Amazing Vocal Chain for Pop ITB (Including custom presets) – Marc Daniel Nelson
In this episode of MakeMineMusic, Marc Daniel Nelson shows you his in-the-box vocal chain for mixing female pop vocals. When mixing vocals, Marc does not go after super, super compressed vocals, but he does appreciate a vocal that sits really…
How Soon is Forever?: The Rocky Start and Lasting Legacy of The Smiths’ Iconic Track
Written by Caitlin Vaughn Carlos The Smiths formed in Manchester in 1982. Five years later, they had broken up. Despite such a short tenure together, The Smiths certainly left their mark. In 2007, critic Simon Goddard declared the band, “the…
Does Your Mix Sound Accurate?
Today, we will be using Sonarworks' incredible Reference 4 technology and talking about speaker and headphone correction. This software works to flatten out the speaker responses in your room, which allows you to hear as accurately as possible in your…
10 Truths of Recording & Mixing
Today we are talking about 1o truths of the music industry! I have seen a few of these points on other channels as separate 15 or 20 minute videos, and I have covered a couple of them myself, but I…
The Old Music Industry vs The New Music Industry
When I got my start in the music industry, it was working at big studios with professional engineers, mixers and musicians. I was able to learn from them, apply their techniques and tricks to my own mixes, and create a…
The Rupert Neve Designs MBC: A Deep Dive
Written by Chris Frasco In an audio landscape where things are continually moving further inside the box, many of us are craving some tactile interaction with our mixes – not to mention some analog flavor. To help us along, Rupert…
Remix Contest – $23,000 in Prizes! (CLO – Blackout)
We are starting a remix competition today! You will get to remix a fantastic song, and there are some truly amazing prizes up for grabs! For this contest you will get to download all the multitracks for the song, and…
Artists Who Changed Music: Miles Davis
Miles Davis was one of the most important musical and cultural icons of the 20th century. He was a jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer, and was the biggest star in jazz for almost half a century. In addition to his…
Best Desktop Interface? | Antelope Audio Zen Tour Synergy Core
Today we are reviewing the Zen Tour Synergy Core interface from Antelope Audio. This is the first time we have reviewed a product from Antelope Audio, and we are very excited! I have been hearing a lot about this from…
Should you use Mixing Templates?
We have touched on the idea of templates a couple of times recently. Our good friend Marc Daniel Nelson actually put out a video talking about the templates that he uses when he mixes in the box and with analog…
Find Your Signature Sound with the JZ Microphones BB29!
Today we will be reviewing the brand new BB29 Signature Series mic from JZ Microphones! This microphone is based on the classic Blueberry mic from Blue Microphones, and we are very excited to see how it sounds! We are also…
My Mixing Templates: Marc Daniel Nelson
In this episode, watch Marc Daniel Nelson break down his personal Pro Tools Template. Marc walks through his in-the-box chain all the way down to his analog chain. Marc has been asked about showing more depth about what his digital…
Stop Motion Transformations: Peter Gabriel’s Artistic Ascent into Pop Stardom with “Sledgehammer”
Written by Caitlin Vaughn Carlos In August of 1975, Peter Gabriel of Genesis fame delivered his resignation letter, “Out Angels Out” to the press. Citing the challenges of personal growth within the necessary structures of a band environment, he explained:…
How to use the Drum Replacer plugin
How to Use F. Reid Shippen’s Drum Replacement Plugin of Choice In our blog post “Get F. Reid Shippen’s Drum Samples,” Reid mentioned a drum trigger software that “may or may not be coming out that he can’t confirm nor…
Why I Love Leapwing Audio Plugins!
If you have been watching my videos for a while, you probably know that I love Leapwing Audio's plugins. I love the products, and the company, and I use their plugins all the time when we are mixing in the…
Van Halen: How a Los Angeles Bar Band Turned into Legends
Written by Caitlin Vaughn Carlos On February 10, 1978, one minute and forty-two seconds of mind-blowing guitar playing changed the sonic landscape of rock and roll guitar forever by introducing the world to Eddie Van Halen. That would have been…
Our Secret Weapon for Repairing Audio!
