Be mindful of the psychological aspects of working with a singer
LearningIn part 1, we looked at mic choices, setup, and creating a monitor mix that’s comfortable for the singer. Here, we’ll delve into some producing techniques that will help you coax the best performance…
How to get the best results when a singer records in your studio
LearningProducing a singer for a vocal overdub session sounds like a pretty straightforward task, but to get good results, you not only need good engineering chops, but the ability to coax the best performan…
Remove Low-End Clutter from Your Mix with High-Pass Filtering
LearningGuitars, vocals, pianos, drums or virtually any track in your mix, has extraneous low-frequency information that can be filtered out without compromising the sound. While you may not notice anything …
Figuring Out the Unit That's Right for You
LearningPart 1 looked at how to interpret the specs you see in ads and listings for audio interfaces. This time around, we offer info to help you figure out the audio interface that best fits your needs, pre…
Demystifying the Specs and Features
LearningShopping for an audio interface can be daunting, due to the countless models on the market and the variations in inputs, outputs, formats, maximum sampling rates, and numerous other specifications. T…
Keep your levels down and your headroom up, and your music will sound better
LearningYou’ve probably heard the term “headroom” thrown around a lot. What it is, essentially, is a margin of safety between the loudest peaks of your track — or tracks, in the case of a mix — and 0 dB on y…
A Step-By-Step Workflow for Your Next Mix
LearningHere at Audiofanzine, we’ve covered many individual aspects of mixing, and offered detailed information on what to do in preparation for a mix. But we've also gotten requests for an overview of the e…
Learning by Listening to Other Mixes
LearningJust like painting, photography and, obviously, music — mixing is an art in itself. And, as such, it also requires some training.
Work Together Remotely via DAW File Sharing
LearningSharing tracks over the Internet makes it possible for musicians to work together remotely, whether they're around the corner from each other or around the world.
Steely Dan’s Producer Talks Shop with Audiofanzine
LearningDuring Steely Dan’s original incarnation, the band produced a string of classic albums that are admired equally for their smart and catchy songwriting, amazing musicianship, and state-of-the-art reco…
Comparing Two Approaches to Drum-Track Creation
LearningIf you’re not a drummer, but you need drum tracks for your productions — and assuming you don’t have the budget and facilities to hire and record a real drummer, — you’re going to need to use either …
Adjust and Process Groups of Tracks at a Time
LearningOne easy way to improve your mixing efficiency is to use the flexible routing capabilities in your DAW's mixer to create subgroups. Also referred to as "submixes," they let you create custom subsets …
Reduce or Eliminate Leakage When Tracking Drums and Other Instruments Together
LearningSo, you’ve got a band, you’ve got some recording gear, and you’re ready to start cutting your album in your home studio. If you’re recording with a drummer and you want to do a “live” basic-tracking …
Advice For Placing Elements in the Stereo Soundscape
LearningPanning seems like a simple enough task. You turn the panning knobs to the positions you want your tracks to be situated in the stereo image and you’re done, right? Well there’s more to it…
Everything about Phase Problems - Part 3
LearningAfter having seen the theory and the cases where you could have phase issues, in this final installment we will see different ways to identify eventual problems. And we will also go through the vario…
