I’m Björgvin Benediktsson. I’m the author of the #1 Amazon best-seller, Step By Step Mixing: How to Create Great Mixes Using Only 5 Plug-ins, the creator of the Audio Issues EQ plug-in, and the founder of Audio Issues. I’m also a venture advisor for the McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship at the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona.
I’m an audio engineer turned writer, and I’m on a mission to help musicians overcome their imposter syndrome, create great-sounding music, and release their work.
I’ve worked as a live sound engineer, a broadcast recording engineer, a professional touring musician, a freelance mixing and mastering engineer, and an audio educator in both Iceland and the United States.
Since 2009, I’ve been helping people like you turn your rough recordings into finished records you can be proud to release. If you want to create radio-ready and release-worthy music that jumps from the speakers, you’re in the right place. My dream is for you to email me out of the blue one day and tell me you won an award for your music because I helped you make it sound successful.
Thousands of home studio producers like yourself have learned from my training, and my work has been featured in publications such as MusicTech magazine, Audiotuts+, The Pro Audio Files, and Recording Revolution, to name a few.
Monday morning, the mix is callin’! Actually, the mix isn’t calling me because I’m relaxing at a ranch in Guadalajara, Mexico with some friends. But that’s no excuse not to help you out with some quick tips you can use in your mixes this week. Whatever the genre, these mixing tips work on every mix,...
“What?!?” you exclaim. “Another #$&$# email about his stupid masterclass about something or another I should try out to fix my mixes!” you scream at your email inbox. Your significant other silently wonders if this is the day you finally get committed. “He’s been on edge lately,” she later admits to her inner circle of...
Parallel processing isn’t just a mixing trick. You can also use it during recording to get a better performance from your vocalist. Here’s a quick trick from the Parallel Processing Masterclass you probably haven’t heard of. “Parallel processing can make your vocals sound huge. Here are a few advanced techniques to try out when you want...
Recently, I found myself video chatting with a group of audio bloggers and podcasters about the glorious safety that is the Kingdom of Canada, compared to our crime-riddled shantytowns down here in Trumpistan. “Canada is so safe. We always forget to lock our doors and it’s fine!” This is a story I’ve heard often, and...
If you’re anything like my 1-on-1 mix coaching students, your mixes are already pretty decent. You understand how to create a rough balance, add some separation between the instruments with EQ, add punch and dynamics with compression and create depth with effects. Even so, with the basics of mixing down, you might feel like your...
You receive quite a lot of audio production tips here on Audio Issues, so you’ve probably got the hang of the technical side of things when it comes to running your home studio. But what about transforming it into a “professional” recording studio? I don’t mean buying a building and building a huge commercial facility....
Tim Ferriss asked Rick Rubin, one of the most successful producers in the world, a question some people might wonder about. What does a producer really do? He said he didn’t know, and that he could only tell Tim what he did and what’s worked for him. I can relate to that because I don’t...
If you’ve read the Pros and Cons of Working for Free as an Audio Engineer, you already know what you’re juggling: When the benefits of free work include: It’s easier to get a portfolio started You’ll gain experience faster. You eliminate some of the barriers to entry into the music community because you’re not bringing...
Now that we’re looking down the barrel of the rollercoaster of an international trade-war, I wanted to make a statement from the Icelandic Embassy of Audio Issues. Ahem…*clears throat* — Begin Statement — “I, Björgvin Benediktsson, rightful ruler of the dominion of Audio Issues, a descendant of the Vikings, eternal student of audio education and...
Hey there, Hope you’re having a good day so far. I wanted to let you know that the Jedi Mentor of Mastering, Ian Shepherd, is at it again and he just came out with a brand new course about everything you need to know about compression and limiting when you’re mastering in the home studio....