Interview with Grammy-winning mixer Reuven Amiel
Interview / Podcast“For me, the most important part is for the music to sound alive and to have good energy," says producer/engineer Reuven Amiel.
Negotiating tips for when you're offered freelance mixing or session work
LearningIf you’re skilled on your instrument or have developed strong mixing or other engineering skills, you may find yourself offered freelance work at some point. When that happens, it’s important to know…
A guide to mixing music - Part 34
LearningToday, I invite you to continue exploring the possibilities of dynamics processing at the microdynamic level. After having dealt with "punchy" sounds, we'll use dynamics to go for the opposite — "rou…
The Loudness War ─ Part 6
LearningIn this new installment we'll continue discussing the consequences of volume on music, sound and human ears, and we'll see how digital technology has enabled the reduction of dynamic range in recorde…
6 ways to become a better onstage guitarist
LearningAs a guitar player, you have many possible roles in a live situation. You might strictly be a rhythm player, you might also play lead, or you could even be the front person for the band, in addition …
A guide to mixing music - Part 33
LearningAfter looking at some applications of compression at the macrodynamic level in the two previous articles, we'll deal here with microdynamics, starting with how to get a "punchy" sound.
Top Australian engineer Klaus Hill on mixing, mastering, analog summing and more
Learning“I've always mixed people's records,” Klaus Hill says, “it's just something I've always been very good at.” In the eleven years since he moved from England, Hill has established himself as one of the…
Weighing the pros and cons of DIY mastering
LearningFor a long time the mastering process was a bit mysterious. Musicians knew little about what went on in a mastering studio, except that it made their tracks sound better. But thanks to all the inform…
Sound synthesis, sound design and audio processing - Part 25
LearningWe are slowly coming to the end of this series!
Alternate mixes that pro engineers do for every song — and so should you
LearningProfessional engineers typically render more than just a full version when they finish mixing a song. They also run a number of variations, which are referred to as "alternate mixes." In this article…
A guide to mixing music - Part 32
LearningToday we'll continue our discovery of the use of compression with an application that will surely interest all of you: An increase in loudness.
The Loudness War ─ Part 5
LearningIn this new installment in our race for volume, we'll see how changes in music listening have fueled the loudness war, and we'll look at radio's role in the escalation.
Visual clues from your DAW’s waveform display can make your workflow more efficient
LearningIf you are someone who’s interested in learning more about recording technology — and you probably are, since you’re reading this — you may have come across interviews with big name engineers and pro…
A guide to mixing music - Part 31
LearningIn this episode, we'll concentrate on dynamics processing during mixdown, and we'll see how to use compression to give consistency to your tracks. This usage, in my opinion, is the most important one…
Sound synthesis, sound design and audio processing - Part 24
LearningToday we'll finish reviewing the different types of physical modeling synthesis and move on to how it has been implemented.