Mastering at Home - Part 19 - Audio Norms in Mastering Music
LearningToday we'll talk about a delicate — but very useful — subject, namely the firewalls that can help you avoid being yet another victim of the loudness war.
Mastering at Home - Part 18 - Plugins to Help Analyze Levels When Mastering Music
LearningIn this installment we'll talk about plug-ins that allow you to visualize levels correctly — after all, whether you like it or not, mastering has become synonymous with volume, so it's a good idea to…
Scoring to Picture — Part 2 - Setting up your session for a scoring job
LearningHere in part 2, we’ll begin a hypothetical scoring job for a 15-second TV commercial. In this installment, we’ll look at how to set up the DAW session for it.
Getting Into Inter-App Audio - Make Music With Multiple Apps on your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch
LearningIntroduced with iOS 7 and available on all iOS devices, Apple’s inter-app audio feature allows compatible apps to share audio streams and MIDI with each other, making it possible to work with multipl…
Soldering Basics for Guitar Players - Part 2 - How to Solder the Jack of an Electric Guitar
LearningThe musical instrument industry has chosen the best method for the internal cabling of electric instruments, namely soldering. But, as we will see in a moment, this way of connecting two conductors r…
Mastering at Home - Part 17 - The Stereo Image in Mastering Music
LearningFollowing up on our series of articles dedicated to useful tools for mastering at home, this time we will focus on plug-ins that allow you to analyze the stereo image.
Mastering at Home - Part 16 - How to Use the Spectrum Analyzer in Mastering Music
LearningThe time has come to explore the territory of analyzers of all sorts, which will prove to be very helpful within the context of mastering at home. This week we will deal with the spectrum analyzer, a…
Scoring to Picture — Part 1 - What You Need to Know When Composing Music for Video
LearningWriting music to fit with the visual elements in a video, the process known as "scoring to picture," requires additional skills beyond just being able to compose music. In this series we'll show you …
Mastering at Home - Part 15 - Tips for Using Headphones While Mastering Music
LearningNow that we have covered the entire mastering chain, let's move on to different tools that are useful in the context of DIY — like headphones.
Tips on How to Efficiently Use Pro Tools - Power Tips for the Pro Tools Novice — Part 2
LearningIn part 1 of this article, we looked at preference settings and key commands. Here in part 2, the focus will be on the Smart Tool, some important timeline options, and how to create customized sessio…
Power Tips for the Pro Tools Novice – Part 1 - Learn How to Produce Music Faster and More Efficiently with Pro Tools
LearningAvid Pro Tools features industry standard audio recording, editing, and mixing, along with a reasonably well-featured MIDI section. But with an application this powerful, getting up to speed can take…
DIY Sound Effects - Create Cool Sound Effects With Special Techniques
LearningIf you produce podcasts or videos, adding sound effects can provide a whole new dimension to your production. While sound libraries and online EFX sites are convenient for finding effects, consider c…
Soldering Basics for Guitar Players - Part 1 - Soldering Equipment for Beginners
LearningThe use of a soldering iron is indispensable if you need to change the pickups, a jack or any other component of your guitar. While changing a string is no secret for most of us, it's a whole differe…
Mastering at Home - Part 14 - Best ways to Use Dithering When Mastering Music
LearningIn this 14th episode, we will deal with a mysterious stage in the mastering chain: Dithering
Carmen Rizzo on the Post-Apocalyptic Music Business, Fi… - L.A. Renaissance Man
LearningTalk about multi-talented: L.A.-based Carmen Rizzo is a two-time Grammy-nominated producer/artist/electronic musician and composer whose credits include Seal, Coldplay, Paul Oakenfold and Ryuichi Sak…
Mastering at Home - Part 13 - Key Tips on Using a Limiter While Mastering Music
LearningThis week we will tackle a landmark in the mastering chain — the limiter.
Cheap Synth Apps with Rich Sound - Five Cool iOS Synthesizers for Under $10
LearningThe quality and variety of synthesizers available for your iOS device just keeps getting better and better. Although many of the top, name-brand synths will cost you in the range of $20 or even more,…
Quantizing Basics - Fix the Timing in your MIDI Tracks for a Natural Sound
LearningThe quantize function in your DAW lets you to clean up sloppy timing in MIDI recordings, and in many DAW’s, in audio tracks, too. It’s very powerful, but also very easy to overuse. Here, we’ll look a…
Solutions to Keep Your Guitar Safe - How to Choose the Right Guitar Stand
LearningThe guitar hasn't quite followed the evolution of its creator ─ the homo sapien ─ and still cannot stand up straight on its own. So, after having to break that news to you, let's look at the differen…
Mastering at Home - Part 12 - EQ Automation When Mastering Music
LearningBefore moving on to the next processor in the mastering chain — the limiter/maximizer — it's appropriate to talk about a topic often overlooked by many people learning to master: Automation.
Choose the Right Pots for Your Electric Guitar - Help Picking the Right Pots for Your Electric Guitar
LearningMost guitarists don't think too much about the pots (potentiometers) inside their guitars, unless they start going bad and making noise. But did you know there are different types of pots with differ…
Understanding the Specifics of a Guitar Neck - What Type of Guitar Neck to Choose
LearningGuitar necks come in different shapes, sizes and finishes. So, how can you pick the right one for you? In this article we'll explore the different neck options available, in order to understand their…
Studio in a Backpack - Part 2 - Advice on Interfaces, Microphones and Monitors for a Portable Studio
LearningIn part 1, we looked at choosing a bus-powered audio interface to use for connecting microphones, instruments and MIDI controllers to your iPad. In this second installment, we'll look at an alternati…
Mastering at Home — Part 11 - Guide to Mid-Side Processing When Mastering
LearningIn this new installment of our article series dedicated to mastering at home, we will delve into the world of mid-side processing.
Studio in a Backpack — Part 1 - Interfaces to Help Build an Ultra-Portable, Battery-Powered iPad-based Music Studio
LearningDid you ever dream of a totally mobile studio, a compact setup that can fit in a backpack? A rig that you can carry with you virtually anywhere, and record and produce music, even where there's no AC…
