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 […]
Tributes to Eddie Van Halen, From Those Who Knew Him Best
The music world lost a legend this week with the passing of Eddie Van Halen. With such a giant figure in guitar now gone from us, we thought it best to remember Eddie with help from those who knew him best. Read on for a selection of tributes to Eddie given by his family, bandmates, […]
Making Sonic Room in DJ Transitions
In a previous tutorial post, I spoke about three transitions for mixing songs. We are going to take a more in-depth look at making room for tunes in your DJ mix. When I say “making room in your mix,” I mean from a sonic frequency aspect. Imagine you have a container filled with sheets and […]
zZounds Exclusive Interview with Jeff Bridges
zZounds is pleased to share an exclusive interview with Academy Award®-winning actor, musician and environmentalist Jeff Bridges, whose passion for preserving and honoring the world’s great rainforests dovetails with Breedlove’s commitment to sustainability and to making great-sounding guitars without using any clear-cut tonewoods. Bridges and Breedlove have collaborated on three signature instruments, including a myrtlewood […]
Introducing the Taylor GT
The Taylor GT (Grand Theater) introduces an inspiring new class of acoustic guitar built for serious fun. Designed from the ground-up for maximum expressiveness and playability, the Taylor GT is a totally original, compact body shape that strikes the perfect balance between playing comfort and full acoustic tone. Reminiscent of Taylor’s Grand Orchestra body, the […]
Directly Mic Your Electric Guitar for Extra Attack
I’ll be honest, putting a mic up on an electric guitar as it is being played is one of the more unusual recording “hacks” I’ve learned about. While owing its roots to the earliest recordings of rock, this trick can help modern guitarists and producers add a bit of dimension and texture to otherwise “ordinary” […]
Legends of Tone: Fuzz
From soaring David Gilmour guitar solos to saturated and raw Jack White rhythms, fuzz pedals have moved into the lexicon of nearly every modern player. An effect that by nature is hostile, unwieldy and a whole lot of fun, the modern fuzz pedal plays into our fascination with the unknown. Endless sustain, wonderful feedback 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. […]
The Case for the Acoustic Guitar Amplifier
Congratulations, you just bought a brand-spanking new acoustic-electric guitar! You’ve got a gig lined up and can’t wait to show off the amazing tone of this new axe. So you plug in your acoustic to your amplifier and…bleh. Awful, thin, nasally tone emanates from the speaker of your electric amp. A common misconception is that […]
