Q: Why is one channel always higher in level than the other?
A RecordProducer.com reader finds himself always with the left meter showing higher levels than the right. Why is this? Read more...
A RecordProducer.com reader finds himself always with the left meter showing higher levels than the right. Why is this? Read more... Q: What carpet do you recommend for a studio floor?
Leaving aside questions of color and pattern, what type of carpet works best in a recording studio environment? Read more...
Leaving aside questions of color and pattern, what type of carpet works best in a recording studio environment? Read more... Q: How do I connect my subwoofers to my mixer?
How do I connect my powered subs ( I think my powered subs already have a built-in crossover) to my mixer? Through the auxiliary or main output? Read more...
How do I connect my powered subs ( I think my powered subs already have a built-in crossover) to my mixer? Through the auxiliary or main output? Read more... Amy Winehouse - a loss for music
It is always sad when someone goes before their time. We mourn the loss of a great musical talent and reflect on this sad personal tragedy for Amy and those who knew her well. Read more...
It is always sad when someone goes before their time. We mourn the loss of a great musical talent and reflect on this sad personal tragedy for Amy and those who knew her well. Read more... Q: You said you can't play my audio, but I can play it fine. What gives?
I sent you an audio file by email, but you wrote back and said you couldn't play it. I can play it fine on my computer. Shouldn't you be able to play any audio file? Read more...
I sent you an audio file by email, but you wrote back and said you couldn't play it. I can play it fine on my computer. Shouldn't you be able to play any audio file? Read more... Q: What is the difference between a demo and a master?
Can you tell me the difference between a demo and a master, in terms of what they are used for and how they should sound? Read more...
Can you tell me the difference between a demo and a master, in terms of what they are used for and how they should sound? Read more... Spend $3600 on a microphone, then find that your recordings are no better than before
Having great equipment doesn't always lead to great recordings. And how much will you regret wasting your money? Read more...
Having great equipment doesn't always lead to great recordings. And how much will you regret wasting your money? Read more... Q: What is a buss?
I have heard that mixing consoles have busses, but I can't see anywhere I can control or operate a buss. Could you tell me please what a buss is? Read more...
I have heard that mixing consoles have busses, but I can't see anywhere I can control or operate a buss. Could you tell me please what a buss is? Read more... How to collect royalties from your music
Is your music earning you money? Here's how it could earn you money while you sleep. Read more...
Is your music earning you money? Here's how it could earn you money while you sleep. Read more... How good is your drummer? Put him to the test in five different ways.
A good drummer is worth his or her weight in platinum. But how can you know for sure just how good they are? Read more...
A good drummer is worth his or her weight in platinum. But how can you know for sure just how good they are? Read more... Are you compressing too much? Here's how to tell...
There's no such thing as too much compression, if it sounds good. But there is a point where things might get worse, not better... Read more...
There's no such thing as too much compression, if it sounds good. But there is a point where things might get worse, not better... Read more... What is a 'Class A' amplifier?
Amplifiers can be either symmetrical or asymmetrical. A symmetrical amplifier has both positive and negative power supply rails and the signal rises and falls centered on the 0 volts point exactly in between. An asymmetrical amplifier has only one power supply rail and the signal is biased to a voltage midway between zero volts and the power supply voltage... Read more...
Amplifiers can be either symmetrical or asymmetrical. A symmetrical amplifier has both positive and negative power supply rails and the signal rises and falls centered on the 0 volts point exactly in between. An asymmetrical amplifier has only one power supply rail and the signal is biased to a voltage midway between zero volts and the power supply voltage... Read more... Should you optimize tracks individually or in the context of the whole mix?
You can make each individual track of your recording sound as great as you like. But will they all mix together successfully? Read more...
You can make each individual track of your recording sound as great as you like. But will they all mix together successfully? Read more... Q: How can I get sound from the stage all the way to the back of the audience?
When I do live sound, it's always a lot louder at the front of the auditorium than at the back. How can I get the sound all the way to the back of the room? Read more...
When I do live sound, it's always a lot louder at the front of the auditorium than at the back. How can I get the sound all the way to the back of the room? Read more... Is there a special way to record the piano?
A question asked by a RecordProducer.com reader - "I wanted to know is there any special way to record a piano or do I just need a good mic and put it up to the piano?" Read more...
A question asked by a RecordProducer.com reader - "I wanted to know is there any special way to record a piano or do I just need a good mic and put it up to the piano?" Read more... Who knows best what 'sound' will make a hit record - Record Producer or A&R manager?
What makes a hit record? Sometimes it's the song, sometimes it's the sound. But who decides whether a certain 'sound' will sell? Read more...
