The Best Ways to Record Bass: Tracking All the Way to Mixing No song is complete without the coveted low-end that only a bass can create. Famous songs have been built on (quite literally) the foundation of the kick drum and bass guitar, which is why engineers over the years have experimented with hundreds of techniques to capture that perfect low-end recording. As you may already be […]
Playing Well with Dr. Kertz — Posture Review for 2021 It’s the start of a new year, and Dr. Kertz reminds you this month of the basics of good posture habits to help prevent potential injuries and problems caused by tension from things like hunching over the laptop, holding the cell phone too often, or holding your instrument incorrectly. Dr. Kertz’s monthly column addresses how […]
Buffet Crampon’s New GALA Clarinet In 2020, Buffet Crampon decided to pursue the development a new instrument surpassing expectations both by the quality of its French manufacture and its particularly affordable price: the GALA clarinet. Its design takes full advantage of the latest research and is characterized by rich harmonics and an overall balance of the instrument’s range. This new […]
Jeff Stockham’s Past, Present & Future As a Horn Player Trumpeter/hornist Jeff Stockham is well-known to Upstate New York music fans. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music and a veteran of the renowned Eastman Jazz Ensemble, his performance credits read like a Who’s Who of the upstate New York music scene. He has performed with the Central New York Jazz Orchestra, Salt City […]
Recording Acoustic Guitar in Stereo for Beginners Chuck Schiele takes you through the beginning steps on how to record an acoustic guitar in stereo. Part one is a general overview for beginners on the basic thinking and process of recording, what a signal chain is, and a thing or two about microphones and mic’ing technique.
Gideon Waxman’s Ultimate Guide to Buying Cymbals Cymbals play an integral part of a drummer’s set up, and they are a significant investment. With a cymbal purchase, you will have to be completely confident that sound is right for you and your music. They cannot be altered or tuned in the way that drums can. So it’s imperative to invest in cymbals that will compliment the styles of music you play! In this guide I aim to provide as much information as I can about cymbals to help educate you on how to choose the perfect cymbals that are right for you, and what you need to consider when looking to invest in new cymbals.
Tracy Silverman: Defying Dogma with Electric Violin (Interview part 2) The first thing violinist Tracy Silverman did was to earn his degree from Julliard. The second thing he did when he graduated was to throw it all out the window and join a rock band…
The Workings of the Piano: For the Up-and-Coming Pianist If you want to get into playing the piano, it’s a good idea to get a basic understanding of how the instrument works. Before you even sit down at the piano bench, or sign up for lessons, educating yourself about the instrument gives you a base to start from, and may even help you decide if it’s the right choice of instrument for you.
9 Tips to Avoid A Hoarse Voice During the Holidays The holiday season is a time for numerous music events, late nights, and celebrations. Here are 9 tips to avoid a hoarse voice during the holidays:
The Harp: A Global Story of Music, Man, and Medicine In simplest terms, the harp is a plucked string instrument where the plane of the strings is perpendicular to the soundboard.
Senneheiser HD 200 PRO monitoring headphones The Senneheiser HD 200 PRO monitoring headphones deliver powerful studio sound wherever you are. Record your own tunes, practice silently, or simply enjoy your favorite music at home. The HD 200 PRO’s ambient noise attenuation enables you to fully concentrate on your job. Soft ear pads ensure outstanding comfort during long creative sessions (e.g. electronic […]
DPA 4090 Omnidirectional Microphone This high-quality omnidirectional condenser microphone is suitable for instrument-miking applications in the studio or on the stage. With 134 dB SPL handling, this microphone can be used with essentially any instrument from acoustic guitar and strings to piano and wind instruments. Due to their remarkably linear frequency response in the 20 Hz to 20 kHz […]
PreSonus HP4: 4-Channel Headphone Amplifier Simplicity is the HP4’s hallmark. You get left and right line inputs, left and right line outputs with level control, and the four headphone outs. You can sum the stereo signals to mono, adjust the individual headphone levels, and mute the rear-panel Monitor outputs while leaving the headphone outputs active. So while the PreSonus HP4 […]
sE Electronics RF-X reflection filter Unwanted room sound interfering with your recordings? With the RF-X, anyone can capture a great-sounding recording anywhere. The sE Electronics RF-X is an instant vocal booth for any home studio. Using the same design technology as the industry standard Reflexion Filter® PRO, the RF-X was conceived to answer the needs of the discerning recording artist […]
Friday Flashback: Tips to Start Laptop Recording If you are a musician and you don’t use your laptop, iPad, or computer to record your music, what are you waiting for. Get to Laptop Recording!
The Best Ways to Record Bass: Tracking All the Way to Mixing No song is complete without the coveted low-end that only a bass can create. Famous songs have been built on (quite literally) the foundation of the kick drum and bass guitar, which is why engineers over the years have experimented with hundreds of techniques to capture that perfect low-end recording. As you may already be […]
Distortion Packs a Punch! Amps Explained with Christopher Ames; Part 2 Making Music Mag visited with Christopher Ames at Guitar Center where he shares practical insights about distortion with the help of and Orange amplifier, a Marshall amplifier and a Les Paul.
