I received a phone call yesterday from one of my clients. He hired me to mix and master a song a few days before. He was calling because he had a friend give him feedback about the song. Negative feedback….Now even though my client had lots of positive feedback from other friends, the only feedbackContinue reading “Don’t rely on other’s opinions”
Tag Archives: audio engineer
Why artists shouldn’t give mixing engineers pre-mixed material
I’ve been away from the blog a bit because of mixing and mastering business but I’m back to share a big tip for music artists! I have experienced clients sending me stems that were supposedly “pre-mixed”. One in particular sent stems this week that were very heavy in the low-mids as well as the upperContinue reading “Why artists shouldn’t give mixing engineers pre-mixed material”
Does your vocal eq sound balanced?
So what makes a vocal sound so good that it leaves you speechless? Well other than the performance which is up to the singer…. it’s the tone and quality of the vocal. What makes the tone and quality good is a well balanced vocal. The right amount of lows, low-mids, mids, high-mids, and highs. SoContinue reading “Does your vocal eq sound balanced?”
Taking a long time to mix vs a quick mix
So this is sort of a debate between audio engineers. When you ask people how long they take to mix a song, I have heard a variety of answers. Some say an 8 hour day. Others have said two 8 hour days, some say half a day. So what is technically correct or just aContinue reading “Taking a long time to mix vs a quick mix”
A good visual is important in your DAW!
This article is targeted towards the non-Pro tools users! I have noticed that programs other than Pro tools have a bad visual for editing audio. Logic, garageband, presonus one, etc are just a few that come to mind. It is very important that we can visually see the gridlines and that we correctly set theContinue reading “A good visual is important in your DAW!”
Does 1 de-esser plug in do the trick?
Today I want to write about something that I had to learn over the years. One of those things where when you know the rules….you can break them! I always thought that using 1 de-esser plug-in was some sort of rule. If I used more than one then it would hurt the audio. While thatContinue reading “Does 1 de-esser plug in do the trick?”
Don’t experiment during vocal sessions….
As an engineer, you should do your experimenting and playing with plug-ins in your off time or when mixing the song. During recording sessions, it’s best to put on some plug ins you know that will work for the time being and move forward. It can be a real vibe killer for an artist thatContinue reading “Don’t experiment during vocal sessions….”
Tuning the doubled vocals a little less than the main
So here is something that took years to finally figure out because no one teaches this….tuning the doubled vocal less than the main vocal. So obviously you want the main vocal to be pitched very tightly so that the listener isn’t turned off by a sour note here or there. This is a good mindsetContinue reading “Tuning the doubled vocals a little less than the main”
One ear off or press headphones firmly….
One thing that I have learned over the years is that you can’t hear that well in headphones while recording. You also don’t want to turn them up too loud because then you will get headphone bleed into the mic. There’s 2 methods that work wonders though. The first method is the “one ear off”Continue reading “One ear off or press headphones firmly….”
2 limiters can really achieve loudness for your final mix!
Have you ever pondered about why your mixes don’t sound quite as loud as other songs that you hear? That’s what is called professional mastering. The song was likely mastered by someone that understands frequency balance, how to control certain problem frequency areas, and knows how to get loudness without over-compressing. I know what you’reContinue reading “2 limiters can really achieve loudness for your final mix!”
Perfect Vocals Academy 