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CD Mixing Tips - 10 Tips To Get Your Music Mixes Rockin' Sunday, May 06, 2007 @ 15:58:14 UTC Topic: Recording
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With the widespread availability of affordable computers and powerful software
for music mixing, the average musician is now able to set up a reasonably decent
home studio on a relatively small budget. However, even though the software
is extremely powerful and versatile, what seems to be missing are tips on how
to create a great mix. So, without any more fanfare, let us get right down to
the 10 mixing tips you can try immediately to improve the quality of your mixes.
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Show Me the CD... If You Think Your Music's Great, Record It! Sunday, April 08, 2007 @ 03:23:10 UTC Topic: Recording
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Throughout the history of modern music, there hasn't been a musical artist/band
who doesn't think that their songs are all #1 hits just waiting to be discovered.
Many of these artists have been correct and have stood by grinning as their
tunes screeched up the charts. This inspires a new crop of musicians every year
to feverishly pen their potential hits in hopes of making it big.
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Podcast Primer - An Independent Musician’s Quick Reference Guide Sunday, April 08, 2007 @ 03:21:30 UTC Topic: Gear
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What’s a podcast?
Most simply, a podcast is the digital delivery of an audio or video file.
In many ways, podcasts are to the internet what “on-demand” cable
is to television. With podcasting, music and video content is available by subscription
download. Once downloaded, it can be viewed or heard at the user’s command.
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Time Is Money... Pre-Production and Your Recording Saturday, February 03, 2007 @ 18:29:56 UTC Topic: Recording
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Whether you’re entering the studio for the first or fiftieth time, embarking
on a full-length album or a soundtrack one-off, successful recordings start
with some form of pre-production. It could be as simple as a one-time conversation
with the studio manager to go over the studio’s etiquette, layout, fees,
and the specifics of how your time in the facility will play out.
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DVD Editing and Authoring - A How-To Guide Saturday, November 04, 2006 @ 19:23:47 UTC Topic: Recording
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Whether you're a big time video producer, or if you're just a normal person
videotaping your child's first birthday. You're going to need to get that video
footage off of the camera, edit it, and then put it onto a disc for future viewing.
You might just want to run off a couple copies from your home computer, or you
might be getting your DVD footage ready to be duplicated by a large duplication
house. Either way, and every way in between, you're going to need to follow
the same couple of steps. If you are a regular, semi-computer literate person,
this task may seem very daunting. Let me tell you, it's not rocket science,
and if you follow this guide it'll be easy as pie. There are really only 3 to
4 steps in the process, and today I'm going to break it down for you today.
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The History of the MP3 File Format Saturday, October 07, 2006 @ 13:03:21 UTC Topic: Recording
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If you have listened to music on your computer, then there's no doubt that you
have come into contact with an MP3 file or two. Most people do not know much
about MP3s besides that they are files used to store music data on. Basically
that's all they are, a way to store audio data on a computer. Well, let me tell
you, MP3s are that, but there's a bit more to them. Today I will be taking you
through a tour of the history and the ins and outs of the MP3 file format.
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Nashville's JamSync Finds its Groove in Post Production Saturday, June 03, 2006 @ 11:40:40 UTC Topic: Recording
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From the outside, JamSync, located at the edge of Nashville’s famed Music Row,
looks like another of the historic 1920s Tudor homes that has been preserved
and woven into the fabric of the Row’s thriving music community. Step inside,
however, and you will enter a high tech wonderland, full of the necessary tools
and experience to transform your creative ideas into the latest in new media,
including DVD, 5.1 channel surround music mixes, or optimizing your music for
the Internet. With a wide range of client projects from country superstar Tim
McGraw’s video “Something Like That,” to the Beach Boys “Diary” DVD, JamSync
is one of Nashville’s most advanced audio post production, mastering and DVD
authoring facilities.
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G-Force Platinum 'Music Visualization' Software Saturday, March 04, 2006 @ 10:12:02 UTC Topic: Gear
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G-Force Platinum 3.0 is a fun "music visualization" software from
SoundSpectrum, the company that powers the music visualizer in iTunes, and provides
visuals for Windows Media Center and MusicMatch. "Music visualization"
refers to digital art that reacts to music in real time - just start your computer's
media player and experience ever-changing artwork displays in synch with your
favorite music.
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DVD-Audio Is Here, But Will It Last? Saturday, December 03, 2005 @ 13:30:27 UTC Topic: Recording
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A few months ago, I sat in on a seminar about a new audio mastering software
program. It was pretty much the same old thing -- a slick GUI (Graphical User
Interface) that would dance before your eyes with a new 3-D look. Let's face
it -- all the programs have the same basic features when it comes to audio mastering.
Sure, every program has its pros and cons, but they are all trying to compress
and equalize the music to make it "jump" out of the speakers. Some programs
may remove digital clicks or reduce noise. But, with digital equipment being
very commonplace these days, the issues of tape noise are diminishing.
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Better Sound In Your Studio Part Two Saturday, October 08, 2005 @ 23:49:30 UTC Topic: Recording
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In the digital age, musicians get better sound than ever from their homegrown
studios. It's possible to spend a lot of cash on gear, but still end up with
lackluster recordings. Some may think more gear is the answer, but do you really
need to spend extra to trick out your songs? Maybe not... if you have a few effects
pedals, a mixer and a computer you might just need some experimentation to get
better results in the home studio.
