Archive for 'Interview'

The title to this post sounds so egotistical, doesn’t it? Maybe it’s because I just turned 30, but I’m finding a common trend with “younger” bands and artists that is most definitely a product of our generation. The problem is we don’t know how to arrange a song.

We Just Stack And Stack

I talk a lot about arranging when giving recording and mixing tips, because the arrangement is what really makes a song great (or not). But last month I read an interview with Grammy winning producer/mixer Kevin Augunas that summed it up perfectly.

The best thing about a 16 track tape machine is limited tracks. It forces better arrangements. Young bands today don’t know how to arrange because of unlimited tracks. They just stack, and stack, and stack. - Kevin Augunas (The Lumineers, The Black Keys)

Read More →

Do you ever get that sneaking suspicion that the more versions of a mix you do the worse it gets? We assume that with each tweak we are simply fine tuning a good mix, turning it into a great one. And sometimes that might be the case. But more often than not, your first mix, your initial gut feeling of where the tracks should go, is going to be your best mix. Or at least closer to your musical vision than say mix number 7, 8, or 9.

Mixing “Billie Jean” 91 Times

One of my readers sent over this clip of legendary engineer Bruce Swedien speaking to Full Sail students about mixing Michael Jackson’s hit, “Billie Jean”. It’s only 90 seconds, but what he has to say is profound, especially for us home studio owners with no time pressure to finish. Watch it and we’ll discuss.
Read More →

Famous for his “Mix Rescue” column in Sound On Sound magazine and author of the fantastic book Mixing Secrets For The Small Studio, engineer and educator Mike Senior sits down to talk recording and mixing in today’s video. Mike is a great mixer and teacher in his own right and was gracious enough to talk through some common issues we find in home studio environments.

Read More →

My goal for this website is to give you great training and techniques to go make killer music in your studio. But as we looked at last week your creativity trumps any technical stuff you know. Great recordings don’t come from great technology or training, they come from great musical taste. And that is why having great musical ideas is paramount to your studio success.

Many Paths To A Killer Record

In a recent interview at the NAMM show, producer Greg Wells said it best:

It doesn’t matter how you get to the finish line. Whether you’ve got a PHD [in music] or whether you’re a 5 year old that got lucky on Garageband, the idea is always going to be king… I’m humbled by how many paths there are to getting to a killer record. - Greg Wells (Adele, Katy Perry, OneRepublic)

Read More →

I recently caught up with famed mixer/engineer Fab Dupont at Sweetwater’s GearFest 2012 where we chatted up mixing, recording, and the industry. Fab is top notch mixer, working with artists like Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, and Marc Anthony. He’s also a fantastic teacher. He does recording and mixing workshops and has his own video tutorial website called PureMix. On top of that he has a great sense of humor and a really thick French accent, which prove to be a winning combination.

How To Approach Recording And Mixing

What I love about Fab is is approach to all things audio. He cares less about formulas or “rules” and instead rely’s on taste and intuition. In this interview he discusses:

• How best to approach mic placement
• Why so much mixing advice is irrelevant to most people
• How reference tracks are the key to improvement
• Our fear of commitment in the studio is holding us back

Fab owns Flux Studios in New York City and runs the popular website PureMix.net. Check out his stuff. I think you’ll really like it. He’s an excellent teacher and has a ton of great things to say.

If anyone thinks you can’t track a full band production with a simple two channel USB interface and a laptop, then they’re in for a rude awakening. Today’s reader spotlight features singer/songwriter Leo Weber and how he’s making pro sounding tracks on his laptop. He even shoots and edits his own music videos. Check this out…

The Studio Setup

Leo’s studio centers around a MacBook Pro running Pro Tools LE 8 with an Mbox 2. Add to that a couple of Octava condensors and a dynamic mic from Shure and he’s set. Other than renting out a rehearsal space to track drums (still into his Pro Tools rig) everything on this song was recorded in his bedroom and closet. And Leo’s go to mixing tools? The stock plugins in Pro Tools.
Read More →

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Steven Slate (CEO of Slate Digital, Slate Pro Audio) to talk about all things audio related. Here’s a guy who is famous for making killer drum samples that are used by the world’s top mixers. He’s since gone on to make some of the most useful pro audio plugins I’ve ever seen that are helping the pros and home studio guys alike.

Talking About The Recording “Revolution”

Steve was gracious enough to chat with me about this recording “revolution” we are living in and how exciting it is to be making music these days. In this interview Steven talks about:

• The affordability of recording gear as a good thing for the industry
• Analog summing verses mixing in the “box”
• The Virtual Console Collection and why he makes plugins
• Drum samples and why they aren’t cheating
• What it takes to succeed in this music industry

For info on his plugins check out Slate Digital. To get his infamous drum samples, check out Steven Slate Drums. To check out his pro hardware gear, swing over to Slate Pro Audio. And if you just want your dose of funny tweets, follow Steven on Twitter.

A lot of my readers reach out to me with their mixes, to let me know they’ve benefited from the tips and tutorials here on the website. And so much of what I hear is really well done. But when I first heard a track from reader James Ruiz, of James & FJ, I was blown away. These guys are arranging, recording, and filming killer rock covers of hit pop tunes and becoming a YouTube sensation with over 4 million views. All from a bedroom!

The Studio Setup

James (the drummer) does the recording and mixing himself and his setup is a solid home studio rig. He uses mics from Shure to record drums and guitars, runs them into a couple of daisy chained PreSonus Firestudio Projects, and records/mixes it all in Studio One Pro from PreSonus.
Read More →

Last week I spent some time on the show floor of InfoComm 2011 in Orlando. Specifically I got to check out some new products at the Behringer, Avid, and PreSonus booths and see what was happening in the audio world.

New Products, New Concepts

Behringer was promoting their new personal monitoring system, the Powerplay at their booth and it is awesome. It’s a super elegant and affordable way for bands to create their own custom monitor mixes for the stage or studio. Avid was showing off the new line of Mbox audio interfaces running on Pro Tools 9. And the guys at PreSonus were schooling me on some live integration of Studio One with their awesome line of live mixers, the StudioLive.

I want to personally thank John Dinicola (Behringer), Michael Pearson-Adams (Avid), Rick Naqvi (PreSonus) and Jonathan Hillman (PreSonus) for taking time out of their busy days to chat with me and show me around. I had a blast. Check out the video and see for yourself!

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down (over skype) with pro mixer and producer Mark Endert of Madonna, Maroon 5, and Fiona Apple fame. Originally from California, the now Floridian has worked with so many top artists and continues to mix major projects in his own studio. His discography spans even more people like Gavin DeGraw, Train, Five For Fighting, The Fray, Adam Lambert, and the list goes on. For a more complete list of his credits please visit his site.

This Guy Knows Mixing

If you want to make great recordings and mixes then go to the source, someone who does phenomenal work. Mark is one of those guys and his work speaks for itself. In this interview Mark was gracious enough to answer a lot of my questions and shed some light on the world of making hit records, including:

• How breaking the “rules” is crucial to being creative
• Capturing the right vibe is more important than sound quality
• Mark’s mixing workflow, finding what makes a song tick
• How to know when your mix is done
• How keeping separate mixing sessions is a life saver
• Your levels are like your first “EQ” in the mix
• How committing to sounds in the recording phase is crucial