![The Best Brass VST Plugin Collection [FREE & PAID]](https://producelikeapro.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/The-Best-Brass-VST-Plugin-Collection-FREE-PAID-909x606.jpg)
Brass can be a tough section to imitate with a plugin. As with most real instruments these days, though, there are plenty of excellent quality brass VST plugins, both free and paid. We’d recommend sifting through the list in order…
![The 7 Best Chorus Pedals for Your Pedalboard [2023 Guide]](https://producelikeapro.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/The-7-Best-Chorus-Pedals-for-Your-Pedalboard-2023-Guide-1077x606.jpg)
The 7 Best Chorus Pedals for Your Pedalboard [2023 Guide]
Our top selections of the best chorus pedals will help you narrow down just the right effect for your pedalboard. What Is a Chorus Pedal & What Do They Sound Like? Chorus is a type of effect that falls into…
The Danny Saber Interview – From Rolling Stones to David Bowie
Danny Saber is a prolific musician, producer, and songwriter who has made a significant impact in the music industry. He has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry and has contributed to many iconic songs over the…
Soundtoys Decapitator | Grade-A Saturation
Soundtoys Decapitator is one of the most popular saturation plugins on the market. It gives mixers plenty of variety and control in an easy-to-use package. It can do everything from giving an instrument a bit of analogue character to ‘punishing’…
Dolby Atmos Beginners Masterclass – With Ali AMAC McGuire & Dylan Ely
Back in February 2023, we head out to Portia Street Studios where Ali AMAC McGuire and studio owner and producer, Dylan Ely gave a beginner's masterclass to young producers on Dolby Atmos and Immersive Audio Mixing What is Dolby Atmos?…
How to Reset Ears & Prevent Listening Fatigue While Producing Music
Ear fatigue is common amongst engineers, especially during marathon sessions. In order to do your best work, it’s best to understand what ear fatigue is and how you can minimize (or avoid) it. What Is Listening Fatigue? When you listen…
The 8 Best Electric Guitar Strings (For Any Skill Level)
Which electric guitar strings are best for you? Consider firstly the gauge, as well as the make, model, and occasionally a few other variables, to determine what sounds and feels right for your playing. Your Strings Help Shape Your Sound…
Softube Saturation Knob | Free Plugins
Softube Saturation Knob has been around for a long time, but that doesn’t make it any less great than it was when it first came out. This plugin from Softube is easy to use, sounds great, and best of all,…
The Chuck Ainlay Interview: Inside The Mind On Creating Exceptional Music
Chuck Ainlay is a renowned music producer, recording engineer, and mixer who has worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry. He has won numerous awards for his work, including multiple Grammy Awards, and has been credited…
Akai Professional MPC One Review
Akai Professional’s long-running MPC series is one of the most recognized sampling workstations ever made. Originally named MIDI Production Center (now Music Production Center), Akai introduced the first model, the MPC60, in 1988. Roger Linn, who developed the popular LM-1…
Bass Trap Placement: Acoustic Treatment 101
Acoustic treatment is essential if you plan to make the most out of your home or project studio. The goal for treatment is to create a listening environment that you can trust; ideally, the room should have an even frequency…
Vital Synth Review: The Best Free Synth VST in 2022?
Freeware developer Matt Tytel, known for the lauded open-source synthesizer Helm, has a new project out. Vital Synth is a highly anticipated spectral warping wavetable synthesizer, and you can get it for free. Vital Synth Has a Free Edition New…
Talkbox vs. Vocoder: What’s the Difference?
Talking effects have had prominent places in music, especially throughout the ’70s and beyond. What is, then, the difference between a talkbox vs vocoder? Talkbox vs. Vocoder: Are They the Same Thing? If you’ve never used one before, you’re probably…
How to Use a Compressor (Easy Beginner’s Guide)
Learning how to use a compressor is one of the most important mixing skills you can acquire. Compression is quite literally all over mixes, even becoming the sound we associate with loud, modern pop mixing. If there’s anything you want to…
MXL 990 Review | Best Budget Condenser?
