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…
Blue Cat Audio Freeware Plugin Pack II Review
Blue Cat Audio is a privately held company based in Paris. It was founded by Guillaume Jeulin: musician, software engineer, and audio fanatic. Blue Cat focuses on providing flexible and powerful audio tools for musicians and audio professionals. They believe…
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…
TAL J-8 Virtual Instrument Review
TAL Software GmbH is a small Swiss company founded in 2000. They create high-quality, affordable instruments and effects with a user friendly interface. TAL’s commercial vintage synth emulations are known to be incredibly accurate and authentic to the real thing. If you’re…
Arturia V Collection 8 Review
We go way back with Arturia – starting with Analog Factory, then upgrading to Analog Lab, and even venturing into the plugin world with the ‘3 Compressors You’ll Actually Use’ bundle. No doubt, the V Collection is the one-stop-shop for…
IK Multimedia AmpliTube 5 Review
IK Multimedia’s leading amp and effects modeling software took a massive leap forward with the release of AmpliTube 5 today. Accurately capturing the sound, feel and vibe of the world’s most sought-after guitar and bass gear, the new AmpliTube 5 offers…
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…
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.…