Latest Articles
Picking a Place to Live (and Record)
February 21, 2008 Live-WorkThis post focuses on things to look for when you want to live and record in the same space. Not too many of us producer types actually have the benefit of a dedicated studio space, working in rented rooms, in rehearsal spaces, or *gasp* where we live. But what are some of the things that [...]
Read More »Database Glitch – lost a couple of comments
February 21, 2008 UncategorizedJust a quick note that there was a problem with the database for the blog, so I had to restore it to the nightly backup from 3AM. This resulted in the loss of a couple of comments from this morning by Keith and Bryan. Sorry! Yay for backups.
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Are Production / Engineering Schools Worth It?
February 20, 2008 Education, SchoolsThis post focuses on whether or not music production and audio engineering schools are worth it. There seems to be a constant debate between those who eschew formal education for ‘real-life’ and those who pursue formal education. Those who put school down often tout the benefits of saving the money and claim that schools are [...]
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Stretches for Producers
February 19, 2008 ErgonomicsThis post focuses on some stretches you can do to stay healthy when hunched over gear for long periods at a time. Whether you’re slumped over a mixing console, a rack of gear, or a computer, producers and engineers spend a lot of time in awkward, non-ergonomic positions. So, for a bit of an odd [...]
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Ring Modulating (or Vocoding) to Produce Artificial Chords
February 18, 2008 EffectsThis post focuses on using ring modulators, vocoders, or other tone resonating devices to produce artificial chords. Creating unique sounds is a constant challenge. Sometimes things just sound too ‘plain’ and you need to pull something totally off-the-wall out of your hat. In these situations, it can be really interesting to grab resonating devices such [...]
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Predelay: Improve Clarity of ‘Verb
February 17, 2008 Effects, ReverbThis post focuses on the use of predelay to allow reverb to be added to a sound without muddying it up too much. A lot of producers are really reverb shy these days. It’s true that reverb can really date material… it was used so much in the 80s and 90s that a lot of [...]
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Tracking a Band in a Single Room…
February 16, 2008 TrackingThis post focuses on the classic challenge of how to record a band in a single room and not have it sound completely awful. Lots of us have small production studios and tons of bands have single room practice spaces. Inevitably the question arises: “How can I record the band live in a single room [...]
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Insurance Got Your Back? Gear & Liability
February 15, 2008 InsuranceThis post focuses on ways to insure your equipment and protect yourself from liability. I know insurance is probably the last thing on most people’s minds when they get into music production. Let’s face it, though… we have a lot of expensive stuff lying around and we, as businesses, open ourselves up to liability. The [...]
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Sampling: Legally Ambiguous Like Whoa
February 14, 2008 Licensing, Music Business, SamplingThis post focuses on the practice of sampling and its legal ramifications. Sampling has, for years, been a routine practice in the music industry. Sampling is taking a part of an already recorded musical composition and repurposing it in a new composition. It used to be that people would simply sample freely, release the material, [...]
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Taming Rock Cymbals with… a DeEsser!?
February 13, 2008 DeEssers, Drums, MixingThis post. focuses on the secret rock mixing practice of using a DeEsser on overheads. Rock overhead tracks are downright scary. Many rock drummers constantly wash out their cymbals and play in the studio with ‘live’ cymbals that have too much presence, designed to cut through stage noise. EQing the cymbals leaves you with mush [...]
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