Category Archives for "Production"
- in Production by Bobby Owsinski
Here’s How Michael Jackson Constructed His First Solo Hit
When Michael Jackson left his brothers and went solo, it didn’t take long for him to establish himself as a solo hitmaker. His first release “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” was an instant worldwide hit and continues to be popular almost 40 years later. Most listeners just take a song for granted but not […]
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Want Your Band To Play Tight? Concentrate On These 10 Things
A lot of bands are naturally good because of the caliber of the musicians. Their innate talent causes them to automatically do some things that are important to band tightness, but many of the rest of us sometimes wonder why our band doesn’t seem as tight as it should be, either across all songs or […]
Continue reading- in Acoustics , Production by Bobby Owsinski
440Hz Vs. 432Hz Tuning Standard Comparison – Again
Every few years musical conspiracy theorists push forth a new iteration of how our A = 440Hz tuning standard was actually meant to be 432Hz instead. I’ve written about this in the past, but every so often a new video comparison shows up that makes it worth at least looking at and listening to. Just […]
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Eric Clapton “Layla” Isolated Guitar And Vocal Tracks
We haven’t done an isolated track for a long time, but I thought that this one would be good to get us back in the swing of things. It’s the isolated lead vocal and lead guitar tracks from Derek And The Domino’s (Eric Clapton) classic hit “Layla.” On it you’ll hear snippets of the 6 […]
Continue reading- in Book Excerpt , Production , Recording by Bobby Owsinski
How To Avoid “Big Mono” During Recording
We all love big wide stereo soundfields, especially the ones that come from the stereo output of an electronic keyboard. If you pan too many elements hard left and hard right however, you end up with “Big Mono,” which is a term that my friend Ed Seay likes to use. That means that you actually […]
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Is Today’s Pop Music That Bad? This Video Thinks So
We hear it all the time. “Why is music so bad today?” I’m not so sure it is actually. If you’re past 30, your musical tastes are pretty much set in stone, so it gets more difficult to accept new music with each passing year. That doesn’t mean what’s new is better or worse than […]
Continue reading- in Production by Bobby Owsinski
Another Roland Sound Is Big In Hip Hop, But It’s Not From An 808
You just never know what will be hot someday. Artists and labels have been dealing with this for years as a song that’s a throwaway at the time of recording becomes a big unexpected hit later. You can just never tell. No one could have predicted the influence that the Roland TR-808 would have in […]
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The Genius Of One-Chord Hits
I’m a big fan of one chord songs. You might think that I’m crazy but hear me out. Having a hit with a song revolving around a single chord means that the arrangement and production are so good that the listener overlooks the fact that there’s not much chordal movement in the song. That’s not […]
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Here’s What Makes A Song A Hit
Every artist, band, songwriter, producer and label has the same question. What makes a song a hit? People who can predict hits have been handsomely paid by the industry for decades, but that quality is elusive and fleeting even for the best of them. Now 2 college researchers have analyzed 60 years of #1 hits […]
Continue reading- in Book Excerpt , Engineering , Production by Bobby Owsinski
The Fix It Before You Mix It Checklist
Preparing for the mix can be as critical as the mix itself, since it allows for a more comfortable and efficient mixing session that minimizes mistakes and hassles. This prep occurs before the first fader is raised but sets the stage for an easier and mistake-free mix by having the files properly labeled and all […]
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4 Ways To Tame Out-Of-Control Cymbal Volume
We’ve all been there. You’re either on stage or in the studio with a drummer that has no idea that his or her cymbals are way louder than the rest of the kit. Everything’s fine until you come to a tom fill or chorus when either the crash (the usual culprit) or the ride cymbal […]
Continue reading- in Gear , Production , Software by Bobby Owsinski
Download VEVA Sound’s Free SCP Studio Collect Metadata Tracking Plugin
The digital world that we live in presents a big problem for artists, labels, producers, engineers, and session players, and that’s getting paid and receiving credit for the work they’ve created. Even though a song is being streamed from the likes of Spotify, Apple Music or any of the other dozens of streaming platforms doesn’t […]
Continue reading- in Engineering , Production by Bobby Owsinski
A One Word Description For Each Frequency Band
One of the things I’ve found over the years is that it’s easy to interpret the demands of a client during a mix if you understand what they’re trying to get across. It’s amazing how just a single word can describe a frequency condition if we know what to listen for. That said, it’s sometimes […]
Continue reading- in Gear , Production , Recording , Video by Bobby Owsinski
The Hank Marvin Multi-Head Echo Trick
Guitarist Hank Marvin has been a huge influence on top British guitar players like Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler and Jeff Beck, who in turn became huge influencers on generations of guitar players that followed them. While Hank is a great player, one of the things that separates him from everyone else is the unique ambience […]
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6 Exercises To Help You Visualize Your Mix
The essence of mixing is the balance between instruments or mix elements. No matter how good you are at other aspects of the mixing process, if you don’t get the balance right, you don’t have a mix. Here are some questions to ask yourself as well as 6 exercises taken from my Audio Mixing Bootcamp book that […]
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