Recording secrets of Depeche Mode's cult album
Report / ShowReleased in early 1990, "Violator" is Depeche Mode's seventh studio album. It was produced over most of 1989 with the help of producer Flood, sound engineer Steve Lyon and mixer François Kevorkian.
Ten Beatles production secrets
LearningTo express the full extent of their genius, the Beatles spent hundreds of hours in the studio experimenting. Since then, some have devoted entire books to their production secrets. For our part, we o…
Tips for Better Headphone Mixing
LearningHeadphones are more critical to the mixing process than ever. One reason is the popularity of music streaming. More people than ever are listening to music on mobile devices with headphones. So makin…
Arranging Tips
LearningSongwriting and performance are crucial ingredients for producing a great song. Another is the arrangement. That is, deciding which instrument and vocal parts will be in a song, and where they'll com…
How to get the best results when you record vocals
LearningNo matter the genre, a lead vocal track is always the focal point of a song. As a result, you should approach recording vocals with forethought and planning. If you want the best results, you need to…
Headphone mix for the singer - Part 4
LearningIn this fourth part you'll learn how to fine-tune the cue mix for the singer by improving the ordinary in no time.
Headphone mix for the singer - Part 3
LearningAfter the brief detour last week to discuss a less conventional way to handle the cue mix, today we'll go back to the more traditional way, that is the use of a good ol' pair of headphones. We'll dis…
Headphone mix for the singer - Part 2
LearningLast week I mentioned the preposterous idea of using a speaker instead of headphones to send the cue mix to the singer. This obviously entails the mic picking up a lot of bleed, however as I implied …
Headphone mix for the singer - Part 1
LearningToday's article could've been easily included in the previous section because we are once again dealing with the comfort of the singer. However, I decided to make it part of a new, much larger sectio…
The comfort of the performer - Part 3
LearningThird and final installment of the chapter dedicated to the comfort of the singer during vocal recordings. Today, for the first time, we will discuss the gear used. However, before looking at it from…
The comfort of the performer - Part 2
LearningSecond part of the chapter dedicated to the comfort of the singer when recording vocals. After discussing the place last week, today you'll see some really nice tricks that will allow the singer to f…
The comfort of the performer - Part 1
LearningIn the previous article I mentioned the famous "comfort zone" of the singer. In the coming weeks we'll look into the material conditions around a vocal recording which are susceptible of helping the …
Singing or the art of performance - Part 4
LearningTo finish with the performance question, today we'll discuss a somewhat particular topic which was inspired by a comment posted in the French forum by ex-Moderator in Chief, Will Zégal, in response t…
The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 91
LearningToday we'll continue exploring the art of performance with an installment that could be easily renamed into "Theatrics for Dummies." However, anyone who takes the time to put into practice these tips…
The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 86
LearningThis week we'll begin discussing one of the most important topics of this series: vocal recording. As you will see in this brief introduction, recording vocals correctly doesn't just mean putting up …
The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 85
LearningThird and last part of this interlude dedicated to dialog within the framework of a record production. Today we will look at this topic from the point of view of the home studio loner.
The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 83
LearningBefore we start another chapter of this ultimate recording guide, I decided to write this article inspired by some comments to previous articles...
The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 82
LearningThis time we'll look briefly into a recording technique which is as old as can be. In fact, chances are you already know it, but a brief reminder never hurt anybody. Besides, it will be the perfect o…
The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 81
LearningIn today's article you'll see how to put into practice the recording by parts technique so that the end result is as natural as possible.
The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 80
LearningThis week I invite you to discover a technique that will allow you, in some specific cases, to significantly improve the quality of your recordings. As far as I know, this technique doesn't really ha…
The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 79
LearningThe long chapter dedicated to recording electric guitar has come to an end. That said, the articles in the coming weeks will deal with topics that could easily be integrated into it. But I made the c…
The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 78
LearningEver since we started this series of articles, there's one thing we've repeated over and over again: the main flaw of almost any home studio is room acoustics. However, for some instruments you can b…
The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 77
LearningThis week I will reveal to you some very simple tricks that ought to allow you to get a guitar sound that is more "lively" or "produced," for lack of a better word.
The ultimate guide to audio recording - Part 76
Learning"S**t, I forgot that!" Have you ever had that feeling when you came out of a test or an important interview? I bet you have, surely at least the "s**t" part... Well that's exactly what I thought a co…
Sound designer Scott Gershin talks tools, techniques and trends
Interview / PodcastScott Gershin is one of the top sound designers working today. He's been creating sounds for over 30 years and has a credit list a mile long, which includes films such as Nightcrawler, Pacific Rim, H…