Moving is always a stressful experience, but all the more so when your personal recording studio is going with you. Careful planning and some expert advice can make the process as painless as possible. EM explains how to conquer the challenges of relocating your project studio....
Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron and Monster Magnet founder John McBain are the producers, engineers, and primary musicians for the psychadelic rock project the Wellwater Conspiracty. Self-taught as engineers - they both cut their teeth on 4-track cassette recorders in the predigital days - the two are not afraid to use unconventional techniques to pursue their recording goals....
Thanks to the audiocentric nature of cell phones, customizable ringtones have rapidly become one of the first commercially successful entertainment features...
There's a growing trend in the world of electronic-music performance. Next time you go to a show, chances are you'll see a laptop onstage, functioning...
In the early 1990s, Eugene, Oregon, had four leading recording studios. During one infamous afternoon, that number was reduced to three. A week earlier,...
A studio pro explains how split-band (aka multiband) compression works and how it can improve your mixes and solve everyday audio problems. Then he looks at several choices you have when selecting a split-band compressor...
For more than ten years, Linux has been gaining ground as a favorite platform for die-hard techies, power users, and programmers. More recently, Linux...
More and more people are bringing quality 2-track recording rigs to concerts to capture the shows for posterity (and subsequent trading). Many acts allow this practice because of the publicity it brings. This Electronic Musician column takes an inside look at the strategy, tactics, and gear used by “tapers.”...
Learn how to set up a basic bookkeeping system to keep track of your music-related finances. A good financial system will help you learn which of your musical endeavors are making money and which aren’t. Some tax details for music-related businesses are also discussed, including Schedule C income and expense categories and codes....
Desktop musicians have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to software tools for making music. The proliferation of applications and plug-ins should...
An apartment-based personal studio can present a number of logistical problems, none of which is more acute than the issue of loud sound levels in close...
Trends in recording come and go, but acoustic music is a constant that can be relied on to sustain and challenge all engineers. From miking to mixing,...
Most of us have experienced stiffness in our wrists or shoulders after spending long hours at the computer or playing an instrument, especially when we...
Have you ever wished your computer could help you write a good tune or provide some unique chord changes for your latest effort? Or have you ever wanted...
It seems like only yesterday that Microsoft rolled out Windows XP, with the requisite hype, to an understandably skeptical public. For many people, XP...
Strategies for making band albums fast and cheap. It shows how a band with a short budget and tight schedule can nonetheless record a complete album, including tracking and mixing, in a matter of days rather than months or years. The author details many specific setups, and includes recommendations of microphones such as the Shure SM57, Audio-Technica AT4047, Royer R-121, and Neumann KM 140....
Beat slicing can be accomplished in several ways, but they all amount to breaking an audio file into a number of small segments (often called “slices”). Once you have the audio file cut into slices, the trick is to change the time between slices rather than altering the speed at which each slice is played. That preserves each slice’s pitch and timbre while changing its tempo....
The Bob Katz book Mastering Audio: the Art and the Science covers the various aspects of audio mastering. It also covers topics such as critical listening, the monitoring environment, depth and clarity in recordings, dithering, and jitter. Practical applications include equalization, dynamics processing, noise reduction, and other types of mastering processes....
Spectrasonics’ three virtual super-instruments, Atmosphere (Dream Synth Module), Stylus (Vinyl Groove Module), and Trilogy (Total Bass Module) have raised the bar for sample quality, realism, and musical expression. For this article, we’ll focus on power tips, improved customization, and getting even more bang for your not-so-virtual buck....
Electronic Musician’s interview with iconoclastic producer and engineer Joe Barresi, who has worked his magic on acts such as Queens of the Stone Age, the Melvins, and Powerman 5000. He has a knack for capturing killer guitar sounds, and never loses sight of what makes music groove....
