Check out the biggest and best collection of music production tips and tricks from experts. There are tutorials from Grammy-winning producers and some of the leading names in music production.
The audio production market is flooded with software tools promising to revolutionise the creative process. The choices are vast, but so are the claims. The integrity of these marketing claims is more important than ever. We call out some of the more dubious claims and say why they matter.
Now in its second decade, Harrison’s Mixbus sets out to bring the American console manufacturer’s sound and workflow into the box. Here we give an overview of Mixbus 10 and its new features, get some user opinion, and some background from the people behind it.
With layered acoustic and electronic sounds a great way to supercharge any drum part, up until recently getting those could be clunky. We show you how to get fast, streamlined results in just a few moves.
My first home studio sounds like something made by Fisher Price, now there’s a thought for a good kids gift. However, in this article, Expert’s founder Russ Hughes tells us what his first home studio consisted of. Read it and weep!
With acoustic guitar underpinning a number mixes, getting it right with a virtual one could be a tall order. Luckily UJAM hope to have a solution with their latest nylon-strung flavour for digital troubadours across the board. See and hear it for yourself as we check it out…
With a new generation of tools using either advanced algorithms or AI to do what they do, engineers can achieve more than ever in the mix. Whether it’s a fresh take on an old favourite, or the latest restorative fix, here we take a look at what can be achieved with these magic modern helpers.
This article explores the provocative comparison between generative AI and pornography, examining their implications for human expression, connection, and the erosion of creativity's essence.
This decade has seen some big changes in how the industry gets things done remotely. With a number of competing platforms letting audio pros do their thing wherever they are, here we round up some of those out there and what they offer.
While Imposter Syndrome is typically viewed as a hindrance to success, it can actually be reframed and used as a catalyst for growth and productivity. In this article, we will explore how composers, musicians, and audio professionals can harness Imposter Syndrome to their advantage, turning doubt into fuel for personal and professional development.
Although most DAWs have their own way of bypassing chains of audio plugins for decision-making, none do what is really needed for meaningful choices: loudness and delay-compensated monitoring. We check out one tool that can do it all…
The all-conquering real time audio plugin might be the first stop for audio processing, but rendered treatments can still have their place. Here we look at the Why and How of offline audio processing in the age of mega-track counts and ever-faster computers…
We are seeing loudness normalisation in more workflows, not just broadcast audio but music streaming services, too. There is a wide range of Loudness meters out there now, and we thought it would be helpful to provide a round-up of the different options that are now available. We know it is not completely exhaustive, but it covers the main players in the loudness meter plug-in sector.
Audio production is facing attack from several sides, some technology based, and attitudes that expect us to do more with less. I've come to realise that technical skills alone are no longer sufficient to stand out. Today, distinguishing myself requires a blend of abilities and character traits that extend beyond mere technical proficiency. In this article, I'll look at two fundamental character traits that I believe set modern audio professionals apart, the second one may surprise you.
In this article, we name some of the most iconic piano intros in music history, saying what we think makes them truly stand out.
Here’s our five things we think should be default in a DAW, in other words, on unless you choose otherwise.
Penteo Audio Plugins has released Penteo version 6, which now offers Penteo upmixing technology to an even wider range of immersive formats including Dolby Atmos up to 9.1.6, Surround up to 7.1, Auro3D up to 13.1, DTSX, Sony 360RA, Ambisonics up to 7th order, Binaural and Dolby Pro Logic. We have all the details…
Many remote collaboration tools are aimed at engineers and other audio pros, but creators can also tap into the tech. Adding to their virtual audio toolkit for pros, here we check out Ginger Audio’s latest remote workflow helper for creatives.
Whether you’re basking in the first signs of spring, or looking forward to darker nights in front of the fire, March brought a number of happenings to mark the changing of the seasons. With a number of software gems as well as a call to protect mixes’ quality, here are our favourites…
Roomy drum sounds are a great way to place kit sounds back a little, but pushing close mics up in the mix to get a balance can spoil the effect. Luckily there’s a way to infuse them with room character. See and hear one way to do it for yourself in this video.
