Stable and Unstable Chords - Harmony Basics - Part 9
LearningIn the previous articles we started discussing the most pertinent way to use chords to harmonize a melody.
Mixing with Plate and Hall Reverb - A guide to mixing music - Part 61
LearningAs we continue looking at the different reverb families, we'll focus this time on plate and hall reverbs.
A review of the Boss SY-300 guitar synthesizer - The Guitar Synth Redefined
Written testIn the past, trying to find a guitar synth that tracked accurately was akin to searching for the Holy Grail. No product, whether it was a guitar synth or MIDI guitar controller was able to accurately…
Customize Your DAW - How to personalize your DAW to fit your work style
LearningYour DAW is your most important piece of software — the heart of your studio. Most DAWs offer a lot of features that you can customize to fit your taste and the way you work. Since you use your DAW s…
7 Ways to Maximize Your Online Music Sales - How to set yourself up to sell more music online
LearningIf you want to earn money from your music online, you stand to make a lot more profit through sales at iTunes, Amazon or another digital retail outlet than through streaming at services like Spotify …
Chord Tones and Non-Chord Tones - Harmony Basics - Part 8
LearningIn the previous articles we discussed what scales and major and minor modes are, as well as how a scale can be harmonized according to its different modes, thanks to chords. We also started exploring…
Mixing with Spring Reverb - A guide to mixing music - Part 60
LearningRegardless of whether your reverb is algorithmic or convolution, chances are the plug-in you use provides different types of reverb. And, in my view, the choice of reverb type is crucial to get the e…
Top Black Friday & Cyber Monday Sales and Discounts on … - Black Friday 2015: A list of the best deals
LearningBlack Friday and Cyber Monday are back with a vengeance, with manufacturers and developers knocking down the prices of countless virtual instruments, effects, sound banks, and even audio hardware, wi…
A review of the PreSonus R80 studio monitors - True Blue
Written testPreSonus recently added to its growing line of studio monitors with its new R-Series, active near-field monitors that feature AMT tweeters, and come in two sizes, the R80 (8” woofer) and the R65 (6.5…
These synths may be lesser known, but they sound awesome - 5 Top Soft Synths You Might Have Missed
LearningTo help you avoid making music that sounds like everyone else’s, I want to tell you about some premium-quality soft synths you may not know about. Although none of these instruments are terribly obsc…
Reverb: Pre- or Post-Fader? - A guide to mixing music - Part 59
LearningAs we saw in the previous article, it's often better to use reverbs on auxiliary buses. Consequently, it's only logical to ask yourself about the best way to send a signal to those aux buses.
Talking sonic repair with Converge guitarist/producer K… - Fixing It in the Mix
LearningKurt Ballou is a busy guy. In addition to being the guitarist in the popular metal band Converge, he’s a producer and engineer, and the owner of Godcity Studio in Massachusetts. In addition to record…
Beyond Passive Pickups - Everything about guitar and bass pickups - Part 5
LearningAn active pickup is a normal pickup ─ but active. Got it?
Reverb In or Aux? - A guide to mixing music - Part 58
LearningBefore you start working with reverb, you need to set up a couple of things. That's why this week we'll look into the different routing options available and examine their advantages and disadvantage…
A video trip to D'Angelico's NYC headquarters - Video: Audiofanzine Visits D'Angelico Guitars
LearningWe recently visited the D'Angelico showroom in midtown Manhattan and got a chance to see and play both electric and acoustic guitars. In addition to all the guitars, D'Angelico has a fully setup stag…
A review of the Soundtoys 5 native effects bundle - Bundle of Joy
Written testFrom EchoBoy to FilterFreak to Crystallizer, Decapitator and more, Soundtoys plug-ins are super-creative tools that offer users the potential to take their music to new sonic places The new Soundtoys…
Pickup Formats - Everything about guitar and bass pickups - Part 4
LearningUp to now we have been talking about what's inside the pickups, but today we'll deal with the physical appearance.
Reverb Don'ts - A guide to mixing music - Part 57
LearningIn this episode we'll point out a couple of things to avoid when dialing in reverb settings.
Add space to your recordings with these free reverb plu… - 5 Top Freeware Reverbs
LearningWe all know that reverb is one of the staple effects in a mixer's toolkit. In fact, you'd be hard pressed to find a recording or live mix without at least some reverb in it. But does getting a good r…
About Single-Coils, Dual-Coils and More - Everything about guitar and bass pickups - Part 3
LearningTaking the pickup concept we've seen so far (the combination of one or several magnets surrounded by a coil), you get so-called single-coil pickups. This type of pickup produces a characteristic soun…
Podcast Production Basics - Part 2 - Editing, mixing and finishing your podcast
LearningIn the first installment of this two-part series, we looked at various options for recording a podcast. This time around, we’ll examine how to edit and assemble your podcast.
Using Reverb - Step by Step - A guide to mixing music - Part 56
LearningToday I'll describe how we will be proceeding to be able to work with reverbs in all tranquility.
A review of the Sonible Frei:raum EQ plug-in - Space Liberation
Written testInnovation awardLife as a writer for Audiofanzine has its pros and cons...Granted, if you're into audio, spending most of your days testing and reviewing the latest gear from the audio world can be really gratifying…
What Are Guitar and Bass Pickups Made Of? - Everything about guitar and bass pickups - Part 2
LearningIn this second article of our series dedicated to guitar and bass pickups, we'll take a look under the hood.
Why Your Guitar Won’t Play or Stay In Tune - How to understand and deal with tuning and intonation issues
LearningWhat is there to say about being in tune? You turn on the tuner, tune up, and you are in tune. Would that it were so easy. The truth is, any experienced guitarist or repairman will tell you there is …
