We recently scoured scholarly journals, collegiate records, and data collected from self-reported social media profiles to perform a meta-analysis from various angles…
Anyone that has spent even the slightest amount of time with signal processing effects, either as a guitar player, synthesizer player, music mixer, or really any role will have encountered plate reverb. It's everywhere and for good reason. Of all of the different types of reverb, none has stood the test of time and garnered more attention and love than that generated by a plate. […]
I do agree there's only three main categories, but anyone looking to fully explain the topic can't limit the discussion to five or seven types of reverb, which is what always happens. It's unfair to the reader. If you're reading this then you probably already understand what this effect is and how it arises in nature or is created acoustically, mechanically, through electronics, or through […]
What is reverb? Is it different than an echo or delay? If so, what makes it different. Why is it used in music production? How is it created? This is the logical sequence of questions that arise when you start considering this natural sound effect for the first time. What people don't realize is that they know what reverb is, they just hadn't attached a […]
Whether during recording or playback, you've been around someone that sees the little red light go off or light up permanently who then says "Oh, dude, you're clipping." But do they even know what audio clipping is? What causes clipping? Is there anything we can do about it? Is it the same as peaking (yes)? I'm going to explain it all, tell you what it […]
Technology has shaped every facet of culture in the modern age. The invention of the electric guitar back in the 1930's changed the landscape of contemporary music and paved the way for acts such as Jimi Hendrix and later U2. Since then, the world has been exposed to a variety of innovations in the world of music. This has led to some strange and eccentric […]
No matter if you're talking about car speakers, studio speaker monitors, a guitar amplifier, or even some cheap computer or TV sound system, blown speakers are frustrating. And doubly so when you realize that if you'd caught it soon enough you could have saved it. Most of the time we want a matching stereo pair so that can mean replacing two if it's in a […]
What is phantom power? How does it work? Why does it have that name? Which mics need it? Anybody who's been in this industry hears these questions a million times a year, including me, which is why I'm writing it up. Now I can just send people here and save myself the trouble. Usually what happens is a newcomer gets their first microphone and preamplifier […]
Way back in 1949, a gentleman by the name of Dr. Helmut Haas is given credit for discovering a psychoacoustic phenomenon which was subsequently named the Haas Effect after his namesake, but is also called the Precedence Effect. Psychoacoustics relate to how our minds perceive the audio our ears sense out in the world. There are a handful of these interesting cases that we've covered […]
Learning music production isn't that hard if you can cut through all of the extra, non-relevant information out there. The truth is there's very little you need to begin today and you likely already have most of it. All of that extra info comes into play later once you start progressing further down the path of making music. Below I tell you the minimum equipment […]
We all have a list of favorite albums and songs that we think sound amazing. We always imagine that that's how we'd like our own music to sound, and a lot of times even think "How the heck did they do that?" Don't dream about it anymore. You can get your songs to sound that good by using those exact songs as reference tracks for […]
Phase cancellation is almost a mystical matter in studio engineering and recording. Many choose to flat out ignore it just to avoid learning what it is, why it occurs, and how to fix it. Don't be one of these people. I'm going to break it down in simple language and show you exactly how to hear it, how to spot it with plugins if you […]
Compressing bass is a fundamental part of any mix, and getting it right means having a great foundation to a song with well-balanced energy and an intelligible groove. Getting it wrong is a disaster. Great bass compression settings, along with other considerations we'll mention, are the difference between a solid, full, and thick bass with great harmonics and attack, versus one that's either weak and […]
Forget your preconceived notions. Acoustic guitar equalization is a piece of cake once you understand what to listen for (and how to listen for it). The principals below work for mixing in the studio and for live performances on stage. There's two aspects to mixing any instrument, and that's getting it to sound amazing by itself while also allocating a dominant frequency range so it […]
You might be thinking "mixing in mono? I thought the 1950's came and went?" I'm not telling you that your final result will be completely centered between the speakers, just that you'll work that way for at least half of your mix. Why does pretty much every professional do this, and if not at least spends 10% of their time not working in stereo? Because […]
When you receive a raw DAW project file with a song ready to be mixed, the first thing a mixing engineer will typically do is balance the levels across all of the tracks in relation to one another and pan them around. You may not realize this as an organized person, but more people than not send in the most absurd projects with 50+ tracks, […]
The sub-bass and bass frequencies of a song are everything. Get it right and you'll hear endless praise. Mess it up and your entire mix will suffer. The bottom is the foundation and has to be solid. There's endless discussion about various attempts to provide a rock solid groove that drives a song to the top of the charts. From equipment and playing technique to […]
Autotune is the perfect example of a signal processing method that can be used in overdrive as an effect or used properly in a transparent way to improve a performance. More artists than you'd realize use this tool undetectably, while others make it very obvious. Take artists like Cher or T-Pain, or even Lil Wayne when rapping, who nearly sound like robots during their songs. […]
If you're reading this, then the assumption is you understand how a typical audio compressor works (I'll summarize it below anyways). That full-band gain reduction tool is crucial to all mixing engineers. So then what is this mysterious multiband compressor and why does it deserve its own separate name and category of existence? It's still just a regular compressor, the kind you're used to dealing […]
Today we're going back, way back, all the way to 1954. While the exact year is fuzzy, we accept that as the year that the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) established the RIAA curve standardization for records and record players. This article starts as a history lesson that merges into an explanation of why this RIAA equalization still matters today. It's interesting to think […]
As far as we know, this method of compression was invented (or discovered) by Dolby Laboratories in 1965 and used in their Dolby A noise reduction circuitry. Eventually in 1977, Mike Beville casually described its use in Studio Sound magazine. The Beville article, called Compressors and Limiters was reprinted in 1988 and that blew the lid off of a masterful technique hidden right out in […]
LedgerNote is the leading-edge online music magazine. With our focus on education for industry professionals while at work and enjoyment at home, we never cease adding and updating our tutorials, tips & tricks, and entertainment blog. Use our passion for your benefit in the studio, at gigs, and during practice and rehearsal. Progress never stops at Ledger Note. Gear Gigs Grind Glory. Learn more about the LedgerNote Team here. See you at the top!
Audio Interface Buying Guide
Remember when choosing an audio interface was confusing before you read this?
Read Now ›
Vocal Microphone Buying Guide
It's so easy to record studio quality vocals these days with the right mic...
Read Now ›
