Ever since I read the “4 hour Work Week” by Tim Ferriss I’ve sworn by two simple rules. Parkinson’s Law and the Pareto Principle. Parkinson’s Law simply dictates that the amount of work needed to finish a project will expand to the total available time until completion. So if you have a week to mix...
More instruments in a mix means more work. Once you start adding in more stuff that once wide-open frequency spectrum starts getting smaller and smaller. So how do you carve out a spot for each instrument in your mix? Make Them Sit Right from the Start Making the instrument sound great from the get-go is...
Here are a couple good tips if you’re mixing drums. Start with overheads Listen to the overall drum sound through the overheads. That’s where the essence of the drums come from so they need to sound great. Approach the overhead sound like you would a mastering session. The overheads are a combination of different instruments...
Take a break from your music mixing. Imagine yourself in a calm, peaceful place, free from distractions. Take a deep breath, open your mind and imagine your mix through the eyes of a buddhist monk. Rebirth “Rebirth in subsequent existences must be understood as the continuation process” From a garage recording to a professional mix,...
Recording with more than one microphone poses a certain challenge. Phase. Making to get it right in the first place? Here’s how: 1. Set up your microphones like you want them. 2. Record a snippet of audio, like a double palm muted strum on guitar or a whack of the snare. 3. Zoom aaaaaalll the...
If you want to pass the test to see if you’re really a lover of audio, read on. What follows is a list of ways both winners and loser think in the studio. I want you to honestly decide what your answer would be. If you get too many “loser” answers, don’t worry. We’ve all...
Did you know the best way to use vocal compression to get a thicker sound out of shy singers? You see, inexperienced singers can give you trouble during a vocal recording session. One of the major problems you might deal with is their shyness with the microphone. Experienced singers will sing at the top of...
This is a guest post by Todd Cardon. So you are passionate about audio recording. You are an excellent guitarist, singer/songwriter or composer. You have minimal spare income to spend to get your recording gear up and running. If this applies to you, let me show you the 5 best types of quality recording equipment...
Here are some more tips from AES, this time about how to EQ. Sometimes it’s frustrating to hear these experts talk about their sessions. They have such great gear, and they can record in amazing studios. It makes you feel inadequate, because it’s obviously much easier to get great tracks going if you’re working with...
Al Schmitt has 18 Grammys. When he talks about recording, people listen. He’s the type of guy that knows that the best EQ at all. He switches microphones instead. He was on the cover of Mix magazine this month and I had the pleasure of listening to him and a bunch of other big-shots at...