Music Production Tips – The Stereo Bus Blog

So you want to add a subwoofer to your monitor setup? Studio subwoofers can be tricky things that require a little bit of audio soul searching, auditioning, and planning to pull off well. But, a well integrated sub can make a world of difference in the right circumstances.

I, for example, just added a Mackie HRS-120 sub to my HR824 speakers and am quite happy with it after some tweaking.

Since pro audio subs tend to be expensive and add complexity, there are a lot of important questions that one should ask one’s self before investing in a quality sub.

• Why do I want to add a subwoofer?
• What kind of music do I tend to work on?
• Do I even like the sound of subwoofers? Is my room suited for subwoofers?
• What are the options that make sense for my existing speakers?

Read the rest of this entry »

This post focuses on some of the basics of nearfield speaker placement, where and why and a little how.

It used to be that studios had huge wall-mounted speakers that required equally large rooms to work properly.  Commercial studios are carefully acoustically tweaked.  I won’t go into acoustic treatments here, but needless to say a properly tuned room will make any monitor system work much better.
Read the rest of this entry »

This post focuses on how monitoring with different kinds of speakers will help you achieve better mixes.

One of the things that sets professional studios apart from hobbyist studios is their collection of monitors.  Most studios have at least a couple pairs of monitors, from nearfields to farfields.  Many have boomboxes and ‘hi-fi’ stereos to give even more diverse listening options.  Having monitoring diversity helps reveal weak spots in the way the music translates from system to system.
Read the rest of this entry »

This post focuses on how to reduce the noise produced by gear, thus producing cleaner recordings.

Anyone who has worked on audio with a typical desktop PC gets to know the hum and fan noise of their PC very well.  There are lots of different ways to get a quieter environment, from moving the equipment to custom silencing solutions.

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 »