In our August Disc Makers Twitter chat (#DMchat), Graham Cochrane, mixing engineer and founder of The Recording Revolution, gave us an overview of audio mixing fundamentals for musicians of all genres. Read More.
Other than cost, which is one obvious reason headphones are a worthwhile option, here are three advantages to mixing on headphones in your home studio. Read More.
Playing an unplugged gig outdoors presents challenges if you need amplification – but there are ways to meet the challenges and put on a great show. Read More.
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.
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.
Last week, Echoes published an article about my unexpectedly unplugged and unamplified live music performance at an outdoor festival. The entire band had to make adjustments to accommodate the requirements of the gig – and drummer Rob Mitzner, in particular, relied on a setup he’s customized just for such circumstances. Read more.
I had thought that, even though the gig was outdoors, we would have no problem plugging in amps and instruments. Many parks have outlets tucked away inside lamp posts and maintenance buildings, accessible for public events. As we moved closer to the date, we discovered the city would not in fact turn on the juice. Read more.
Unconventional venues require additional promo on your end and you should see it more as an active partnership with the venue. Rather than expecting the venue to promote you to their followers or patrons and pack the house for you, you generally will need to anticipate some involvement when it comes to spreading the word. Read more.
When jazz pianist Vijay Iyer scheduled the New York City release show for his 2015 album Break Stuff, he didn’t choose a standard venue. Iyer’s concert was staged in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Iyer isn’t the first artist to eschew traditional clubs and concert halls in favor of more unique performing grounds. Read more.
In “Tales of the worst music gigs ever,” we shared a handful of on-the-gig horror stories and lessons learned from them. While those stories were all wrenching in their own rights, here is one from New York bassist Dmitry Ishenko that stands in a category of its own. Read more.
Backstage is a new program from Disc Makers that offers exclusive deals on music gear and provides member-only access to discounts on services such as gig booking and post-production mastering, plus plenty of other special offers created for the independent musician. Read more.
Every musician has stories of the best gig ever, that performances where the music, the crowd, and the stars aligned. Then there’s those other times when nothing goes right. Gear explodes, drunks attack, people vanish… But even the worst gigs can be valuable learning experiences. Read more.
So you want a killer home recording studio that can deliver great sounding tracks and not break the bank? Graham Cochrane lets you know exactly how to do that in this rundown of the five essential pieces of recording equipment you need in your home studio setup. Read more.
Visit any music store and you can’t miss the posters — “Rock Star X proudly plays Company Y’s guitars.” Or crack nearly any music trade magazine and you’ll see ads with well-known players singing the praises of the instruments and tools of their choosing. Such are the most visible manifestations of sponsorships and artist endorsement deals, symbiotic relationships between companies and music creators who use, and help promote, their products. And while many artist endorsement deals may seem like the stuff of high-visibility, world-touring acts, they can be helpful tools for a wide range of indie musicians as well. Read more.
Nearly every touring musician has at least one story about load-in or breakdown gone awry — that emotionally scarring gig where the venue promised a full drum kit but only delivered a broken snare drum, the festival slot when you expected fifteen minutes to set up but only got fifteen seconds, or that sickening post-gig moment when you realized your vintage Les Paul had grown legs and walked out of the club, all by itself. Read more.