MXL produces a range of cost-effective microphones. The MXL 990 is one of their most innovative creations, pairing high-quality sound with an unbeatable price. About MXL MXL Microphones is the pro audio sector of Marshall Electronics (not to be confused…
Arturia MiniLab Mk2 Review
The Arturia MiniLab MK2 is a portable USB MIDI controller for end-to-end music creation. While its predecessor emphasized a huge bundle of included software, Mk2 pares that down and instead focuses on the quality of the hardware. Arturia MiniLab Mk2…
How Diminished Chords Work
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…
The Lasting Legacy Of One Of America’s Greatest Songwriters – The Jimmy Webb Interview
Jimmy Webb is one of the most influential and celebrated songwriters in American music history. With a career spanning over five decades, he has written some of the most iconic and timeless songs of all time. From "By the Time…
Headrush Gigboard Review: The Last Effects Processor You Will Need?
We’ve seen a lot of amp sims and multi-effects pedals, and now we’ll be checking out the Headrush Gigboard in this rundown and review. What Is the Headrush Gigboard? The Gigboard by Headrush is a compact amp modeler and multi-effects…
How to Make Soft Synths Sound Analog
Digital synthesizers have gotten really, really good. We have analog emulations of classic synths that sound pretty darn incredible, and we have fully digital virtual instruments which are different beasts altogether. That said, there are still moments we’re left wondering…
Monitor Isolation Pads | Home Studio Accessories
Monitor isolation pads are a small but important addition to any home studio arrangement. In this article we’ll look at what they are, whether they’re 100% necessary, and how you might make some of your own! What are monitor isolation…
Get HUGE Drum Sounds On A Minimalistic Recording Setup + Free Samples
Recording live drums at your home studio can be a challenge. You might not have a huge selection of microphones, or have a limited number of inputs to work with. Can you capture a HUGE drum sound on a minimalistic…
What Does a Cloudlifter Do (And Should You Be Using One)?
Having trouble moving the meters with low-output microphones? Is your preamp tapped out and introducing noise? You might need a Cloudlifter. What Is a Cloudlifter? The Cloudlifter CL-1 is an inline gain boost designed and made by Cloud Microphones. It…
Boss Katana Air Wireless Guitar Amplifier Review
The Katana amp series by Boss has a fantastic price-to-features ratio, making it one of the go-to choices for beginners as well as experienced players in need of a solid practice amp. The lineup is extensive, and today we’ll be…
Sonnox Inflator Review: Loudness without Compromise
The Sonnox Inflator plugin has been around for almost two decades. It’s sort of a mysterious desert island tool for many engineers, somewhere in between a compressor and a limiter. The Inflator is able to increase perceived loudness, and it…
Aston Microphones Halo Reflection Filter Review
Aston Microphones is a young British company founded in 2015. They burst onto the market with the Origin large diaphragm condenser — a stylish and very original looking transducer, recognized by its brushed metal body and wire mesh grill. Over…
Ableton Hotkeys: 15 Shortcuts to Improve Workflow
Keyboard shortcuts are non-negotiable if you want to master your DAW. The better you know your software, the faster you can implement creative ideas. Any time wasted trying to figure out how to do something is a hindrance to creativity and staying…
Sonnox Oxford Limiter Review
The Oxford Limiter often pops up in conversations regarding the best limiting plugins. It has a few unique features that set it apart from others, but it’s the promised “night and day” difference that intrigues most users. With seemingly endless…
Gain Staging for Modern Recording
A gain stage is any point in the audio signal path where we can adjust the overall level of a track. For instance, this could be with a fader or with the output controls of plugins like compressors and EQs.…
Squarp Pyramid Review: 64-Track Sequencer
The Squarp Pyramid Mk3 sequencer is considered ‘the perfect brain for your musical setup, from studio to stage.’ It combines a powerful 64-track sequencer, a looper, a rhythm generator, a real-time effects processor, a MIDI controller, and an I/O interface.…
King Crimson – “The Drummer’s Drummer” – The Pat Mastelotto Interview
Pat Mastelotto is a highly acclaimed drummer and percussionist who has made significant contributions to the world of music. Born in 1955 in California, Mastelotto began playing the drums at the age of 10 and quickly developed a passion for…
AAC vs MP3 Files: What’s the Difference?
