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Recording, Honing Your Craft, mixing

Oct 18, 2017 06:00 AM

Graham Cochrane

How to Get That 'Wow' Kind of Mix

Image via recordingrevolution.com

This article originally appeared on The Recording Revolution.

 

Every time I crack open the latest issue of Sound on Sound or watch an interview with a top mix engineer sitting in his studio surrounded by racks of outboard gear, I’m reminded of one thing: Mixing is elevated above all other aspects of the song creation process.

Everyone is talking about “magic” plugins, summing mixers, and secret side-chain tricks. I get it. Mixing is a complex art form and it can make or break a good recording. That’s why I create some of the best mixing resources on the planet. (You can get started with this free guide.)

But perhaps we elevate it too much.

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Honing Your Craft, Recording, mastering, Audio 101

Oct 10, 2017 06:00 AM

Brad Allen Williams

Mastering: Decoding the ‘What’ and ‘Why’ of It All

Image via Shutterstock

This article originally appeared on Soundfly.

 

Your music has been carefully recorded and painstakingly mixed, but there’s still one more step before it’s ready for the listening public: mastering.

Mastering is the bridge between the studio and the listening room; the last round of tweaks before calling it done.

But why is it necessary at all? “I wouldn’t have approved the mixes unless my music sounded exactly as I intended it to sound,” you might say. “Why would I pay someone else to keep changing it?” As it turns out, there are several very good reasons, many of which require some experience to fully grasp. Mastering, perhaps for this reason, seems mysterious to many.

Let’s pull back the curtain on this process and its objectives, bit by bit.

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Honing Your Craft, Recording, mixing, video

Aug 10, 2017 06:00 AM

Graham Cochrane

Video: How to Mix Background Vocals

Image via Shutterstock

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Honing Your Craft, Recording, mixing

Jul 24, 2017 06:00 AM

Dave Kusek

Improve Your Mix With These 3 Music Theory Tips

Image via Shutterstock

This article originally appeared on the DIY Musician blog.

 

So your band is finally in the studio. You’ve been working hard in rehearsals to create great songs, and you know that your lyrics and melodies are strong. You finish your last rehearsal and feel like your band has a huge sound. You show up, set everything up, record your first song, listen back to it, and discover that the mix is falling flat. What do you do?

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Songwriting, Recording, Honing Your Craft

Apr 24, 2017 06:00 AM

Paul Loeb

Why Your Demo Isn't Enough to Make It in the Music Business

Image via Shutterstock

In today’s world, musicians are expected to be a one-stop shop for their own marketing, production, PR, and everything in between. Long gone are the days of A&R managers, discovering your raw talented un-branded and undeveloped. As if it weren't hard enough to complete your demo, you also have to figure out how to promote it and when you should follow up.

Today, there are so many tools that offer ways to automate these added responsibilities, but they don’t handle everything. You still need a strategy and plan to know how you’re going to get your music out into the world.

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