Fight Club: Audio vs MIDI Drum Loops

There is a lot of talk about drum plug-ins these days. "What's the best drum plug-in?" is a recurring question in classrooms, online forums, and control rooms everywhere. As I watch these conversations develop, one point of confusion I see coming up over and over is the term "drum loop". There are a two different kinds. Understanding their differences and how they will effect your work flow is critical to your peace of mind and wallet.

The Poor Man's Guitar Amp Isolation Booth

Perhaps the most difficult-to-overcame challenge a home-recordist faces is a parallel-walled, low-ceilinged, small-to-medium-sized room. (Did I just break the record for most hyphens in one sentence?) In other words, a room designed to sound like crap. One solution is to knock down walls and spend big money constructing an acoustically superior space. Another is to dodge the problem the cheapest way possible.

Guess which one I chose...

Volume Wars

Man I'm tired of loud music. I'm not talking about the "get out of my yard", "kids these days" kind of loud. I'm talking about music with no dynamic range, that sounds like crap and is impossible to listen to without three ibuprofen. This video perfectly illustrates what I mean:

Contrast: The Power of Shock and Awe

Which do you think doctors and nurses find more interesting: a heart monitor with a steady rhythmic pulse, or one that suddenly careens from 140 bpm to a flat line? I can guarantee it’s the latter. I mean, just look at how excited they get when that happens.

You see, steady and stable is boring, but contrast…..now that’s interesting.

Reaper

It's not every day I find a product that moves me to write about it, but after using Reaper multi-track recording software for a few years now I am not just a fan...I'm in love with Reaper! Deeply.

Join me now while I wax poetic about this incredible piece of software....

Recording Guitar: To Reamp or Not.

In the beginning, electric guitars were recorded the old-fashioned way: by plugging a guitar into an amp and sticking a mic in front of it. Then re-amping came along. Re-amping is the process of recording a clean or direct guitar signal, and then applying amplifier simulation plug-ins to that signal later. It's popular among audio producers because it allows them the freedom to change the basic characteristics of the guitar's tone during mix-down. What could be cooler than that? Well....I'll tell you what.

Think Like a Donut

How can you tell if your multi-track recording is good? Simple – if you can hear everything, it's good. None of the elements should be competing for space and there should a pleasing balance between them. Next question: how do you create a pleasing balance between a dozen (or more) different instrument and vocal parts all playing at once? The answer: think like a donut.

Center Stage With David Norris - Part 2

Welcome back to my epic interview with David Norris, of Norrisong Productions. David knows what it takes to draw the best performance out of an artist, and make a great recording. In part 1 he talked to me in depth about what a producer's job is. Now he focuses on getting the most out of a recording session, and how to increase your chances of getting a song cut.

Center Stage With David Norris - Part 1

David Norris of Norrisong Productions has produced some of the brightest young talent in Nashville. He is also an extremely gifted songwriter, with a laundry list of awards and cuts to his name. Despite these accomplishments he remains a friendly, approachable guy who immediately makes you feel like an old friend. He is a walking Who’s Who of the songwriting world, and his enthusiasm for music is infectious.

Center Stage with Galen Breen of The Gator Hole - Part 2

Galen Breen of The Gator Hole has gained a reputation for producing some of Nashville's finest demos. In Part 1 of my interview with Galen we talked about his studio and the process of recording a demo. Here in part two we focus on the songs themselves, and what it takes to make yours stand out.

Center Stage with Galen Breen of The Gator Hole - Part 1

Songwriters need demos to pitch their songs, and the world (that is...Nashville) is full of studios ready to make them. Being a good demo studio, however, means more than having the ability to make great recordings. It means having the ability to translate a songwriter's rough ideas into a performance that sounds honest and genuine. It takes an experienced demo producer to do that - one who understands how songs tick, and knows how to milk them for all they're worth.

Home Recording - Lead Me Not Into Temptation

Twenty years ago, who could have imagined a time when a person could write, arrange, record, duplicate, and distribute music to entire world...all from a little grey box no bigger than a house-cat? We songwriters now live in an era of unprecedented creative freedom, with a wealth of capabilities and audio tools at our disposal. Why is it, then, that we can’t finish a dang song?

More Songwriting Tools

Now that we’ve covered a songwriter’s most important tool - the notebook - let’s talk about some other tools no songwriter should be without.