On the journey to becoming a successful studio musician, a lot of roads lead to the same place, but the way it usually works is that someone hears and likes your playing and either hires you or refers you as a result. This excerpt from my Studio Musician’s Handbook (written with studio bassist Paul ILL) outlines the […]
Continue reading
Dirk Ulrich is the founder of 2 great music plugin companies, Brainworx and Plugin Alliance, but his journey into software development involved an extensive stint as a studio owner and producer first. In this interview, we talk about some of the company’s very cool plugins, Dirk’s outlook on the future of plugins, as well as […]
Continue reading
Most mixers have at least one convolution reverb in their arsenal that has a variety of concert hall impulses. Ah, but the question is, do you have the right ones? Why not have the best of the best (if you can get them). Here’s a list of the world’s 10 best concert halls (inspired by […]
Continue reading
Most directional condenser microphones have dual capsules, but they’re almost always identical, and it’s how they’re placed that makes the mic directional. That said, what if you created a mic that had 2 capsules, but one was a large diaphragm and the other was small so you could get a combination of the sound of the two […]
Continue reading
The 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 reading
One of the world’s foremost acoustic geniuses has passed. Dr. Leo Beranek and his company Bold, Beranek and Newman (BBN) have been been the leader in acoustic design for decades, designing the acoustics of the United Nations General Assembly Hall in New York, and concert halls at Lincoln Center and Tanglewood, among many others. Dr. Beranek taught […]
Continue reading
While it’s safe to say that most engineers rely on experience when choosing which microphone to use in a given situation, these are some things to consciously consider when selecting a microphone. Here’s a list of items to think about from the latest edition of my Recording Engineer’s Handbook. There’s no one mic that works well on everything. […]
Continue reading
If you’re like me, you don’t have a huge amount of experience with in-ear monitors. I’d just gotten fitted for a set, and thought it would be a great idea to find out as much as I could about them, so I asked Ultimate Ears sales director Mike Dias to come on this week’s podcast […]
Continue reading
Everyone who knew Frank Zappa is shedding a tear at the fact that items from the great composer’s estate, which includes gear from his legendary Utility Muffin Research Kitchen studio, is about to go to auction. The property was on the market for about $5.5 million, and has reportedly been purchased by Lady Gaga. Among the […]
Continue reading
One almost essential accessory for any computer-based DAW is the monitor controller, and there are a lot of them to choose from these days in just about all price ranges. Most of them in the sub-$1,000 range, while quite capable, are usually without some feature or features that you wish it would have. That’s what […]
Continue reading
It’s time to listen inside another big hit from the past. This time it’s the instrumental version of Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.” It’s actually pretty amazing what you can hear once you strip the vocal off, although it shouldn’t be too surprising since it is the center of attention. Here’s what to listen for: 1. […]
Continue reading
When you think about it, we’re still stuck in the last century when it comes to live sound systems, especially in clubs. In almost all cases you’ll find a speaker array on both sides of the stage, sometimes sitting on the stage and sometimes flown. The problem with that is excessive SPL levels up close […]
Continue reading
Drum recording is too often left to trial and error to when getting sounds. Here’s a checklist from the 2nd edition of my Drum Recording Handbook (written with Dennis Moody) that makes sure that the basics are covered (assuming that the drums sound great acoustically) before you open up the mics. “Like the foundation of […]
Continue reading
Ariel Hyatt was one of the first in the PR world to realize the value of social media, and her Cyber PR agency has been helping artists and bands with their online presence ever since. Now Ariel breaks new ground with her latest book called Crowdstart, which provides a step-by-step breakdown of how to launch […]
Continue reading
Just about any music involves repetition, and we’ve proved by our listening habits over hundreds of years that we like it that way. It’s not just the songs, symphonies or operas that are so often built on patterns that repeat (like drumbeats, rhythms, melodies, or harmonic cycles), it’s also the fact that we love to […]
Continue reading