“…things have changed and it might be very beneficial for you to look at the options that are available now. You really can create a pro level recording at home on your computer…”
– Stewart Meredith, Engineer/Session Musician
Well, it's a new year and a new century and high time I wrote a new installment of this column! Over the last few months I have received many emails and have responded to as many as I can. The questions I have been getting have shaped the subject matter of this segment. What I am realising is … Read More
Welcome to the third installment of the Virtual Studio! In the first two issues we covered the hardware needed to put together a PC based studio. What I'm going to get into now is the software side of the equation. There is so much software out now that deals with recording and/or editing that … Read More
The voice is the signature of a band. The songs will change, the musical style may even vary, but: They know the band by the singer's sound. That's not to say there aren't other instruments that can have their own signature sounds in a band. That will make the group even stronger. But the majority … Read More
Getting a record deal gets harder every year. The days of record impresarios like Phil Spector discovering a group, taking them into the studio and making them famous overnight are long gone. These days, the music business is sometimes more about the business than it is about the music. … Read More
I usually wait until the deadline draws near before I write this column. But, I just flipped the page on my daily desk calendar and was inspired to write it now by what I saw: "Keep your mind focused on what you want and act accordingly. You will achieve success." Words to live by. As a matter of … Read More
Nothing makes a home recording, any recording for that matter, sound better than great drum sounds. Pro engineers spend more time getting their drum sounds than any other instrument on their recordings and it shows. I've personally seen situations where engineers have spent days, several days in … Read More
Welcome to the first installment of my column on setting up and getting the most out of a home recording studio. We've left the world of tape machines and mixing consoles behind and put the entire studio inside an ordinary computer. My goal for this little slice of cyberspace is to provide, on … Read More
Welcome to the Fifth installment of the Virtual Studio! In this issue we're going to walk through the process of tracking a song with attention to the various options available in the digital audio and MIDI environment. In the old days of tape the first consideration was usually how many … Read More
This is the Sixth instalment of the Virtual Studio and as I mentioned last time I'm going to go into detail about a couple aspects that are specific to digital recording. How the digital domain changes our use of EQ and compression. This is something I have heard very little discussion about and … Read More
Most people think mixing is complicated. It's really not. Most pros (myself included) like the fact that there's an air of mystery surrounding what we do. It makes us look smarter. It also allows us to charge more money. But, let's face it. It's not rocket science. It's really just the … Read More