Let’s face it – when we have a choice between a windowless studio and one with bright sunlight we’ll take the one with windows all day long. The problem is that even though we can get some good isolation with some standard double pane glass and a third piece of plexiglass on top, it’s often […]
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Room mics bring an overall finish to the drum sound and help to glue it all together. In many cases, they’ll fill in the sonic holes in the drum mix and make all the individual drums sound more like a complete drum set. That said, many times they are positioned rather randomly without much thought. […]
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Let’s face it, loudspeaker transducer technology hasn’t had a real breakthrough in over a hundred years. Every improvement (and there have been many) has been an evolution and not a revolution. That could change soon thanks to some groundbreaking research from the University of Exeter that uses graphene as a transducer. “What’s so groundbreaking about […]
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If you’ve ever used the Bricasti M7 reverb, you know how spectacular it sounds, so much so that it’s spoiled many an engineer when it comes to using anything else. While there are some excellent sounding reverb plugins available, if you’re a fan of the hardware M7 then you know that they don’t quite cop the exact […]
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Studio management is an art unto itself and every studio owner knows how difficult it is to find a good one. Candace Stewart is one of the best there is, having spent over 20 years in some of the best facilities in Los Angeles. She’s now the manager of the famous EastWest Studios in Hollywood […]
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Everyone has their own version of the perfect sonic environment in which they’re the most creative. For me, it’s silence, since music distracts me as I groove with it, then begin to analyze the production. Some people need a certain kind of music for them to maximize their productivity, while for others, they can have […]
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I posted this few years ago on my other blog, but the question keeps popping up so here’s an updated version. Where do you find acoustic panel materials (like Owens Corning 703) so you can build your own panels? At one time, most of the excellent acoustic panel materials weren’t found at your local Home Depot, but […]
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Producer/engineer Sylvia Massy is fearless when it comes to trying things in the studio, especially if it involves guitars. Guitar players are usually willing subjects for experimentation since the search for the perfect sound continues seemingly forever, but how many players have ever considered a big fat dill pickle to use as a filter? Sylvia (who will […]
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There’s nothing like the ears and expertise of a mastering engineer to finish off a project, but when that’s just not in the budget, you have to do it yourself. It’s true that a ton of mastering tools are on the market, and many of them do the job very well, but none are as […]
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The DIY ethic is running deep in the audio and recording business once again as a variety of manufacturers now provide kits to build everything from preamps to compressors to microphones to ???. It’s a great way to not only learn how your gear ticks, but also get some great sounding gear at a very […]
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While we live in an period of unlimited DAW tracks, there’s still much fascination with the time where there were far fewer variables, and that means the mono world of the 50s. In that era and the one that immediately followed, mixing held little resemblance to today, since all the magic took place in the recording. Placement […]
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Over the last few years I’ve received what seemed to be the same request from many of my mailing list members. “I would gladly register for your 101 Mixing Tricks program (or other programs) if only it were available for a monthly fee.” Let me tell you, I’ve heard those emails loud and clear. That’s why I’ve created […]
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If you’re a Pro Tools user you hold your breath with every announcement from Avid. The thought that comes most often is, “How much will it cost me this time?” The next question usually is, “Is this for the stockholders or for the users?” The latter question comes to mind first with Avid’s recent announcement about […]
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When it comes to portable recording, it’s hard to beat anything made by Sound Devices. The company has consistently made some of the highest quality recording gear that’s become a standard on any television or movie set. Now the company looks more towards musicians, podcasts and YouTubers with a penitent for quality with its new […]
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You may not know my guest Paul Wolff’s name but you certainly know his products. As a former owner of the console company API, Paul was not only responsible for the acclaimed Legend and Vision series, but also the creator of the 500 series racks and modules, for which he was rewarded with a membership […]
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