In the rough and tumble world of developing tools, toys, and total domination in the world of digital recording (I mean as rough and tumble as it gets for coders clad in black tour t-shirts), Presonus keeps “bringing it.” For seemingly every other brand, the move from version to version is a significant stride with […]
While I have been a performing artist and studio producer for most of my musical career, there was a very brief period in the late 1980s when I was also a studio musician. Not as a guitarist or keyboard player. No, I would walk through the studio doors with my axe tucked under my arm […]
Difficulty is an elusive shapeshifter. What seems hard for some may feel like second nature to others. Oftentimes, mastering a task or skill may seem like an insurmountable hurdle at the outset, but as we slowly acquire the knowledge and experience required, we may suddenly find ourselves accomplishing far more than we even dreamed possible […]
In addition to the recording and production work I am often engaged in, I do quite a bit of mastering other people’s mixes into finished works as well. This usually entails applying a touch of EQ to sweeten a track’s overall sound; maybe cutting some lumbering lows or adding a pinch of high-end sugar at […]
Since 1901, the (kinda sorta inappropriately named at this point) National Association of Music Merchants has been welcoming music product retailers and distributors from around the globe to meet, greet, and tap those feet while rolling out the year’s hottest new products and innovations once or twice a year. The 2019 Winter NAMM Show in […]
Recently, I happened upon this “sidebar” that was included within an article about recording vocals that I wrote for Recording magazine in the spring of 2013. It’s incredibly specific in its references to the tools and techniques used, which is most notable for the fact that I no longer use any of these products except […]
Dusk. That mysterious interval where the sun dips below the horizon, just before the sky falls into the unyielding darkness that reigns until the breaking of tomorrow. Headlights are switched on, sunglasses are stowed, and colors seem to blanch into grayscale versions of what were vibrant hues only an hour ago. My eyes are tired. […]
I Hear Voices The concept of “scratch” vocals is almost certainly a direct result of how completely unusable they can be, considering all of the leakage from the drums, amps and guitars that usually finds its way into their tracks. Even if that bleed could be considered acceptable, missing a note or forgetting a line […]
The Bottom Bass can be quite a bit easier to capture than other instruments, especially if you’re not having to use (and mic) an amp. Usually, a DI (direct injection) box is employed for this task. A DI box essentially converts your ¼” high impedance signal to low impedance, allowing your signal to travel via […]