In a genius move that's set to receive widespread love across the audio production world, a UK based company, Sonic Precision has just unveiled its latest innovation, StemFinder. We have the details.
DAW workflows encourage us to record now and think later, but the hardware recording channel strip brings back the easy days of just dialling in sounds first and recording them. Here are seven of our favourite boxes for great sounds to hit the ground running.
Russ Hughes thinks we need to have a discussion about the impact of AI for audio professionals, but it needs to go beyond the common trope of “All AI is bad!” To something far deeper and more human.
As a follow-up on Mike’s Understanding Loudness, which is now free, in this article, we are going to cover loudness for music streaming services, including loudness normalisation, album normalisation and how to prepare music tracks for music streaming services, with three free tutorials.
Known for their legendary studio hardware, some of SSL’s best known creations might live outside the box, but the announcement of MODULE8 promises to bolster the company’s expanding line of virtual devices with a brand new multi effects audio plugin. We put it to the Experts to get their verdict.
Over in the pop world, the song’s intro is usually a taste of things to come, but some songs have other ideas. Here we round up some of our favourite tunes whose opening statements are anything but a prelude to the creation that follows…
Waves’ new Stream ecosystem marks the audio plugin giant’s arrival to the collaborative working arena. Following a period in early access beta, now anyone can plug into mixes from anywhere in the world. We have the details…
Just over three weeks after releasing macOS Sonoma 14.4 on March 7th 2024, Apple has released macOS 14.4.1, an update that Apple says fixes three of the main issues that plagued the macOS 14.4 release. We have the details…
Spend some time listening to tracks recorded in the 70s and 80s, even further back, and they often exhibit a quality that belies the limitations of the equipment. It leaves one asking; “Has recording quality really improved in the last 50 years?”
With two well-regarded intelligent fixers already under their belt, oeksound have now turned their attention to something different with distinctly artistic leanings. Here we put Bloom to the Experts for them to deliver their verdicts...
We decided to put some 20 year old plugins you get free with Pro Tools up against the latest premium versions. The results were shocking… really!
GrooveCell is the new rhythm based virtual instrument introduced in Pro Tools 2022.4. It’s a great addition for Pro Tools users but we’ve identified 5 areas where this rhythm VI could be improved.
Back in November 2018 Avid bundled Falcon from UVI with all versions of Pro Tools. Today we can announce that Pro Tools users will find the latest version of UVI Falcon for Pro Tools. We have the details…
In this article, we identify a selection of new features, which we would like to see in a future version of Pro Tools for both music production and audio post-production applications.
We have had a number of queries about the inner working of the Session I/O Setup window, as it's a part of Pro Tools so few of us ever visit, when we do, it can be confusing because Avid has made improvements since we last used it. To help reduce the fear of the I/O Setup window, Pro Tools guru Mike Thornton explains everything you need to know about the Pro Tools I/O Setup window.
Composing in Pro Tools, what is it like? In this article, composer Walter Everton, shares some of his tips and tricks he has found out the hard way. It includes a detailed look at his own template, and why he thinks you should build your own template.
Want to learn how to mix music in Dolby Atmos? In this free expert tutorial, Matt Lange walks you through, in detail, how he mixes a track in Dolby Atmos. He has made the Pro Tools Session available for you to download for free. Don’t worry if you don’t have Pro Tools Ultimate or the Dolby Atmos Production Suite because there is a free 30-day trial bundle available as well.
During Avid’s Pro Tools Carbon launch event François Quereuil, Avid’s Director of Audio Product Management announced that Antares had produced Auto-Tune Hybrid, a DSP version of their popular tuning software, which took us by surprise. In this article, we share what we now know about Auto-Tune Hybrid from Antares.
We compare the cost of entry of the Avid Pro Tools Carbon audio interface with the Universal Audio Apollo x8p and the Apogee Ensemble, all similar priced audio interfaces with both native and DSP powered plugins.
