Articles discussing Production approaches
You've probably heard me say (or seen me write) this before: Loudness matters! But not in the way you might have been taught. The LOUDNESS WARS (intentionally typed loudly) were built upon the premise that "louder is better". For years, record labels asked mastering engineers to make each record louder than the last, and louder… Continue reading The Secret of Maximum Loudness
The gap is full of danger, right? But it's also full of excitement... There's something about a gap - in the pavement, as you're stepping onto a train or an escalator, between buildings (unless you're Spiderman) - that causes us some measure of anticipation, or excitement, or anxiety. It's the spot where the momentum stops,… Continue reading Mind The Gap
I'm happy to have worked, and to continue to work, with artists who are capable of doing some of the recording themselves. True, I will insist on a certain standard of technical quality, but many of my clients are fully capable of saving themselves some money while becoming a greater part of the project. Does… Continue reading Who Says We Have to Match?
I'm often asked by my songwriter/artist friends to give my thoughts on their new releases. I'm happy to do so, but when they wait until they have a finished (and usually released) master, there's not likely much I can offer beyond "sounds great", because IT'S ALREADY OUT THERE. Let's put that aside for a moment,… Continue reading What You Talkin’ About?
Recently, I decided it was time to replace my mixing desk. While the desk in my studio was allowing me to get my work done, it had a handful of drawbacks - it was too small, ergonomically sad, and didn't leave me with all my audio tools within arm's reach. Now, one of the other… Continue reading It Was In There All Along
Sometimes, in the music business, we find ourselves wondering whether we're creating something that has a market, or feeling pressure to create something that doesn't feel authentic, for the sake of a bigger market, or just feeling the dreaded "imposter syndrome" because we observe another artist enjoying a level of success that we feel is… Continue reading Pass The Popcorn, Please
It would appear that today’s musician is faced with a long list of bills to pay in order to make music and get it heard by an audience, and on the other side of the coin, it seems more and more difficult to earn enough money to pay these bills. First of all, it’s completely… Continue reading Why is making music so expensive? Am I getting screwed over?
You want your final recording to sound its best, and you want it to sound great alongside your favourite recordings. Is your producer, or mastering engineer, asking you how “loud” you want your song to be? What does that even mean? We have recently gone through a period of time marked by a term called… Continue reading How Loud Is Your Song?
