Audio & music gear guides & articles

In this second installment dedicated to dynamics processing during mixdown, we'll take some time to discuss the whys before moving on to the hows.

Kurt Block knows electric guitars. He has been working on them for three decades. He started out working on guitars in the bands he was in, and nowadays maintains the guitar collection at Gibson’s en…

In the two previous articles we looked at the principle behind sample-based synthesis. Among other things, this allowed us to establish that, thanks to digital technology, the frontiers between the d…

This week we'll tackle dynamics processing during mixdown, a very thorny subject if there ever was one...To approach the topic in the best way possible, it's useful to begin with a quick rundown of t…

In the previous article, we took a first look at sampling, from the point of view of Pulse Code Modulation (PCM). In this installment we'll study wavetables and sample banks.

Digital delay is one of the most versatile effects you can apply to your music. It can do everything from subtle doubling to crazy stereo ping-pong effects and a lot more. In this article we’ll show …

Before we tackle the next major section of this series ─ dynamics ─ let's diverge briefly to take stock of where we are in the process, and cover an important issue involving effect-chain order.

Learning by your mistakes is definitely an effective method, but it’s not a lot of fun. In this article, we’ll talk about some common mistakes that are made by home recordists and how to avoid them. …

All DAWS are definitely not created equal. Yes they can all record and edit audio and MIDI, host effects and software instruments, and provide facilities for mixing. But beyond those bread-and-butter…

Now that we have analyzed EQing during mixdown, let's talk a bit about the tools capable of carrying out the task.

If you’ve been paying attention to new product introductions over the last year or so, you’ve no doubt seen more and more Thunderbolt-based audio interfaces hitting the market. For many, moving up to…

Some people might think it's weird to see sampling considered as a type of synthesis. Indeed, throughout this series of articles, I've been telling you all the time about the creation of sounds "from…

In this week's installment, we'll continue our focus on EQing during mixdown, with some additional tips and advice.

In the previous article we saw what subtractive synthesis, the most widespread method of synthetic sound creation, is all about and we saw that it's based on the sound production and manipulation mod…

Whether you're a Logic or GarageBand user, you can spice up your recordings with a huge range of instrument loops and sound effects via the Apple Loops that were included with your DAW. Here's a vid…

To close this chapter dedicated to EQing during mixdown, I'll give you some tips and tricks that ought to help you adopt better habits.

So you have a band and you’re sounding good, but you’re wondering if you have enough gear to start recording? Read on, as we’ll examine what your minimal equipment needs are to create a multitrack ba…

Dear friends, now that we've become acquainted with the main components used, it's about time we get familiar with the main forms of sound synthesis. Oh, yes, there are several!

Contrary to popular belief, panning and ambience are not the only tools to use for adjusting the location of a track in the sound field of a mix. We are about to see that the sensations of space and …

In this article we'll take it from where we left off last week and continue exploring the main effects you can find on a synth.

In this episode we'll discuss a pretty subjective application of EQing, namely, coloration.

The previous two installments delved into the magical world of MIDI, including its modes, messages, and parameters. Now, in this and the following articles we'll take a look at the effects types that…

Today we'll deal with frequency masking ─ what is it actually, and how can we solve it?

This Winter NAMM Show 2015 was, in our opinion, an excellent edition. Here are the Top 20 products that most caught our attention in Anaheim.

After having discovered the MIDI standard in our last installment, let's now have a more detailed look into it.