The Stereo Bus Blog - Daily Music Production Tips

This 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 and not have it all turn to mush!?”  There are some strategies for accomplishing decent results from this situation and, although it won’t sound like a record that was recorded in a multi-room facility or overdubbed, for some music that’s for the best.  It’s an incredible challenge that can be really rewarding.
Read the rest of this entry »

This post focuses on the placement of sounds in the stereo image during the mix process.

Proper use of stereo imaging in a mix is probably almost as important (or even more important in sparse mixes) as equalization, yet it is largely overlooked as an area for improvement in engineers and producers of beginner and intermediate experience. Intelligent panning and equalization compose about 80% of a good mix, in my opinion.

Read the rest of this entry »

This post is going to focus on getting a solid balance between the two main sources of bass in pop music: the bass and the kick drum.

Few things are better than mix that gets the low end right. It can be really tricky to accomplish (or downright impossible if the environment isn’t right). But, there are a few general conventions that can help in the quest for the right thump.

Read the rest of this entry »