How-To Guides 3
The LinnDrum: Shaping a Generation and Beyond
The iconic LinnDrum sound revolutionized the way music was made in the 1980s. The ability to have drums-on-demand over 40 years ago was no small feat, not to mention the fact that it shaped the percussive elements and bottom of nearly every song it was used on. How did the LinnDrum come to be, and […]
PreSonus Atom SQ Review
From trackers like Renoise to DAWs like Ableton Live, Bitwig Studio, Logic and more, I believe I’ve seen/used enough tools to understand how most work. So, truth be told, I both admit to: A: Never using PreSonus’s entry into the digital audio workstation world, the Atom, three years ago, and B: Jumping at the chance […]
The Glyn Johns Drum Mic Method…and Beyond!
Today we are going to take a look at a classic drum recording technique: the Glyn Johns method. The Glyn Johns method uses two microphones to capture the bulk of the drum kit, and often times an added kick and snare mic for a little more emphasis and clarity. My band is working on a […]
Pioneer DJ XDJ-RX2: Hands-on Review
I’ve spent the past three months with the Pioneer XDJ-RX2 and I’ve really grown a liking to the unit. So far, I have performed with it on five Twitch streams, recorded multiple sets, and practiced with it for hours. I have come to understand its strengths, its features that I love, and its quirks. The […]
What’s the Deal with Nashville Tuning?
Nashville, Tennessee has enough musical jargon to fill an entire dictionary. Today we’re going to dive into the world of Nashville tuning, which is also called high strung tuning. So what’s the deal? All you need for this tuning is get a 12-string pack of strings, pick out the octave strings, and string up your […]
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). […]
TS vs. TRS vs. TRRS Cables
Do you know the difference between TS, TRS, and TRRS? The connector plugs and jacks found on your headphones and audio cables have come a long way from their roots on the telephone switchboards of the early 20th century. Most mobile devices with a headphone jack use the TRRS standard — read on for tips […]
How to Make Your MIDI Drums Sound Human
Programming drums in a DAW MIDI channel is a convenient and easy way to plot out the skeleton of a composition you intend to record without busting out the big, loud drums. With the amount of drum plug-ins and modules available today, you can have pretty realistic-sounding drums on your track in a matter of […]
Rethinking Your Home Music Studio
In light of the ongoing global pandemic, the vast majority of us now find ourselves forgoing any trip to a practice space, club or record studio. That doesn’t mean our musical escape ends at home, however. The largest struggle we’re facing creatively is how to deal with our current situation at home constructively. Now is […]
