Check out some cool ideas on how to make 16th note hi hats sound more natural and less machine-y. [Read more]

A cool technique that a lot of people miss when sculpting sounds is the idea of an envelope modulating itself. I’ll explain that in a minute. But this a feature that I learned of by designing sounds on the Prophet 08 by Dave Smith Instruments. The idea is that you can make for instance a filter envelope modulate it’s decay, attack, or anything you can think of that’s available. [Read more]

Reverb misuse can take away from a good mix. A lot of times, people tend to use too much of it and as a result things start to sound like they’re in a cave or at the karaoke. Not good. At least it’s not what you hear in pro mixes. [Read more]

Blend is one of the most important features of using reverb in your mix. Nowadays with all the computer-based home recordings we tend to rely on samples and close mic-ing techniques and lose some of the magic that comes with recording a band in a room. [Read more]

Everything in music production is closely related to pitch, volume, or time. Think about it, reverb and delay are time effects. Chorus is a combination of time and pitch. EQ is basically a frequency adjustment and frequencies are pitches; 220 hz is the A below middle C. And finally, a compressor is basically a volume-adjustment device. Of course it gest more complicated than that and in this article I’ll give you some ideas on how to think about it without getting too technical. I’m not a fan of technical things when it comes to music. [Read more]