Audio Engineering
Drums and Bass Set Up at Sunset Sound with Marc Martel
We are back at Sunset Sound Studio in Hollywood, where we are recording a song with the wonderful Marc Martel. We will be focusing on the recording of the drums and bass, and will give a breakdown of how we…
5 most sampled drum beats in hip hop
Audio Engineering
These are the 5 most sampled drum beats in hip hop
By Dave S We hate to break it to you, but there’s no secret recipe when it comes to crafting the ultimate hit. There’s no secret chord, syncopation or melody that is certain to make people get up and dance…
Audio Engineering
Top 5 Favourite Plugins with Billy Decker (Sam Hunt, Chris Young)
Billy Decker is with us today sharing his Top 5 Favourite Plugins! With 25 years of industry experience, Billy Decker has worked with some of the biggest names in the Nashville music scene. Country superstars including Sam Hunt, Rodney Atkins…
Audio Engineering
Two Handed Tapping Style Guitarist: Sarah Longfield
Sarah Longfield is an American YouTuber, musician, and multi-instrumentalist based in Madison, Wisconsin. She is known for her two-handed tapping playstyle and use of an eight-string guitar. Longfield started her YouTube channel in 2007. She gained a boost of followers after collaborating with Rob Scallonon a series…
Audio Engineering
Albums That Changed Music: Love – Forever Changes
Love was an American psychedelic and folk-rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965. Led by Arthur Lee, Love was one of the first racially diverse American rock bands. Their style drew from an eclectic range of sources including hard rock, blues, jazz, flamenco, and orchestral pop. While finding only modest success on…
Audio Engineering
Pro Tips for Mixing Electronic Music with Mat Zo
Matan Zohar, better known by his stage name Mat Zo, is a British producer and DJ. Zohar released his debut album, Damage Control, via the Anjunabeats and Astralwerks labels on 5 November 2013. His second studio album, Self Assemble, was released on 25 March 2016 under his own Mad…
Audio Engineering
Making An 808-Style Kick with Matt Lange
Matt Lange is joining us today to share how he makes an 808-style kick! Matt Lange is a multi-platinum selling electronic music producer, DJ, composer, and musician. His music challenges categorization, and a hallmark of Matt’s work is his devotion…
Audio Engineering
Cherokee Studios Founder: Bruce Robb Interview (Art Garfunkel, The Lemonheads)
Bruce Robb is an American musician, record producer, engineer, and music supervisor. He is most recognized for his time as a member of “The Robbs” during the 1960s, then as a founder of Cherokee Studios in the 1970s; followed by decades of producing,…
Audio Engineering
Little Richard’s “Tutti Frutti” and the Birth of Rock ‘n Roll
In the mid-fifties, rock ‘n roll was emerging onto the popular music landscape, as wider audiences began to discover the energy and vitality of rhythm and blues records. While many of the first rock ‘n roll performers (like Elvis Presley)…
Audio Engineering
Getting Pro-Sounding Mixes FAST
There are two crucial factors to building a successful career as a mixer: 1.Having the skills to turn out amazing mixes 2.Working highly efficiently Get Template Mixing with Billy Decker here! Most courses cover the first part in detail. And…
Audio Engineering
Ultimate GUITAR MIXING On 7 Different Songs
Today we have another episode for our Ultimate Guide Series, where we will be looking at Guitar Mixing! There are so many different ways that you can mix guitar! In this video, we will take you through 7 different ways…
Audio Engineering
Country Mixing Legend: Billy Decker Interview
Billy Decker was born on August 28, 1967 and raised in Nebraska. He received a B.S. in Criminal Justice from the University of Nebraska and then went on to be the salutatorian at Full Sail Center for the Recording Arts…
Audio Engineering
Bruce Robb’s Cherokee Studio Tour (Rod Stewart, Ringo Starr)
Cherokee Studios is a recording facility in Hollywood, California, founded in 1972. Cherokee's owner and manager is Bruce Robb. In his autobiography, Beatles producer George Martin dubbed Cherokee Studios the best studio in America. In the early seventies, the Robb Brothers founded the original Cherokee Studios, first located…
Audio Engineering
Albums That Changed Music: Radiohead – The Bends
In its pursuit of intelligent, imaginative, inspired music, Radiohead won six Grammy Awards, sold 30 million albums, and was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019. Today, Radiohead continues to be admired as one of the…
Audio Engineering
Do You Really Need A Subwoofer? KRK Systems S10.4 Powered Studio Subwoofer Review
We get asked so many questions about subwoofers – do you need one? Which ones are worth it? Today, we are looking at how a subwoofer changes the sound of different speakers, and KRK Systems has generously sent us their…
Audio Engineering
John Leckie Part 2: Working with Syd Barrett, Radiohead, and Pink Floyd
John Leckie is an English record producer and engineer who has worked with prominent artists, such as Pink Floyd, Muse, John Lennon, Syd Barrett, New Order, and many, many more! In 1994, Leckie produced Radiohead’s second album ‘The Bends’. Leckie…
Mixing
What You Should Know About Analogue Summing

