Using drum software is one of the quickest and easiest means to lock down your song’s backbone. As a matter of fact, drum software has gotten so good that it isn’t uncommon for solo artists to release finished albums with…
Mitchell MS450 Review: The Perfect Entry-Level Electric Guitar?
In this review and rundown we’re looking at the Mitchell MS450. This guitar is a versatile and affordable instrument that delivers a wide range of tones, classic looks, and modern playability. Crafted with attention to detail, this single-cutaway beauty provides…
The 8 Best Wavetable Synthesizers 2023
Wavetable synthesis is a technique used in certain digital music synthesizers to produce natural, note-like sounds. An existing instrument’s note can be sampled and parsed into a sequence of wavetables. Wavetable synthesizers differ from subtractive, additive, and FM/AM synths. In wavetable…
Room EQ Wizard | Free Acoustics Software
Room EQ Wizard (REW) is free room acoustics software for measuring and analyzing room and loudspeaker responses. The analysis helps you optimize your studio by finding the best spot for the speakers and listening position. Shooting the room gives you…
The 16 Best Chord Generator VST [Free and Paid]
A great chord progression is one of many factors that contributes to a quality piece of music. It forms a template, or the backbone, from which the rest of the song can be built. But finding chords that go together…
Martin Special D Review: A Perfect Mid-Level Acoustic?
Looking for a midrange instrument that plays like an ultra-expensive one? They aren’t always easy to find, but suitable guitars do exist, in which the quality and playability seems to greatly outweigh the price. The Martin Special D might be…
Which Free Autotune Plugin Really Works? (Our Top 9 Picks)
Antares Audio Technologies introduced their proprietary Auto-Tune software in 1997. The purpose was to correct off-key pitches in real-time for perfectly tuned vocals or instruments. Autotune is a colloquial term now, frequently understood by artists as a catch-all for heavily…
The 8 Best Wireless Guitar Systems in 2023
A wireless guitar system is a perfect way to clean up and professionalize your rig. If you’re tired of lugging around long cable runs, then it’s time to go wireless. Why Consider Using a Wireless Guitar System The main reason…
Harbinger S12 Subwoofer Review: A Roadworthy & Compact Sub
Big bass usually comes at a price (and size!) that’s impractical for regular gigging. Lugging a subwoofer around takes its toll after a while, and would typically discourage most people from even embarking on the endeavor to begin with. But…
Ableton vs Pro Tools | Choosing a DAW
In the current age of music production, we have virtually endless tools at our disposal. It’s overwhelming when you’re just starting out because you want to set foot on the so-called ‘correct’ path. In regards to DAWs, everybody has an…
How to Make DIY Acoustic Panels for Your Studio
Unless your home studio was specifically designed for recording and mixing music, it’s probably not an ideal tracking and monitoring environment. Professional studios are carefully planned out to eliminate acoustic issues in many ways that residences are not. But if…
Vital VST vs Serum: The Ultimate Wavetable Synth Showdown
Every virtual instrument collection deserves a good wavetable synthesizer. This type of sample-based synthesis uses pre-recorded sounds as oscillator sources. What makes it unique from a regular sampler is how much you can manipulate those samples, even so far as…
12 Incredible Songwriting Tips that Work
As musicians, we spend the bulk of our time improving on what we do. We’d probably all agree that every new project we start (and sometimes never finish!) is a step towards getting better at songwriting. While there isn’t a…
The 6 Best Shure Microphones for Your Home Studio
Shure microphones have a wonderful reputation in the recording industry as some of the best, most reliable, and most affordable mics around. Shure started as a one-man radio company back in 1925, and by the early 1930s were one of…
What Is Pitch in Music (& Why Does It Matter in the Studio?)
Understanding what pitch is in music is an invaluable and broad skill transferable to numerous tasks in music production. Not every engineer is a musician themselves, but many are. It’s good to have at least some foundational knowledge of music…
Cytomic The Glue: Best SSL Bus Compressors?
