It doesn’t take much to get some people all fired up about a high-end consumer audio device enough to part with some big bucks sometimes. Drop a few current buzzwords or play into the latest audiophile fad and it’s surprising how much dough some with too much of it will part with. Still, you have […]
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You just never know what will be hot someday. Artists and labels have been dealing with this for years as a song that’s a throwaway at the time of recording becomes a big unexpected hit later. You can just never tell. No one could have predicted the influence that the Roland TR-808 would have in […]
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I’m a big fan of one chord songs. You might think that I’m crazy but hear me out. Having a hit with a song revolving around a single chord means that the arrangement and production are so good that the listener overlooks the fact that there’s not much chordal movement in the song. That’s not […]
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Some of you do sound design in addition to music and have to capture sounds in the field. Others want a good way to capture a multitrack of your band playing live or in rehearsal without the hassle of setting up a computer. That means some sort of dedicated field recorder, and while there are […]
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Lyle Workman has a long history as a guitar player and songwriter, first as a member of Bourgeois Tagg, and then with Todd Rundgren, Beck and Sting as well as tons of sessions. These days he’s thriving as a film and television composer with movies like Superbad, The 40 Year Old Virgin and Bad Santa 2, and television shows […]
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Every artist, band, songwriter, producer and label has the same question. What makes a song a hit? People who can predict hits have been handsomely paid by the industry for decades, but that quality is elusive and fleeting even for the best of them. Now 2 college researchers have analyzed 60 years of #1 hits […]
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“Bassy” Bob Brockman has a wide range of awards and credits, including more than 30 Grammy nominations with two wins, and an Oscar nomination. His many credits include Mary J. Blige, Toni Braxton, the Notorious B.I.G., Babyface, Aretha Franklin, Al Green, The O’Jays, Brian McKnight, Jodeci, Faith Hill, Korn, Laurie Anderson, Vanessa Williams, Christina Aguilera, […]
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I’m pleased to announce the release of my latest book, The Music Business Advice Book: 150 Immediately Useful Tips From The Pros. The book is a compilation of 150 helpful quotes from 130 top music pros from various segments of the music industry who previously shared these tips on my Inner Circle Podcast over the course of almost […]
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One of the coolest tricks I learned as a young mixing pup was micro-pitch shifting. This technique to thicken up a vocal required 2 Harmonizers, with one tuned up by 5 to 8 cents and the other tuned down by the same amount. As you mixed the effect in, you could thicken up any vocal […]
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Niko Kotoulas had a high-paying dream job as an financial analyst at Morgan Stanley, but he’s leaving it for an even better dream as a musical artist. Totally through social media, Niko’s piano playing has racked up more than 1.2 million streams a month from more than 300k users on Spotify alone, and he’s been […]
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Most of us in the production side of the music business have picked up a guitar at one time or another, so it seems like everyone considers themselves a guitar player on some level. Even if you don’t play, you most likely encounter guitar players in the studio, so the more information you have about […]
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Preparing for the mix can be as critical as the mix itself, since it allows for a more comfortable and efficient mixing session that minimizes mistakes and hassles. This prep occurs before the first fader is raised but sets the stage for an easier and mistake-free mix by having the files properly labeled and all […]
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11 time Grammy-winner Mick Guzauski has been an A-list mixer for some time, having mixed 27 #1 hits spanning multiple genres with credits that include Daft Punk, Prince, Leann Rimes, Eric Clapton, Christina Aguilera, Talking Heads, Britney Spears, J-Lo, Michael Jackson and many more. Mick started with a basic home by in his home town of Rochester […]
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For years every mixer had their own go-to way to check a mix to make sure it would translate well to the outside world. For many it was the Auratone or NS-10, others referred to the handy boom box, some to computer speakers, and most everyone ended up evaluating their mix in the car at […]
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The Distressor is one of the few modern pieces of outboard gear that has become a classic and now stands in the same “must have” league as compressors like the 1176 and LA-2A. Simply put, it’s a standard piece found in studios everywhere today. Dave Derr is the creator of the Distressor, Fatso, and other […]
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