05-09-2012 05:00
Why is it so hard to get tracks that kill? Mixes that scream with emotional impact--music that holds up to the work of the masters of our craft?
05-01-2012 05:00
By now, everyone was going to be loading soft synths into their laptops, and taking them to the gig instead of keyboards. Oh, and we were also supposed to travel around with personal jet packs and of course, flying cars.
04-19-2012 05:00
Time for the third installment of the Mixing Rap Vocals series: Compression.
04-10-2012 05:00
What makes a live recording sound live? The audience, of course. A live recording is all about the energy of the event, and that energy comes from the crowd, so some real thought has to be given as to how it’s captured.
04-05-2012 05:00
The attention to detail that takes place in preparing a rock show can be mind boggling. For example, I listed out the factors we account for in setting up the lead vocal mic for the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
04-02-2012 05:00
Some people want their music really loud, and there’s nothing wrong with that. If loudness is part of their aesthetic and the audience likes it, then I say let’s go for it. In order to deliver the most musically effective loudness, that goal must have been addressed in the mixing process, but not as directly as you might think.
03-27-2012 06:00
The 2012 edition of Musikmesse at Frankfurt closed its doors on Saturday. The Audiofanzine team, has rounded up for you the top 10 products that made their mark at the show, in no particular order.
03-13-2012 06:00
World renowned mixer/producer Chris Lord-Alge granted Audiofanzine an exclusive interview. The man behind Green Day, Paramore, Deftones, Madonna, Tina Turner, James Brown, among others, shared his working methods and ethics from his studio in Tarzana. Let’s see what the master has to say.
03-11-2012 06:00
Buss compression is certainly not a new concept, however, it is an effective and reliable engineering tool and its basic principles are vital considering you are affecting multiple voices.
03-06-2012 05:00
About a year ago, we had you listen to 27 acoustic guitars and sent you on a trip through a 6-string jungle so you can pick your favorite guitar. AudioFanzine now repeats this experience, but this time with electric guitars.
02-26-2012 05:00
"Coloring the sound? That's bullshit"! ...according to George Massenburg, one of the best regarded sound engineers in the world. And he has plenty more to say, as you can learn in the sixth and final part of the studio report we dedicated to George Massenburg.
02-09-2012 05:00
In this next-to-last part of our video series dedicated to George Massenburg, he shares with us his opinion on headphones and goes on to describe the role of the producer in a recording session.
01-30-2012 05:00
After a tour around the studio, George Massenburg takes us into the control room to share with us some of his choices and habits at work. And it's fascinating!
01-23-2012 05:00
NAMM 2012 is over, and now it is time to make sense of what over 95,000 attendees experienced: the all-you-can-eat buffet of musical gear. Hence, without further ado, and in no particular order, here is Audiofanzine’s Top 13 list for NAMM 2012...
01-08-2012 05:00
Re-amping is a technique that gained a lot of popularity in the last 15 years. The technique’s obvious advantages are numerous...
12-27-2011 05:00
After having shared with us how he records drums, vocals, guitars and organ, now George Massenburg tells us how he deals with wind instruments.
12-21-2011 05:00
The second part of the masterclass with George Massenburg is dedicated to vocals, guitar and organ miking. It is the perfect opportunity for George Massenburg to point out the advantages of recording a band live...
12-14-2011 05:00
I’ve read (too) many articles about mixing vocals. Cut 300Hz, boost 2kHz, compress 4:1, yada yada. Unfortunately these articles don’t actually give you any real resource – they simply speculate on generalities. What I’m going to give you is specific things to listen for and how to address them. This article will focus on EQ.
12-04-2011 05:00
Face to face with George Massenburg on drums recording: ever dreamed about it? AudioFanzine and Jukebox Ltd. have made it real. We are very proud to bring you this video.
11-17-2011 05:00
Enjoy creating electronic music? For Octatrack users here is video trip into the guts of the machine- sampling tips and tricks to produce the grooves that you want.
11-10-2011 05:00
Although some would ridicule that idea—wire is wire, right?—different cords can affect your sound, and in some cases, the difference can be drastic.
10-27-2011 06:00
As guitarists, most of us sooner or later find ourselves in pursuit of tone. A talented guitarist can find a way to make anything sound good, but there should be no doubt that our equipment and the tone it provides can inspire and help fuel our creativity. In pursuit of tonal inspiration, we need to develop a vocabulary to help us find what we’re looking for in our sound.
10-20-2011 06:00
Mastering is a crucial process, but it's not always all that well understood by the average musician…so let's deal with some of the basic issues.
10-13-2011 06:00
In order to help understand where you are in this overwhelming audio maze, I have put together a quiz to help rate your knowledge and personality type.
10-05-2011 06:00
Besides vocal mixing - I would say the most common question I read about on the internet is how to manage the low end. The kick and bass, or whatever else might be occupying that area, is the weight and power of a track. In addition, it's often the rhythmic backbone.
09-26-2011 05:00
In the studio and on stage, DI boxes are indispensable to match impedances, make re-amping or avoid noises. However, it's not easy to choose a DI box from the multiple options available. So, when French distributor Juke Box Limited decided to make a comparative review of the different DI boxes in its catalog, AudioFanzine had no choice but to forward the information...
09-18-2011 05:00
My last article was on arrangement. This one is about editing. These two articles really both need to be read and absorbed to illustrate a greater point...
08-17-2011 05:00
A lot of guitar multieffects have a footpedal that can be assigned to various parameters. Volume and wa are no-brainer pedal assignments, but there are a whole lot of other parameters that are well-suited to pedal control. Doing so can add real-time expressiveness to your playing, and variety to your sound.
08-11-2011 05:00
Grand, colossal, gargantuan… Mammoth, immense, monumental… Promethean, towering, or just plain walloping huge - get out the thesaurus for more adjectives to adequately describe the size and scope of U2’s current 360° tour, an outsized extravaganza that continues to demolish records.
08-07-2011 05:00
Before getting into the meaning of arrangement, I want to take a moment to stress the importance of arrangement. Arrangement ultimately bridges the gap between the composition and the mix. Give that a moment to resonate, and I will clarify.
