Informative articles for the independent musician on using their home studio effectively. Tips, tricks and techniques.
AI-powered vocal cleanup tools like iZotope RX and Waves Clarity VX revolutionize home recording for independent artists by reducing background noise effortlessly. They provide professionals-sounding vocals without extensive training or expensive studios, making music creation more accessible. This shift empowers musicians to focus on performance rather than technical obstacles in their environments.
This guide details essential gear for indie artists starting a home studio without overspending. Key items include an audio interface, a microphone, headphones, and recording software (DAWs). The emphasis is on starting small, focusing on creativity, and gradually expanding the setup; great music is achievable with budget-friendly tools.
The article discusses how AI mastering tools enable indie artists to achieve a professional, radio-ready sound quickly and affordably. It compares AI mastering with traditional mastering, highlighting pros and cons. Key tools, like iZotope Ozone 11, are featured, alongside cost comparisons, encouraging smart choices based on specific project needs.
AI-driven mixing assistants are revolutionizing music production for indie artists, offering technology that analyzes tracks and suggests optimal settings. While they streamline technical aspects, they cannot replace the emotional judgment of human musicians. These tools save time and costs, enabling artists to create professional-quality mixes while maintaining their unique creative vision.
The article discusses the significance of intelligent EQ matching and frequency balancing for indie artists seeking to enhance their music quality. It highlights how AI-powered tools have evolved to improve accessibility and help musicians achieve professional sound. By analyzing reference tracks, these tools guide users towards creating balanced mixes while maintaining originality.
The article discusses audio gates, essential tools in recording studios that control sound by allowing audible signals to pass while blocking unwanted noise. Originating in the late 1960s, they are indispensable for achieving clean recordings, especially for drums and vocals. Proper use of gates enhances clarity, tightens mixes, and enables creative effects.
The article discusses the historical integration of AI in music production, highlighting tools like LANDR and iZotope RX that have enhanced independent artists’ capabilities. Rather than replacing human creativity, these AI tools serve as intelligent assistants, allowing musicians to achieve professional sound quality more affordably and creatively without sacrificing their artistic vision.
Audio compression balances sound in music production by controlling dynamic range—lowering loud peaks and raising softer sounds. Essential for ensuring clarity and consistency, it has evolved from analog to digital tools. Understanding different types—VCA, optical, FET, and Vari-Mu—enables producers to achieve specific sonic qualities in their tracks.
Moises launches AI Voice Studio, a brand new model for artist-first voice modeling Vocalists can now license their own voices and sell their models to producers and content creators DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations) like ProTools, Logic, and FL Studio have massively increased accessibility to music making. MIDI instruments, sample libraries, and plug-ins unlocked the sounds […]
Bandlab Discontinues Free Version of Cakewalk by Bandlab DAW Bandlab, the company behind the popular digital audio workstation (DAW) software Cakewalk, has announced that they will no longer be offering a free version of the software. Bandlab acquired Sonar by Cakewalk DAW after Gibson discontinued the software after it purchase it from Cakewalk, leaving their […]
Making a Scene Presents a Review of the Warm Audio WA-67 Microphone The Warm Audio WA-67 is a microphone that has been making waves in the audio industry as a faithful recreation of the famous Neumann U67. The Neumann U67 was a popular microphone in the 1960s and is still considered one of the best […]
The Difference Between Compression and Limiting Introduction Compression and limiting are two frequently used audio processing techniques that audio engineers use in music production, mixing, and mastering. While they might seem similar, they serve different purposes and have distinct characteristics. In this blog post, we will explore the differences between compression and limiting and when […]
Making a Scene Takes a Look at the new Studio One 5.5 Update Even with the pending acquisition of Presonus by Fender Musical Instruments, the team at Presonus is still rolling out updates to their flagship DAW “Studio One”. The new 5.5 update adds some powerful new features to their “Project Page” that will making […]
Making a Scene Brings you a Review of the Warm Audio 2 Channel VCA Bus Compressor! What is a VCA Compressor? Before we get into reviewing the Warm Audio 2 Channel VCA Bus Compressor, lets take a look at what a VCA compressor is and why you would want one. Even though the compressor is […]
Making a Scene Presents a Guide to Keeping Your Voice Healthy If you are a singer, you know that keeping your voice healthy is vital to keep your career intact. Hoping to see live music come back by the end of this year, this is especially important for those who are eager to get back […]
