Put simply, the dynamics refer to the volume range of any given piece of music, so the difference between the loudest and softest parts along with everything in between. Songs, albums and even entire shows can greatly benefit from enhanced dynamics, yet many bands and artists sadly pass up on the opportunity. Since they’re definitely missing out, here are eight tips that can help enhance the dynamics of your music.

The shorter the distance between the source and the microphone, the more low frequencies are registered at the cost of high frequencies. This is what’s known as the proximity effect, and it applies to a lot of microphones. In practice, this usually means that the closer you close-mike your voice or instrument, the fuller it’ll sound. Read on and learn how to take advantage of it.

Since we get so many questions about it, it’s about time we tackle an age-old debate in drum-land with a dedicated blog about bass drum holes. The question is: should your resonant head have one and why (not)? Allow me to explain!

The world of percussion is home to a near-infinite range of unique sounds, yet many pop and rock musicians seem to pay it no mind. Maybe it’s because they don’t know their way around percussion gear, or perhaps they simply don’t know how to put any to good use. Either way, since rock and pop music can benefit greatly from percussion in terms of rhythm, melody and even harmony, here’s a list of seven solid percussion instruments along with a quick rundown and examples of well-known tunes they feature in.

As soon as you start working with cables, you run the risk of cooking up cable spaghetti. To help you organise your set-up, we’ve listed five cable management tips. Dive in before you tie yourself up in knots.

If you’ve already checked out our Bass Drum Pedal Buyer’s Guide and want to learn even more about kick drum pedals, then this in-depth blog is the next logical step. Once you know exactly what the beater, footboard, spring tension, chain-drive and cam do, adjusting or upgrading your kick pedal will be much easier.

Just like vocals, the cello can seamlessly move from sweet-and-elegant to dark-and-raw, and while it’s a staple of classical music, this popular bowed string instrument can just as easily work its magic in styles like pop, rock and even metal. Read on and get to know it a little better!

What’s great about drumming is that you can hone your skills without having access to an actual drum kit – something that doesn’t fly if you’re a violinist, trumpeter or guitarist. In this blog, I’ll provide an overview of all of the drumming-without-a-drum-kit options out there, ranging from air drums, tabletop kits and practice pads to fruit crates, travel cajons and your own body.

In the world of live shows, the front-of-house sound engineer controls one of the key ingredients to a successful gig: the PA system. Since keeping an eye on the sound, the band and the crowd at the same time is no easy task, we interviewed one of the Netherlands’ best sound-techs to ask him how it’s done and what it takes.

The banjo is as popular as ever. This timeless string instrument can brim with the energy of fast-paced punk and metal just as easily as it can grind out folk, country and bluegrass classics. Banjo player and former drummer Floris De Vries is happy to introduce us to the instrument and take us on a trip through the history, styles and various flavours of the banjo.

There are so many hardware and software-based effects that you might be wondering which ones are actually useful. To help laypersons in the world of music production and mixing make sense of it all, we’ve started a blog series on audio effects. Today, we’re taking a close look at the delay effect.

What if there was a tool that allowed you to get lost in your own guitar-world? You know, that wonderful world where carefully perfected tone can be turned up to eleven without bothering anyone? Enter the BOSS Waza-Air wireless headphones.