This weekend is NAMM and I’m taking in the craziness. I’ve gone to NAMM for the past ten years and it’s become less of a place to see new stuff, and more just a place where many of my friends are conveniently located in one place so that we can have a good time. A tagline...
The music industry has a plethora of home production tools. And most people know the big ones, like Pro Tools, acoustic panels, and the Shure SM58. But there are three tools that, I think, are highly underestimated. Three tools that will make your home productions surprisingly better. Modern Tools Have Changed The Game Modern technology...
Forgive me, for I have sinned. That is, I’ve committed many deadly sins as a part-time musician. I have a day job and I make music on the side. And I’ve learned some things about what works and what doesn’t. I’ve learned what actions help or hurt my music career. So, speaking from experience, here...
With so many microphones on the market, it can be tough to know what mic is best for recording acoustic guitar. Condenser or dynamic? Large diaphragm or small? Cardioid pickup pattern or something else? In this post, I’d like to answer those questions and also go over the best microphones for recording your acoustic. Why...
After hours of grueling mixing work, you finally get to that finished mix you worked so hard on. It sounds balanced and punchy. You can pick out all the instruments clearly and they are playing together in unison, creating an intricate and amazing arrangement. You pat yourself on the back for a job well done...
You jump up from your chair and exclaim, “That’s it!” After hours of tweaking your snare drum you’ve finally gotten that meaty and powerful punch you were hearing in your head. Although you’re elated from your mixing session, it’s late and you’re exhausted from mixing Christmas jingles all day so you decide to call it...
There’s one thing that can be the difference between landing that gig or not. You can lose sync licensing placements without this thing. Potential production clients might run away if you don’t have this thing. The thing? An official website for your music. If you don’t have a website as a musician, you’re hurting your...
The eleventh Yuletide Trickster to wreak havoc on your home studio is Doorway Sniffer. Don’t shoot the messenger dear reader. I didn’t make these names up. Doorway Sniffer has an acute sense of smell and with his long nose he sniffs out the nasal frequencies of your vocal tracks, making them sound telephony and thin....
Window Peeper is the weird voyeur of all the thirteen Yulebrothers. If you missed the previous ten, check out the blog to catch up). Suffice to say, he doesn’t get a lot of love in the post #metoo era, but that doesn’t stop him from sneaking into your studio and crashing your computer. It used...
Last night as you exited your studio, you were happy with how dynamic yet punchy your mastered mixes were sounding. Unfortunately for you, as you dream of dynamic waveforms, the next Yuletide Trickster sneaks into your studio. Sausage-Swiper is his name, and usually, he heads for the delis and grocery stores to soothe his addiction....