This article focuses on the creative potential within the recently released Pro Tools feature, Folder Tracks. Usually, Folder Tracks are used for session organization; however, with powerful viewing and routing options found within Pro Tools, we can turn this unsuspecting feature into something incredibly creative and powerful.
Tom Bullen shows how Import Session Data and Match Tracks, two Pro Tools features that you have to know about.
Whilst people are working from home, self-isolating, or putting newly found free time towards personal development, our friends at HHB, a UK based pro-audio dealer and installer, have put together a free starter guide and Pro Tools template to help users get to grips with mixing music in Dolby Atmos.
In this video from NAMM 2020, Avid’s application specialist, Jeff Komar takes an in-depth look at working on music projects with Dolby Atmos natively, in Pro Tools, with the power of HDX, Avid S4, and MTRX. Watch to see Jeff give some insights into techniques for mixing music for Dolby Atmos.
Universal Music and Dolby remix some of the world’s most popular music in Dolby Atmos using Avid S6 and Pro Tools | HDX. In this video, Avid brought together a panel of practitioners already mixing music in Dolby Atmos hosted by Avid Product Specialist Jeff Komar.
In this excerpt from F. Reid Shippen Mixing Ingrid Michaelson Reid explains a trick to get a bright pop vocal using a, EQ, a limiter and the polarity invert button. By using a combination of aggressive high pass filtering, limiting and by blending this processed duplicate out of phase with the original Reid shows his technique for adding presence and brightness to a vocal.
I’ve been in music production for around 40 years and in that time I’ve heard some horror stories. A particular favourite was the one about the tape assistant who hit record on a vocal drop in, only to find he had the SMPTE stripe track armed too! Anyway, here’s mine and it has little to do with gear.
Vocal samples are some of the most versatile sounds to work with. They can easily be cut, stretched, and transposed to fit just about any genre or style. In this free tutorial, Daniel Dixon, from iZotope shows you three unconventional ways to use vocal samples in your music.
There are many significant junctures capable of enhancing or undermining the quality of a song’s vocals. In this article, iZotope Contributor Philip Nichols shares some common vocal production practices—some to use and some to avoid. Of course, it’s best to start at the source.
In this excerpt from Episode 6 of “Greg Wells Start to Finish,” Greg shows us his workflow and discusses his strategies for setting Antares Auto-Tune.
Waves have been running a ‘coming soon’ campaign on social media that there was a new something on the way. Now we know it is OVox, a “next-generation voice-controlled synth and vocal effects processor designed to create a limitless palette of vocal morphing, tuning, harmonizing, vocoder & talkbox effects and beyond, with depth, clarity, and intuitive control. Available as a plugin or standalone app”.
In this free extract from Start to Finish: Greg Wells - Episode 3 - Setting Up The Vocal Chain from PureMix, Greg walks us through his preferred settings on his preferred compressor for vocals.
Ducking a track against the vocal is a common technique but have you ever thought about how you can better target what gets dipped in the track to make room for the vocal? Surfer EQ from Sound Radix is the perfect tool for this. Find out more in this free tutorial.
Revoice Pro is known for, among other things, its unique ability to automatically transfer pitch and timing characteristics from one audio file to another. It’s easy to overlook how great a tool it also is for basic vocal tuning. It’s not only accurate and pristine sounding, but it’s also intuitive and straightforward to use. You can fly through a file in no time. And now, with the release of Revoice Pro v. 4.1, it's easier to use than ever.
Need big gang vocals for your track but you only have one vocalist? In this article learn about a trend called the Millennial Whoop, which appears to be taking over pop music and in a video tutorial we explain a production concept we refer to as “The Room Of People Singing Happy Birthday” and show you how to get gang vocal results just like you hear in the charts today, but with a single microphone and one vocalist. This is an especially cool production technique for home studio producers.
Join producer and songwriter Paul Drew as he shows how to create great pop vocals using Waves plug-ins in Studio One. In this final episode Paul uses delays to give some cool effects to the vocal.