The iZotope RX8 is a fantastic plugin, which we tried out when it was released a couple of months ago. Today, we have our good friends Kristian Kohle and Glenn Fricker with us, and they have been using the RX8…
Recording Rock Royalty – Rush, Aerosmith & More (Interview with Richard Chycki)
Richard Chycki is a multi-platinum mixer and engineer who has worked with rock royalty including Rush, Aerosmith, Dream Theater, Skillet, Mick Jagger, Alice Cooper, Pink, and many more. Chycki began his career as a guitar player, and worked in studios…
The Best Old School Reverb Trick?
Today, we are going to be taking one stereo reverb and using it across every instrument in our track! We are going to be using a track that was recorded at Sunset Sound, and is completely live. Everything on this…
How do you avoid using too many tracks?
Today's featured FAQ Friday question is: How do you avoid using too many tracks in a song? Led Zeppelin and Yes all recorded on 8 tracks. Yes, those bands did record on 8 tracks early on, eventually getting up to…
My favorite reverb settings: Marc Daniel Nelson (Free Presets Included)
Marc Daniel Nelson, a Grammy-nominated music producer, is joining us again to bring you another tutorial. Today, he will be talking about reverbs. Over the course of his career, Marc has worked with many amazing artists, including Jason Mraz, Colbie…
The Singular Sound of the Police and “Message in a Bottle”
Written by Caitlin Vaughn Carlos The end of the seventies marked a changing of the guard for music in many ways. Post-disco and post-punk, New Wave offered promises of the future with a seemingly infinite vision of possibilities for what…
“Ace of Spades” and the Legacy of Motörhead, 40 Years Later
Written by Caitlin Vaughn Carlos On October 27, 1980, Motörhead released their latest single, “Ace of Spades” in anticipation of their fourth studio album of the same name. At its release, Gary Bushnell wrote for Sounds magazine: “The new single…
Do plugins suck? Or is it how we use them?
I have opened a lot of different sessions from lots of different people to mix over the years, and there are tons and tons of plugins all over it. Having access to tons of plugins can be a good thing,…
Susanna Hoffs and the Joy of Making Music
Written by Caitlin Vaughn Carlos In 1982, when The Bangles were still known as The Bangs and playing at Al’s Bar in Los Angeles, Music Connection concluded: “There is no question that all the elements are here to make the…
How the Pretenders Became Real: “Brass in Pocket” and the Hit That Almost Wasn’t
By Caitlin Vaughn Carlos “This goes out over my dead body,” Chrissie Hynde told producer Chris Thomas in the fall of 1979. The Pretenders had just recorded their newest track “Brass in Pocket” at Wessex Studios in London and the…
What kind of contract should you offer an artist?
Today’s featured FAQ Friday Question is: “Hi I’m an artist and I’ve been offered a production contract. I don’t have the money for a lawyer, can you tell me what the difference is between a production contract and a producers…
FREE MIXING COURSE with Grammy-Nominee Marc Daniel Nelson
Marc Daniel Nelson, the Grammy-nominated music producer, and PMA winner has joined us at Produce Like A Pro to give you guys a complete tutorial on how to mix a song from the artist Jerimiah Jones called Tick My Lonely.…
Siouxsie and the Banshees – Hong Kong Garden: Songs That Changed Music
By: Caitlin Vaughn Carlos In July of 1978, New Music Express’s Nick Kent found the punk attitude alive and well with a Siouxsie and the Banshees performance at the Roundhouse. Kent pressed: “If Punks are currently being brushed off by…
How I got my start in the music industry- Marc Daniel Nelson
Marc Daniel Nelson is a Grammy-nominated music producer, audio mixing engineer, 4-time PMA nominee, and 1-time PMA winner. Marc has had a successful career producing, mixing, and managing multiple artists for almost 20 years. As a protege of the music…
Best USB Interface under $200? – Audient Evo 8
Our good friends over at Audient have a brand new product! It is called the Evo 8! It is a 4 input/4output USB interface that costs about $200 and it has the auto-gain function! This is the first one in…
My experiences with Eddie Van Halen were always unbelievable- RIP Maestro
This week has been a rough week for the music industry. There are only a handful of people that we can call true pioneers of the music industry. There have been legendary guitar heroes throughout the years, but the one…
The Best Plate Reverb?
