Recording drums — Kick drum mics - The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 30
LearningLast installment dedicated to the kick drum from the chapter on recording drums. Up to now we have been focusing exclusively on our own audio clips, but I'm well aware that not everybody has access t…
First retouches - A guide to mixing music - Part 126
LearningAfter having gone through the critical listening sessions under your normal working conditions, the time has come for some retouches. That's why today I will show you a method that ought to make your…
Tools to make critical listening easier - A guide to mixing music - Part 125
LearningToday I'll suggest a non-exhaustive list of tools that can make your life easier during the critical listening sessions of your mixes in your home studio.
Recording drums — Aligning the kick drum tracks - The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 29
LearningSecond kick drum installment from the chapter dedicated to recording drums.
Recording drums — The kick drum (Part 1) - The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 28
LearningAfter having looked at the snare drum, we will focus today on how to close mic a kick drum.
Critical listening in a home studio - A guide to mixing music - Part 123
LearningChronologically speaking, the critical listening stage is divided into two phases for any home studio enthusiast: the first one under his/her usual working conditions and the second one outdoors. Thi…
Recording drums — The snare drum (Part 2) - The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 27
LearningIn the previous episode we saw the ABC of close miking a snare drum. Today we'll take it a step further...
Things to consider during critical listening - A guide to mixing music - Part 122
LearningIn order to approach the critical listening sessions seriously, here are a couple of things you might want to ask yourself while at it. You should focus mainly on two aspects, which I recommend you t…
The hour of truth for your mix - A guide to mixing music - Part 121
LearningDear friends, I know the closer we come to the end the more impatient you get. What do we have left after the delicate automation phase? Well, quite a few things and not particularly easy ones. In th…
Last advice on automation - Part 2 - A guide to mixing music - Part 120
LearningToday I'll give you some final recommendations regarding automation.
Recording drums — Overheads and the A-B technique - The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 24
LearningAfter having seen the ORTF, XY and M/S techniques, we'll look now into two other methods to record drum overheads.
Last advice on automation - Part 1 - A guide to mixing music - Part 119
LearningTo close the chapter on automation I'll start listing today some advice and remarks I haven't mentioned before, but which I nevertheless deem important and useful.
Recording drums — Overheads: the XY and M/S techniques - The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 23
LearningAs I told you last week, there are several techniques to record the incredibly important drum overheads stereo track. We already saw the ORTF method and today we'll dive into the XY and M/S technique…
The traps of automation - Glitches and clicks - A guide to mixing music - Part 118
LearningToday I'll write the second part of our brief compilation of the most common mistakes and issues when dealing with automation.
Recording drums — Overheads and the ORTF technique - The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 22
LearningThis week we'll focus on, in my opinion, the most important track when it comes to recording drums: overheads.
The traps of automation - Part 1 - A guide to mixing music - Part 117
LearningAs we've seen in the past weeks, automation is no rocket science or black magic. However, when it comes to putting it all into practice there are some pitfalls you should try to avoid. Here's a brief…
Recording drums — Mono Room - The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 21
LearningIn this episode we'll start discussing the recording of drums with what is usually called the Mono Room track, which is much more important than it seems...
Handling intro-verse-chorus transitions with automation - A guide to mixing music - Part 116
LearningWith this article I'll close the automation "tips and tricks" chapter by approaching it from a song structure point of view. This time we'll deal with how to put together different puzzle pieces like…
Recording drums — Introduction - The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 20
LearningToday we'll begin discussing a topic that will take us several weeks to cover: recording drums.
Highlighting background instruments - A guide to mixing music - Part 115
LearningToday I invite you to join me in discovering some automation techniques that take advantage of our animal instincts to give some background life to your music.
The importance of good tuning - The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 19
LearningThis week I invite you to discuss the importance of tuning in a recording situation.
The bothers of a home studio - The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 18
LearningToday I'll address some constraints inherent to recording in a home studio. Being aware of these issues will allow you to prevent them more easily to avoid any unwanted noises making their way into y…
Instinct and automation - A guide to mixing music - Part 113
LearningToday we'll look into a concept that's relatively simple to understand and which will be of a lot of help when you automate your mixes.
Recording a hardware synth - The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 17
LearningThis week we'll tackle a somewhat peculiar case: hardware synthesizers.
Automation - A case study, looking into the details - A guide to mixing music - Part 112
LearningLast week Yours Truly had the boldness of giving you some homework: to analyze the mix of "The Look" from an automation point of view. This week it is my turn to do the honors.
