Studio Solutions 82
Mixing Stereo Guitar Tracks
If you’re a solo artist looking for more bite on guitar tracks for your studio album, or in a multi-guitarist band trying to figure out a good balance when tracking, here are a few basic tips for hitting the studio to record and mix your stereo guitar tracks. Start at Tracking Arguably, the biggest mistake […]
Using Two Microphones to Record Electric Guitar
Using two or more microphones when recording electric guitars is a great way to expand your tonal options during the final mixdown. Different microphones impart their own personality on your guitar’s sound and using more than one can help bring out tones that you wouldn’t be able to do with just a single mic. For […]
A Guitarist’s Guide to Thick Studio Tone
As the only guitarist in a three-piece band, I sometimes struggle with maintaining a full, thick tone. I’ve compensated by adapting my playing style to be a hybrid of rhythm and lead at all times, and choosing my amps, cabs and effects wisely in live settings. When my band hits the studio, it’s a slightly […]
How Do Headphones Produce Bass Frequencies?
To reproduce low frequencies accurately, loudspeakers need to be big. It’s why dedicated subwoofer speakers often use large drivers, commonly around 18″ wide for live sound reinforcement, and at least 8″ or 10″ wide in the recording studio. Yet headphones use comparatively tiny drivers — usually no larger than 50 millimeters, and much smaller for in-ear […]
Studio Amp and Effects Modeling with Positive Grid
Getting the perfect tone in the studio can be tough. Whether you’re in your home studio or dishing out the big bucks to track in a professional studio with tons of gear, there are still endless combinations of amps and pedals, all of which behave differently depending on the space they’re in. It’s certainly not […]
Parallel Compression
Controlling dynamics during the final mixdown can sometimes feel like a compromise, especially on instruments with wide dynamic ranges. Drums, bass, and vocals often produce loud signal peaks that can cause issues when trying to compress the signal. Sure, you can try to put a limiter on the offending track, but that has the possibility […]
What’s a “Class A” Amplifier?
“Class A” refers to a specific amplifier output design. Without diving too deep into electrical engineering, suffice it to say that Class A is the simplest, most basic circuit topology for an amplifier, and the easiest to design with less inherent distortion. Theoretically, you might say it’s a “perfect,” linear amplifier circuit: the output is […]
Ribbon Microphones 101
Attention, home studio musicians: If you’ve already invested in a large-diaphragm condenser mic or two, perhaps it’s time to add a ribbon microphone to your bag of studio tricks! Here’s a beginner’s guide to ribbon microphones and how you can use them to get that smooth, “vintage-style” sound you’re going for. Ribbon Microphones, Yesterday and […]
How to Upgrade SampleTank 2.x to SampleTank 3
SampleTank 3, the long-awaited update to IK Multimedia’s well-established sample-based software instrument, was released in fall 2014 with much fanfare. IK’s version 3.5 update — free for ST3 owners — arrived in spring 2015, enticing even more new users with 11 new sound libraries plus reliability improvements. It’s easy to see why SampleTank 3 is […]
