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How to Setup a Home Recording Studio
Go ahead and freak out if you want to, but it's totally unnecessary. This easy guide will have you becoming a studio tech wizard in ten minutes flat. No longer will you look at a piece of gear and experience your brain slowly shutting down under the sheer anxiety of wondering what you're going to break. Learning how to setup a home recording studio at […]
You're a Billionaire! Who Do You Pay to Be in Your Music Supergroup?
Ahhh yes. This conversation! Every fan of music has spent countless hours over the years asking their buddies and fantasizing about forming their own music supergroup. So the question is... You just won the lottery of 100 billion dollars! You can finally afford to do it: pay your favorite musicians to be in the perfect supergroup! But who is allowed in? I want you to […]
The Role Player's Guide to Choosing a Musical Instrument
My first RPG ever was the original Final Fantasy on the NES, and so without further ado (and with a nod to the Final Fantasy series), we bring you the world's first RPG guide to choosing a musical instrument: Please feel free to post this infographic on your own website using the code below: There are other things than RPGs that musicians (such as Syd […]
Klaatu - The Secret Band as Good as The Beatles
In September 1976, Capitol Records released a mystery album and let the secret carry itself through word of mouth throughout North America. This initially obscure record oozed of secrecy and inspired vast speculation by everyone in the industry, fans and professionals. What Was So Mysterious? This album hit the scene and as people got their hands on it, they were left scratching their heads. There […]
The Acoustic Treatment Guide for Panels & Foam
The reason every major studio has these "boxes" hanging on the walls, or the walls themselves are made of cloth covering "something firm but soft," is the same reason why their recordings and mixes come out pristine and beautiful, while amateur works sound like they were recorded in a small closet or a bathroom (most of the time they are!). The reason is that they […]
John Lennon Sketched the UFO Mentioned in "Nobody Told Me"
In John Lennon's solo song Nobody Told Me, he talks about all of the various scenarios he just wasn't pre-warned about when growing up. From war to mindless mass media, to meaningless interaction and a lack of awareness, he had some insightful points to make about the way we live our lives. Strange days indeed! The Lyric Line That Caught The World's Attention There was […]
Audiocoin: The Cryptocurrency of the Digital Music Market
With the advent of the internet, and then easily performed micro-transactions, things have slowly begun to change for artists. It could be said that it all began with crowd-funding, where fans could pre-fund any venture and be promised an array of rewards such as inclusion in the thank you notes, special editions of the product, or even creative input. In our case, die hard fans […]
Musical Synesthesia - Paintings by Melissa McCracken
I once learned of a condition called synesthesia (by indulging in a large dose of psychedelics, admittedly). That term is a psychology label for the experience of "a crossing of the senses." It happens differently in different people, but the main idea is that you can taste what you see, hear what you feel, see what you hear, etc. It's like your brain totally gets […]
Recording Vocals at Home: Clean & Clear
No matter your goal... whether you're a rapper, producer, singer, podcast creator, video game designer, etc., you need a quality vocal chain set up and ready to rock at home. Recording vocals at home used to be a dream, and now it's a no-brainer. Money is no longer the barrier to entry. The know-how is what gets in the way because you have to know […]
How to Sample Like the East Coast Producers
Sampling is funny business, because doing it right is no easy task. This is why producers who want to be purists and not use them at all will turn around and talk smack about a producer who does prefer to and knows how to sample. They're hiding their incompetence. They want you to believe that sampling is an easy shortcut, that it bypasses needing to […]
Sakura - Traditional Japanese Song on Koto
The day I finally discovered what "that song" was, I celebrated. It had haunted me for literal decades. More people have heard the song Sakura Sakura than anyone realizes. Take a quick listen as you continue reading. You'll be like "oh yeah, I've heard this before." I'll show you where you probably know it from as well... About The Sakura Song Take a listen to […]
Archangel Metatron told Santana to Collab with Pop Stars?!?
I don't even know what's going on any more... We all know that Carlos Santana was into some stuff back in the day. He used to eat copious amount of psychedelics and meditate a lot. Heck, I do both of those still to this day. Who doesn't? Big whoop. But Santana was also running around with John McLaughlin trying to assure the world that Guru […]
Bob Marley Shared His Royalties With a Soup Kitchen
"I remember when we used to sit in a government yard in Trenchtown." Thus spake the memorable line by Bob Marley in his smash single No Woman, No Cry, arguably his most successful hit ever, though I much prefer Wait in Vain. Who can really even choose a favorite from so many perfect songs over such a long career? If you don't know the song […]
Syd Barrett - First Known Case of HPPD
Syd Barrett is one of my favorites. I know I'm getting old because people these days are like "What's a Sid Burrutt?" Who Was Syd Barrett? I'll forgive you this time for even asking that question. He was one of the founding members, and the first principal songwriter for none other than "mudda fuddin" Pink Floyd. Yes, before all of the songs you know and […]
Led Zeppelin's Acoustic Environment on When the Levee Breaks
When recording, the wisdom of the ages always says to record in the most dry and controlled acoustic environment possible. Then let the rest be done in post-processing where you can try different options and use the undo button. But the masters of mixing aren't afraid to commit to tape right then and there, and that's exactly what Led Zeppelin did on When the Levee […]
The Ocarina Almanac
Life is full of many curiosities, and it is quite curious in itself that this instrument is making a comeback into the mainstream musical consciousness. A lot of people have recently been asking “What instrument is making that sound? It’s a what? How do you spell it? Didn’t that Zelda guy play one of those?” We’re going to explore all of these questions below and […]
Mixing Bass and Kick for Low-End Balance
When it comes to turning off your listeners, I don't know what's worse: having an anemic, powerless low-end or having a muddy, overpowering mess with no clarity. Unfortunately, these are two of the most common problems with amateur mixes. These two scenarios and could doom the reception of the best song ever written before it even hits the first chorus, so what's it likely to […]
Basic Song Structure Essentials
The deeper into the adventure of song writing you delve, the more you'll begin to notice patterns, especially relating to song structure. Differing genres and decades will display their various influences and preferences, but at the end of the day the basic song structure essentials never change. One or two of the fundamentals may disappear in exchange for others here and there, but you'll typically […]
Eric Clapton's Ridiculous Encounter With a Cunning Witch
So... I just finished reading Eric Clapton's autobiography... I don't know what to say. I'll go ahead and make the disclaimer that I love his music, which is why I read his book. There's always that risk of learning too much about the lives, escapades, and personalities of our heroes. It can create disillusionment like it just did for me and Clapton. Because this guy […]
Mixing With Headphones Versus Monitors
While it's indisputable that countless top quality songs have been produced while mixing with headphones, there are many issues to be overcome that can simply be avoided by mixing, or at least referencing, with monitors. Properly balancing the stereo field can be extremely difficult in the full-immersion of earphones versus the natural ambience of an acoustically treated studio with flat frequency monitors. This is largely why you find […]
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