Tape Plugin Shootouts Don’t Make Sense Commonly asked questions in audio groups regarding the use of tape emulations include: “Which tape machine plugin is best?” “Which one should I reach for on my sources?” “I keep hearing that this one is better than that one, but that one always sounds best to me and I […]
Building a Grammy Winning Studio When Billie Eilish won her first Grammy for “Best Pop Vocals” I was in the front row of the “Premiere Show” at the Grammys, the show that is not televised. She was, unfortunately not there to accept because she was on the Red Carpet reportedly shifting through her Swag Bag […]
There are a few essential purchases you can make for your recording studio setup that will impact your sound. One of those is your choosing the right preamps! Today we are going to look at the Warm Audio WA-412 their 4 channel preamp inspired by the API 3124 . Automated Processes Incorporated or API was […]
Introduction Before we get started let me explain some of the fundamental types of engineers in a recording studio. The first “type” of engineer you will encounter in a recording session is the “Tracking” engineer. This the guy who chooses and places the microphones in the studio. He chooses the preamps and sets the levels […]
Making a Scene Presents a review of the Warm Audio WA 47 Microphone For anyone who has or is considering building a home studio, your microphone collection is one of the most critical investments you can make. Many of the classic microphones we would love to have are more often than not priced way out […]
Making a Scene Presents a Review of the MOTU AVB Interfaces! Last Year it became clear it was time to invest in new AD/DA converters for my studio. I have been a fan of MOTU (Mark of the Unicorn) interfaces for some time. I had started with their 2408 interfaces back in the early 2000’s […]
Top 4 Microphones For Recording Acoustic Guitar Under $100 Finding the right mic to produce the highest quality sound for your acoustic guitar can be difficult. Making things tougher is when your in the beginning stages of your home studio where budget is limited. The end goal for most is not necessarily to find a […]
Making a Scene Takes a First Look at the Slate Digital “All Access Pass”! When a software company announces they will be having a major announcement in the coming days, one of the first things that come into my mind is “How Much is it Going to Cost Me”. I have been a “Everything” bundle […]
Beginners Guide To Mastering Part 2 Effectively using your Mid/Side EQ: To effectively take advantage of your mid/side EQ, you are going to want to make sure you have some way to isolate the mid and side content for monitoring. Most Mid/Side (henceforth referred to as M/S since I am tired of typing that out […]
The Beginners Guide to Mastering – Part 1 Let’s be real. The vast majority of people who are artists, producers, or engineers have no idea what mastering really is, yet more often than not have their own false preconceptions. While it may be fine if you do not know what mastering is early in your […]
Making a Scene presents “The 3 Hats of an Audio Engineer” Whether you are starting your own home studio, or you are looking for a studio to record your next project, the one thing you should understand is there is three distinct disciplines for the Audio Engineer. Each of them requires a very specific skill […]
Making a Scene Presents How Compressors Work The best way to learn how to use a compressor is to start by learning how they work. This article is setup to bring you step by step through how a compressor works. I have included some video tutorials along the way that I found to help you […]
Choosing the right Microphones for your home studio is one of the most important decisions you are going to make. The quality of your microphone will determine the quality of the sound that you capture. Some of the high end microphones can run you into the thousands, but fortunately there are some really good alternatives […]
Creating your own home studio is full of decisions on what hardware and what software to purchase. When it comes to your main DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) software your choices come down to Sustainability, Features, Platform, workflow, and budget. Sustainability When you are purchasing a DAW you are investing in the company that makes it! […]
Plugins I’ve Been Using That I Recommend Brandon S Hire The Noise Floor It’s not the tool, it’s the user. But as a blogger and content creator, I get to play with a lot of cool tools. Here’s a few of them that I highly recommend checking out. 1. The Plugins From My Walkthroughs. Obviously […]
In the current world of Digital Recording, analog is still the holy grail. Everyone wants that warm sound that analog gear gives you, so why would I pull my analog mixer from my studio? Now, before you start screaming about how you will dump your mixer when they pry your cold dead fingers from it, […]
Common advice is to “gain stage” your tracks by calibrating them to -18. People often leave out whether they mean -18 dBFS or -18 dBVU, both of which would yield vastly different levels depending on the source material. But why choose a calibration point to begin with? Here’s Matthew Weiss from The Pro Audio Files describing […]
