The best studio headphones for about $100 - The top studio headphones for about $100
LearningYou can get some pretty good headphones for about $150 and while 50 bucks may not seem like much of a difference, it's a bit too much for many home studio owners. But don't worry if you are one of th…
Modulating to neighbor, distant and chromatic keys - Harmony Basics - Part 20
LearningIn the previous articles we saw how you can modulate towards other keys, mainly using pivot chords to guarantee a smooth transition. So, now that we've seen how to modulate, it would be nice to know …
Modulation Effects - The Flanger Effect - A guide to mixing music - Part 100
LearningAfter having seen the chorus effect last week , today we'll discuss another beloved modulation tool, the Flanger.
The Top Brands for Guitar and Bass Cables - The best cables for guitar and bass
LearningCables are an indispensable element in any electric or acoustic-electric guitar or bass player's toolkit. They must not only transport the signal of the instrument with the least nuances possible, bu…
Piezoelectric Loudspeakers - The Operating Principles of Loudspeakers - Part 7
LearningAnother family of transducers, often put down by audiophiles, is that making use of the piezoelectric phenomenon. Sturdy and not particularly expensive, these transducers have found a place in many s…
iSolo Acoustic Guitar Microphone Review - Lone pleasure
Written testIf you are in the audio world you have surely noticed how crowdfunding campaigns have multiplied in recent years. Everyday there are news stories about "groundbreaking" products on platforms like Kis…
Modulation Effects - The Chorus Effect - A guide to mixing music - Part 99
LearningMoving forward we'll be taking a look at some modulation tools that, even if not that useful on a day-to-day basis during mixdown, they can come in incredibly handy in some situations. Today we'll be…
The top large-diaphragm USB mics - The best large-diaphragm USB microphones
LearningWhy buy a USB audio interface when you could simply get a mic to record yourself? That's what USB mics are for: you take them out of their box, plug them in and rock 'n' roll! We polled our French re…
The Andrew Scheps Interview - Mixing in Parallel (Part 1)
Interview / PodcastYou’d probably be surprised to discover that one of the top mixers in the world works on just a single pair of monitors, in a non-treated room, from a home studio. That engineer is Andrew Scheps, one…
Acoustic Treatment and Soundproofing for Dummies - Setting Up Your Home Studio - Part 3
LearningAs I mentioned in the last article, the ideal home studio must have good room acoustics and soundproofing. But, what does these two concepts mean? To answer this question we need to dive into some th…
The Top Overdrive Pedals for Electric Guitar - The Best Overdrive Pedals for Electric Guitar
LearningThe overdrive pedal is one of the most timeless and classic effects for electric guitar, and finding the overdrive of your dreams can be a lifelong endeavor. They have become a true cult object and m…
Tools to give cohesion to your mix - A guide to mixing music - Part 98
LearningToday I'll shortlist the plug-ins that I use most frequently when I want to reinforce the sonic cohesion of a mix. As usual, this is by no means an exhaustive list. Far from that. My only goal here i…
The top studio headphones for less than $50 - The best studio headphones for less than $50
LearningSometimes, $50 for a pair of studio cans might be over your budget, be it because you don't have the money in the bank or you need to buy four at the same time or any other reason you can think of. B…
Using II-V-I and pivot chords - Harmony Basics - Part 19
LearningIn the previous article we saw how to use cadences to modulate to a different key. However, regardless of whether you use a cadence or not, a seamless modulation relies on the so-called pivot chords.
How to use tape machine and mixing console emulators - A guide to mixing music - Part 97
LearningAs promised, this week we'll see how to make the most of tape machine and console-emulating plug-ins.
The 10 Hottest Products of Summer NAMM 2016 - Best of Summer NAMM 2016
LearningThe Summer NAMM was just a couple of weeks ago and we were there, obviously! Here's our report (better late than never...): As usual the world of guitar was omnipresent during the event. Here's a lis…
The whys of using tape machine and console emulators - A guide to mixing music - Part 96
LearningThis week we'll keep on discussing distortion by addressing plug-ins that emulate legendary tape machines and consoles.
How to use harmonic distortion in a mix - A guide to mixing music - Part 95
LearningToday you'll see how to put into practice everything you've learned so far about harmonic distortion.
The Top Tremolos for Guitar - The Best Type of Vibratos for Electric Guitar
LearningFar from being a simple accessory, the vibrato has become an essential element in the playing style of many guitarists. Be it for subtle modulations with clean sounds or dive bombs with fat distortio…
The Top Electric Guitar Tuners - The Best Electric Guitar Tuners
LearningIs there anything more annoying than a guitar that won't stay in tune? Most guitar lovers will say no. While there are several factors to consider, the quality of the tuning machines plays a crucial …
The Role of Cadence and Characteristic Notes in Modulat… - Harmony Basics - Part 18
LearningIt's not uncommon for a composer/songwriter to feel the need to leave the original key of the song he's writing and go explore some other ones. There are many reasons for that: to change the mood (i.…
Getting acquainted with harmonic distortion - A guide to mixing music - Part 94
LearningThis week we'll continue exploring harmonic distortion.
Let's Get Small - Mini-effects pedals make configuring your pedalboard a whole new ballgame
LearningOne of the great things about pedalboards is that they give you the freedom to choose the effects you want for your rig. There is one caveat: Your pedalboard is a finite size, and you can only add ef…
De-Clutter Your Rhythm Guitars - Coordinate your rhythm guitar parts to avoid a chaotic-sounding mess
LearningWhenever you have more than one guitarist playing chords in a song, you risk a cluttered and muddy sounding result if the parts they’re playing are not coordinated in advance. That said, there are pr…
Electrostatic Loudspeakers - The Operating Principles of Loudspeakers - Part 6
LearningAfter our previous discussion of electrodynamic speakers, we'll now move on to describing different categories of speaker transducers, starting with the equivalent of the condenser mic in the speaker…
