Three approaches to live looping
From tight grooves to swirls of sound, live looping can open up huge opportunities for musical creativity. These three approaches will get you started. Read the post.
delay and reverb
Ready to try live looping? Where do you start?
With the right gear, timing, and technique, a solo performer can summon multi-layered sounds that are worlds beyond the limits of a single instrument or voice. Here’s what you need to get started. Read the post.
Working with plug-ins: A beginner’s guide
If you’re new to home recording, or looking to expand your repertoire, using plug-ins might feel intimidating and complicated. It’s really not that hard to start using plug-ins and expand your sonic palette. Read the post.
Meet the Audio plug-in: Your start-up kit
An audio plug-in is specialized software for better music-making with your DAW, and plug-ins serve a variety of purposes to flavor, enhance, and add to the breadth of your home studio recordings. Read the post.
Add clarity to your audio mix using pre-delay
In this video, engineer Scott Wiggins explains the use of pre-delay with reverb on your vocals and snare drum to help add the desired effect while maintaining clarity and presence. 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.
Guitar effects pedals and the evolution of music – Part 1
In part one, we rewind some of the history of these interesting devices, including links to product pages and demos of effects pedals in action. In part two, we identify some of the current stomp boxes and multi effects units that can help you create signature sounds. Read more.
Music production basics – Part 1: amplitude and automation
Controlling volume is one of the most important elements in audio production. Understanding amplitude, volume, normalization, and automation are all part of music production basics and will help you in the recording and mixing phases of your project. Read more.
Audio repair and restoration: tools of the trade
When you hear the words “repair” and “restoration,” you might be inclined to think of dusty vaults filled with aging master tapes and records. Some audio repair and restoration projects involve taking old recordings and reviving them, and the same methods and tools used for those projects can be used for a wide range of scenarios. Every time you record audio, there’s always the chance of encountering unexpected and unwelcome audio “guests.” Read more.
Signal Processing For The Home Studio Owner: Part 1, Compressors, Limiters, and EQ
In addition to your microphones, DAW/console, and room, an essential part of any home studio set-up is your signal processing gear. These tools are necessary to create a professional-sounding final product. But for the new engineer, these effects can be fairly mysterious, and a tendency to overuse plug-ins and outboard gear is commonplace, especially for someone just learning the nuances of the art of recording. Read more.
Signal Processing For The Home Studio Owner: Part 2, Gates, Delay, and Reverb
How can you best use your typical signal processing plug-ins to enhance and optimize your recording? Understanding how the dynamic control processors like compressors, limiters, EQs, and gates function, and knowing how to use multi-effects such as delays and reverbs to perfection will make you a better producer and engineer. Read more.
Recording with Reverb and Echo – Tips and Lessons from Six Classic Tracks
If you’re recording and mixing your own tracks, you may have already begun experimenting with reverb and delay, two time-based effects that offer the opportunity to change the perceived time and space coefficient of an individual instrument, voice, or an entire mix. We’ll consider the aesthetic use of each, and recommend a few classic tracks worth checking out that make excellent use of these time and space effects. Read more.