How to Record Vocals Introduction Every musician dreams of recording in a huge, fancy studio with a world-famous producer. But the reality is, most of us are working with pretty limited budgets. Luckily, with a few simple tricks, some basic production knowledge, and a little patience, you ...

Snare Mixing Techniques Intro Snare drums. They’re often a key part of any song. But they also have a reputation for being tricky when it comes to blending into the mix. You might be mixing a track and, for whatever reason—whether it’s the tone, dynamics, performance, or something else—the ...

What are Stems in Music? Introduction There are plenty of occasions when it’s useful—or even necessary—to create stems for your music. While it might seem like you can just bounce and export each track as separate WAV files and be done with it, there’s actually a real art to deciding how you ...

Mixing 808 Introduction In hip-hop, as well as pop and other genres, the 808 is often just as important to a track as the vocals. Whether it's an 808 or a live bassline, the bass gives a song its soul. It's crucial to bring the 808 to life in the mix without overpowering the kick drum or ...

Layering Audio 101 If you’re aiming for richer, more professional-sounding tracks, you’ve probably come across the concept of layering sounds. The idea is simple: combine (or stack) two or more similar types of sounds together. This can create a result that’s stronger or more interesting than ...

How to Start the Mix! Introduction Let’s talk about what it really means to “begin mixing.” It can be tough to know where to start. What do you do once you’ve imported your session? How does everything fit together, and how do you actually get moving? To help explain, let’s use a ...

DIY Microphone Isolation Shield Introduction Very few people have the budget for a fully enclosed isolation booth with complete acoustic foam protection for vocal recording. Many of us don’t even have the space for a vocal booth in our home or condo. Luckily, there are plenty of low-cost and ...

How to EQ Reverb 101 Intro: How to EQ reverb bus? Most of the time, reverb isn’t added as an insert on a track. Instead, it’s placed on an aux channel, allowing you to send the desired amount from any track to the reverb. This gives you the obvious benefit of controlling how much reverb ...

Hybrid Mixing Setup Introduction Step into the world of hybrid mixing—a cutting-edge approach that blends the warmth of analog gear with the precision of digital technology. Imagine it as owning a high-performance sports car equipped with the latest navigation system. In this article, ...

Types of Microphone Preamps Introduction As a passionate audio engineer, I've always believed that a microphone preamp is like the secret ingredient that brings out the true magic in a recording. However, with so many different types of preamps available, it can be overwhelming to determine ...