We’re out of the holiday season for now, but that doesn’t meant the next one isn’t right around the corner. These gifts for music producers are sure to satisfy the hard-to-buy-for creators in your life. Useful Gifts for Music Producers…
Scale Degrees: What Are They and Why Do They Matter in the Studio
Engineers and producers can always benefit from understanding the basics of music theory. Knowing enough of the “language of music” to get by is helpful for communicating effectively with session musicians, for example. Having the ear is most important, but…
The 5 Best Shotgun Microphones for Your Home Studio
The shotgun mic is a film/TV industry staple for capturing extremely directional audio with little ambient noise. We’ll cover a few of the top shotgun microphones around if you’re looking to pick one up for your personal collection. What Is…
What Is a DSP and What Does It Do for Music?
DSP is a concept that gets thrown around a lot in audio, so it’s important to understand just how integral it is to the modern music production process. What Is a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) Firstly, DSP can stand for…
Fletcher-Munson Curve Explained: Using Equal-Loudness Contour to Mix
Human hearing is a weird and wonderful thing. The branch of psychophysics concerned with sound perception is psychoacoustics, and it explains a lot about why we hear the way we do. As mix engineers we need to become familiar with…
Ableton Push 2 Review: An All-in-One MIDI Controller
Ableton launched the Push controller in collaboration with AKAI back in 2013. Designed to function inside Ableton Live software, it was an innovative device meant to be treated like an instrument rather than an average MIDI controller. The company soon…
Plugin Boutique Scaler 2 Review
Scaler 2 is one of many compositional aids and chord generating plugins currently available. It makes sense; software helps with everything else related to recording music—why not give us a push at the actual songwriting stage? We’ll see how Plugin…
Overloud Voice Review: The Ultimate One-Stop Vocal Production Plugin?
Ever wondered how the world’s top engineers craft award-winning vocals? Everyone has their own approach and techniques, but many of the same kinds of effects go into vocal chains on each and every mix, across genres and from mixer to…
Strymon Iridium Review | Portable Tone On the Go
Strymon has been making top-quality pedals in California since 2009. Many guitarists know them by their acclaimed reverb and delay units—the Big Sky and Time Line, respectively—which effectively raised the bar for time-based effect pedals. Last year, Strymon entered the…
Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor
The Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor is nothing short of a modern classic. The thing is a monster, equally recognized by its imposing looks and its premium sound. For engineers who need unrivaled dynamic control, the Shadow Hills gets the job…
McDSP APB 16 Review: The Ultimate Analog Processing Box?
A few years ago, the McDSP APB was one of the most hyped new products to debut at the NAMM show. A few years later and not much has changed, as founder Colin McDowell and his team at McDSP created…
Celemony Melodyne 5 Review
For over 20 years, Melodyne has been the not-so-secret weapon behind pristine vocal and instrumental performances. Celemony’s founder, Peter Neubäcker, started developing the Melodyne concept in 1997. Three years later he began the company, and in 2001, industry-changing software was…
ASCAP vs. BMI vs. SESAC: All About PROs
If you’re a performing artist you know the value of royalties. Regardless of the size of the check, they show up every quarter like clockwork. But they don’t just appear out of nowhere; those royalty payments are the work of…
Spotify Playlist Placement | Have Your Music Heard
Digital streaming is the #1 way people consume music. Streams equated to almost 85% of US album sales in 2019, which means pushing physical copies is a thing of the past for most artists. Beyond just uploading to the platform,…
Acoustic Loop1 Looper Pedal Review: Easy to Use and Made to Play
A good looper pedal serves a variety of purposes for guitar players. They can be excellent practice and writing tools, letting you improvise over chord progressions or explore song arrangements without having to set up to record. Some solo musicians…
McDSP HD vs. Native Plugins: Everything You Need to Know
The McDSP plugin collection includes two versions of each effect. We’ll shed light on McDSP HD vs Native plugins so you know what’s right for your system. What Is a DSP Plugin? DSP stands for digital signal processing, or digital…
Understanding Texture in Music (And How to Utilize It in a Mix)
When we hear the word “texture,” we tend to picture visual or tactile mediums. Paintings and photographs can vividly capture a sense of texture, as can sculptures, architecture, and things naturally occurring in nature. But what about texture in music?…
Understanding the Shepard Tone Effect and How It Creates Tension
Some of the effects we employ in sound design, mixing, and even songwriting take advantage of our perception of sound—a branch of science known as psychoacoustics. The Shepard tone is a prominent example of how our ears can trick us!…
How to Record Drums at Home in 5 Easy Steps
Usually the biggest challenge recording at home is the drum kit. There are so many straightforward ways to capture other instruments that sound great—but there isn’t much flexibility with acoustic drums. First you need the space, which is a challenge…
What Is Metadata and Why Does It Matter?