Today, we have the opportunity to try out the Perfect Plate from Denise Audio! The goal of the Perfect Plate reverb is to easily manipulate your tracks in supernatural ways with supernatural sound quality. We are very excited to try…
Top 10 Metal Amps with Kristian Kohle!
We have our good friend Kristian Kohle here with us today, and he is going to talk about his Top 10 Metal Amps! Kristian is a very successful German metal producer, and I would consider him to be an expert…
Rupert Neve Designs Master Bus Converter
We are very excited get an exclusive first look at a brand new product from Rupert Neve Designs today! The Rupert Neve Designs Master Bus Converter Dual-path A/D Converter & Limiter is a 2-bus converter with a fully functioning limiter…
Hit the Road Music: A Travelling Recording Studio
Traveling the world, recording artists on the road with a 4 wheel home studio in the desert? This sounds almost utopian but I never believed in limitations and realised my dream and share with you today a deep insight how…
Rock’s Greatest Eruption: How Eddie Van Halen Revolutionized the Guitar
Written by Caitlin Vaughn Carlos “Ed Van Halen is going to change a lot of lives around the world in the next 12 months” - Kim Fowly predicted in Phonograph Record in 1977. Van Halen had only recently been signed…
Top Vocal Recording Tips from a PRO Vocalist!
Our good friend Chris Liepe is back with us, and today we are going to be sharing our Top 5 Vocal Recording Tips! This will be a conversation with too different perspectives: mine as a producer and engineer, and Chris's…
iZotope Neoverb: The Smartest Reverb Plugin?
We have a brand new plugin today share with you today: the iZotope Neoverb! iZotope has some very clever plugins, so I am very excited to see what they have done with their latest release! Before we go any further…
Sonic Epitaphs: Behind the Music of Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart”
By Caitlin Vaughn Carlos If you visit Macclesfield Cemetery just outside of the English town in the county of Cheshire, you will find a small, plain gravestone with the inscription “love will tear us apart” - a bittersweet epitaph to…
Our Top 10 Rock Singers of ALL TIME!
We are here today with our good friend, Chris Liepe! Chris has his own successful YouTube channel on vocal coaching, ear training, recording tips, and more. He is very talented, and we are so excited to have him here with…
The Legendary ODR-1 Overdrive Pedal is NOW A PLUGIN!
If you have been watching any of our videos over the last few years, you may have noticed that we use the Nobels ODR-1 Overdrive Pedal a lot! This is an incredible, boutique-sounding pedal, at an affordable, non-boutique price. RELATED:…
6 Reverb Mistakes We All Make
Today, we are sharing some common reverb mistakes! These are mistakes that we are all guilty of, but once we are aware of them, we can correct them and take all our mixes to the next level! These tips are…
How to Prepare for Your First Professional Recording Session
This week's featured FAQ Friday question is: I am going to be recording a band in a professional studio, using thousands of dollars of mics and hardware. It will be a live session with all of the musicians playing at…
Best Classic Modulations in ONE PLUGIN? | Waves Kaleidoscopes
Waves has another exciting new plugin that we get to try out today! The Waves Kaleidoscopes plugin is exciting because it could be exactly what I have been asking for the last few years, which is a plugin that has…
6 Free Mixing Tricks (that don’t cost anything!)
In today’s video, we’re going to talk about 6 free mixing tips that won’t cost you anything! As you know, we love reviewing equipment! We love talking about microphones, mic-pres, compressors, plugins and all kinds of other incredible hardware &…
Should you always de-noise your audio recordings?
Today's featured FAQ Friday question is: Should one always de-noise their audio recordings to make it sound professional? Is it worth it or that big of a difference? For those of us that have heard or have access to classic…
The Ultimate Audio Repair Tool? | iZotope RX 8
Today, we get to try out the brand new iZotope RX 8! We have been using the RX 7 since it came out, and are very excited to try out the new features they have added to the latest update!…
Top Secret Snare Mixing Trick?
Today, our good friend Jordan Valeriote is going share his snare mixing trick! This is one of his secret weapons for mixing snare for heavy rock and metal. It is a technique that he discovered that helps him to get…
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…