A common problem with a lot of DIY musician recordings is thinness. I’ve run into this with my own arrangements and mixes. You know, when a song just needs a little something, a little meat on its bones. That’s what we’ll talk about in this post — how to make your songs sound fuller. These...
We’re getting ready to pack up his studio to take down to the Bonnaroo music festival to record some bands again. We had some cool artists come through the Haybale Studio last years when we recorded 25 bands in four days, like Moon Taxi, Alt-J, Rayland Baxter, Old Crow Medicine Show, and Sheryl Crow. Here...
Among the many things that set modern, professional mixes apart from amateur ones is a wide stereo field. Stereo enhancement plugins can make vocals sound huge when the chorus hits, push synth pads to the edges of headphones, and add interest to rhythmic elements. But widening without intent can lead to a disorienting mix that’s...
I’m going to tell you a secret no one in the music business wants you to know. Learning how to properly use compression is hard. Everybody thinks they understand how to use a compressor way before they actually do. Sure, they know what all the knobs are for, but most of the time they’re either...
Every year, on the third Saturday in May, Europe goes to war. There are no casualties because we compete through song. But the songs will haunt you for the rest of your life. I am of course referring to the Eurovision Song Contest that has been going on since 1956. Wikipedia has an abundance of...
If you’re wondering whether you’ll learn anything new from Step By Step Mixing, here’s what a few people have said about it recently. Jim Davis was kind enough to leave a really great positive review on Amazon: “Bought the first edition of this a long time ago and have followed Bjorgvin online ever since. I...
It was a blast to hang out with you on Friday answering your questions on Facebook Live. We talked about: How to make two guitars fit with each other in the mix What exactly saturation does and my preferred saturation plug-ins What plug-ins to use on the mix bus How to set up your mix...
Today I’m excited to announce the brand-new second edition of Step By Step Mixing is ready – and FINALLY available in paperback format. So if you like leafing through pages in the real world, the paperback version is for you. Here’s a quick video where I tell you everything about the new version: In the...
Mixing punk music can be a delicate balance. You don’t want the band to sound too polished, like a bunch of corporate sellouts. But you also don’t want the track to sound too raw, like a demo or a live show. In this post, I’ll break down my favorite EQ tips for punk rock. Admittedly,...
Mastering music can seem like some scary voodoo magic. And that’s because that’s what it is. If you’re someone who’s never mastered a song, mastering might as well be magic. But if you can’t afford a mastering engineer or an automated mastering service, there’s a workaround. I’m not at all saying you shouldn’t master your...