Turn Your Old Record Player Into A New Guitar Effect

Sometimes something old is new again. We all love the optical tremolo effect on Fender amplifiers (though it’s not used that frequently), but here’s another way to get the same effect using an old record player and vinyl record. 555 timer IC (Jacob Ellzey) used a gutted record player, a light bulb, and a few […]

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New Music Gear Monday: Wavesfactory Cassette Plugin

Many artists and engineers love the sound of tape, and will do anything to get that sound. Using the real thing can be a timely and expensive process, but there are so many good plugin emulators on the market now that make getting the sound much easier. One of these is Wavesfactory Cassette, an audio […]

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Inactive Social Accounts, Plugin Evolution, And Engineer Kevin Killen On My Latest Inner Circle Podcast

My guest on the podcast this week is Kevin Killen, who’s a multi-Grammy award winning engineer who’s worked with luminaries like David Bowie, U2, Peter Gabriel, Yo Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, Sugarland, Shakira and so many more. Besides engineering and mixing what many consider seminal albums like Peter Gabriel’s So and U2’s Unforgettable Fire, Kevin […]

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Producer Ken Scott On Recording David Bowie

I was interviewing engineer Kevin Killen for my podcast recently and he spoke about recording and mixing David Bowie’s final album (you can listen to that here). That got me looking back to Ken Scott’s Abbey Road To Ziggy Stardust autobiography at some of the technical data on how he recorded Bowie through the 4 […]

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The Earth Harp Turns The Environment Into An Instrument

Have you ever seen an instrument that’s so large that the audience experiences it from inside the instrument? If not, then meet the Earth Harp, an instrument that turns the environment into an integral component. It’s been named the “longest stringed instrument in the world” by Guinness World Records. Invented by William Close about 20 years […]

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We’ve Been Named In The Top 25 Music Production Blogs

I’m so very proud that this blog has been named #4 in the top 25 music production blogs by Feedspot. Thank you everyone for being a part of this and making it happen, and thank you very much Anuj!

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Black Friday Sale On 101 Mixing Tricks

101 Mixing Tricks has become the premier way to learn the techniques of the A-list mixers. It’s hardly ever on sale, but today not only is it discounted, but there’s an extra special discount when you use BLACK as a coupon code during checkout. That’s right – for today only the price isn’t the regular […]

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Bytedance Streaming Service, Archiving On Glass, And Waves Product Manager Yoni Zlotkin On My Inner Circle Podcast

My guest on the podcast this week is Yoni Zlotkin, who turned some ambisonics and binaural college projects into a job as product manager for what has now become Waves NX. He is now also a product manager for Waves revolutionary Abbey Road Studio 3 plugin. During the interview we spoke about the development of Studio 3, the […]

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The 3 Sacred Areas For Mix Panning

Panning is many times taken for granted in a mix, but where you place mix elements in the stereo soundfield can have huge repercussions to your balance. Here’s an excerpt from the 4th edition of my Mixing Engineer’s Handbook that explains the potential panning problems and solutions. There are three major panoramic areas in a […]

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Need More Low End? Make Way For The Octobass

I love listening to a symphony orchestra and getting to feel that amazing low end coming from nothing but acoustic instruments. For some composers, that low end isn’t enough sometimes, and then they turn to the octobass, an extremely large and rare bowed string instrument that was first built around 1850 in Paris by the […]

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New Music Gear Monday: United Studio Technologies UT-47FET Microphone

There are tons of clones of all the favorite vintage Neumann microphones like the U-87, U-47 and U-67, but one that’s more or less overlooked is the venerable U-47FET. It doesn’t get the accolades of the others even though it’s been a go-to outside-the-kick drum, bass amp and vocal mic by top engineers for a […]

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Rush Seating, Rosewood Rules Relaxed, And Mastering Engineer/AES President Jonathan Wyner On My Latest Podcast

My guest on the podcast this week is Jonathan Wyner, chief mastering engineer and president of M Works Mastering in Cambridge, MA. Jonathan began his career as a mastering engineer in 1985 as the compact disc was becoming a reality, and he studied digital mastering with one of the pioneers in the field for 5 years prior to establishing […]

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5 Techniques For Miking A Banjo

You read the title and I know what you’re thinking – “I’m not doing the type of music that has banjo in it (of course, this doesn’t apply if you’re in Nashville or the South).” You might be surprised when one shows up in your studio one day. After all, Elton John utilized Davey Johnstone’s […]

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What’s The Difference Between Thunderbolt 3 And USB-C?

Computer ports. They’re always changing and they’re always causing confusion. At least most usually have different connectors, but I’m sure you’ve noticed that Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C share a common one. Talk about confusion – not wonder some peripheral devices don’t work all the time. Let’s see if we can sort this out. USB-C USB-C […]

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New Music Gear Monday: LundHalsey Kontrol Command Console

One of the most critical pieces of any studio is the actual furniture that we do our work on. There are plenty of consoles available that cover a wide range of use situations and prices, but one of the most unique is the LundHalsley Kontrol Command series of consoles. These studio furniture pieces are aimed […]

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