Author Archive

If you mix In-The-Box (ITB) with your favorite DAW then you might wonder what all the fuss is relating to analog mixing consoles and analog summing. You might hear people describe mixes as having “warmth”, “punch”, or “vibe” and some might even criticize mixing strictly ITB in your software, calling it “harsh” and “digital.”

I personally mix ITB in Pro Tools and love the results I’m getting. But I do know that there is something unique that the analog circuitry of an old mixing desk has to offer and when there is a plugin that says it has figured out how to model that, I’m interested. The latest plugin from Slate Digital (made up of veteran drummer and producer Steven Slate and genius french plugin guru Fabrice Gabriel) the Virtual Console Collection is supposed to be the answer for In-The-Box mixers like me.

Specifically in today’s video I review and demo the RC-Tube console emulation. Take a look/listen to how I used it in a recent mix and judge for yourself!

When it comes to recording, the question you should be asking yourself is not “What gear will make this sound great?”, but rather “What great sound am I trying to capture?” Unfortunately many of us jump in head first without knowing what it is we are hoping to get back from our mics.

Choosing The Mic For The Job

When deciding which mic to use for a given application, you must know what you are listening for. If recording acoustic guitar let’s say, are you looking for a mellow finger picking tone? Or are you hoping for a bright strumming vibe that will cut through the mix of heavy guitars? If you know what you are listening for, then you can make the appropriate mic selection.

Without knowing what to listen for you will blindly try mic after mic (assuming you have multiple mics) hoping to somehow “know” when you’ve found the perfect mic. Realistically you won’t have anything to base your decision on so you’ll just pick your most expensive mic and move on. Not a good move.
Read More →

If we’re being honest, most of the time the best thing we can do for our mixes is to walk away. Whether you’re mixing for a client for your own material, we need to not only take breaks, but have a system in place that allows some separation to occur before we give our mixes the final seal of approval and “print” them.

Start Your Mixes Fresh

When I’m ready to mix, I sit down when I’m most fresh, most awake. For me this is first thing in the morning after a hot cup of coffee. I don’t check email, I don’t text anyone, I don’t catch up on last night’s game. I simply open up the tracks and start working. The reason is simple, give your best effort to the initial mix, with fresh ears.

If you aren’t able to mix in the morning (work, school, family, etc) and your only available time blocks are late at night, then you have to do whatever it takes to get your ears fresh and your mind sharp before you sit down. Don’t rush into mixing from whatever you were doing prior. Take a few minutes to quiet your mind, get your studio space clean and comfortable, get some caffeine in your system and focus. This is key.
Read More →

The challenges of mixing in a home or project studio are many. From acoustic issues, to lack of speaker variety, to noisy roommates, we can find ourselves buried in headphones and turning out unbalanced mixes. The VRM Box from Focusrite is supposed to fix all of that.

The Answer To All Your Problems?

Since Focusrite is a company that makes great gear for pros and home users alike, I trust what they make. Plus this device has looked so unique as it tries to solve a specific part of the mixing equation. So I had to pick it up and use it. But is it a magic box that can instantly make you a better mixer? Below is my complete video review, including my final verdict of whether this is something you need.

It’s quite possible that you are incredibly smarter than me and the average population so this article will not apply to you. But generally speaking people like you and I can’t (and shouldn’t) handle more than two options in the recording studio. Whether it’s mic choices, mic placement, or recording takes, two is all we can really handle.

Which Works Better?

When choosing a mic (if you even have options) you seriously slow yourself down if you intend on trying out more than two. Whether it’s for a vocalist or a guitar cab, just grab two mics, place them both up, record a little and listen back. Which one do you like better? Why? Which mic helps you get closer to the sound in your head?

The same is true of mic placement. Don’t go crazy with this, simply record where you first placed the mic, then try something a little off axis or further/closer, etc. Listen back. Which captures the sound you want most faithfully? Any more than two options and you’re going on a wild goose hunt. (Or is that going down a rabbit trail?)
Read More →

The more I listen to great recordings (and hopefully make great recordings myself) the more I’m beginning to see how the acoustic guitar is sneaking its way into everything. In fact, on my band’s most recent EP recording I ended up laying down acoustic guitar on all 6 songs, when none of them had a single acoustic guitar part written. Why?

Acoustic Guitars Are Natural Enhancers

My band has primarily a melodic rock oriented sound that is guitar driven. And when I say guitar I really mean electric guitar, because in my humble opinion, electrics are simply way more fun to play. So in both the writing and recording process for our most recent album, we stuck to electrics for the entire project. No acoustics necessary.

As we wrapped up recording a few weeks ago I decided to listen through the songs a few more times to see if they needed anything extra. I discovered one song that had a cool picking part that was getting lost in all the overdrive and distortion. So I restrung my acoustic, miked it up, and replayed the same part overtop the original electric. The result? I could both hear AND feel my electric picking part and it just sounded better!
Read More →

Recording drums well is always a challenge. But to be honest, you don’t need a ton of mics and preamps to capture a kit well. In fact you really only need one mic to do it justice! Today, though, I want to show you one of my favorite techniques, the Recorderman method.

Using only two mics to capture the kit you can get a full, punchy, and drum focused sound (as opposed to room focused). In this video I show you how to set up the mics for the best phase accuracy and then you can listen to some raw sounds from the mics. Enjoy!

I have to be straight with you guys. If you are hoping to take your recordings and mixes to the next level, don’t look for that one “magic bullet” of a technique, tip, or piece of gear to take you there. It’s just not going to happen.

The Cumulative Effect

Really good recordings and mixes are the result of a series of smart decisions that add up in a big way. It’s a cumulative effect that almost sneaks up on you. A little mic placement change here, a little high pass filter there, a bit of bus compression over there, and eventually you can get one stellar mix.

Was it the result of one or two of those decisions? No. In context you could probably have skipped a few of those moves and the mix would still be pretty good. In fact, not any one of your recording or mixing decisions (especially the gear you use) will be what gets you the final mix you want. Rather it’s the many seemingly minuscule moves you make along the way that create something bigger than the sum of their parts.
Read More →

Wow, we just finished another round of 31 mixing tutorial videos in the past 31 days straight. I can’t believe I’m still alive to be honest! But it’s been so worth it. So many people have gotten inspired and motivated to actually get to work in their studios and are churning out albums left and right.

Double The Fun

Plus, if you take these 31 videos and add them to my original 5 Minute tutorials you get 62 tips designed to help you make better mixes right away. That’s over 5 hours of mixing training! And to keep it all together in once place I’ve updated the 5 Minutes To A Better Mix page to include all 62 videos, neatly organized and in order.

Here are just a couple of comments people have been leaving on the videos:
Read More →

We’re at the end of round 2 of 5 Minutes To A Better Mix! If you’ve hung around all month then I’d like to say “Thank You” for your time. I hope you’ve found these videos helpful, insightful, fun, and motivating. Now let’s get to the final tip of the month!

Print Multiple Versions

You just never know what can happen with computers. Your plugins might not open, your DAW might change, audio files might go missing. It’s a good move to print multiple variations or versions of your mixes when you do the initial mixdown. I’ll show you a couple of examples.