You don’t need it often, but when it’s time to track down an audio anomaly having an audio analyzer at hand is a must. There are many really good analyzer plugins available, but most are single or dual function, or only provide a view of one analysis instrument at a time. SPL’s new Hawkeye plugin […]
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It’s surprising how often handclaps are used, either as an enhancement to the backbeat or as a standalone mix element. That said, getting a great clap sound can be elusive, as the huge effect that everyone expects is more difficult to achieve than you might expect. Here are 5 techniques that you can use for […]
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My guest on the podcast this week is music attorney Kamal Moo, who has represented artists from various genres of music as both personal manager and attorney. He has negotiated several types of entertainment contracts, including recording, music publishing, and producer agreements, with clients include legendary recording artist Janet Jackson, The Hallmark Channel, indie artist Lil B, and […]
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One of the most iconic and most copied hardware compressors is the UREI 1176. It’s been used successfully in so many applications over the years, but one limitation was that it was mono. When you tried to use 2 of them in a stereo application, the sound would lean to one side because you could […]
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Livestreaming has been the big buzzword over the last year as it’s the only way for creators to safely get their wares out in front of the public. That said, there’s a bit more to it than signing on to Facebook, YouTube, or Instagram (pick your platform). If you want your stream to look and […]
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My guest on the podcast this week is  two time Emmy winner Lars Deutsch, who was born into a non-musical family and was astounded when he discovered that a guitar needs tuning. From those humble beginnings he went from heavy metal guitarist, to singer, to songwriter, to a Masters in classical composition, to international performances of his classical […]
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Perhaps the greatest rock and roll console ever built was the Trident 80B. The desk just had an edge that couldn’t be beat, with a sound that was especially particularly symbiotic with that style of music. While the entire desk as a whole was responsible for the sonics, the EQ in particular was the centerpiece […]
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As a general rule, most musicians (especially guitar players) have no idea how to use anything that adjusts the frequency bands of their instrument, meaning an amplifier’s tone controls. The reason is that they’re never taught what tone controls are there for, and there’s not a lot of information in the manuals that comes with […]
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My guest on the podcast this week is producer/multi-instrumentalist and educator David Franz, who wrote the very first book on Pro Tools as well as creating online courses for both Berklee Online and Lynda.com. Besides running his label Underground Sun and EDM artist development and even production company Underground Sol, David is also the content manager for […]
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Al Schmitt is one of the most accomplished recording engineers on the planet, a giant among men that almost everyone in the industry looks up to. Just a few of his credits include Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Miles Davis; to Johnny Cash, Toto and Steely Dan. Add to that Barbra Streisand, Natalie Cole, Diana Krall, […]
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We’ve all heard the stories about a modern sturdy bridge being brought down due to oscillation from wind or pedestrians walking at just the right frequency that weakens it. That’s known as resonance, and it’s something that occurs across the scientific world. One of the coolest resonance experiments has to do with sound and something […]
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My guest on the podcast this week is John Oram, who started his career in the music business as the drummer for Mariann Faithful and a fill-in for the Yardbirds. On the side he began working at Vox during its heyday, contributing his expertise to the development of the wha-wha pedal, the fuzz box, the Continental organ, and […]
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It’s fair to say that any time SSL comes out with a new control surface, there will be a lot of interest. When it’s affordable almost everyone in the industry picks their head up a bit, and there’s good reason to with the new UF8 DAW controller. If you feel the need to push faders […]
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Recording consoles have evolved since the early days of the hand-built models of the 50s and 60s. As the desks became more sophisticated, so did the construction methods, and nowhere is this more evident than in the video below. It shows the streamlined creation of a new 32 channel SSL Origin console by only 2 […]
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My guest on the podcast this week is Matt Boudreau, who started as a drummer, experiencing 6 figure record deals before eventually settling in behind the glass as a mixer and mastering engineer. Matt has since gone on to launch the hugely popular Working Class Audio podcast with more than 300 episodes under his belt. During our interview […]
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