Every genre has its own unique sonic signature. Pop music is known for being ultra-slick, while punk music is raw and unfiltered. EDM is quantized tight to the grid while jazz is loose and free-flowing. A good engineer understands how every piece of equipment in the signal chain affects the sound. While one microphone may...
I want to bust the myth of the 10,000-hour rule. But let’s start at the beginning… Have you ever seen a natural talent giving it their all? A six-year-old kid playing guitar like a pro for example? We see those videos again and again. The only way to make ourselves feel better is by accepting...
It’s Thursday, and you know what that means? That’s right, it’s Audio Issues Happy Hour where I crack open a fancy craft beer, answer your questions and recommend some important books that you can’t miss. Here’s a replay from a previous Happy Hour for you to enjoy: Today we’ll be talking about: Handling dynamics where...
Do you want to release more music this year? As creative types (warning – MASSIVE generalization ahead!) we also tend to be perfectionists. If you’re anything like me you’ll have hard drives full of half-finished ideas that never see the light of day. But the truth is if you want to finish more music this...
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...
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....
You’re happily dreaming away this morning when the eighth Yuletide Trickster rears his ugly head. Skyr Gobbler is a big fat meanie who sneaks into your studio and adds too much low-end to all of your mixes. He gobbles down his Skyr, a kind of Icelandic Yogurt, as he plays with your EQ curves. He...