official titles of the album […]

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Keep Your Mix Elements From Clashing With This Checklist

One of the biggest problems with large sessions that have lots of elements is that there are usually at least a few tracks that can’t be heard distinctly in the mix. Much of this has to do with the fact that one track may be masking another one, caused by frequency bands that are clashing. […]

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10 Changes That Have Made Mixing In The Box Better Than Ever

Mixing in the box got a bad rap early on because the sound of the mixes was a long way from the analog console mixes that everyone was used to. Today that’s not a problem as everything has improved so much that the most hard-core classic engineers have now embraced mixing in the box, and […]

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New Music Gear Monday: Non-Lethal Applications Snapshot 2

Do you use outboard gear when you mix? If so, you probably have a way to document the gear settings so you can repeat them if a mix revision is needed. But what happens if you can’t find the documentation? Snapshot 2 from Non-Lethal Applications is a way that you can attach your documentation to […]

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Get Better Mixes Using The Ultimate Mix Checklist

A modern mix can be sophisticated and complicated, so it’s very easy to overlook something in the heat of the moment that can be important to the integrity of the mix and that can help take it to the next level. The Ultimate Mix Checklist provides a number or questions to ask yourself as your […]

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The Many Ways To Build A Mix

Despite what you might think, there is no standard mix element to start and build a mix from. Modern mixers employ various techniques and they’re all valid, especially in different genres of music. For instance, here are the places from which a mix can be started: From the Bass From a loop From the Kick […]

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What The Heck Is A Yardstick Mix And How Do I Use One?

If you’re really happy with your mix but have to send it off to someone else to work on, how do you make sure that the mix comes back the same. Assuming that they’ll be using the same plugins (although you could burn the processing into the mix), the answer is what’s known as a […]

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Legendary Rock Producer Martin Birch Has Passed

If you ever listened to a hard rock album from the 70s and 80s, chances are it was produced by Martin Birch. The producer had long running relationships with Iron Maiden (10 albums), Deep Purple (10 albums), Fleetwood Mac (9 albums), Whitesnake (9 albums), Rainbow (5 albums), and pairs of albums with both Blue Oyster […]

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Using The Environment To Fine Tune Your Studio Ears

One of the biggest attributes for an engineer or producer to develop is what’s known as “studio ears.” That’s the ability to discern between minute changes within the music that you’re hearing. Is that guitar slightly out of tune? What frequency is the vocal harshness coming from? Is the keyboard part coming in slightly early […]

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Engineer/Producer/Entrepreneur Sean Giovanni On My Latest Inner Circle Podcast

My guest on the podcast this week is Sean Giovanni, producer, engineer and owner of The Record Shop Studio in Nashville.  Sean has worked with clients in the studio ranging from Tim McGraw, Big and Rich, Zakk Wylde, The Wallflowers, Juicy J, and Lil Jon. He’s also passionate about helping creatives build a sustainable business around their art […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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