Meet the Talk Box: Shape sounds and open new creative doors
The Talk Box lets you use your mouth to shape sounds, in real time, in crazy and creative ways. Here are tips on how to use the effect to amplify your own creative efforts. Read More.
Studio Gear
Posts from the Disc Makers Blog that feature gear reviews and practical how-to advice in using gear in your home studio.
Choosing a signature vocal mic for your studio
We take a look at the University of the Pacific’s efforts to find a signature vocal mic for the campus recording studio. What they learned might help you choose your next great studio mic. Read More.
Why you can’t tune a guitar – and how to fix it
Tuning a guitar should be easy, but it’s not. In fact, the more you explore guitar tuning, the more you realize there is no one way to tune a guitar. Read the post.
Four Unusual Keyboard Instruments That Can Inspire New Music
When you think “keyboard,” you might think of a grand piano or Hammond organ, old-school analog synth or cutting-edge Korg digital workstation. But the possibilities for keyboard instruments go far beyond. Read More.
The B-3 in action: Five examples of Hammond organ done right
The Hammond organ has earned its place in music history, and here are five examples of why it spans genre and time to endure. Read More.
Mixing vocals in your home studio
Mixing vocals in your home studio can be one of the more exciting stages in the recording process, and it can also be a complex challenge. Work to construct the instruments around the vocal so that everything gets to shine. Read More.
Six tips for adding Hammond organ to your music
The Hammond organ is the most commonly heard type of organ in popular music. It can be a complicated and challenging instrument, so here are some tips to help you get started. Read More.
The early days of the Fender Precision bass
Excerpted from The Bass Book, here’s a brief history of the Fender Precision bass – an instrument that revolutionized modern rock ‘n roll. Read More.
Eric Clapton and the Gibson 335 guitar
Excerpted from The Gibson 335 Guitar Book, take a glimpse into Eric Clapton’s heralded Gibson 335 hollowbody that was first featured with Cream and went on to garner $847,000 at auction in 2004. Read More.
Mastering Gear and The SoundLAB at Disc Makers
Do you have questions about what mastering engineers do and how they achieve their results? This introduction to the mastering gear in The SoundLAB gives you a glimpse into our mastering suites and the gear we use to make your music sound great. Read More.
Acoustic treatment and your home studio
With all the information out there about acoustic treatment, it’s easy to get confused. One thing I’ve learned from recording and mixing in my own studio, doing research on the Internet and elsewhere, and reading numerous articles, is to keep things simple. Read more.
Part 2: The evolution of guitar effects pedals – today’s market
Each of the basic effects pedals we covered in Part 1 is still made today, by a variety of manufacturers. That’s one of the things that makes the pedal world so fascinating. New takes on classic effects come out continuously, each offering some sort of variation or wrinkle that can help you further refine your own special sound. Read more.
Pros and cons of the Figure 8 mic pickup pattern
A microphone that picks up sound from the front and back is called bi-directional, or a Figure 8 mic, and there are several cool things you can do with them. Read the post.
Guitar care: humidity extremes can damage your instrument
Just how serious a risk are extreme climate conditions to your instrument’s well being? Bob Taylor, co-founder and president of Taylor Guitars, stated that, “At one time, probably 70% of the repairs performed in our service center could have been avoided if the guitar had not been exposed to humidity extremes.” Read more.
Choosing the right audio interface for your home studio
If you’re preparing to set up a home recording studio, this article can help you better understand some of the basic elements regarding the audio interface with your computer or DAW. These concepts can get very complex, but this post will focus on some of the more basic points about the subject. Here are nine questions you should ask when comparing audio interface options. Read more.