When Noise Attacks Your Signal, Fight Back! - Seven Ways to Reduce Noise
LearningIs noise really a problem? After all, analog tape hiss is almost extinct. We have 24-bit converters with signal-to-noise ratios that far exceed that of the CD. Low-level hum? Today's signals have ple…
Make Your Timing Tighter Than Tight - What Does "Sample Accurate" Mean Anyway?
LearningIf you think that "sample accurate" has something to do with random drug tests, you're probably browsing the wrong web site. But if you've heard the term applied to digital transfers, loop timings, e…
Proven Ways to Enhance Your Vocals - Recording & Processing the Ultimate Vocal
LearningSo what’s the best way to record vocals these days? The answer, of course, is that anything goes if it gives the sound you want. Following are some of the possibilities.
It's Possible to Get "hot" Masters without Losing Dynam… - Big Sounds without Overcompressing
LearningI was driving along one of those Floridian roads that goes between the coasts, and is flatter than the Spice Girls without auto-tuning . . . in other words, a perfect place to crank up my car's CD pl…
Best of Musikmesse 2011 - Musikmesse 2011 in 14 Products
LearningMusikmesse edition 2011 is over and it is time now to take stock of the show room floor which has seen more fruitful years. Nevertheless, some products managed to seduce us, most notably from the cat…
Sometimes Little Improvements Add Up to Big Ones - Quieter Recordings - One dB at a Time
LearningThe whole is equal to the sum of its parts…as anyone who ever used analog tape will attest. Who can forget that feeling of hearing yet another contribution to the noise floor whenever you brought up …
Meeting Multiple Needs for the Biggest Night in Music - Live Sound: 53rd Annual Grammy Awards
LearningIt wasn’t the promise of a performance by Lady Gaga that drew me in to watch the Grammys this year, but rather, some added motivation in having the opportunity to check out the live and broadcast sou…
Panning According to Craig Anderton - Panning Laws Revealed
LearningThe idea of panning seems pretty obvious, right? You turn a panpot (real or virtual) to place a sound somewhere in the stereo field...
To Your CPU, Mixing Is the Ultimate Power Trip - Mixing in a Plug-In World
LearningYou gotta love plug-ins, but they’ve changed the rules of mixing. In the hardware days, the issue was whether you had enough hardware to deal with all your tracks. Now that you can insert the same pl…
Have Fun with Noise Gates - Noise Gates Don't Have to be Boring
LearningNoise gates aren't as relevant as they were back in the analog days, when hiss was an uninvited intruder on anything you recorded. But noise gates can do some really cool special effects that have no…
Tips for Mixing Rap Vocals - Mixing Rap Vocals
LearningIf I had to pick the most frequent question I get asked on a regular basis – it would have to be “how do I mix rap vocals?” Or some variation thereof. At least once a week, if not more often.
All About Dithering - Much Ado About Dithering
LearningIt's a dirty job to go from high-res audio to 44/16, but someone's got to do it.
The Secrets Behind Wide, Spacious, Pro-Sounding Mixes - How to Create Wide Open Mixes
LearningHere are some secrets behind getting those wide, spacious, pro-sounding mixes that translate well over any system.
Exploring the Art of Filthy Signal Mutation - Extreme Drum Processing
LearningI like music with a distinctly electronic edge, but also want a human "feel." Trying to resolve these seemingly contradictory ideals has led to some fun experimentation, but one of the more recent "h…
Multi-Channel Micing for Live Sound - Capturing Guitar Amps in the Wild
LearningThere are almost as many ways to capture guitar amplifier sound with a microphone as there are for a piano. And as with piano (and kick and snare drum, for that matter) single-mic approaches can’t al…