Metadata is an important element of music distribution. You’ve probably heard the term tossed about before, though the meaning of it isn’t always clear. What Is Metadata? At first glance, metadata seems like an overly technical term. It’s basically data…
Oeksound Spiff Review: A New Generation of Transient Shaper
The self-proclaimed “tech geeks” at Helsinki’s Oeksound made waves in 2016 with their now-renowned Soothe plugin. It was met with much acclaim even then, before it solidified its place in production with version 2, and it was clear that Oeksound…
Soundtoys Little AlterBoy Review: The Best Pitch Shifter VST?
Little AlterBoy by Soundtoys is a “monophonic voice manipulator” for vocal pitch/formant shifting, hard-tune effects, and more. Like the rest of the Soundtoys plugin library, it offers a distinct and intuitive layout that’s as powerful as it is easy to…
EVE Audio SC305 vs SC307: Three-Way Active Monitor Showdown
Unsure which EVE midfield monitor is right for you? We’re looking at the EVE Audio SC305 vs SC307 and comparing their similarities and differences. EVE Audio Is a Relative Newcomer Making a Big Name for Themselves Berlin-based EVE Audio was…
When to Use Serial Processing vs Parallel Processing
Serial processing and parallel processing are two common techniques mixers use everyday. We’ll examine the differences between the two, and cover some basic scenarios where you’d want to employ one or the other. What is serial processing? Serial processing is…
Acoustic Guitar and Vocal Recording Tips: How to Nail Your Takes
If you’ve spent any significant amount of time experimenting with recording on a professional or just a hobbyist level, there’s a good chance you’ve been asked to capture a singer-songwriter before. In today’s world of modern digital recording, our natural…
Hooktheory Hookpad Review: The Ultimate Musical Sketchpad
As we all know, songwriting isn’t easy—if it was, everyone would be doing it. We can have ideas in our head, but sometimes translating those through our instrument(s) and into our DAW becomes tedious and uninspiring. Sometimes we’ll sit down…
Finding the Best Guitar Capo (For Acoustic & Electric)
As you become more and more invested in playing guitar, you’ll find that the capo is one of those inexpensive accessories with a major impact on the instrument’s sound. Everyone should own one, even if it’s just to experiment with…
Do You Need a Portable Vocal Booth?
Portable vocal booths cater to home studio enthusiasts looking to isolate their recordings. Having too many room reflections is one of the biggest problems of recording at home. Apart from sounding echoey, untreated reflections also produce comb filtering for a…
Bluebird SL Condenser Mic Review
The Bluebird SL by BLUE Microphones is a low-cost, all-around condenser that’s suitable for a range of applications. We’ll take a look at whether you should add one to your mic locker! The Bluebird SL cardioid condenser microphone is a…
Here Are the Best Ways to Make Money in Music in 2023
The music industry’s landscape has changed pretty dramatically over the last 15 years. Whether you’re in a band or a solo artist, or working behind the scenes in music production or the music business, the industry has evolved and continues…
Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro Review: The Headphones Studio Professionals Swear By
In this Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro review, we’ll take a look at one the industry’s enduring pairs of iconic headphones. The Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro Headphones Are a Studio Workhorse Beyerdysweenamic has a been a manufacturer of professional audio equipment…
Loopcloud 6.0 Review: Changing the Way You Produce Music
Electronic music production has exploded over the past several years. More than ever before, non-instrumentalists are getting into music-making using just their laptops, DAW, and a selection of royalty-free samples. Loopcloud is a provider of over 4 million loops and…
The Best Earplugs for Musicians: Protecting Your Greatest Asset
It should go without saying that a musician, engineer, or producer’s greatest asset is his or her hearing. We rely on it for quite literally everything we do related to music, from gathering inspiration to writing, recording, and mixing. The…
Akai Professional MPK249 Review: The Best Mid-Range MIDI Keyboard?
