Tag: music production
-
Is Using Splice Cheating or Just Collaborating?
There is a loud idea online that using Splice loops is cheating. If you build a song from loops, you are not really making music. I do not buy that. I use Splice a lot. I still write the lyrics, arrange the parts, produce, mix, and master. The loop is a spark. The song is
-
Sibilance: Clear Vocals Without the Sting
You know the moment. The lyric is perfect, the take is right, and then the S jumps out like a needle. That bite is sibilance. It is the high frequency energy in consonants like s, sh, ch, t, and f. It is part of real speech, and it is also the fastest way to make
-
Kuk Harrell Vocal Chain: A Clean Tracking Template for Modern Pop and R and B
If you are new to recording vocals and want a clean, repeatable starting point, this is the chain I heard Kuk Harrell walk through in a Mix With The Masters session. It lines up with a public note from a Sound On Sound interview where he shared his preferred signal chain. I am writing this
-
Huge Gang Vocals, One Person
I love the moment a song suddenly sounds like a crowd. The secret is that you can fake that moment alone, in a normal room, with whatever mic you have. This is exactly how I record huge gang vocals by myself. It is simple, repeatable, and it makes the chorus feel like a stadium. Make
-
How I Curb GAS
GAS, gear acquisition syndrome, is real. I am not immune. I want the shiniest next thing. I try to stay calm and zen about music making. If you have not read it, my Zen Mixing post explains that mindset. Even so, the itch for new gear still shows up. I am at the point where
-
Short Sessions, Better Songs
Long studio sessions feel productive until they do not. For me, the sweet spot is usually thirty minutes to an hour. After that I start chasing tiny mix details, second guessing decisions, or spinning my wheels. That is my cue to stop. Not because I am lazy, but because I want to finish songs. My
-
The One-Minute Creative Space
I built my studio for sixty second sessions. I am a dad of two. I do not get long studio days. I get little windows of time. This is the setup I use to start fast: one cable, one switch, one standing workflow. If your setup takes more than a minute, you will not use
-
Plugins I actually use
These are the plugins I actually use. This is not a best plugins list and nothing here is sponsored. If it is in this post, I reach for it constantly. My bias is speed. I like tools that sound good fast and keep me moving. If a plugin makes me stop and think too much,