Reference tracks can be a valuable tool for keeping an objective viewpoint while mixing. When you listen to a reference track, you get a chance to reset your ears. If you’ve been listening to your mix for hours, your ears are getting used to the frequencies you’re hearing. Problem areas or frequency imbalances may not jump out […]
Mixing with headphones can be a challenge, and for a long time was generally accepted as something that should only be done if no other option were available. You had to contend with a skewed stereo perception, a skewed depth perception with reverbs, and a skewed frequency spectrum due to the natural low end rolloff […]
I see a lot of questions on various discussion groups asking how to best mic specific instruments. Many of the answers will be a mixed bag of various techniques, all of which are valid and should be absorbed into your bag of tricks. But they are all quite different from one another, and will yield […]
Many audio textbooks, audio schools, and audio engineers will advise you that it’s always best to attenuate rather than gain an EQ control. This has traditionally been considered best practice in the industry for two main reasons. With most EQs, especially analog EQs, adding gain to a band causes an audible phase shift in the […]
This is a question that comes up time and again in audio groups. “How hot should my final mix down be before sending off to mastering?” It depends on the format you’re mixing on. If you’re using analog tape, this is an important question to think about. Analog formats have limited headroom, and analog equipment […]
The above video is a quick demonstration of how your signal-to-noise ratio impacts the level of noise your analog modeled plugins will deliver. You may have seen this video floating around Facebook, which is where it was exclusively hosted until now. I thought it was high time to add it to the blog to make […]
HISTORY In the Early days of recording, music was cut directly to a disk from a single microphone. In the studio, the art of mixing fell to the music “Conductor” whose job it was to move the musicians who were recording either closer or further back from the microphone. By the 1930’s the radio broadcasting […]
Easy Steps to Getting Better Mixes Sometimes you just have to live with the room that you have, especially in small home studios. The large commercial studios spend thousands of dollars on acoustic treatments, special construction and special tuning of their control rooms so they become a critical listening environment. You on the other hand […]
Time to Start your Project So, you raised some money, and now you are ready to take your project into the studio. There are so many things to consider before you start writing those checks. Let’s face it, recording a CD can be a very expensive project. So, lets see what we can do to […]
Gibson has decided to discontinue all development of Cakewalk products, which includes the very popular DAW(Digital Audio Workstation) SONAR, which has for 30 years been the flagship of the Cakewalk line. The apparent explanation is “they want to focus on consumer audio electronics” Gibson Brands announced today that it is ceasing active development and production […]
When you are looking to get into the music business on your own, there is a lot of preparation that goes into marketing your sound and your brand. Your fans won’t have anything to grasp onto if you aren’t generating songs, making it all the more crucial for musicians to have a studio at home […]
Top 5 IK Multimedia Plugins Brandon Shire We all have our favorites, and in this post I want to share my top 5 from IK Multimedia! Let’s countdown, starting from number 5. MASTER EQ 432 5. Master EQ 432 The right amount of the right eq on the master bus can really bring your mix […]
Top 5 Waves Plugins! Brandon Shire We all have our favorites, and in this post I want to share my top 5 from Waves Audio! Let’s countdown, starting from number 5. MY DEFAULT HLS SETTINGS 5. Kramer HLS Channel This thing is just meaty. I use it as a low end enhancer more than anything, […]
Amp sims, like their real world counterparts, are non-linear processes. As you increase the input level, they saturate and distort more. As you decrease the input signal, they clean up more. It’s important to remember this characteristic, as you can drastically change the response of the amp sim by adjusting the input level. Let’s start […]
A four part series on creating realistic strings with MIDI ..
MELDAPRODUCTION MMULTIANALYZER NOISE FLOOR ANALYSIS WITH EXPANDER ENGAGED In the first picture, you’ll see 4 colored bands on the analyzer. The red band is the noise floor of my interface, and it’s reading down around -110dbfs. The dark orange band at the very bottom is where the expander is pushing that noise floor to, down […]
Gain Staging: What to know, & why you shouldn’t stress too much about it! By Brandon S Hire Noise Floor (This is a script to a video that will be included in an upcoming series on post production. I decided to make the script its own post because of the amount of confusion there is […]
3 Reasons Why Pre-Production Is Essential Steve Perrino of Compass Audio Most musicians agree that there is a huge difference between your live show and your recordings. There is a lot of energy in a live performance due to volume and visuals, but there are certain things that you need to do in a recording […]
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