How-To Guides 5
Direct-Drive vs. Chain-Drive Kick Drum Pedals
In the world of professional drumming, “feel” is almost always the most important aspect of picking components and hardware for a drum kit. This is why online forums are set on fire when the discussion of direct-drive vs. chain-drive bass drum pedals comes up. Those who love chain-drive for its “solid and real feel” argue […]
Analog Mixers for Multi-Track Recording
At the heart of countless performance venues, recording rigs, practice spaces, and broadcast facilities, you’ll find analog mixers. For any music project that involves more than one or two simultaneous mics or instruments, a mixer can be of great use. With a mixer, you can balance levels between multiple sources, sweeten your sound with the […]
Beat Connection Collection: Production Styles
In Beat Connection, we explore modern and vintage dance styles the only way we know how…by providing you a musical starting point to help you create that beat. In this collection, we’re highlighting Beat Connection posts that detail the foundations of beats across several genres — everything from trap to reggae to punk and footwork. […]
Cymbal Anatomy Part 4: Bell Size
Bells are an over-looked aural enveloper. Whether or not you’re riding them on a funk chorus, or blast-beating them straight into the abyss, this part of the cymbal really impacts your cymbal’s overall sound. Let’s look at how the size of a cymbal’s bell (or whether or not a cymbal has a bell) shapes your tone. Flat […]
Restoring a Thrift Store Snare Drum
If you’re someone who pinches every penny like me, or just someone who wants to wear other people’s used clothes, the thrift store is a great place to frequent when you’re in the buying mood. But short of an old church organ too big for your sub-compact car, there aren’t ever that many musical instruments […]
Does a Guitar’s Finish Affect its Tone?
The first time I heard anything about Fender applying finish to their guitars was in a lesson with my first guitar teacher. Upon showing him my first Midnight Blue Telecaster, he responded with stories of men in hazmat suits, who might as well have stepped off the set of E.T., bulk-spraying dozens of guitars. Attached […]
Studio Solutions Collection: DAW Production Techniques
Audio production has come a long way since the advent of the DAW (Digital Audio Workstation). Whether you’re just starting to mix and master your own tracks in your DAW at home, or you’re a more experienced producer, check out this collection of zZounds Blog posts and pick up a new technique to try on […]
Savory Softube Plug-ins
We all have our own obsessions. Some musicians drool over the newest boutique guitar pedals. Another musician that works at zZounds may dream about a tweed couch that matches all of his vintage Fender tweed amps. I, on the other hand, obsess over my new favorite plug-ins. I recently purchased a bundle of Softube plug-ins, […]
Cymbal Anatomy Part 3: Thickness
So far, we’ve discussed attributes that affect your cymbals’ overall tone, namely its hammering and lathing. Here we’ll discuss one of the most important features that affects a cymbal’s aural envelope: thickness. The thickness of your cymbal shapes everything from strike feel to its attack, decay, sustain, and release (terms familiar to synthesists that might […]
