Panning is many times taken for granted in a mix, but where you place mix elements in the stereo soundfield can have huge repercussions to your balance. Here’s an excerpt from the 4th edition of my Mixing Engineer’s Handbook that explains the potential panning problems and solutions. There are three major panoramic areas in a […]
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I love listening to a symphony orchestra and getting to feel that amazing low end coming from nothing but acoustic instruments. For some composers, that low end isn’t enough sometimes, and then they turn to the octobass, an extremely large and rare bowed string instrument that was first built around 1850 in Paris by the […]
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There are tons of clones of all the favorite vintage Neumann microphones like the U-87, U-47 and U-67, but one that’s more or less overlooked is the venerable U-47FET. It doesn’t get the accolades of the others even though it’s been a go-to outside-the-kick drum, bass amp and vocal mic by top engineers for a […]
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My guest on the podcast this week is Jonathan Wyner, chief mastering engineer and president of M Works Mastering in Cambridge, MA. Jonathan began his career as a mastering engineer in 1985 as the compact disc was becoming a reality, and he studied digital mastering with one of the pioneers in the field for 5 years prior to establishing […]
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You read the title and I know what you’re thinking – “I’m not doing the type of music that has banjo in it (of course, this doesn’t apply if you’re in Nashville or the South).” You might be surprised when one shows up in your studio one day. After all, Elton John utilized Davey Johnstone’s […]
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Computer ports. They’re always changing and they’re always causing confusion. At least most usually have different connectors, but I’m sure you’ve noticed that Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C share a common one. Talk about confusion – not wonder some peripheral devices don’t work all the time. Let’s see if we can sort this out. USB-C USB-C […]
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One of the most critical pieces of any studio is the actual furniture that we do our work on. There are plenty of consoles available that cover a wide range of use situations and prices, but one of the most unique is the LundHalsley Kontrol Command series of consoles. These studio furniture pieces are aimed […]
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My guest on the podcast this week is Jason Brennan, who’s a re-recording mixer, supervising sound editor and sound designer with numerous feature film and television credits for Warner Bros. His 10 years of experience in music production and engineering gives him a unique outlook on television audio. Jason has always been on the cutting edge of the latest […]
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A few weeks ago I posted a video of engineer Mark Linett speaking about remixing The Beach Boys and how it was to work with just 4 and 8 track master tapes. Since Mark has more experience with the recording techniques of the 60s and early 70s than anyone I know, I figured it would […]
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Over the past 10 years power amplifiers have gotten increasingly more powerful and lighter thanks to the now widespread use of what’s known as Class D. What most people don’t know is that it was all due to a single engineer at Philips who created the first inexpensive class D amplifier module that changed how […]
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When it comes to home studios, versatility is the name of the game. If we’re going to buy an outboard processor then hopefully it will fulfill multiple functions. That’s exactly what you get and more with the new LouderThanLiftoff Chroma+, a totally customizable 1U outboard unit that can act as both a dual channel microphone […]
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Dino Monoxelus is currently a senior product specialist and product planning manager for Ampeg Amplifiers. He’s affectionally known as “The Ampeg Guy” for his extensive knowledge about the company and its products, which he’s used as a working bass player for over 30 years. Dino spends a lot of time training salesman, conducting clinics and […]
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One of the things that all major touring acts do before going out on tour is have production rehearsals. These are literally weeks of rehearsals where the stage show, as much as the music, is rehearsed. A big show with lots of sound, lighting, pyro, video, moving stages, guitar changes, wardrobe changes, and a host of other […]
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What is difficult? Is a piece of music difficult because it’s hard to play or because of its conceptual virtuosity? Bassist Adam Neely took on the challenge to try to define what is “the most difficult piece of music,” and tries to explain what it means, and provide some examples. It turns out it all […]
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When the Eventide H910 Harmonizer first hit the street in the early 1980s, it didn’t take creative mixers long to discover that it could be used in an unintended way. Instead of trying to tune the pitch of a vocal, it could be used to thicken it in a way and with a sound not […]
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