The right reverb sound is something that we take for granted when we have a good one available, and search endlessly for when we don’t. Many have called the sound of the chambers at Capitol Records as the best in the world, but unless you were mixing at Capitol Studios in Hollywood, it was beyond […]
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My guest on the podcast this week is Robert Siciliano, who started as a music recording engineer, but by almost a quirk of fate got a temp job at NBC that turned into a career. In the interview we talked about making the transition to postproduction, the turnaround time for an audio job, dealing with audio that isn’t […]
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Unless you were around back in the early 80s when the first harmonizer was introduced (the Eventide H910), you can’t appreciate what an impact it had on mixing. This was a device that did something that couldn’t been done before. It was hard to explain exactly what that was, but you knew it instantly when […]
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After 23 Grammy’s for Best Engineering (more than any other engineer) and work on over 150 gold and platinum records, a #1 book on Amazon, and even his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Al Schmitt needs no introduction to anyone even remotely familiar with the recording industry. Indeed, his credit list is […]
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Trevor Horn is one of the most successful and innovative producers ever, with credits that include Yes, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Grace Jones, Seal, and many more. What’s not often known about him is how cutting edge and quietly groundbreaking his production techniques have been. In the following video you’ll hear how Trevor made his […]
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Let’s face it, if you have a home studio then you probably need some sort of monitor controller. There are plenty out there to choose from, but very few emulate the features or layout that a big analog or digital desk provides. Audient makes some of those large consoles and the company knows what needs […]
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My guest on the podcast this week is Dave Pearlman, who after years as a touring pedal steel guitarist with everyone from Dan Fogelberg and Phil Everly to Pat Boone and Bobby Womack, opened his Rotund Rascal Studio in North Hollywood in 1979. To save money on outside techs, Dave began to do repairs and modifications on classic […]
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It’s amazing how different each person’s voice can be from another, but also equally amazing how similar two people’s voices can be to each other. When recording a singer, it helps to know how his or her vocal tone is actually being produced in order to capture it more accurately. This great article by Jamie […]
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I’ve covered studio etiquette rules here in the past, but they were primarily for when a session was in progress. When the session, or your part in it, is completed, the etiquette doesn’t stop though, as this excerpt from The Studio Musician’s Handbook (written with ace studio bass player Paul ILL) illustrates. It’s perfectly natural […]
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A lot of people have been pretty down on Avid from time to time (myself included), but the company is still strong, and it’s growing. In its most recent earnings call, Avid announced a first quarter 2019 revenue of $103.3 million which is a second consecutive quarter of 5 percent year-over-year growth. The company also […]
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I don’t usually post about musical instruments unless there’s something that I consider groundbreaking or very unusual, and I think that this week’s featured gear piece qualifies for at least one of these (not sure which). It’s something called the Motor Synth, which its manufacturer, Gamechanger Audio, claims is the world’s first electro-mechanical synthesizer. Electro-mechanical, […]
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My guest on the podcast this week is David Frangioni, who started his music career as a drummer, but soon became a pioneer in MIDI technology. This led him into the studio as an engineer and producer for dozens of top artists including The Stones, Ringo Starr, Aerosmith, Elton John, Sting, Carl Palmer, Journey, Styx, KISS, […]
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Trevor Horn is one of the most successful and respected producers ever, and he has a long list of big credits to prove it like Yes, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Seal, and many more. That said, Horn rates “Owner Of A Lonely Heart” from Yes’s 1983 release 90215 as technically his best work. In the […]
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Studio musicians are known for their musicality, which consists of their ears, chops, and feel, as well as their judgment. Session players have enough experience to know what to play and when to play it. They know how to best interact with the artist, other musicians, the engineer, and the producer to make the session […]
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We all know what a theremin sounds like, and we’ve heard it on dozens of sci-fi movie and TV show soundtracks, but not many of us are aware of the history of the instrument. The theremin was actually enjoyed by audiences well before it was used in scary movies. RCA Victor produced the first commercial […]
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