The Akai MPK series is hands-down the number one choice for countless musicians and producers. Akai is a name that ensures a combination of useable features, balanced pricing, and rugged reliability. If you’ve graduated from the ever-popular MPK Mini, then…
Open Back Headphones: What You Need to Know
Studio headphones come in different styles, with the two most common designs being closed back and open back. Many engineers prefer open back headphones for critical listening applications like mixing and mastering. Let’s find out why! What are open back…
Seventh Heaven Reverb | Convolution Reverbs
LiquidSonics Seventh Heaven reverb is a plugin reproduction of the Bricasti M7 hardware unit. The company is known for their superior convolution modeling, which Seventh Heaven has in spades! Seventh Heaven Reverb: A Convolution Masterpiece Convolution digitally simulates an actual…
Marshall Code 50 Review: How Does It Stack Up?
Marshall is among the most recognized names in amplification. While best known and most favored for their iconic tube amplifiers, the company has never shied away from keeping current. Enter the Code series of digital modeling amps offering a variety…
What Is Panning in Music and How Can You Use It in Your Mix?
Panning is an essential part of every mix. Placing elements throughout the stereo field creates space and width, and can make things sound HUGE in the right context. What Is Panning in Music? Panning is the process of moving things…
Alctron EQ75a Review: Is it Worth $120?
After a cursory search, there isn’t much in the way of Alctron EQ75a reviews kicking around the web. It’s not a new product, so why is there so little information on the cheapest 500 series equalizer on the market? We…
Soundtrap Review: The Easiest DAW for Beginners?
In this Soundtrap review, we’ll examine the leading online DAW that allows you to make music right from a web browser. What is Soundtrap? Soundtrap is a “freemium” online DAW. It lets users record music or podcasts from their browser,…
Humbucker vs Single Coil Pickups: What’s the Difference?
Apart from the amp, pickups have one of the biggest impacts on tone. It’s common to swap them out until you find just the right set that complements your playing style. To better understand humbucker vs single coil sound, we’ll…
Best Acoustic Foam Panels for Home Studios
Acoustic treatment is one of the best investments you can make in your home studio. Sound waves quite literally bounce around the room, making some frequencies unnaturally loud and cancelling others out. As you can imagine, this leads to a…
Understanding Different Audio Cable Types & Their Uses
Today we have part EIGHT of our Building A New Studio series, where we are turning a small children's bedroom into a studio! Check out Part 1 to 7 here Looking for information on all the equipment used in this…
The 10 Best USB Audio Interfaces for Studios
After the computer and DAW, the most important component of any studio is the audio interface. The best USB audio interfaces around come in all shapes, sizes, and prices. Regardless of your I/O needs, you’re sure to find something that…
Mixing vs. Mastering: What Is the Difference?
Mixing and mastering are the two essential processes in polishing and finalizing a recorded song. If you’re making music that you plan to sell, or use to promote yourself (i.e., not a demo), you’ll want to invest some time into…
What Is Phantom Power & Which Mics Need It?
Phantom power can be confusing when you first get into recording. This guide to phantom power will answer some of the most frequently asked questions beginner engineers have. Introduction: What Is Phantom Power? In order to understand phantom power, it’s…
What Is Stereo Imaging & Why Is It So Important?
What makes a great recording and mix is oftentimes personal preference and subjectivity on behalf of the artist, producer, and engineers. It’s usually a series of small decisions along the way that amount to something great at the end, combined…
What Is “Noise Floor” & How Does It Affect Your Music?
Every recording system or piece of equipment has a noise floor. It correlates to how much dynamic range you’ll have in your recordings, as well as how clean or noisy the sound is. What Is Noise Floor? Electrical components generate…
Best Way to Get PULTEC EQ in Your Home Studio
The Pultec EQ is one of the most revered pieces of analogue equipment ever made. Any mention of it is usually followed by some form of the words ‘magic’ and ‘musical,’ and it’s been a standard piece of studio equipment…
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…