5 Hip-Hop Vocal Mixing Tricks from Paul “Willie Green” Womack!
Today, we have Paul "Willie Green" Womack with us, and he is going to share 5 hip-hip vocal mixing tricks to get your raps right and your vocals sounding professional! We have also just released a brand new course with…
NEW Studio Monitors: Kali Audio IN-5!
Today, we get to test out the brand new Kali Audio IN-5 Coincident Studio Monitors! The IN-5 is a new 3-way studio monitor with a 5-inch woofer, and concentric midrandge, and a 1-inch tweeter. Get the Kali Audio IN-5 Studio…
Secret Trick for Massive Vocals! – Marc Daniel Nelson
Today I want to show you an amazing delay trick that I’ve used on vocals for almost every album I’ve mixed over the last 5 years. The cool part about this is there are 3 steps to get it. It…
Songs that Changed Music: Thelma Houston – Don’t Leave Me This Way (ft. James Gadson)
Exclusive Interview with Thelma Houston, Superstar Drummer James Gadson and Grammy-Winning Songwriter/Producer Jimmy Webb by Michael Menachem The allure of a great disco song is an infectious arrangement, lively instrumentation and a stellar vocal to take you away into the…
Thelma Houston: Grammy-Winning Legendary Vocalist
From Gospel To R&B To Disco Thelma Houston Is The Pop Singer That Can Do It All by Michael Menachem Grammy-winning singer Thelma Houston has a storied career in gospel, R&B, disco and pop, growing up in Long Beach, CA,…
How do you know when you can’t trust your ears anymore?
We're back with another FAQ Friday! It has been a while since we have done one of these, so we are very excited to get back to it! Today's featured question is: When mixing, how can you know when you can’t…
NEW Summing Mixer from Rupert Neve Designs! – Rupert Neve Orbit
Today, we are trying out the new Rupert Neve Orbit! This is a 16 channel summing mixer that brings the legendary Rupert Neve sound to your DAW-based studio. It contains Rupert Neve's revered Class A circuits, custom audio transformers, and…
How The Clash’s London Calling Became A Defining Moment in Rock History
Written by Caitlin Vaughn Carlos “The persistent paradox of the Clash has been that their punk standards demand defiance of the requirements and rewards of the music business, while their artistic standards demand that they work in that neighbourhood.” John…
How to Record & Re-Amp Electric Guitars with Matt McQueen
Today, we have the wonderful Matt McQueen with us, and he is going to share with your how he records, edits, and re-amps electric guitars! This is something that I have been doing for a couple of years now and…
Recording a Chamber Orchestra with Brent Fischer & Matt Brownlie! (FREE MULTITRACKS!)
Today, we are at Fever Studio in North Hollywood, with the wonderful Brent Fischer and Matt Brownlie, and they are going to show us how they record an orchestra. We get asked a lot about strings and brass and orchestral…
World Class Latin Pop Engineer & Mixer: Maria Elisa Ayerbe
Maria Ayerbe is Grammy nominated audio engineer with more than 13 years of experience in recording, mixing, music production, and audio post production. Born and raised in Colombia, Maria knew she wanted to be an audio engineer by the time…
Are Speakers the Most Important Part of Your Studio Setup?
In this episode of MakeMineMusic, Marc Daniel Nelson talks about his journey with critical listening and speak choices. Follow as he gives tips on how to best setup your speakers and what to think about while choosing a speaker that…
Using Parallel Compression to Craft Hard-Hitting Drums!
Today, we are talking all about parallel drum compression! We actually recently completed a course on drum compression using only Slate plugins! Click here to get Mixing Pop/Rock with Slate Plugins! In the course, I mix a song by Little…
Lyle Workman: World-Class Composer & Session Guitarist (Beck, Jellyfish, Sting)
Lyle Workman hasn’t just had a successful career—he’s had three. As a sideman and first-call session musician, he’s toured and recorded with everyone from Beck and Sting to Frank Black and Todd Rundgren; as a composer for film and television,…
Artists Who Changed Music: Django Reinhardt
Written by Paul Tingen Django Reinhard has been called “the greatest guitarist who ever lived.” During his heyday, the 1930s and 40s, Reinhardt came up with solo and harmonic innovations on the guitar that had a big impact on modern…
You May Ask Yourself…How Did They Get There?: The Sonic Fusions of the Talking Heads’ Remain in Light
Written by Caitlin Vaughn Carlos Reflecting on the lyrics to the Talking Heads iconic track “Once in a Lifetime,” David Byrne told NPR, “We’re largely unconscious. You know, we operate half awake or on autopilot and end up, whatever, with…
Mad Scientist in Nashville: Justin Cortelyou Refuses To Be Boxed In
Written by Paul Tingen Click here to get Recording & Mixing Country with Justin Cortelyou! “The most inspirational day of my career was probably when I was working on the first Hollywood Vampires record. It was so cool to be…
Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro: The Wireless Earbuds Used by Grammy-Winning Artists!
