Blog
2015
Who’s Keeping Score?
If there is one thing you can say about the digital age so far it’s that there has been a remarkable level of indifference...
Studio Sense
In-Ear Monitors vs. Things In Your Ears
For years I have regretted my pierced tragus. The tragus is that little flap of skin that covers the opening in to your ear...
Blog
VIDEO: The Battle to Capture Battles
Battles has always been an interesting band, staking out a musical space somewhere between the conformity of modern electronic loop-based music and the improvisational...
2015
Where Will We Be?
When I was a kid, I used to play a daydreamer’s game of “where will I be?”—when I’m 20, 30, in the year 2000,...
2015
Reflections From the Bay
“It is represented to us that the universal suffrage, as now existing throughout the Union, is abused; that fraud and corruption prevent a fair...
2015
This One’s for My Buddy Dwight
You don’t know Dwight. There’s really no reason you should. He’s not a recording engineer or live sound professional. He doesn’t make audio products......
Studio Sense
The Care and Feeding of Songwriters: Why “Art for Art’s Sake” Could Have An Unfortunate Future
In a recent Decibel Geek podcast, superstar pop songwriter Desmond Child (whose songs are on well over 300 million albums sold) shared some stats...
Blog
Sneak Peek: AKG’s N90Q By Quincy Jones Headphones
Sneak Peek: AKG’s N90Q By Quincy Jones Headphones
Blog
Something Is Rockin’ In The State Of Denmark [Online Extra]
The July, 2015 issue of Pro Sound News features a Live Sound Showcase on the current Volbeat world tour; what follows is a longer,...
Blog
It’s Out With The Big Iron For Veneto West [Online Extra]
The July, 2015 issue of Pro Sound News profiles recording studio Veneto West; what follows is additional exploration into the facility and mindset...
Blog
Fanarchy Vs. The Usual Way
It’s easy to get stuck in "the same old way of doing things," just because that’s how we’ve always done them. If we’re lucky,...
Blog
Seen on the Scene: Sweetwater GearFest 2015
Every year for two days, Sweetwater GearFest turns Fort Wayne, Indiana, into the center of the musical instrument and pro audio world. People travel...
Blog
Book Review: The Insider’s Guide to Home Recording
With an authoritative title like The Insider's Guide to Home Recording: Record Music and Get Paid, an engineering book had better be able to...
2015
What Is a Recording Studio?
Back in 1989 when I walked into John Mellencamp’s Belmont Mall Studios off Highway 46 east of Bloomington, Ind., I had no idea that...
2015
Class of 2015: You’re On Your Own, Kid
I always look forward to reading Mix’s “Class Of” issue.
Studio Sense
CCM and Indie Rock: Mainstream Media Reports
Here's two recent and insightful articles on our industry as reported by mainstream outlets. Each is illustrative of the current music production...
Blog
VIDEO: Building A Shipping Container Studio
Matt Dever is an Australian sound engineer who specializes in recording entire tours for instant 2-CD sets released at the end of each show;...
Blog
A Gun at Front of House
House engineers hate it when touring engineers try to revamp their audio systems. Touring engineers hate using poorly assembled house systems that barely function....
Blog
Networking Headlines In Live Touring [Online Extra]
Networking is becoming ubiquitous in live sound, both for install and for portable/touring applications. What are the challenges and practical implications as end users...
Studio Sense
Review Previews: First Impressions with ADAM and Sennheiser
In my job as Reviews Editor, I listen to a lot of different studio monitoring systems in my workspace. When this ADAM AX...
Blog
Musicians Institute Hits The Ebooks
There's more to Musicians Institute in Hollywood, CA than musical training. With that in mind, the venerable college has released an ebook, Want A...
Blog
VIDEO: Recalling Recording Springsteen’s “Born To Run”
Forty years ago, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band recorded some of their breakthrough Born To Run album at 914 Sound Studios...
Blog
Austin Signal Cuts to the Chase
It’s no secret that record pressing plants are heavily backlogged these days. Aiming to help out bands and simply learn something new, Texas-based Austin...
2015
Everybody Loves a Good Story
I’m of mostly Irish descent, and I come from a large family. My undergrad degree is in history and my master’s is in journalism....
2015
Pick Up Your Pro Tools Pace
While attention to detail and organization are vital elements in professional session workflow, speed can often make or break a session.
Blog
Guest Post: What Audio Should You Feed to the Assistive Listening System?
Brian Davidson, Production Director at Dallas, TX-based Park Cities Baptist Church, shares his thoughts and experience as to how best to make the most...
Studio Sense
PAR Advice: An affordable mic for singer/songwriters
As it happens from time to time, I get requests for advice from fellow engineers. Sure, there's questions about compressors or methodologies, but the...
Mr. Bonzai's Music Smarts
Stan Freberg 1926 — 2015
This interview with the remarkable Stan Freberg, from the Lunching With Bonzai series of 167 interviews, first appeared in Mix magazine in 1983. I...
Blog
VIDEO: Sinatra in the Studio
Frank Sinatra knew his way around a recording session, as this seven-minute, fly-on-the-wall clip of the singer recording “It Was A Very Good Year”...
2015
Where Legacy Becomes Future
When we last featured Capitol Studios on the Mix cover, in November 2012, we invited a whole gang of L.A.’s finest engineers and producers...
Blog
In The Studio with Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal
How metal is guitarist Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal? The guy has played with Guns n’ Roses and Lita Ford, and co-wrote and performed the theme...
2015
Tales From the Client Side
The ink was barely dry on my January 2015 column about the dynamics of dealing with artists when I found myself in a situation...
2015
What Kind of User Are You?
Last month I wrote about new subscription/membership models that are now being offered by Avid, Slate Digital, Cakewalk and Audionamix.
Blog
Immersive Sound: New Tools Of The Trade [CONTINUED]
The April, 2015 issue of Pro Sound News features a special report, Immersive Sound: New Tools Of The Trade (which can be read HERE)....
Blog
VIDEO: Students Invent Sound Wave Fire Extinguisher
“All About That Bass” may have been a hit song last summer, but it’s also the basic concept behind a prototypical fire extinguisher that...
Blog
Auto-Tune: The Controversy That Will Not Die
Auto-Tune hit the world in 1997, and Antares has continued to update its software since then.
Studio Sense
Reviewing Monoprice
If you’re on Facebook and are public about your musical habit, you’ve likely seen ads from Monoprice. They sell their own branded musical...
Blog
Book Review: Glyn Johns’ ‘Sound Man’ a Breezy Read
One of the first studio engineers in England to break through into producing, Glyn Johns worked with the greatest acts of the Classic Rock...
Blog
VIDEO: The Ramones’ Smartphones-at-Shows Solution
Back in the early days of punk rock, FOH engineers had to make sure the console didn’t get hit by The Three Bs: Beers,...
2015
Never Settle for Good Enough
Toto could have easily phoned this one in and nobody would have blamed them, or even criticized them.