Talking mics - The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 61
LearningA series like this wouldn't be complete if it didn't have an article dedicated exclusively to the recording tool by excellence: the microphone. For a change, I'll start today with some theory and the…
Doing away with the complexes - The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 60
LearningThis week I will digress a bit to reflect upon recorded music and demystify it all a bit...
Talking technique with Tony Maserati - Mixing in the Fast Lane
LearningGrammy-winning engineer and producer Tony Maserati has worked with countless high-profile artists including Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Jay-Z, and Jennifer Lopez, to name just a few.
Recording bass guitar - Naming names - The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 59
LearningThis week we'll discuss an issue that might seem less exciting than the rest we've seen so far but which was specially demanded by some Audiofanziners. It's basically a lean and mean list of mics and…
Recording bass guitar - Tips and tricks - The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 58
LearningToday's topic is somewhat off-topic. In fact, while the tricks you've seen so far allow you to improve "soft" and average electric bass lines, they can certainly be used both during tracking and mixd…
Recording bass guitar - Alternatives - The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 57
LearningWhen you begin recording in a home studio, the first thing you realize is that your main limitation are the room acoustics. And yet, with certain instruments you can forget completely about this issu…
Mix engineer David Tolomei takes in-the-box mixing to t… - Plugged into the Mix
Interview / PodcastDavid Tolomei is one of the top mix engineers and producers on the indie and underground scenes. He cut his teeth as an assistant at New York's Avatar studios, which, at the time, was one of the most…
Recording bass guitar - With or without effects? - The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 56
LearningIn this new episode dedicated to recording bass guitar, we'll deal with a somewhat thorny issue: should you record the bass with or without effects?
Recording bass guitar - Putting the perfect sound toget… - The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 55
LearningOkay, now that we've settled once and for all the question of phase correlation, the time has come to mix our bass tracks.
Recording bass guitar - A matter of phase (Part 2) - The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 54
LearningI guess some of you are a bit unhappy about how I closed the last installment. And you probably won't like me any better when you realize that the first paragraph still doesn't dive into the topic I …
Recording bass guitar - A matter of phase (Part 1) - The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 53
LearningUp to now, we've recorded a bass line in two different ways: directly from the instrument and via one or several mics placed in front of a bass amp. As you were able to hear, each of these methods ha…
Recording a bass amp - The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 52
LearningIn the previous article, you saw how to direct record an electric bass. Although such recordings can be pretty good, they have a major drawback: lack of body. This can be a real problem when the prod…
Summary of the main chapters - Guide to Mixing - Summary
LearningHave you just finished recording and editing the tracks of your masterpieces? That's great news! But you still have quite some work left to do before your songs are ready to be listened by other huma…
Direct recording a bass guitar - The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 51
LearningAfter two articles dealing with the pre-requisites for any bass recording worthy of the name, today we will dive into the heart of the matter with the direct recording of a bass guitar.
A final word - A guide to mixing music - Part 147
LearningThe time has come to put an end to this series of articles dedicated to the art of mixing. In this installment, which is unlike any other so far for obvious reasons, I invite you to take a look behin…
Recording bass guitar - Prerequisites (Part 2) - The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 50
LearningIn the first installment of this chapter dedicated to the recording of bass guitar, you saw the impact the instrument itself can have on the overall result. But there's much more to consider before p…
Give it a twist - A guide to mixing music - Part 146
LearningFor this penultimate episode, I will show you some tricks that might end up disrupting your daily routine and spicing up your mixes. This article is obviously addressed to people having already some …
Recording bass guitar - Prerequisites (Part 1) - The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 49
LearningAfter the chapter dedicated to drums, it seems natural to continue with the second most important element of groove: the bass guitar. To begin this section I would really like to stress a notion I've…
Serendipity - A guide to mixing music - Part 145
LearningToday I ask you to join me in this somewhat particular article where I'll discuss something that's a bit off topic but you nevertheless ought to always bear in mind: accidents in the context of music…
Life-saving shortcuts - The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 48
LearningIn the previous article we looked at some technical solutions that can ease the life of lone home studio owners. Mobile apps, MIDI pedalboards and wireless keyboards can prove very useful, as long as…
For producer and mix engineer Dave Isaac, being a great… - The Ears Have It
LearningMusic has been a huge part of Dave Isaac’s life since he started listening to it intently as a child. Isaac, who grew up in Detroit during the heyday of Motown, says that by the time he was five, he …
Real-life mixing - A guide to mixing music - Part 144
LearningIn a couple of weeks, this mixing guide will come to an end. I'm not kidding! Even the neverending story must come to a conclusion. However, I do love good thrillers, so I left one last twist for the…
Recording yourself - The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 47
LearningYou probably all know that technical tasks are mainly processed with one hemisphere of your brain while the artistic domain is handled by the other one. For reasons I won't get into here, it just so …
Increasing your productivity - A guide to mixing music - Part 143
LearningI must admit that today's topic makes me grind my teeth, but we really need to call things by their name. And, as with any other creative discipline, when it comes to mixing, productivity is importan…
Recording drums — Last advice - The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 46
LearningIn this last article dedicated to recording drums, I will give you three advice that ought to make your life easier when tracking drums.