How-To Guides 5
Mixing With the UAD Capitol Chambers Reverb Plug-in
It’s not easy to find a software reverb that replicates the complex-yet-musical sound of a real, physical reverb chamber. However, Universal Audio seems to have done this quite well with their Capitol Chambers reverb plug-in. Let’s get inside UAD’s Capitol Chambers and hear it in action! A Classic Verb If you’re going to emulate the […]
Novation MiniNova Synthesizer: A Legacy of Innovation
Dubstep. I keep staring at those words, sandwiched prominently between “R&B/Hip-Hop” and “Techno/House” on Novation’s MiniNova, and I keep thinking: “What were they thinking?” You see, that Novation MiniNova synthesizer, released in 2012, and bought by yours truly not too many years later, remains a compelling, if not slightly confounding, synth. From above, the MiniNova’s […]
Kinds of Kindness: Inside the Score of Jerskin Fendrix
Jerskin Fendrix is no stranger to composing for fantastical storylines — His work in 2024’s Kinds of Kindness is no exception. The latest Yorgos Lanthimos film is a triptych tale: three adjacent storylines with a few themes that tie the whole package together. One such element is Fendrix’s nightmarish score of piano and choir. A […]
Do “Magic” Frequencies Exist When Mixing Drums?
There is no magic bullet. That’s a point that this piece should get across first and foremost. That being said, learning about what boosting and cutting frequencies can to do to a mix is incredibly important for your engineering skills and satisfaction when recording drums. Any drum recording is only as good as the sum […]
Roland JD-08 Boutique Synthesizer: A Link to Roland’s Past
I’ll be the first to admit, my first impression of Roland’s JD-08 was one of surprise. I thought: How would Roland fit all of its original inspiration into something smaller than your computer’s keyboard? That question drove me to give it a chance — I’d revive my niche of “The Oscillator” and share some thoughts […]
What are Coated Strings?
Have you come across coated strings while shopping for your next pack and wondered what they were? The world of strings is wide indeed, and coated strings are one of the many varieties offered by manufacturers. But what is a string’s coating made from? How does it affect the tone, and does it feel…weird? Let’s […]
Get a Whole Locker of Tones Out of a Single Universal Audio Microphone!
As technology advances, studio gear gets more and more accessible to the average basement recording engineer. In the last decade or so, recording your own music has not only gotten easier, it’s become a skill that must be learned by nearly every artist if they want to survive financially while making a living out of […]
How and Why to Use ARC Studio
After achieving success with their plug-in based ARC room correction mic + software package, IK Multimedia has released an interesting new implementation of ARC: the ARC Studio, a way to room-correct without having to run a plug-in in your DAW. With ARC Studio you get a measurement mic, the ARC 4 software, and a box […]
Strandberg Boden Essential: The Producer’s Axe
.strandberg* (more commonly known as Strandberg) has long been been heralded as one of the greats in the headless guitar world and for good reason. The comfort of these guitars combined with the highly playable EndurNeck profile made these an instant modern classic. With the release of the Boden Essential line, Strandberg looks to get […]
