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Songwriting, Recording, Honing Your Craft

Nov 8, 2016 06:00 AM

Casey van Wensem

When Less Is More: 3 Reasons Why Smaller Arrangements Can Make Your Tracks Sound Bigger

Image via Shutterstock

Everyone wants their studio tracks to sound “huge.” In an effort to achieve “hugeness,” many of us follow the obvious path of adding more and more things to our arrangements. If two guitars sound big, then four guitars should sound even bigger, right?

While this makes sense in principle, the results can be paradoxical; often what we achieve by adding more elements to a track isn't a bigger sound but a smaller one.

How does this work? Here are a few examples of some situations when removing elements from your tracks can lead to a fuller sound.

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Recording, Honing Your Craft

Nov 4, 2016 06:00 AM

Hugh McIntyre

The 7 Essential Musical Credits You Need to Keep Track Of

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If you're gearing up to make some new music and release an album, make sure you’re keeping proper notes and writing down everyone who was involved with every bit of the album-making process as you go along. Trying to look back later and remember every place and name is incredibly difficult.

You might not think it’s that big of a deal, but if you fail to properly credit someone for their work, you run the risk of alienating that person, losing a contact, and even getting yourself into some legal troubles. While you're working, follow this checklist to make sure you're keeping track of every credit.

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Recording, Honing Your Craft

Oct 14, 2016 06:00 AM

Aaron Staniulis

Is Going to School for Audio Engineering Worth It?


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A hotly contested topic in the music industry, and a question I frequently get asked by students is, “Will getting a degree in audio engineering be a waste of time and money?” I find the answer to that question is actually a much more nuanced one, and there's no one-size-fits-all answer.

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Recording, Honing Your Craft

Sep 26, 2016 07:00 AM

Jesse Sterling Harrison

Here Are the Dead Simple Ways to Improve Your Sound in the Studio, Instrument by Instrument

Image via Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0

Maybe you’ve spent hundreds of hours in the same room, rehearsing your material. Perhaps you’ve performed dozens of times, on different stages, using the same gear. You’re used to your sound. You like it. But now you’re in the studio and something just doesn’t seem right. What’s the problem?

It’s no surprise when things that were once okay suddenly sound unacceptable in the studio context. For one, you’ve never scrutinized things so closely before. You’re paying attention to every detail, and some things aren’t up to par. Also, you’re hearing things in a different room, possibly though unfamiliar monitor speakers or headphones.

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Recording, Honing Your Craft, guitar

Sep 21, 2016 09:00 AM

Alex Wilson

The Ins and Outs of Recording Your Guitar Direct In

Image via flypaper.soundfly.com

This article originally appeared on Soundfly.

 

Cranky neighbors. A dearth of suitable space to stack amps. A shortage of cash. There are any number of obvious and legitimate reasons for learning to record your electric guitar tracks direct in. When you get this skill down pat, you’ll find the approach delivers a great deal of speed and flexibility without compromising too much on sonic quality.

Nice mics in front of tube amps in good rooms still have their place in the world of recording, but the reality is that great records have been made using the ampless approach – to the delight of thin-walled neighbors everywhere.

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