Cytomic The Glue is an affordable SSL-style bus compressor plugin. The plugins gets its name from the SSL hardware’s famous ability to ‘glue’ mixes together. Even though there are tons of SSL bus compression plugins on the market, Cytomic makes…
Bose S1 Pro Review: The Best Portable PA System?
Designed for solo acts, singer-songwriters, public speakers, and small events, the Bose S1 Pro covers a lot of territory in a compact package. In this Bose S1 Pro review, we’ll check out everything the portable speaker system has to offer.…
LUFS vs dB: What’s the Difference and Why Does It Matter?
With so many ways to measure loudness, you’re definitely not alone in wondering what the deal with LUFS vs dB is. What Are LUFS? LUFS stands for Loudness Units Full Scale. It provides a standardized means of measuring loudness. There…
Cardioid vs Condenser – What’s the Difference?
When you’re first learning about microphones, all of the various terms can be confusing. After reading this article, you’ll have a better grasp of the different kinds of microphones, and most importantly, why cardioid vs condenser is an invalid comparison!…
The 8 Best 500 Series Racks for Your Home Studio in 2023
A 500 series rack is one of the best ways to add a bunch of outboard firepower to your studio in a compact form factor. It’s possible to keep a variety of processors like preamps, compressors, EQs, and more all…
Understanding Guitar String Gauges: What Gauge Is Best for Me?
It’s easy to underestimate the importance of guitar string gauges, especially when you’re brand new to the instrument. There are a number of factors at play when choosing the right strings, not excluding your guitar’s scale length, the tuning you…
Seymour Duncan 59 Review: Modern Humbuckers with a Classic Flair
When you think of the “Mount Rushmore” of electric guitar, who comes to mind? Many names played huge roles in its development and refinement, including Leo Fender, Orville Gibson, Les Paul, Adolph Rickenbacker, and Jim Marshall, amongst others. Certainly deserving…
The 9 Best Drum Mics for Live Sound & Recording (2023 Guide)
We talk about the best microphones for vocals and various instruments all the time, but what about the best mics for drums? As with any quality microphone, there’s always some overlap. You probably already own at least one transducer that…
Eventide PitchFactor Review: A Versatile Pitch-Shifting & Delay Pedal
Eventide effects need little introduction. For over 50 years, they’ve trail-blazed digital processing and algorithms, developing massively successful hardware that’s been heard on countless records and used by some of the greatest musicians of all time. The formidable PitchFactor pedal…
8 Best Sustain Pedal Options for Keyboard & Digital Piano
It’s a relatively niche piece of equipment, but having a good sustain pedal can make a big difference in the overall playability of keyboards, digital pianos, and MIDI controllers. Does Having a Good Sustain Pedal Really Matter? It does matter,…
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The 10 Best Eventide Plugins for Your Studio [2023 Guide]
Eventide has been a preeminent name for decades thanks to its innovative approach to powerful digital effects hardware. Among their most significant achievements was development of the original H910 Harmonizer in 1974-75. It became the first commercially available pitch shifter…
How to Record Bass Guitar at Home
Believe it or not, bass is one of the easier instruments to record at home. There are at least several different approaches, most of which are light on fancy equipment and low on volume levels. Win-win! If you want to…
Barefoot Monitors: Footprint 01 vs Footprint 02
Barefoot monitors are known for their innovative design, clean sonics, and exceptionally high price tags. The Footprint line of powered nearfields offers the same outstanding quality as their larger speakers, for those with smaller rooms. The Barefoot Footprint 01 The…
7 Best Laptops for Music Production in 2023
The good news for beginners is that there’s a solid chance you can start recording with whatever laptop you already own. In the event you’re looking for a new laptop for music production, we’ll check out some of the most…
What Is a Line Level Signal and Why Does It Matter?
One of the first things we learn about a recording system is the variety of audio signals that connect to it. It’s a concept that can initially be tough to grasp, but once you learn it you never forget it.…
Top 10 Transient Shaper Plugins [2023 Guide]
A transient shaper lets you control the attack and sustain of a signal. Unlike a compressor, they do not affect the level or the entire envelope of a sound. Transient shapers (also called ‘designers’) can increase or decrease the attack,…
The 10 Best Fuzz Pedals to Add Serious Crunch to Your Sound
Keen to learn more about the best fuzz pedals to use for meatier riffage? Look no further than this guide to some of the most popular pedals out there. What Is Fuzz, & How Does It Differ from Distortion? Fuzz…
What is Plate Reverb and How is It Used?
