History of the Talk Box
LearningAlthough many hits have been marked by the Talk Box sound — take, for instance, California Love by 2Pac, Livin’ on a Prayer by Bon Jovi or Pigs by Pink Floyd — it still remains a little known effect.…
Talking technique with one of the top jazz engineers in the business
LearningThough he has a Music Production and Engineering degree from Berklee, Todd Whitelock says it took on-the-job training to become one of the top recording engineers in the jazz world. Whitelock, who al…
The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 7
LearningInvented by a great Belgian clarinet master around 1840, it is just as widely used in classical music as it is in pop or contemporary music. But it's definitely in jazz where it has gained more promi…
A guide to mixing music - Part 103
LearningIf you were to have the chance to look at the mix session of a commercial song you'd be more surprised by the sheer exuberance of automation lines than by the number of plug-ins used. However, most b…
The best small brands for guitar effect pedals
LearningThe long-awaited poll regarding "small" guitar effect pedal brands is finally here! It's open season for anybody who likes controversy!
The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 6
LearningThis week we'll start with the first practical case: tracking a trombone.
The top MIDI interfaces for less than $100
LearningMany modern audio interfaces don't offer MIDI connections anymore. And yet lots of us still have MIDI keyboards and/or controllers we don't want to let go of. Fortunately, there are some inexpensive …
The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 5
LearningYou'll fix it in the mix... right? Wrong! That's why I'll try to make sure that this phrase never makes into your home studio.
The top products featured at the 141st AES Convention
Report / ShowThe recent 141st AES Convention really stood up to the expectations in terms of new products. Here's a small selection of some of the things we thought were most interesting.
The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 4
LearningThis week we'll take a moment to discuss the delicate issue of levels during tracking.
Dynaudio LYD 7 Review
Written testWe are the first to brawl about the lack of innovation among speaker manufacturers. Dynaudio is one of those brands with an undeniable know-how, but whose road map only seems to lead into a desert wh…
Harmony Basics - Part 23
LearningIf you want to start making up melodies and bass lines from chord inversions, as I promised in the last article, we must first address the thorny issue of consonance and its evil twin, dissonance... …
The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 3
LearningToday we'll discuss a topic that's very important in the all-digital age, namely which format you should use to record your takes.
The best big brands for guitar effect pedals
LearningDespite the explosion of the pedal market and the appearance of countless small manufacturers, the big names in the effects world continue to implacably dominate the business. Here's a list of the ma…
EarMaster ApS Earmaster 6 Review
Written testEarMaster Aps is a small Danish company founded in 1994 specialized in the development of a very particular software: EarMaster, whose goal is to train your musical ear and reading skills.
