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Gain Staging Explanation Through Hardware & Software
When we got this question, it was another in a string of emails asking for more information about gain staging. It's something we've mentioned a lot in the Studio Recording column but hadn't dedicated a full article to it. We since then have written a full investigation into the concept (linked below), but here's the shorter version of how we explained it to Hechter. Please […]
Does Studio Recording Equipment Apply to Podcasting?
The world of studio recording equipment is confusing to the uninitiated trying to get a foothold, and with manufacturers marketing their gear differently to outsiders, it's no surprise that we received this week's question about podcasting... And thanks to Calvin, Justin, Jason, Andy, Doug, Shawn, Dominic, Daniel, Jamieson, Gabrielle, Anthony, Zaiden, and James for the positive comments. There were too many to post here in […]
Russian Meme Music - Where Did We Go Wrong?
Where did we lose our way? At what point did we toss all care to the wind and start admitting that we like some of the most absurd music out there? Like Russian meme music... The Top 3 Russian Meme Music Songs I'd say the answer for most of us is around the time the internet was released to the public, but for the Russians, […]
How to Mix Saxophone for Perceived Power & Clarity
We've been receiving a lot of emails from users lately, but not questions. Thankfully, several have been corrections for errors spotted in our articles, which we always appreciate. But in the meantime we did collect several solid questions, one of which we want to share here, basically asking how to mix saxophone. Let's get right to it! As always, a special thanks goes to Brigitta […]
8 Classic Video Game Songs From the Actual Golden Era
There's countless lists like these out there, where a ton of people who never played an hour of vidya their whole lives try to help you remember the Mario Bros theme or that one Tetris song. I'm not going to do you like that. I'm going to show you the real classic video game songs. I'm going to take you back to the true gems […]
Aerosmith Earned More Money from Guitar Hero Than Their Albums
Aerosmith was one of the indisputable gods of American hard rock in the ‘70s. They also came back from the brink of drugs and despair to have a total renaissance in the late ‘80s. Add these eras together, and you’re looking at a band that made a ton of cash through album sales. At least, on paper. Yet a funny thing happened on the way […]
Nanoguitar, the Guitar Smaller Than a Human Blood Cell!
We’re practically trained to think of guitars as big, shiny instruments meant to capture the eye. Sometimes, a guitar can even call more attention than the person noodling on its neck. And while these weapons of musical extravagance do command attention when wielded upon the stage, the most attention-worthy guitar in existence may be the “nanoguitar;” a fully-functioning six-string that you can’t see without the […]
Top 10 Reasons Being a Pop Star Sucks
You thought this was something you wanted? Do you dream about 100,000 raving fans a night, plus the few throwing water and lighters at you? Well, guess again, because here are the Top 10 reasons being a pop star sucks... 1. Riders & Planes People think it's cute to make fun of us for this, but there's a reason for having a "rider" in our […]
Mozart & Music Piracy in 1770: The Vatican’s Miserere
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is the most iconic classical composer of all time. It’s a status not just drawn from the fact that he’s behind some of the most recognizable pieces of music ever written, but also because of the prodigious nature of where these works came from. We’ve all heard the stories; he started composing at around the age of four, he completed his first […]
Did 50 Cent Throw the Worst First Pitch Ever on Purpose? (Yes)
This is a strange post to find in here on the LedgerNote blog, but let me explain why it's here, not only from our perspective but 50 Cent's as well: "Never waste a good marketing opportunity." 50 Cent is a master marketer in terms of never letting the spotlight die if he doesn't want it to. He'll fake beef with another rapper, he'll piss off […]
How Do I Keep My Apartment Neighbor From Hearing My Subwoofer?
Ah, the classic concern of good music-loving neighbors everywhere: "Can I use a subwoofer in my apartment without getting a noise complaint from my neighbors?" The fact that you're asking this first before you just start bumping the bass is fantastic, because it means you have a chance to be proactive about it. If you live in an apartment, condominium, townhouse, duplex, or any other […]
Eminem Gets Pissy if You Claim Nothing Rhymes With "Orange"
Will the real Slim shady please continue to defy the laws of the English language? There's a common belief that you can't rhyme anything with the word orange. It's one of those old wive's tales that isn't technically true, but it's fun to stump kids with. Many writers over the years have scratched their heads trying to figure it out, mostly just making up words […]
How Do We Calculate the First Reflection Panel Wall Position?
We received a fantastic question dealing with one of my own favorite topics, that of acoustic treatment. Unfortunately, buying or building it isn't enough. You have to know where to place it on the wall if you want it to do its job the best it can. And that takes a little math, especially with the first reflection zone... As always, we shout out some […]
Where Should I Start Learning Music Theory?
We received a great question from a decent producer, who like many of us started out in rhythm based genres that don't demand a ton of music theory knowledge. But he's ready to expand his skill set... where should he start learning music theory? In addition, we want to give mad props and say thanks to DonSuite, a composer who had this to say: Yours […]
My Rode Procaster Setup Levels are Too Low & I Need More Gain!
Among the recent questions we've been helping readers out with, there were a couple very technical ones. Here is one regarding the Rode Procaster setup and getting enough gain out of your preamp... We like to shout out the good people that we talk to, even if we don't use their questions for one of these posts. Thanks to William for a great discussion about […]
Recording Studio Pet Peeves That Drive Me Bonkers...
You know what really butters my biscuit? You know what really grinds my gears in the studio? Let me tell you... The Worst Things Musicians Do In The Studio In no particular order, these are the things that drive us recording, mixing, and mastering engineers bonkers: Not wrapping long cables in the over-under fashion I'm aware that not everyone is aware that there's a better […]
The Top 10 Best Mixed Albums I've Ever Heard
Before we jump right into my list of best mixed albums, let's remind the jimmy rustlers... this is an opinion post. And since it's based around my opinion, it's limited to the albums that I've had the fortune to listen to and become intimately familiar with. These are my favorite albums and songs in terms of mixing. And that means that it started with top […]
Human Speech From a Piano...
I, for one, welcome our new piano overlords. In 2009 at the World Venice Forum, an Austrian composer named Peter Ablinger unveiled his crazy talking piano contraption. While everyone was wondering what exactly was about to happen, he had it read the Proclamation of the European Environmental Criminal Court in a human voice: The video is in German but there are subtitles and the piano […]
The Curse of the 27 Club
Chance? Conspiracy? Synchronicity? These are words tossed around by those of us in the know who want to get to the bottom of this mystery. Why have so many musicians fallen to the curse of the 27 Club? What is the 27 Club Curse? During a tumultuous time for music when artists were again using their voices for social action in the fight against corruption, […]
How Do I Link & Monitor the Signal Chain While Recording?
Today's question is an interesting double dose of technical information that's not obvious to anyone who hasn't had the experience of tinkering around with all of the professional hardware and software we use during studio recording. A special thanks goes out to Martin for finding an error in a post about acoustic treatment. Let's hop into our questions: How Do I Link & Monitor the […]
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