Category Archives for "Video"

New Music Gear Monday: Waves Tune Real-Time Pitch Correction Plugin

Waves-tune-real-time

Vocal tuning can be a touchy subject. Many think that it’s putting a big band-aid on a problem while others feel that it’s just a normal by-product of today’s music production. But tuning a vocal in the studio is something completely different from doing it live on stage, where many see that as cheating of the highest order. […]

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New Music Gear Monday: Townsend Labs Sphere L22 Modeling Microphone

Sphere L22 modeling mic

Remember a few years back when “modeling” the sound of a vintage piece of audio equipment was looked on with suspicion? Well, those days are over as we now have successful plugin models of just about any piece of popular gear that even the hardened pros are impressed with. One of the last avenues for modeling […]

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David Bowie “Ziggy Stardust” Isolated Vocal

Ziggy Stardust album cover

Here’s a real treat. It’s the isolated vocal track from the title track of David Bowie’s iconic Ziggy Stardust album and it features not only David’s excellent vocal skills, but producer/engineer’s Ken Scott’s impeccable production as well. For those of you who don’t know or don’t remember, I co-wrote Ken’s autobiography Abbey Road To Ziggy Stardust […]

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It’s Analog, It’s Digital, It’s The XOXX Composer

XOXX Composer

Every now and then we see a hybrid device that perfectly captures the best of both worlds between analog and digital. Here’s a great example of such a hybrid, called the XOXX Composer, that takes some spinning wheels, magnets and some custom software to become a hybrid controller. The XOXX Composer is comprised of 8 […]

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Lorde “Royals” Isolated Vocals

royals-lorde

When Lorde broke on the scene in 2013 with “Royals” the song was met with positive critical acclaim and the singer immediately built a huge fan base that embraced her minimalist sound. That sound is somewhat deceiving though, because even though the backing track doesn’t contain many elements, Lorde’s vocals are far more complex than […]

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New Music Gear Monday: Undertone Audio Vari-Cap Cable

UTA Vari-Cap Cable

I’m always surprised when I change something as simple as a cable and the sound lights up. That’s because there’s much more to cables that you’d ever think (check out my interview with Larry Smith from Wireworld Cable Technology for a great explanation between the differences in cables). The one thing that most guitar players […]

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The Four Tops “Baby I Need Your Lovin'” Instrumental Track

4 Tops -baby-need-your-loving

One of the best things about listening to an isolated or instrumental track of a hit is hearing how intricately designed the arrangement is. Such is the case with The Four Tops version of “Baby, I Need Your Lovin,’” played by the Motown studio band The Funk Brothers. There’s a lot going on within the […]

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Jukedeck Lets You Create Soundtrack Music With Artificial Intelligence

Jukedeck

Every so often I need a cue for a video that I’m working on and inevitably I’ll say to myself, “It’s faster if I just compose something myself.” That’s never the case in the end since it always takes longer than you’d think, especially if you want something that’s really a custom-fit for the situation. […]

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Britney Versus Ariana Isolated Live Vocals

I must admit that whenever I watch the huge stage show of dancers that accompany many popular female singers today, I have mixed feelings. First of all, I’m in awe of the sheer athletic ability now required to be considered a “singer” today. Those moves aren’t easy to remember or execute, but it’s especially difficult […]

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