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Brian Wilson, leader of the Beach Boys, not only created unforgettable melodies, but also revolutionized the recording studio as a creative tool. This article explores his legacy from a technical and acoustic perspective.

What do “digital” and “analog” really mean? This article offers a simple and useful explanation for musicians, engineers and the curious, illustrating the differences with clear, visual examples.

The rapid development of digital audio systems has led to a “democratization” of audio production technology, which until recently was only within reach of professional audio engineers.

Lecture presented by engineer José A. Medina (Uniphonic) as part of the Second International Meeting of Audio Specialists.

In the previous article, we reviewed the fundamental concepts of mixing: how to approach a mix from the start, some tips to make the process less overwhelming, and how to build your own mixing philosophy. Now we begin to look at the various technical processes involved in a musical mix.

After the brief introduction to EQ and dynamics processors in the previous article, where we had to go through quite a bit of theory, it’s time to share some practical advice to get the most out of what we’ve discussed so far.

We recently had a fantastic drum recording session with the great Brandon Torres. We were able to use an amazing snare we hadn’t tried before: a Mapex Black Panther Sledgehammer 14" x 6.5". As many of you know, we record samples of every drum kit that comes through the studio. To let you enjoy this snare as well, we’re sharing a download link to the samples we captured. We especially recommend trying the overheads — this snare sounds incredible there. The files are in TCI format for Slate Trigger.

The folks at Eventide are awesome. I’m very grateful they featured me on their website as a highlighted user of their products and for the licenses they gifted me — especially the H3000, which I’d been wanting for a long time.

In the previous article, we saw the importance of applying EQ only when we clearly know the result we’re aiming for. Something similar happens when modifying the dynamics of a signal. Here we look at the different tools we have for shaping the dynamics of individual tracks as well as groups of tracks.

Here we focus on one of the most challenging elements to use in a mix: the compressor. It’s a device that can bring great satisfaction but also plenty of headaches. Its correct use is, to a large extent, one of the things that truly distinguishes a professional.

In this article, the goal is that by simply knowing a microphone’s basic characteristics, you can already tell what kind of use it might be good for — even if you’re not familiar with the most popular models.

Theoretical knowledge enhances the skills acquired through experience. Sometimes it even becomes the first step toward exploring new paths that lead to new experiences.

More and more musicians overlook what it really means — and what it implies — to carry out a full music production. Many albums released today are little more than “full-length demos”. Recording a musical work is not just about going to the studio, tracking, mixing, editing, mastering, and calling it done.

A lot has already been written about the so-called loudness war, usually from a strictly technical perspective and focusing on isolated aspects of the topic. I eventually grew tired of explaining my view on this to clients over and over, so I decided to write it all down in this article.

In all the years I’ve worked in recording studios, I’ve met all kinds of people: some very open-minded, others as closed-off as a locked monastery door. One of the main lessons this job has taught me is that there are no absolute rules.

Lately I’ve been getting a lot of emails from beginners and small-studio owners asking for help with their mixes. It often seems that the default solution for making something clearer is simply to turn it up in level. Since I can’t help everyone individually, I’m dedicating this article to a concept that can be extremely useful in those situations: masking.