How to choose a bass amp - Bass amp buyer's guide
LearningI read somewhere that Leo Fender’s genius was in his business choices. He was one of the first to understand that the success of an electronic instrument depended on the quality of its amplification.…
How to record an acoustic guitar - Mic placement for acoustic guitar recording
LearningWithout pretending to publish the definitive guide to guitar recording, here are a few tips on how to record an acoustic guitar with an electrostatic microphone.
Amplifiers: what are classes A/B/AB/D - Explanation of class A, class B, class AB and class D amps
LearningThe basic function of an amplifier is to increase a low intensity signal capture. It can be a direct source such as a microphone, a musical instrument, or a signal corrected by an intermediary preamp…
Remedies for Vocal Problems - Healing Laryngitis, Dysphonia and Aphonia
LearningYou're leaving tomorrow for a world tour or you’re beginning your studio session for the double album, “The Return of Abbey Road” , and of course, you wake up with a sore throat and a voice sounding …
How to make a Press Book / Press Kit - Recommendations for promoting your music
LearningYou’ve recorded your album; you’re ready to get it out to the public. The best way to do this is to contact the newspapers, magazines and blogs specializing in your type of music until one of them be…
How to position studio monitors - Tips to get the best studio monitor placement
LearningHere are a few recommendations for optimizing the placement (and therefore, the sound) of your home studio monitors.
Top 8 reference dynamic microphones - The best dynamic microphones
LearningHere is a selection of 8 dynamic mics for recording drums, guitars, voice and any other instrument.
Get Loud Masters Without Overcompressing - How to get "hot" masters without losing dynamics
LearningI was driving along one of those Floridian roads that goes between the coasts, and is flatter than the Spice Girls without auto-tuning . . . in other words, a perfect place to crank up my car's CD pl…
There are varying factors in play, depending on the typ… - DI Boxes For Guitars: Acoustic And Electric
LearningWhen amplifying an acoustic guitar, the use of a microphone can lead to concerns about feedback as well as being able to adequately amplify the instrument. With electric guitars, there are also conc…
Fix Vocal Pitch Without Nasty Correction Artifacts - Transparent Vocal Pitch Correction
LearningThe critics are right: pitch correction can suck all the life out of vocals. I proved this to myself accidentally when working on some background vocals.
Layered Vocals Sound Tighter and Cleaner with these Tec… - How to Tweak Layered Vocals
LearningLayering vocals is a common technique to thicken a vocal part, whether applied to a solo voice or to a massed group of backing vocals. However, there are certain considerations with layered vocals th…
Get a good mix with headphones - Mixing Tips For Headphones
LearningMixing with Headphones can be a viable option to achieving great mixes. Although it’s always recommended to use high quality monitor speakers, sometimes they aren’t a viable option. It may be late at…
How to avoid ground loops - Banish Ground Loop Hum
LearningThere are a few different reasons why a musician might wish to use multiple amplifiers as part of their rig.
Mixing your drums Part 3 : the toms - Mixing Toms
LearningToms are an interesting part of the kit that often add flare and excitement to a drum track, just look at the intro to Enter Sandman by Metallica, or the fill before the chorus of Africa by Toto. The…
Mixing your drums Part 2 : the snare - Mixing A Snare Drum
LearningNext to the Kick Drum, the Snare Drum is the most important component of the Drum Kit. So its paramount that we get it to sound as good as its potential.
Mixing your drums Part 1 : the kick - Mixing The Kick Drum
LearningIn most Genre’s the Kick Drum will be the Low End foundation of the song. So really we should treat it with respect and try and get the best out of it while mixing. If you have recorded the Kick Drum…
Gain without pain: giving the guitar cabinets their own… - Isolating your speaker cabinets for the best guitar sound
LearningFor recording guitarists, one benefit of a head-and-stack configuration over a combo is that you can separate the amplifier from the speaker cabinet and run a long cable between the two.
How to get the levels "just right" - Recording Levels And Gain Staging
LearningOne of the questions that I get asked fairly often by neophyte recording enthusiasts is "how hot should I record?" The amount of signal you record per track can have an effect on not only the sound o…
How to Mix a Bass Guitar - Straight to the Bottom
LearningA good bass line, played on a good bass, can be made into a great Bass track. But you need to know your way around your Bass Guitar Processing. Lets take a look at giving your bass that extra little …
Techniques for Mixing the Space - The Importance of Space in a Mix: Part 2
LearningSo you’ve recorded all your instruments and room captures, you’ve got a basic mix going, and you ‘ve selected your delays and reverbs. Now what?
Tools for Mixing the Space - The Importance of Space in a Mix: Part I
LearningWhen entering a new space, how often do we consider it’s sonic characteristics. And more frequently, when building a mix, how often do we think of space(s) as its own sonic element?
The Fundamentals of Different Synthesis Methods - Understanding the Basics of Sound Synthesis
LearningMany of those who use synthesizers in the modern technological world are not well versed in the basics of different kinds of synthesis. With the ease of computer-based synthesis, any synthesis progra…
Basic Concepts in Electronic Music Production - EDM: Where Producing and Mixing Collide
LearningIf you’re reading this article you might already know that EDM stands for Electronic Dance Music. The styles range over a wide gammet of musics, from House to Dubstep, Drum-n-Bass, and IDM (Intellige…
Interview with Mastering Engineer Chris Athens - Exclusive Interview with Chris Athens
Interview / PodcastChris Athens is a senior mastering engineer at Sterling Sound, one of the world’s premier mastering facilities. Chris has mastered albums for Rick Ross, Wiz Khalifa, Nas & Damien Marley, Ciara, Pitbu…
How to Control Vocal Sibilance - Tips for Controlling Vocal Sibilance
LearningVocal sibilance is an unpleasant tonal harshness that can happen during consonant syllables (like S, T, and Z), caused by disproportionate audio dynamics in upper midrange frequencies.
