Diminished chords are native to both major and minor keys. You’ll find them as the seventh chord of the major scale, and the second chord of the natural minor scale. They get a bad rap for being dissonant, but they…
Simple Tips for Mixing Hip-Hop
If you’re an engineer in 2020, chances are you’re mixing hip-hop. It’s the most popular genre in the world, and there are countless up-and-coming artists getting in the studio and creating. Recording and mixing hip-hop seems pretty straight forward, especially…
Mixing Modern Metal with Jordan Valeriote
Jordan Valeriote is a Canadian producer/mixer/engineer and the founder of Hardcore Music Studio. He has worked with bands like Silverstein, Neck Deep, Forevermore, Intervals, Counterparts, Nick Johnston, Auras, and many more. Jordan first got started in music by learning how to play…
Automate Your Analog Equipment! | Tegeler Crème RC
Today, we are trying out the new Crème RC from Tegeler! We have used the Crème before, and just like almost everyone else who tested it out, found that it was one of the most affordable SSL compressor and Pultec…
iZotope VocalSynth 2 Overview
iZotope launched VocalSynth in 2016. Right away, its features got a lot of attention. It was obviously a fresh approach to creative vocal production not previously seen in other plugins. Two years later, iZotope VocalSynth 2 came out, which is…
Best Microphone Under $300? | Lewitt LCT 440 Pure
Today, we are testing out the Lewitt LCT 440 Pure microphone! We have quite a few Lewitt microphones, so we are excited to get to try this one out and see how it sounds! To test this mic, we recorded…
The Complete Starter Guide to FL Studio 20
FL Studio is a standout software choice for electronic and hip hop producers. Its workflow is one of the most unique out there, really lending itself to making beats quickly with its excellent step sequencer, piano roll, and sample manipulating…
Is it Your Job to Educate Clients?
Today's featured FAQ Friday question is: What if my clients are not professional, and they're always late sending you missing audio files every week. I start having my first new clients, but the level of experience using DAWs is a…
How To Create Synth Sounds For A Living – Interview with Rob Jevons
Warren Huart: Hi, everybody. Hope you’re doing marvelously well. I am sitting here… well, not literally, sort of transatlantically, with Rob Jevons. How are you? Rob Jevons: Not bad, thank you. How are you? Warren Huart: I’m good. I’m good.…
7 Pieces of Equipment I Use Every Day!
I often get asked what gear I use most frequently, so today I am going to share with you 7 pieces of equipment that I use in recording and mixing every single day. These 7 pieces are a combination of…
The Best Way to Get Wider Acoustic Guitars? | Gullfoss by Soundtheory
A little ago, we tried out the Gullfoss plugin by Soundtheory. This plugin is an easy-to-use tool that contains a set of basic parameters that can be adjusted to improve the clarity, detail, spatiality, and balance of a mix or…
A.I. Powered Custom Reverbs! | Sonible smart:reverb
Today we have the wonderful opportunity to try out a brand new plugin, the smart:reverb from Sonible! I am very excited about this plugin because Sonible's plugins tend to be very intuitive and produce great results. So we are going…
The Best Audio Sample Subscription Services
Audio sample subscription services are now more popular than ever. Gone are the days of sorting through samples on expensive disks you had to purchase, only to come up short. The demand for royalty-free libraries grew sharply after the advent…
How to go from Intern to Grammy Winner
Today’s featured question is: “I’m going to be beginning an internship at a studio near me this fall, what skills, technical or not, do you believe are most important for an intern to have?” This is a fantastic question! I…
Jason LaRocca: Punk Frontman Turned Film Score Producer
Jason LaRocca has enjoyed success on both sides of the glass. He formerly contributed vocals and guitar to acclaimed LA punk band, The Briggs, and by the age of eighteen, Jason had also become a producer and recording engineer! Jason…
Your First Recording Adventure: Mac or PC, Desktop or Laptop
Your First Recording Adventure: Mac or PC, Desktop or Laptop More people than ever before are looking for ways to occupy their extra time indoors. Let’s face it – there are only so many puzzles you can do or reruns…
Digital Audio Basics: Aliasing Explained
If you record audio using too low a sample rate, a kind of sampling error called aliasing can occur. With regards to audio, aliasing is defined as the misidentification of a signal frequency, which can introduce distortion or other artifacts…