Category Archives for "Production"
Many times we take the grand piano for granted, thinking that it’s been around forever in musical history. The fact of the matter is that it’s a somewhat new instrument in the grand scheme of things, being invented in the early 1700s by expert harpsichord maker Bartolomeo Cristofori. The harpsichord predated the piano by about 300 […]
Continue readingRadiohead has engendered respect from artists and fans alike for following its own path and not being afraid to follow its muse. In fact, many consider the band to be the Pink Floyd of their time in many ways. “Creep” was the band’s first single and later appeared on its first album Pablo Honey. Not […]
Continue readingThere are lots of great microphones available today that either try to directly copy one of the vintage classic mics, or use it as a starting point for an updated version. So why does the world need another one? Well, when it comes from the mind of the super inventive David Royer, its something that […]
Continue readingThe Beatles, arguably the greatest music group of all time, were turned down by every record label they went to until a little arm twisting landed them on George Martin’s Parlophone label. One listen to this audition tape that the band did for Decca Records  leads you to understand why everyone passed however. The band played […]
Continue readingWhen it comes to your drum sound, sometimes the smallest details can make a big difference when you consider that there are usually multiple mics involved. Changing one thing can sometimes make a difference, but sometimes it’s the fact that many small adjustments have a cumulative effective on the overall sound. Here are 7 tips […]
Continue readingI usually post isolated tracks on Fridays and for the most part, the majority of them are classic songs that are somewhat old. The reason for that is that those tracks are more available, but every now and then I find something that’s current, like today’s One Direction isolated vocal track of their hit “You […]
Continue readingThere’s nothing like listening to a master and guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan certainly fits that description. I remember going to see him in a small club before he broke out big, but right in the middle of stream of big hype. The audience was filled with LA guitar players (including quite a few heavyweights), all […]
Continue readingIf you’ve not heard, Samsung is buying Harmon International for around $8 billion, which should send shivers down the spines of JBL Pro users. The South Korean giant reportedly sees Harmon as a bridge to the connected car business and isn’t all that interested in the audio side of the business, although its saying all the […]
Continue readingOne of the most important components of a home or desktop studio is the monitor controller, and while there are more and more such devices on the market these days, not all are a good fit for many studios. For instance, the needs of someone working with a laptop mixing on headphones are completely different from […]
Continue readingThe vocals are the focal point of most songs, and a great performance is necessary to sell the song. A mediocre performance can sink the song no matter how great the tracks are. One of the hardest things about making a record is trying to record a singer who is uncomfortable. Even a seasoned pro sometimes […]
Continue readingIf you’ve ever had to deal with a noisy track, you know how time consuming clean-up can be. Yes, you can gate it, but that can sound unnatural. There are also many excellent noise-reduction plugins available, but they don’t always do the job without adding some unpleasant artifacts. You find yourself playing with different combinations […]
Continue readingIf you’re a hard-core Beatles fan then you’ll love this Beatles Bloopers video. If you’re not, you’ll still enjoy some of the humor involved when various members of the band screw things up on songs that you’ve heard hundreds of times. Here are a few other things to listen for though. 1. John Lennon’s voice […]
Continue readingYou might have noticed that in the last few years, the differences in level between television shows, commercials, and channels are pretty even, with no big jumps in volume. That’s because viewers were complaining for years about the fact that there was a dramatic increase in level whenever a commercial aired because it was so compressed […]
Continue readingThe early music business in the 50’s and 60’s was a completely different animal from what we have today. For one thing, studio recording offered a quick turnaround since the technology was so much simpler then, but the mentality of doing things quickly to see if it worked or not was a big part of the […]
Continue readingIt’s always a treat to hear the isolated tracks from a hit, especially when they’re from the old days of extreme tape machine limitations. The Beatles “Day Tripper” is an excellent example of how great a recording could be with only 4 tracks as we listen to the isolated bass and drums from the song. Of course, the magic […]
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