The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook, Fourth Edition Mixing music —the process of combining and shaping the component parts of a song into a polished, completed recording —was once considered an unteachable art. The first edition of Bobby Owsinski’s The Mixing Engineers Handbookdestroyed that myth forever, breaking the craft of mixing down into discrete, understandable steps and showing musicians, audio engineers, and producers […]
The Recording Engineer’s Handbook, Fourth Edition Bobby Owsinski’s The Recording Engineers Handbook has become a music industry standard, and this fully updated fourth edition once again offers the most comprehensive and up-to-date introduction to the art of audio recording. Written with special emphasis on today’s technology and the evolving marketplace, The Recording Engineer’s Handbook Fourth Edition includes a complete overview of […]
The Singer-Songwriter’s Guide to Recording in the Home Studio Today’s smart singer-songwriter needs to be able to record high quality demo recordings. Whatever your budget, living arrangement, or technological aptitude, The Singer-Songwriter’s Guide to Recording in the Home Studio by Shane Adams will help you acquire songwriter-appropriate home studio gear and use it effectively. You will understand the key concepts about how the recording […]
Musician’s Survival Guide to a Killer Record It takes many years to excel at recording, and if your goal is to become an engineer then that’s what’s required. But if you’re a musician who wants to garner a reaction to your song, then you don’t have time for that. You need to make a killer record right now. But how? First, stop […]
Recording Unhinged: Creative and Unconventional Music Recording Techniques Recording Unhinged Creative and Unconventional Music Recording Techniques by Sylvia Massy dares you to “unlearn” safe record-making, to get out from behind the windshield, stick your head out the sunroof, and put the pedal to the metal! Sylvia Massy and her cohort of celebrity music industry producers, engineers, and recording stars discard fixed notions about […]
Mic It!: Microphones, Microphone Techniques, and Their Impact on the Final Mix Capture great sound in the first place and spend less time “fixing it in the mix” with Ian Corbett’s Mic It Microphones Microphone Techniques and Their Impact on the Final Mix. With his guidance, you’ll quickly understand essential audio concepts as they relate to microphones and mic techniques, and learn how to apply them to […]
Dave Sanborn, Legendary Saxophonist, Presents the First Season of His New Show “Sanborn Sessions” Dave Sanborn, the veteran saxophonist, and six-time Grammy Award winner, has announced he will soon present the first episode of his new music show, Sanborn Sessions. The new series is hosted by Sanborn and features a diverse roster of accomplished artists from a variety of genres and generations. In its initial season, Sanborn welcomes Kandace Springs, […]
Musical Theory: Give It a Rest! Just like notes, rests have precise rhythms; every type of note value has a corresponding rest with the same time value. And although there is no sound, in order to play with rhythmic accuracy, rests must be carefully counted. The following chart breaks down the types of rests you are most likely to find in music…
Clip ‘n Save: Stepping Up and Stepping Down: Augmented and Diminished Intervals n our “Intro to Intervals,” we learned how to recognize major, minor, and perfect intervals—first, recognizing the distance between the two notes on the staff and then counting the precise number of steps between the two pitches. In addition to major, minor, and perfect, there are two other interval qualities that can come into play: augmented and diminished…
Going the Distance: Intro to Intervals To confidently identify intervals, you’ll first need to master your understanding whole-steps and half-steps—also known as tones and semi-tones. A half-step (semi-tone) is two different notes with the smallest possible distance between them—for example, B up to C, or E down to Eb. Think of two frets right next to each other on a guitar, or two keys (including the black keys) right next to each other on the piano. A whole-step (tone) is made up of two half-steps—for example, B up to C#, or E down to D…
A complete history of Tom Petty in Los Angeles When Tom Petty arrived in Los Angeles in 1974 in search of a record deal for his band Mudcrutch, the Gainesville, Florida native found one almost immediately. While he thought he had found exactly what he was looking for in L.A., it would take years for Petty and his subsequent band, the Heartbreakers, to break […]
Shake It Up with Handheld Percussion Drums, Instruments May 29, 2019May 29, 2019 Neil Connors 0 Comments
Community Video: Trey Connor – Hold On Community Videos June 4, 2018November 21, 2018 Neil Connors 0 Comments
Community Video: Betweenzone – Move On Community Videos June 1, 2018November 21, 2018 Neil Connors 0 Comments
Community Video: Unlocking The Truth – My Chains Community Videos May 25, 2018November 21, 2018 Neil Connors 0 Comments
Community Video: Alex Di Leo – Brooklyn Bridge Community Videos May 21, 2018November 21, 2018 Neil Connors 0 Comments
Community Video: Raquel de Souza – Run Towards The Highway Community Videos May 17, 2018November 21, 2018 Neil Connors 0 Comments
8,000 Musicians Attempt Record-Breaking Performance in Korea News January 5, 2018 Neil Connors 0 Comments
Symphony for a Broken Orchestra Supports School Music Programs in Philadelphia News May 23, 2017 Neil Connors 0 Comments