As I’m sure you’re well aware, the analogue vs. digital debate still rages on despite digital’s advancements over the years. Whether you grew up working on analogue equipment or simply call yourself a “purist,” some folks still consider “old-school” recording…

Audio Engineering
Mad Muse Studio Tour
Located in downtown Los Angeles, Mad Muse Studios is a studio run by In Flight Music Group (IFMG)—a full-scale musical ecosystem with a mission to provide artists with the space and resources to write, record, release, perform, and monetize their…
Audio Engineering
Parallel Compression / Free Massive Settings
In this episode of MakeMineMusic, Marc Daniel Nelson shows his custom settings for Parallel Compression. You are also able to download the FREE Multitracks and Settings here so you can follow along. Parallel compression is taking one signal, duplicating that…
Audio Engineering
“Smells Like Teen Spirit”: How Nirvana Revolutionized Rock ‘n Roll for a New Generation
At the start of the nineties, amid the polished perfection of pop and the glamour of hair metal, one band broke through and revolutionized the entire music landscape. With their 1991 hit, “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” Nirvana took the raw,…
Considerations for Mixing with Headphones vs. Monitors
Mixing
Considerations for Mixing with Headphones vs. Monitors

One of the most common questions starter engineers have is whether they should mix with headphones or studio monitors. The answer tends to be that good results are achievable on either, or both. Unfortunately, this doesn’t do much to clarify.…

Audio Engineering
Producer & Acme Audio Founder Al Sutton
Al Sutton has been founding and running studios & record labels while producing, engineering, writing and recording music for more than 25 years. His production credits include seminal records by The Sights, Dead String Brothers, Detroit Cobras and Don Caballero,…
Recording Vocals [Tips from the Pros]
Audio Engineering
Recording Vocals [Tips from the Pros]

If you struggle recording vocals from time to time, it’s nothing to worry about! Every time a new vocalist steps up to the mic, there are a bunch of variables at play which can skew our results from session to…

Analog Summing2-750
FAQ Friday
Do you need Analog Summing?
Today's featured question is:  I’ve heard that some engineers run their mix though a stereo pre-amp before using mix bus compression. What do you think about this approach? I love this question because it opens up so much discussion! In…
Parallel Compression2750
Audio Engineering
Get an Analog Sound with this Digital Trick!
Today, we are going to focus on parallel compression! Parallel compression is quite wonderful and is definitely something you will want to use in your mixes! Recently, we did a video talking about loudness in mixes, and realized there is…
change-acoustic-guitar-strings
Audio Engineering
How To Change Acoustic Guitar Strings
There are a ton of methods to change your acoustic guitar strings, and there is no one right way! In this tutorial I will show you how I change my acoustic guitar strings and also give you an extremely helpful…
A Short History of the Vocoder
Gear
A Short History of the Vocoder

The vocoder has been around for a very long time… In 1938, Homer Dudley at Bell Labs invented it to reduce the bandwidth of speech transmission for telecommunications. In other words, it was originally intended as a voice codec for audio…

How to Use Audio Pass Filters in Your Mixes_4
Mixing
How to Use Audio Pass Filters in Your Mixes

The most frequently used audio pass filters you’ll come across are high- and low-pass filters. High-pass filters (also called “low-cut”) attenuate low-end below the chosen frequency. Literally at the other end of the spectrum are low-pass filters (also called “high-cut”),…

MIDI Basics and What You Should Know About 2.0
Audio Engineering
MIDI Basics and What You Should Know About 2.0

Short for Musical Instrument Digital Interface, MIDI is a standard which includes a communications protocol, digital interface, and physical connectors for different electronic instruments, computers, and other audio devices. Perhaps most importantly to musicians, it allows us to play, record, and edit virtual/electronic instruments…

Mixing with Headphones- What You Need to Know
Mixing
Mixing with Headphones: What You Need to Know

There tend to be varying degrees of thought on mixing with headphones. Some of us are in bedrooms, our parent’s house, married with kids (not wanting to wake them up at 3am!), etc. It’s understandable that in certain cases mixing…

A Starter's Guide to Recording Voice-Overs
Recording
A Starter’s Guide to Recording Voice-Overs

There are tons of different reasons why you might want to get into recording voice-overs. We sometimes associate VO recording with film or TV post-production, in a process called “automated dialogue replacement” (ADR)—but in the grand scheme of things, that’s…

Simple Ways to Increase Loudness in Your Mix
Mixing
Simple Ways to Increase Loudness in Your Mix

By definition, loudness is a subjective perception of volume. It varies from person to person based on a variety of physiology and psychological factors. It’s also frequently confused with physical measures of volume, such as sound pressure level represented by…

