Technics

  Times have changed, and many of us are now creating music from home. We all have the opportunity to tinker with the song as we create it. For example, you can add reverb to your snare drum with a click of a button. So as the song evolves more and more "mixing"...

The next installment in our mixing fundamentals series is gain staging. Gain staging is simple. When done correctly it will give you more headroom to work with when mixing and mastering. Our session is loaded up and ready. All sounds are in there place, labeled, color...

I must say that Jaycen Joshua is one of my favorite mixing engineers. I have learned a lot from listening to his mixes as well as watching him on Pensado's Place. In his current interview on Pendsado's Place, he talked about the vocal chain he used on The Weeknd for...

As a kid, the first effects box I ever got my hands on was a Boss digital delay pedal. My friend Ryan and I, fueled by our passion for music, saved every cent we had. On a trip to NYC, we bought this pedal from Manny’s - the famous music store that has sadly been torn...

How to De-ess vocals De-essing is a simple process that takes the slithering sibilance out of your vocal takes. This process is also known as de-sibilizing. Sibilance occurs in the consonants such as; s, z, c and sh. The problem frequencies occur around 2k and go up...

How to Create Future's Vocal Effect Chain I've always been fascinated by the unique vocal styles of various artists. One artist who particularly stands out is Future, known for his distinct sound that has captivated the hip-hop world. Recently, I stumbled upon a Sound...

If you haven't noticed yet, I really like Midi Controllers. I'm constantly on the search for a way to stop using my mouse. I find turning knobs helps me to listen more and look less. I feel if we are looking at the frequency we don't listen as much. I was so impressed...

Deconstructing a Mix | Part 2: Drums & Bass This is part 2 of the 4 part series, deconstructing a mix of Sammy Adams song, "Remember". Today we are going over the Drum in Bass sections. This song has a ton of drums to go over so let's get started. The Drums were...

Deconstructing a Mix: Sammy Adams - "Remember" Part 1: Session Setup This is the first video of a four part series where I will deconstructing a mix I did for  Sammy Adams's song "Remember". I'm super excited to share this with you. I will break down the eq,...

Are you a musician? Then, you might be aware of the significance of audio quality. You always wish to produce incredible music. This is what can be done through mastering songs. In this techno-freak world, people are rushing for mastering audio by themselves. And why...

The Role of Producers and Songwriters In today's episode of music biz Monday, we are going to talk about the role of producers and songwriters. These are the people who write the music and lyrics for the songs you hear on the radio everyday. So let's jump right in...

This week on #MusicBizMonday we will be talking about how to get artists on your beats. It's fun to sit at home and make beats all day but if you don't get artist on the actual tracks your career will go nowhere. I'm going to go over four tips which include: local...

Softube's console 1 is a hardware unit that controls plugins in your DAW. It has three different channel strips and you can use select Softube and UAD plug-ins with it. I was on a search for a way to control my plug-ins by hand. After trying three or four different...

This week on music biz Monday we are going over how to get your music heard. The two main points I'd like to touch on is content and where to put the content. I believe if you stay consistent with posting solid content the fans will slowly catch on and you will start...

As many of you know I love Studio One 3. It' has helped me move quicker leaving more time to be creative when mixing. In the video below I go over 5 features that I absolutely love about Presonus's Studio One 3. Check them out, and let me know what some of your...

I am super excited to announce the first addition of music business Mondays. This will be a weekly blog post where I will share my experiences in the music business. I'm blessed to have made a living working in the music business for over 15 years. During that time I...

Gain Staging is a significant part of the record, mixing and mastering process. It is even more critical in the digital world than the analog because digital is much less forgiving. My general rule of thumb is to have my meters peak at -18 DB. By keeping your levels...

I had a few request to go over my single flow I use when mixing and mastering. So I decided I would do a studio tour as well as go through my signal flow. Knock two birds with one stone if you will! So without further ado, here is the Mix and Master my Song 2017...

Template's are a great way to get your session setup so you can just open up a song and get straight to be creative. It is also a huge time saver. I have all my reverb, delays and other effects ready to go as soon as I open a new session up. I also have my other buses...

I have been looking for a way to "touch" my DAW for years. The Avid ICON was terrific, but I couldn't justify the price tag. So when the Slate Raven came out, I was intrigued, to say the least. I thought it might finally be the answer to doing multiple fader rides,...

Introduction I've encountered numerous tools and techniques that can significantly impact a track's final sound. One such indispensable tool is reverb. It's fascinating how reverb, when used skillfully, can transform a flat, lifeless track into a vibrant, emotive...

The Splitter tool in Presonus's  Studio one 3 is a great tool. You can split the channel into two, or Left and Right, or even split it by frequency. In the video below I will go over how I use the tool when Parallel Compression. You can use this trick for drums,...

I had a client reach out about how to punch in vocals correctly. So I thought it would make for a great video to show how I got about punching in vocals. I also go over how to add doubles and ad libs to help make your song and voice stand out. Enjoy!...

Multiband Compression is a tool I use everyday when mixing and mastering. It gives me so much control over carving and manipulating the sound. I the video tutorial below, I go over some of the ways I use multiband compression when mixing vocals. Enjoy!...

4 Mixing Tips that have Nothing to do with Mixing Mixing or achieving a mix is a state of mind. A perspective better described as a feeling. We all hear with our ears as well as our bodies but its that something special thats hard to describe that keeps us listening...

So your songs are ready for the world! Wether they will make there way to iTunes, Spotify, Play Music, CD, Radio, live venues or the club, it is good idea to get them mixed. But how do we prep our music for mixing? While it may seem simple, sending files “wrong” could...

We live in a time that there are so many plugins to choose from. It’s somewhat overwhelming. However, even with the huge list of plugins I have ( I can’t help myself from buying them) I usually come back to the same 2 or 3. Some I use for surgical purposes and others...

Top 10 Mixing and Mastering Blogs We are lucky to live in a time that so much information is available and free for the most part! When I first started, the only way to learn how to mix and master was from going to school, interning ( which I still think is the best...