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Home Recorders Should Partner With Professional Recording Studios Saturday, August 06, 2005 @ 17:57:30 UTC Topic: Recording
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At a time when home studios have proliferated and technology continues to offer
artists easy access to new tools, the professional recording studio may seem
to be irrelevant. Professionals on both coasts are mourning the loss of several
major facilities in the last few weeks. Despite this paradigm shift, the value
of using a professional studio has not diminished.
For many current recording projects, booking large professional
studios for the duration of the project is no longer the norm. That doesn't
mean professional studios don't have a role to play. Used smartly and efficiently,
they work in concert with home-studio technology to provide artists with the
high-quality product record labels demand.
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Better Sound in Your Studio Part One Sunday, July 10, 2005 @ 02:00:05 UTC Topic: Recording
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Indie bands recording their first CD sometimes wrestle with the recording process,
especially if they don't have a producer. Some musicians mistakenly assume recording
their songs is similar to playing them live - just record the basic tracks,
add vocals, and you're done.
There are many studio tricks musicians can perform using overdubs and additional
instrumentation to give their songs a fuller sound. Overdub techniques add a
'pro' quality that major label acts take for granted - after all, those bands
can afford to hire a producer to perform the tricks mentioned here. Try a few
of these recording techniques to make your songs sparkle.
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10 Good Things to Know When Recording Your Independent CD Saturday, May 07, 2005 @ 15:05:51 UTC Topic: Recording
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1. Include some variety in your production. If every track is bursting with
instruments, solos, and vocals, try a simple accompaniment of only one instrument.
If the CD consists mostly of simple tracks, try adding a live drummer, horn,
or percussionist for extra color and pop.
2. Try to include a live instrument or two if your production consists mostly
of synthesized and sampled sounds. Keyboards don’t have the variance of
pitch, timing, and sound complexity that acoustic sounds have, so the result
can be a smaller, closed-in type of aural space. Just a few real-time performances
can breathe a lot of life into a track.
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Establishing Your Mix Sunday, February 06, 2005 @ 04:52:07 UTC Topic: Recording
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Now that you’ve spent hours and days and weeks and months recording your musical
masterpieces (and you’ve also read my article “Tips
for a Great Recording Session”), you have arrived at my favorite time in
the studio; The Mixdown.
But don’t think your job is done yet! The mixdown is just as important as recording.
As an artist, you have to approach the mixdown from an artist’s point of view
and stay on the ‘creative’ side of the fence where it’s still possible to shape
and mold your songs throughout the mixdown process.
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Tips for a Great Recording Session Sunday, January 09, 2005 @ 03:07:56 UTC Topic: Recording
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You know your songs are great (and so does your girl/boyfriend, family, pets
etc.), and you've finally decided to record an album in a real studio. That’s
great! But what actually happens when you get there?
When you finally do pick the perfect studio, one that you feel comfortable
at, there is a certain routine that must be followed in order to get the best
performance and the best recording for your budget.
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Book Review: Crank It Up-Live Sound Secrets of the Top Tour Engineers Saturday, August 07, 2004 @ 17:26:33 UTC Topic: Recording
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 Book Review: Crank It Up: Live Sound Secrets of the Top Tour Engineers
Author: Clive Young
ISBN: 0879307781
Publisher: Backbeat Books
Release Date: May 7, 2004
Pages: 208
List Price: $19.95
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4-12 Track Digital Workstations Saturday, June 12, 2004 @ 23:21:25 UTC Topic: Recording
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Indie-Music examines the latest small studio digital workstations, including
4-12 track models from Fostex, Korg, Tascam, Boss, and ToneWorks. These boxes
work great for songwriter or instrumentalist demos, and with proper engineering
techniques can make quality recordings. We compare features such as recording
media (hard disk, memory card), onboard effects, list price, and whether the
deck has an included CD burner. We don't compare inputs, so you'll need to read
product documentation to find the input configuration that works for your specific
situation. In addition, all decks include analog outputs (RCA or 1/4" phone
jacks), so we only note the digital outputs, such as USB and S/PDIF, which allow
you to drop your tracks to a personal computer.
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Short Run CDs Sunday, May 02, 2004 @ 18:32:09 UTC Topic: Business
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So, you're looking for 100 copies of a new CD you've recorded. You call several
CD replication companies, and none of them will make less than 300 units of
your disc. What to do? Call a short run CD duplicator. Short run services manufacture
1-300 units using CDRs just like the ones used on home computers. They can profitably
"burn" your CDs, print on the CD face, add inserts, tray cards, and
jewelboxes in much smaller quantities than a traditional CD replication company.
Traditional "pressed" CDs require a much more complex (and expensive)
setup process, so buying less than 300 units is usually not an option. Let's
take a look at some of the available short run CD services available today,
and compare prices and features.
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Latest in CD Duplicators Saturday, April 03, 2004 @ 17:57:25 UTC Topic: Gear
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Have you been thinking of investing in a CD duplication unit? Prices are more
affordable than ever, and the latest duplicators provide features only recently
available in consumer models. We profile 12 units ranging from simple one-to-one
copiers to full production systems which automatically cut your CDs (or DVDs)
and then print directly on the disc. MicroBoards, Primera, Telex, and Tascam offer duplicators varying in cost from $300 - $3600, suitable for the differing needs of musicians and studios.
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The Mic Solution - The Neumann TLM 127 Saturday, March 06, 2004 @ 21:07:31 UTC Topic: Recording
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Within the past decade there has been an enormous amount of musicians, singers,
and songwriters investing in their home studios and multi tasking to learn every
aspect ofthe production process. One priority piece of gear should be a quality
microphone; every studio professional or hobbyist should have one real good
mic in the house, or better yet a few to choose from to deliver the desired
tone needed within a recording session.
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