Got this question about mix bus compression from a justifiably confused reader: “You state that you should clear your master bus of any bus compressors before mastering – but..you…advise that we should ‘mix’ into the master bus compressor as early as possible when mixing and this is what I’ve been trying to do. It surely...
As a metrosexual European obsessed with men’s fashion, I’m smack dab in the middle of the demographic for Queer Eye. I loved the original show from 2003 so much I even bought their book from the show. The show was so popular in Iceland the book was translated into Icelandic! If you’re living in a cave...
On Friday I told you my story of how I overcomplicated my guitar recording process when I first started out. A great guitar sound is crucial for making a rock song sound huge. Turns out, making it big during tracking goes A LONG WAY, and you’ll get bigger and more bad-ass guitar sounds if you just don’t...
One of my least favorite memories from recording school was when I became the stereotype that pro engineers would later talk shit about. I was an over-zealous beginner that thought More was Better. So naturally, when you’re recording guitar, you have to use as many mics as possible on the amp to get the best...
There’s something immensely satisfying about hard-hitting guitars and slamming drums rocking your speakers. As an alt-rock/metal teenager growing up on bands like Tool, Deftones, In Flames and Soilwork, I just love a good hard rock production. But I cringe whenever I hear poorly played, thin-sounding metal riddled with performance errors and amateur recording mistakes. It’s...
I was sitting on the toilet in my studio last week, doing what people do when they sit on the toilet in a recording studio, reading a music magazine. And all of a sudden a tiny little mouse scurries under the door, darts across the room and pops under the bathroom sink. Sure enough, when...
If you approach the kitchen with the same fear that you would approach a radioactive gas chamber filled with atomic bombs, I’ve got a treat for you. It’s my new favorite cookbook called Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking. It doesn’t teach you how to follow recipes – although there are...
A while back I worked on this atmospheric and sparse folk track for a client. A sparse arrangement means you get to experiment with a lot of space in your mix and some cool effects on the vocals. I always strive to make sure everything can be heard clearly in a mix, but this time it was...
Making your backing vocals stand out without cluttering up the lead vocal is tricky. You want them to add depth and push to the lead melody, but you need to do so without taking the attention away from the powerful lead vocal. Here are 3 useful ways to make your backing vocals blend in better....
You ever feel like your backup vocals get in the way of the lead vocal? You have these beautiful harmonies that work in theory, but in the mix, they just step all over each other in the mix. This week I’ll be spending some time on helping you fix that particular problem. You’ll get tips...