Let’s face it, recording budgets are tight these days and we can’t always send our final mixes to a true mastering engineer. With so many of the same tools that mastering engineers use now available to every mixer, it’s now possible to do a pretty good self-mastering job. If that’s your situation, it’s best to […]
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This week I’m lucky to have my compadre from the AudioNowcast on my Inner Circle Podcast, songwriter Martin Page. Martin’s had much success over the years writing with everyone from Earth, Wind and Fire, to Bernie Taupin, to Hal David, to Robbie Robertson, to Robbie Williams, and he’s also co-written a couple of world-wide #1 […]
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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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Back in the old days of multitrack tape, we used to have a trick that would add a little bit of air and sparkle to vocals. It was an unorthodox technique and for a long time no one talked about it, but it was used on many of the classic records that you know and love […]
Continue readingI 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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There are some studios that have that magic sound for tracking drums, and the famed Sound City in Van Nuys, California was one. Every great sounding tracking room that I’ve ever been in has been a product of luck rather than design, and Sound City (which ha since closed) was no exception. The combination of a smooth […]
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If you’re a producer, engineer or musician, chances are that you’ve been asked to work on someone’s recording. That’s all well and good, but how do you get compensated for your efforts? This excerpt from the just released 2nd edition of my Music Producer’s Handbook gives you 5 ways that you can get paid for […]
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If you take notice I have a lot of mastering engineer’s on my Inner Circle Podcast, and that’s because they’re pretty overlooked, usually keep a low profile, and what they do is generally misunderstood. That said, as you’ve probably heard by now if you listen to the show a lot, they all have great stories […]
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On Saturday I attended the The High End Audio Show in Anaheim, my first hi-fi show in probably a decade or more. Normally I don’t go to these things, but my friends at Wireworld Cable Technology (thanks Larry and David) were gracious enough to supply a ticket, so I braved the traffic (unusually bad for a […]
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As I’ve stated in other previous posts, virtual reality is coming on like a nearly invisible distant freight train. It’s not apparent to the public yet because all the movement is behind the scenes, but believe me, it’s coming hard. Just like in the early days of surround sound, it’s still like the Wild West, with […]
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The Steve Miller Band has been going strong for almost 50 years now, and if you hear them live today, they’re better than ever. That said, most of Steve’s hits came in the 70s, but they’re still played heavily today and just about everyone knows them from countless plays on the radio. It’s very easy […]
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Wireless mics are everywhere at a big concert or awards show, so much so, that there’s always a dedicated tech just to make sure that not only do the mics work, but their transmit and receive frequencies don’t interfere or be interfered with from outside sources. We’re talking expensive rigs here, and lots of them (as […]
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Before the first session begins, a host of decisions have to be made that range from the mundane to the important. Here’s an overview of the many production considerations a producer is confronted with in a typical project before a tracking session begins. This is an excerpt from the latest edition of my Music Producer’s […]
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I don’t know why I have such a fascination with robots playing music. I’ve covered many instances on this blog over the years (like the guitarist with 78 fingers and the robot band that plays Motorhead), and each time they get better at what they do. I’d like to think that they’re never going to […]
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Drum machines and software are so common anymore that it’s not a big deal, but there was a time when the only thing that was even close was the beat box commonly found on organs. Roger Linn changed all that with his LM1, the first modern drum machine that used real drum samples, and he’s […]
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