Studio & Recording

The music you hear on television sounds so good because it’s been carefully recorded and mixed. While you enjoy the beautiful sound, a lot of work is happening behind the scenes to translate that audio as well as possible to different sound systems. Who makes sure a concert sounds its best on your system at home? One of the people responsible is the broadcast audio engineer. In this blog, we take a look behind the scenes with an experienced audio engineer, as he guides us through his fascinating work.

We all know the struggle: no inspiration! Or maybe even worse: plenty of inspiration, but no idea how to turn it into a solid result. Since version 12, Ableton Live has included a brilliant set of tools to help with exactly that. In Ableton Live they’re called MIDI Generative tools and MIDI Transformation tools.

Do you ever do studio recordings? Then you’ll know: once tracking is done, the real work begins. Painstaking work, to be precise. At Lewitt, they’ve found a way to make that heavy lifting a whole lot lighter. And no, not with a plugin. Discover the magic of the Lewitt RAY.

You play live shows or mix music in a studio. And your big wish is for your speakers to sound deeper: more bass! So now you reckon it’s time for a subwoofer (or two). Not a bad idea. Only… how do you connect one? We’ll explain.

If you ask (home) studio owners what their most important tools are, there’s often one element missing from their list: the studio room itself — and its acoustics in particular. That’s a shame, because acoustics can be the difference between a production that sounds professional and one that doesn’t.

The secret to making an impressive music video that delivers the impact you want always lies in a good script. While you definitely want to take up all the creative space while writing your script, it’s best not to go too crazy, because an overcomplicated and overambitious script can result in an overblown budget. So how do you write a script that won’t break the bank but still brings the vibe?

The term ‘DJ/producer’ is an increasingly common sight within the DJ world. In fact, it’s become such a standard that even some beginner-DJs have been tempted to add ‘producer’ to their list of skills. It’s getting to the point where people might naturally start confusing one for the other. Are they the same thing? In this blog we explain why these two skills are very different and where they might overlap.

Studio hardware and software has been getting increasingly affordable to the point where you don’t have to save up all that much money before you can take your first steps as a producer. Having the right equipment is one thing — having the skills and knowledge is another. So what’s your plan? Are you going for the trial-and-error approach? YouTube tutorials? Or a proper production course? Each path has its own pros and cons. Guest-blogger and songwriter Ben Govers is here to help you decide whether producer school is worth it.

Guest blogger and songwriter Jemy Gijsman takes us through the next step on your journey to success: recording a demo. Once the song is written, the lyrics are finalised and you’ve got the chords down on paper, you want to go further, so you need to get out there and start hustling. Since you don’t have your own studio and only have minimal knowledge about the production and mixing process, you need to do some research and find a studio that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg and can help you record your demo. Once you’ve found the right studio, what do you need to prepare? And how can you find the right musicians to help you get the job done?

If you mix it just right, you can turn a solid song into a bona-fide banger. The problem is that mixing isn’t easy, so if you’re struggling to make your tracks sound more professional, then you’re probably not using the pro-level technique known as mid/side processing. Thankfully, guest-blogger and producer Rutger Steenbergen is here to spill the beans.

Ever wonder why your beats sound different from tracks dropped by other producers? If you’ve been feeling like your tracks lack a bit of oomph and energy, then it can be worth learning how to analyse other people’s work. After all, why struggle when you can simply borrow ideas, right? Remixes, tracks that feature samples, and songs with classic chord progressions are based on the same idea, so there’s nothing to feel bad about. Read on and allow Dutch guest-blogger and producer Daddynervs to explain how you can analyse a track and recognise the BPM, key, chords and structure.

Guest blogger Rob Brummans (Mindru) reveals how he keeps the music production process interesting and, above all, how he keeps himself inspired.