What makes a hit record? Sometimes it's the song, sometimes it's the sound. But who decides whether a certain 'sound' will sell? Read more... Why classical music is superior to popular music, and always will be
Popular music is here today, gone tomorrow. Each new recording gets more and more stale as time goes by, where classical music can always remain fresh and new. Read more...
Popular music is here today, gone tomorrow. Each new recording gets more and more stale as time goes by, where classical music can always remain fresh and new. Read more... Is your mixing console noisy? Here's why...
If you have an old-style mixing console and you're suffering from noise, there's a reason for that. Read more...
If you have an old-style mixing console and you're suffering from noise, there's a reason for that. Read more... How to edit out pops in speech or singing
Microphone pops are an unpleasant side effect of recording. It's best to avoid them in the first place, but what if someone sends you a poppy vocal recording to fix? Read more...
Microphone pops are an unpleasant side effect of recording. It's best to avoid them in the first place, but what if someone sends you a poppy vocal recording to fix? Read more... "5th 2nd" by Abel Soul
We are currently a four piece act. The majority of our recordings are made at my home studio. This is in a former bed room with a Logic pro system at the heart of it. Logic is currently hosted on a Macbook pro with 4 GB RAM and 256 GB SSD Read more...
We are currently a four piece act. The majority of our recordings are made at my home studio. This is in a former bed room with a Logic pro system at the heart of it. Logic is currently hosted on a Macbook pro with 4 GB RAM and 256 GB SSD Read more... - Can a pianist's wrong note played in 1962 be fixed in 2013?
A wrong note that has resonated for more than half a century is fixed - without the aid of a time machine. - Are certain mic/preamp combinations special?
An RP reader finds that a certain combination of microphone and preamp works much better than he expected... - Why haven't you had a Hot 100 hit yet?
Anyone with a home recording studio now has the means to create a hit. So why haven't you yet? - Can guitarists be trusted with their own equipment?
What sounds good to the electric guitar player doesn't necessarily sound good to the audience. A live sound engineer explains... - What is your main concern if your interest is voice over?
So you're setting yourself up in the voice over business. What should you think about before anything else? - Can you print a vinyl record on a 3D printer?
Amazingly, the answer to this question is - almost - yes! - An interesting microphone setup for violinist Nigel Kennedy
If you're miking one of the finest violinists in the world, should you point the mic at the double bass instead? - To mic or not to mic the backline? That is an interesting question raising fascinating further possibilities
An RP reader fears losing cabinet resonances if the backline of his band is miked up through the PA. But perhaps it is innovation in live sound that has been lost over the years. - When working in a new theatre, always find out where the tielines go
Any theatre would have tielines from the stage to the sound control booth. But from one side of the booth's window to the other? - Top producer 'steals' song as part of massive publicity stunt
A major producer has 'stolen' a song from a pair of unknowns. A crime, or normal everyday life in the music business? - If AKG makes a USB microphone, does it mean that the time has come for USB mics?
AKG makes some of the best mics in the world. AKG also makes a USB mic. A great USB mic? - Would you record vocals like this?
Two singers, one microphone. Could it cause an Internet sensation? - Hum - Can you hear it, even if you can't hear it?
If a tree falls in the woods, does it make a sound (if no-one is around to hear it?) If you can't hear hum, then is there no hum? - Preparation for mastering: Don't do any mastering yourself
Are you planning on getting your tracks mastered? Then the first rule of preparation is not to master the tracks yourself. - A hum generator plug-in? We want one!
You can get a plug-in to emulate virtually any analog audio process these days. But what about hum? Where's the plug-in for that? - An inside view of the weirdest recording session ever, at the BBC!
Take a 300-year old bass line, a cello player with just seven days' experience, and some highly uncool-looking musicians... and make a recording that is really top of the pops for weird! - Would you put your head inside a piano? No? Then why place a microphone there? [with video]
![Would you put your head inside a piano? No? Then why place a microphone there? [with video]](http://www.record-producer.com/i2/julia-lezhneva.jpeg "Would you put your head inside a piano? No? Then why place a microphone there? [with video]")
Sometimes unusual microphone placements can capture an interesting sound. In this instance, the sound is completely wrong. - When is a click not a click? When should you fix a click, and when should you leave it alone?
Clicks occur for all kinds of reasons - imprecise editing, random noises, gremlin infestation. But when do you need to do something about them? - Should you make decisions as you record, or keep your options open until later?
There are so many decisions to be made during the process of recording. Should you make them one at a time as you go along, or let them pile up so that you have a mass of decisions to make in the mix? - Is Pro Tools 11 really the 'new standard for audio production'?
Audio production - it's all about the DAW isn't it? Well that's what marketers would have you believe.