Today, we are trying out the Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro earbuds! These earbuds are wireless, noise-cancelling, and very affordable. They are also recommended by tons of people, including Grammy-winning artists like Ne-Yo, Colbie Caillat, Halestorm, Daya, and more! We…
Automations & Transitions: Take Your Mix to the Next Level – Marc Daniel Nelson
In this episode of MakeMineMusic, Marc Daniel Nelson talks about how automation and transitions can make or break your mixes. This topic has been talked about a handful of times on YouTube over the past few years, but what Marc…
“Out on the Wiley, Windy Moors”: The Transcendent Artistry of Kate Bush’s “Wuthering Heights”
Written By Caitlin Vaughn Carlos “Every night for a couple of hours I'd sing and play. When I was 15 my family thought it would be a good idea to maybe meet some people in the music business and see…
Marc Urselli: 3x Grammy Winner & Chief House Engineer at EastSide Sound!
Marc Urselli is a renowned, in-demand freelance producer and engineer. He is currently based in New York City at the historic & legendary recording studio, EastSide Sound, where he is the Chief House Engineer. Originally from Italy, Marc came to…
Grammy-Winning Engineer: Bill Schnee (Steely Dan, Ringo, Dire Straits)
Bill Schnee is a musician, music, producer, and audio engineer. He started playing music with he was very young, beginning with training in trumpet, saxophone, and piano In his senior year of high school, Schnee started a band called The…
METAL MIX CONTEST! Over $25,000 in Prizes!
We are back with another mix contest! This is going to be a fun one because, for the first time, we are doing metal! We have done all kinds of genres, but we have never done full blown metal for…
Songs that Changed Music: Phil Collins – In the Air Tonight
Written by Paul Tingen Phil Collins’ 1981 debut single, “In the Air Tonight,” is one of the most influential pop songs of all time. The song has many striking features. It starts with drums from a Roland CR-78 drum machine…
The Ultimate Studio Starter Pack? – EVO Start Recording Bundle
Audient has released a brand new product today: the EVO Start Recording Bundle! This bundle includes the EVO 4 interface, SR2000 Headphones, and an SR1 Condenser Microphone with a shock mount. This bundle is designed for beginners, to help you…
Masters of Production: Hugh Padgham
Written by Paul Tingen Hugh Padgham is one of the world’s top producers, on par music industry legends like Phil Spector, George Martin, Quincy Jones, Phil Ramone, Brian Eno, and Rick Rubin, to name but a few. The reason why…
Happy New Year! – Download These 28 Sets of Multitracks for Free!
Happy New Year everyone! I know 2020 has been an interesting year, to say the least. It has been a trying year under the pandemic with so many people being stuck at home, and with so much economic insecurity all…
Songs that Changed Music: Iggy & The Stooges – Search and Destroy
How Iggy Pop and the Stooges Created an Iconic, Protopunk Anthem with “Search and Destroy” Written by Caitlin Vaughn Carlos In 1969, The Stooges seemed to be ready to take on the world. Lenny Kaye prophesied in Fusion: “If 1967…
Staying Healthy & Headstrong in the Music Industry – Marc Daniel Nelson
Today I want to talk about mental health, things I do to make things easier, the push that gets you over the final line, and just feeling good about yourself. When I first started working in the music industry, it…
Stevie Wonder and the Prodigious Imagination of One of Music’s Most Inventive Voices.
Written by Caitlin Vaughn Carlos Stevie Wonder was born Stevland Hardway Judkinds (later Morris) in 1950, 6 weeks premature and shortly thereafter became permanently blind. “I think I'm very fortunate — I'm very happy to be blind, because I can…
HUGE Christmas Giveaway! $53,618 IN PRIZES!