Recording
Step Sequencing: What It Is and How to Use It

Step sequencing is a MIDI-based tool that divides a measure of music into a pre-determined number of note values called “steps.” Each step laid out in the software can then trigger notes and other MIDI information you supply it. Like most…

The Top 5 Most Common Drum Programming Mistakes
Drum Mixing
The Top 5 Most Common Drum Programming Mistakes

Drum samples and plugins have gotten so good that it’s never been a better time for realistic drum programming. As a matter of fact, it’s totally viable for solo artists to release projects with convincing programmed drums. But even with…

Cleaning Up a Muddy Mix
Audio Engineering
Cleaning Up a Muddy Mix
There is a lot of confusing information out there when it comes to how you should go about cleaning up a muddy mix. In the tips that follow, we will go over how to clean up your mix to make…
Audio Career without a Degree
FAQ Friday
Building a Career in Audio without a Degree
The featured question from today's video is: Will I ever get to a point where I can refer to myself as a recording/mixing engineer without a degree? How do I know when I’m skilled enough for that? This is a…
Top 5 Mixing Mistakes
Mixing
Top 5 Mixing Mistakes No One Talks About
Today we are going to be going over some mixing mistakes that are not talked about very often! These are things that don't get talked about a lot when it come to mixing, but I feel are very important! There…
Low End Tips
Mixing
8 Tips for Amazing Low End!
Mixing low end can be tricky, and it is something we get a lot of questions about! Today I will be sharing some tips and tricks that you can use to get great low end in your mixes! We also…
Using MIDI Controllers to Play Virtual Instruments
Recording
Using MIDI Controllers to Play Virtual Instruments

MIDI controllers are keyboards that let you play virtual instruments and transmit MIDI information to your DAW for recording. Most of the time they connect to your computer via USB for easy integration and very little set-up. They’re about as…

Stem Mastering Explained
Mastering
Stem Mastering Explained

If you’ve heard “stem mastering” mentioned in recent years, you’re not alone if you’re wondering what the heck it means! We’ll take a quick look at the “regular” mastering process and how stem mastering differs from it. Let’s refresh. What…

Mixing
Creative Reverb and Delay Tricks for Vocals

Vocals are the centerpiece to any song and generally require a bit more attention than basic rhythm tracks. Since the human voice is the most expressive instrument, you can have a lot of fun mixing them. There’s lots of pretty…

Mixing
Master Bus Compression: Hardware vs. Plugins
Today, we are going to talk about Master Bus Compression. Many of you know about the magic SSL Bus Compressor, because it is probably one of the most copied bus compressors on the planet. From around the 1970's until about…
Metal Amp Sims750
Mixing
Top 5 Metal Amp Sims
Today, Scott Elliott, of Chernobyl Studios, is here with us, and he is going to share his Top 5 Metal Amp Sims! I am excited to hear which ones he uses and why they're his favorite! 1. Neural DSP Fortin…
Delay Mistakes750
Mixing
6 Delay Mistakes We All Make
This is going to be a fun one because we have talked about this in different forms, and I started thinking about it, and with delays, there really are no hard and fast rules. As such, creativity is king, but…
Compression Mistakes3-750
Audio Engineering
5 Compression Mistakes We All Make!
Today, I am sharing 5 Compression Mistakes We All Make! From using the wrong attack or release time, to not truly knowing why we are compressing something, these are things we are all guilty of! All of these tips are…
EQ Mistakes3-750
Mixing
3 EQ Mistakes We All Make
Today we are sharing 3 common EQ mistakes, and how to avoid them! These might seem quite simple, but they are the fundamentals that I apply to every single mix. Click here to download the cheat sheet so you can…
History
The Shure SM57, the Most Popular Dynamic Mic Ever Made

The Shure SM57 is the definitive workhorse microphone. It’s ubiquitous across the world, from home project studios to world-renowned places like Sunset Sound. The microphone is rock solid, pragmatic in cost and usage, and highly effective. It’s impossible to miss…

6 Reverb Tips for Clean and Creative Mixes
Mixing
6 Reverb Tips for Clean and Creative Mixes

Learning how to use reverb is an essential mixing skill. Time-based effects have the ability to add dimension to your mix, and give instruments their own sonic space. Reverb is often used to push mix elements further back, but it…

Mix Bus Compression Tips for Better Mixes Today
Mixing
Mix Bus Compression Tips for Better Mixes Today

Every professional mix/master you’ve heard has benefitted from a splash of bus compression. It adds what we call “glue” to a mix by smoothing out the overall dynamic range of the material. Done well, mix bus compression can take your…

Drum Mixing
Kick Drum: Killer Tips for the Best Sounding Low End

The kick drum is one of the most important elements of any mix. Together with bass, it forms the backbone of a song and establishes the groove which grabs listeners’ attention. It’s a challenge to get the kick sounding its…