Are your recordings too QUIET?
We receive a lot of recordings here at RecordProducer.com and Audio Masterclass. Some are strangely quiet. Why should this be? Can quiet ever be good? Read more...
We receive a lot of recordings here at RecordProducer.com and Audio Masterclass. Some are strangely quiet. Why should this be? Can quiet ever be good? Read more... Driving your headphones from a power amplifier - will it burst your brains out?
Believe it or not, one of the best ways to drive studio headphones is from a power amplifier. Amazingly, you are not going to blow anything, and your studio will be all the more efficient for it. Read more...
Believe it or not, one of the best ways to drive studio headphones is from a power amplifier. Amazingly, you are not going to blow anything, and your studio will be all the more efficient for it. Read more... When I was his age, that was me!
Ask anyone with a real and passionate interest in audio - they got into it young. But as young as this? That's going some! Read more...
Ask anyone with a real and passionate interest in audio - they got into it young. But as young as this? That's going some! Read more... How to de-ess to perfection (the hard way!)
Get your de-essing wrong and either your vocal will still be sibilant, or its high-frequency content will sound mangled and tortured. But how can you get de-essing EXACTLY right? Read more...
Get your de-essing wrong and either your vocal will still be sibilant, or its high-frequency content will sound mangled and tortured. But how can you get de-essing EXACTLY right? Read more... What is the Low-Z button for on the Golden Age Pre-73 microphone preamplifier?
Ask a number of preamp users what each of the controls on the Golden Age Pre-73 does, and the 'Low-Z' control will probably cause the most scratching of heads. So what is it for? Read more...
Ask a number of preamp users what each of the controls on the Golden Age Pre-73 does, and the 'Low-Z' control will probably cause the most scratching of heads. So what is it for? 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... Why are the mics we use on guitar cabs so obviously the wrong shape?
Whoever designs microphones clearly thinks that they all should be microphone-shaped. But isn't it about time we had something more appropriate to the way we use them? Read more...
Whoever designs microphones clearly thinks that they all should be microphone-shaped. But isn't it about time we had something more appropriate to the way we use them? Read more... Aux channels, aux tracks - What are they? What do they do?
Aux channels are commonly found in the analog world; aux tracks in the world of the DAW. What do they have in common, and how do they differ? What can you do with them? Read more...
Aux channels are commonly found in the analog world; aux tracks in the world of the DAW. What do they have in common, and how do they differ? What can you do with them? Read more... Will the iPad change the way you make music?
Apple's launch of the iPad has created a whole new segment in computing. Should musicians rejoice? Or be very afraid? Read more...
Apple's launch of the iPad has created a whole new segment in computing. Should musicians rejoice? Or be very afraid? Read more... Do you get a sore throat when you sing?
Sore throat today - maybe a throat infection tomorrow. How to end this painful cycle. Read more...
Sore throat today - maybe a throat infection tomorrow. How to end this painful cycle. Read more... Q: How thick should acoustic treatment be?
Q: "I want to line the walls of my studio with absorbent materials. How thick should the absorbers be?" Read more...
Q: "I want to line the walls of my studio with absorbent materials. How thick should the absorbers be?" Read more... The legendary sound of Glyn Johns
Glyn Johns is one of the UK's most respected producers and engineers and has successfully made his mark on the recording of drums, which is arguably the most difficult task in all sound engineering. Read more...
Glyn Johns is one of the UK's most respected producers and engineers and has successfully made his mark on the recording of drums, which is arguably the most difficult task in all sound engineering. 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... How to start your recordings in a clean and professional way
Your recordings need to sound professional right from the first millisecond. Four audio examples demonstrate this VERY clearly. Read more...
Your recordings need to sound professional right from the first millisecond. Four audio examples demonstrate this VERY clearly. Read more... Stay still! Damn you, stay still!!
The problem with musicians is that they won't stay still. Or they sniff. Or rattle their dentures. When should the producer step in and tell them to stop? Read more...
The problem with musicians is that they won't stay still. Or they sniff. Or rattle their dentures. When should the producer step in and tell them to stop? Read more... Are certain mic/preamp combinations special?
An RP reader finds that a certain combination of microphone and preamp works much better than he expected... Read more...
An RP reader finds that a certain combination of microphone and preamp works much better than he expected... Read more... Do microphones need rest?
A RecordProducer.com reader wonders whether his microphones need a rest from time to time. Or can you just keep on working them hard? Read more...
A RecordProducer.com reader wonders whether his microphones need a rest from time to time. Or can you just keep on working them hard? Read more... What qualities do you need to be a producer?
A RecordProducer.com reader asks what personal qualities he needs to become a producer. There are four key areas where you will need to be a genius to succeed, maybe five... Read more...
A RecordProducer.com reader asks what personal qualities he needs to become a producer. There are four key areas where you will need to be a genius to succeed, maybe five... Read more... USB microphones - has their time come?
Why do we still plug our microphones into old-fashioned mic preamplifiers when we could be plugging them in directly via USB? Read more...
Why do we still plug our microphones into old-fashioned mic preamplifiers when we could be plugging them in directly via USB? Read more... Does your recording need analog magnetism?
A RecordProducer.com reader wants to take advantage of the wonderful warm sound of analog tape. But he doesn't know what it sounds like. Read more...
A RecordProducer.com reader wants to take advantage of the wonderful warm sound of analog tape. But he doesn't know what it sounds like. Read more... - M-Audio Studiophile AV 30 monitors - Could they be Auratones for the digital age?
Can an $89 pair of monitors really be an effective tool in the recording studio? Or are they only good for 'media creation? - 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?