Happy Christmas everyone! I hope you are doing marvellously well, and are enjoying the holiday season, no matter what you are doing or what you are celebrating! To celebrate the holidays this year, we are doing a MASSIVE giveaway! These…
Analog Tape vs Digital: Can You Hear The Difference? (Multitracks Included!) – Marc Daniel Nelson
In this episode of MakeMineMusic, Marc Daniel Nelson breaks down a song by Chicago blues artist S. Joel Norman. Marc has had people asking for examples of what tape sounds like, and if he has any multitracks he would like…
Songs that Changed Music: Herbie Hancock – Rockit
Written by Caitlin Vaughn Carlos Embracing the Future with Herbie Hancock’s “Rockit” As an 11 year old, child prodigy, playing the first movement of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.5 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, young Herbie Hancock could never have imagined…
A New Industry Standard Podcast Mic? – Earthworks Icon Pro
Today, we are going to do something we have never done before: review a podcast mic! We will be testing out the Earthworks Pro XLR Streaming Microphone in today's video, and comparing it to the Shure SM7, which we typically…
Studio Monitors Under $500: Fluid Audio FX80 Review
Today we’re going to be trying out the FX80 Monitors by Fluid Audio! I met the guys at Fluid Audio back in January at NAMM, and we’ve finally got a pair to try out! They have been kind enough to…
Recording Genesis with ONE MIC! – Austrian Audio OC18
This is another video in our "One Mic" Series, and today we will be using the Austrian Audio OC18 to record a cover of "Turn It On Again" by Genesis! As usual, this will be recorded through our Audient ID44,…
Top 10 Tips for a Successful Studio with Matt McQueen
Matt McQueen started recording as a hobbyist several years ago. Because he was a guitar player and in bands, recording was a side hobby for years, but then he started to invite bands and artists over to his home studio…
One-Stop Solution for Delay & Reverb? – BABY Audio Spaced Out
BABY Audio has put out a bunch of plugins, and we have reviewed every single one of them, so we are back to do the same with their latest release! The newest BABY Audio plugin is Spaced Out, and combines…
Dancing to Distinction: “Blue Monday” and the Reinvented Self of New Order
Written by Caitlin Vaughn Carlos On May 17, 1980, Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook and Stephen Morris all stood, on the eve of their first American tour, poised on the edge of international success. Their band, Joy Division, was about to…
The Key to Modern Radio-Ready Vocals? Antares Auto-Tune Unlimited
There is nothing more of a dividing line than talking about one of two things: drum samples, and vocal tuning. Some people may be against vocal tuning, and feel like it is cheating, but if you look back, we really…
The Beatles – Let It Be: Album Breakdown with Jerry Hammack
Jerry Hammack has devoted 8 years of his life to research every tiny detail of the Beatles career and recoding process he could find. He wanted to ‘Write the book, that [he] didn’t have‘. Jerry has collected over 5700 Beatles…
Small Speaker with Massive Low End? – EVE Audio SC3070
We have had tons of people asking us about EVE Audio's new speakers, and today we have the opportunity to try them out! The EVE SC3070's are ultra-compact 3-way monitors that are optimized for precise midrange and powerful bass response.…
Mixing Hip Hop (FREE Custom Presets!) – Marc Daniel Nelson
In this episode of MakeMineMusic, Marc Daniel Nelson mixes a hip hop track from top to bottom. The song he will be mixing is "I'm Home" by Accent. As he has done a few videos already on his mixing templates,…
Slate FG-2A: Recreating A Legendary Compressor
The FG-2A from Slate Digital is an emulation of the legendary LA-2A compressor! They spent over a year modelling every peak, curve, and sonic nuance in order to create the most accurate emulation. This compressor is very famous, and has…
“Turn It On Again” and The Remarkable Transformation of Genesis
Written by Caitlin Vaughn Carlos It is extremely rare for a well-known band to survive the departure of their lead singer, not to mention achieve even greater mainstream attention. As Chris Salewicz posited in Gig in 1977: “If Mick Jagger…
My Top 10 Jazz Guitarists!
About a year or two ago, I was looking for some really good advice on jazz guitar playing, and as I was scouring the internet, I came across Jens Larsen's YouTube Channel. Jens is a really fantastic jazz guitar player,…
Waves Abbey Road RS124 Compressor Review
I’m very excited today! We get to try out the BRAND NEW (we got an advance copy!) Waves Abbey Road RS124 Compressor! I’m sure many of you know what this is… it’s a very famous compressor! First designed in 1960…
How 10cc’s “I’m Not in Love” Reimagined The Popular Love Song
Written by Caitlin Vaughn Carlos In the mid-seventies 10cc was one of England’s hottest bands. They put out five consecutive Top Ten albums between 1975 and 1978 - Sheet Music (1975), The Original Soundtrack (1975), How Dare You (1976), Deceptive…
Waves CLA EPIC Review & Demo
We have got a treat for you! Our friends over at Waves have given us a first look at their brand new plugin, the CLA Epic! I’m particularly interested in hearing this plugin because it’s not just an emulation of…
Free 2 Hour Mastering Course – Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving! We are so thankful for this entire community and to celebrate Thanksgiving, and to show you just how much we appreciate you, we have a free gift for you today! We are giving you a free 2-hour course…