Gareth started making music in 1993, and has recorded and performed with local Chicago acts Doseagles, Tales of Gesignia, and Spooky Koala the Black Holy Ghost. Currently, he does video production and occasionally plays drums while wearing an alien suit as a member of Texas-based space-western art collective Space Is Dirty. At zZounds, Gareth manages the Recording and Computer Audio categories, and writes product reviews on the zZounds Blog. Favorite instruments and tools include Apple Logic Pro, Korg Monotron, and the harmonica.
Monophonic vs. Polyphonic vs. Paraphonic Synths
Monophonic, polyphonic, paraphonic, what do these confusing and occasionally overlapping terms really mean? There’s no need to be scared of all the jargon — we’re here to give you the lowdown on all that noise! The components inside synthesizers that generate sound are called oscillators. Synths assign oscillators to different notes depending on what keys […]
Mix Tips: Cleaning Up the High End
As you may know, the bass frequency area in a mix should be like an exclusive club — only authorized instruments and sounds are allowed in. The reason for this is two-fold: it gives you more headroom to work with in your mix (alleviating some of the pressure from your 2-bus compressor and limiter), and […]
Mix Tips: Using Slower Attack Times for Compression
Do you like to mix songs to sound huge, loud, and attention-grabbing, even if you have to distort and compress the hell out of them? Well I do. Dynamic range purists and audiophiles, feel free to stop reading here. You’re already using your compressors gently and sparingly, like a French chef uses seasoning. Well done. […]
Bustin’ Out the Korg Volca Keys
The Volca Keys was one of the first synths released in Korg’s Volca series in 2013, and it’s also one of the most versatile. The Volca series offers a few options for monophonic sounds and drums/rhythm, but the Volca Keys is the only polyphonic, analog synth in the lineup (at the time of this writing). […]
Exploring the Korg volca modular
It’s a “West Coast style” modular synthesizer! It has 50 patch points! It’s… perhaps a little intimidating at first glance. The Korg volca modular is a “micro modular synthesizer.” This means that it’s made up of individual modules: the sections of a synthesizer that perform different functions, such as selecting the sound source, adjusting the […]
Analog Filtering Tracks With the Korg Volca Mix
With all the great plug-ins available these days, is there really any advantage to using analog outboard processing? In this post we’ll take a listen to some sound samples that have been processed by analog filtering so you can hear for yourself. For our purposes we’ll use the Korg Volca Mix, a very affordable portable […]
De-reverbing Drums with iZotope RX 7
Got too much reverb on your drum track? In years past, there used to be nothing you could do about that, other than go back and re-record with closer mics or in a deader room. But sometimes, this isn’t an option. Luckily, with iZotope RX 7 you can actually de-reverb sounds, for a cleaner recording. […]
Exploring the Korg Monotron Delay
Introduced in 2010, the original Monotron was Korg’s first analog synthesizer in 25 years. Two years later came the Monotron Delay, which added a built-in digital delay (as well as UV-reflective paint on the front panel). With a synth that’s so basic in functionality, the addition of a delay effect does a lot to help […]
Recording Guitar Tracks with IK Multimedia AXE I/O
IK Multimedia’s new AXE I/O interface (endorsed by Joe Satriani!) is aimed at the recording guitarist, with the goal of making it easier and faster to get a great tone — especially on direct injection, or DI, recording. To that end, the AXE gives you a few key options for tone shaping: 1. A Passive/Active […]
