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…
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…