AAC and MP3 are popular lossy file formats which compress digital audio by removing “unimportant” bits of information. The result is a smaller file at the expense of sound quality. We’ll take a look at AAC vs MP3 files and…
Top Lessons Learned My First Year in the Studio
Being a professional engineer isn’t always easy. It’s as much about perseverance and resilience as it is about technical skill and creative talent. I believe you figure out very quickly whether the life is for you, and these are the…
LEWITT Announced the MTP-W950 Handheld Microphone
LEWITT brings studio sound to the stage with the new MTP W950 true condenser handheld for wired and wireless. If you’re a vocalist, the new MTP W950 modular handheld microphone will become the mic you will insist on using for…
Legendary Musician – Trey Gunn Interview (King Crimson, David Sylvian, Robert Fripp)
Trey Gunn is an American musician, composer, and producer who is best known for his work as a bassist in King Crimson, one of the most influential progressive rock bands in history. Born in Texas in 1960, Gunn began playing…
What Is an ISRC Code and How Do You Get One?
ISRC stands for International Standard Recording Code. Publicly released songs are stamped with this 12-character identifier as a means of keeping tabs on important data pertaining to the song(s). What Is an ISRC Code? ISRCs are embedded into the metadata…
How to Do Reverse Reverb in 3 Easy Steps
Reverse reverb, sometimes called reverse echo or reverse regeneration, simply takes the reverb tail of any instrument and reverses it. Creating it is a matter of printing the wet signal of a reversed audio track. Reverse reverb is typically accompanied…
RE20 vs SM7B: Battle of the Broadcast Mics
Today we’re looking at two competitors, the RE20 vs SM7B. Both are celebrated mics, often used similarly for radio, podcast, and voiceover. That’s not all they can handle, though, with the RE20 becoming a a favorite on low-end instruments like…
What is Audio Bit Depth?
Bit depth in digital audio is one of the settings that affects the recording’s overall resolution. In technical terms, it’s the actual number of bits (binary digits) in each sample. What is bit depth? Bit depth and sample rate work…
Tips for Recording Metal Guitar
It’s hard to think of another genre where guitar tone is as important as it is in metal. It’s so essential that an entire subgenre has been nicknamed ‘djent’ — onomatopoeia for a palm muted chug. Recording metal guitar with…
Songs That Changed Music: Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler
A growing snowball of Steinman’s artistic endeavors and experiences from his late teens and early 20s, “Total Eclipse of the Heart” arrived more like an avalanche of creative ideas on the doorsteps of The Power Station in 1982. The writer/producer/engineer/composer…
Apogee Duet 3 Review: Ultimate Portable Interface?
Fourteen years ago, Apogee revolutionized audio interfaces. The original Duet combined professional quality with portability in a never-before-seen way which changed the digital recording landscape. Over the years, they’ve consistently improved the original design, and in 2021, the Apogee Duet…
![The 6 Best Budget Synthesizer Options for Your Home Studio [2023 Guide]](https://producelikeapro.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/The-6-Best-Budget-Synthesizer-Options-for-Your-Home-Studio-2023-Guide-909x606.jpg)
The 6 Best Budget Synthesizer Options for Your Home Studio [2023 Guide]
A quality budget synthesizer can be one of the best ways to inject inspiration into your productions. With a host of brand-new sounds at your fingertips, you can start experimenting with new approaches to composition and arrangement. Synthesizers are amazing…
The Proximity Effect: 3 Tips To Reduce It
Proximity effect happens as you move a microphone closer to the sound source. The result is an increase in low-frequency response for a bigger bass boost than what is natural. It can be useful in some situations; but in others,…
![The 7 Best Electronic Drum Sets for Your Home Studio [2022 Guide]](https://producelikeapro.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/The-7-Best-Electronic-Drum-Sets-for-Your-Home-Studio-2022-Guide-909x606.jpg)
The 7 Best Electronic Drum Sets for Your Home Studio [2023 Guide]
There was once a time when an electronic drum set sounded and felt nothing like the real thing. The earliest electric drums, like the Pollard Syndrum, didn’t simulate acoustic kits at all. They could create a variety of different sounds,…