If you’ve spent any time playing around with reverb in-the-box, you’ve probably observed the common types that exist. Chamber, hall, and room are easy enough to imagine, but what about plate reverb? We most easily associate “echo” with real-world spaces,…
Eventide Blackhole Plugin Review: Nail Your Spacey Reverb Sound
Eventide has a history of producing incredible digital multi-effects processors in a time well before plugins. Many of their algorithms have naturally found their way into plugin format, including classics from their older hardware and a handful of effects from…
Mixing Guitars: 10 Helpful Tricks for Incredible Tone
Many of us are guitarists, and most of us probably love to geek out on gear and tone as much as we like to actually play. After all, finding our individual “holy grail” tone is half of what makes playing…
Seymour Duncan Vapor Trail Deluxe Review
Here to help you narrow your search for the optimal delay pedal is a review of the Seymour Duncan Vapor Trail Deluxe. The brand is synonymous with the finest pickups in the game since 1976, while the man himself started…
SSL Vocalstrip 2 Review: A Powerful All-Around Vocal Processor
Vocals have always been one of the most critical elements of a song. They’re meant to tell a story, convey emotion, and take listeners on a journey through melody. The greatest songwriters of all-time nail the storytelling aspect of music…
Output Substance Review: The Ultimate Bass Engine VST?
Substance is a comprehensive virtual instrument by the masters of ingenuity at Output. This low-end monster supersedes convention, generating bass material from multiple sources to shape an evolutionary sound. In this review, we’ll be discussing its key features and critical…
The 7 Best Delay VST Plugins 2023 [FREE & PAID]
Delay plugins are essential to every mixer’s toolbox! It’s one of the most common effects we use all the time to give instruments dimension and energy. The great thing about delay is that it can be subtle for a little…
How to EQ Bass Guitar: Simple Steps for a Better Low End
Nailing the low end content in a mix is an important step for better-sounding material. Too much bottom can make a mix muddy and inarticulate; too little can make a track appear thin and lifeless. Learning how to EQ bass…
Avid Pro Tools First | Free DAW Overview
Avid Pro Tools is the industry standard. It’s the platform for virtually every studio because it excels at tracking, editing, mixing, and production. Pro Tools First provides an introduction to the gold standard DAW without committing to a pricey monthly…
The 20 Best Reverb Plugins in 2023 [Free & Paid]
Reverb is one of the most commonly used effects in mixing. It’s part of a broader category of processors we sometimes call “time-based effects,” which also includes delay. Before digital, reverb was recorded using actual rooms called echo chambers. A…
Vocal EQ Tips for Beginning Mixers
Vocal EQ is one of the ways we get a recorded performance from “dry” to “radio-ready.” It has a huge influence on the overall quality of a vocal, and even just simple moves like filtering can change the sound completely.…
VU Meter: Just How Useful Are They?
Most of us have a rough idea of what a VU meter does. But unless we spend a lot of time around analogue outboard gear, we probably aren’t super familiar with them. And let’s face it, many of us are…
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The Best Brass VST Plugin Collection [FREE & PAID]
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…
Best Headphones for Music Production 2023
Finding the right pair of headphones for music production can be tough. There are so many choices that if you ask engineers what their favorite headphones are, you’ll probably get different answers from each one. We’ve done our diligence to…
11 Best Orchestral Strings VST in 2023
Using string samples instead of real ones offers a lot of obvious advantages for the average home producer or songwriter. Just from a logistical standpoint, booking studio time and hiring musicians is costly and time consuming. But with samples, you…
AU vs VST: What Are Audio Units?
Plugins come in various formats, with Audio Units being specially designed for Mac operating systems. Introduction: What Are Audio Units Audio Units (AU) are simply a type of plugin. They’re one of the most popular formats alongside VST2 (Virtual Studio…
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…
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…