Inside The Recording Studio

Mastering Prep: The Ultimate Checklist for Perfecting Your Song Mix

Chris and Jody embark on the thrilling quest to define the finishing touches of a song mix. We'll explore the elusive moment when a mix is considered "finished," unravel the mysteries of mastering-friendly loudness, and uncover the essential checklist before handing off your masterpiece to a mastering engineer.

🎚️ The Finish Line: Decoding Mix Completion: Dive into the nuances of determining when a mix is truly finished. From achieving sonic perfection to balancing artistic vision with technical precision, we'll discuss the telltale signs that signal the completion of your audio masterpiece. Is it a gut feeling, a technical checklist, or a bit of both? Let's find out.

🔊 Loud and Proud: Mastering-Ready Loudness Levels: Explore the delicate art of setting the right loudness for your mix. Learn about industry standards, the impact of streaming platforms, and how to strike the perfect balance between a punchy mix and a mastering-friendly final product. Discover the tools and techniques that ensure your music not only sounds good but translates seamlessly to various playback systems.

🛠️ Pre-Master Prep: Essential Steps Before the Handoff: Before you entrust your mix to a mastering engineer ensure your mix is in the best possible shape for the mastering stage. These tips not only streamline the mastering process but also empower the mastering engineer to elevate your music to its full potential.

🤔 Common Pitfalls and Pro Tips: Learn from the mistakes of others as we explore common pitfalls that can hinder the mastering process. From excessive limiting to problematic frequencies, we'll equip you with pro tips to avoid these roadblocks and set your mix on the express lane to mastering success.

Join us on this audio adventure, and let's demystify the final stages of music production together. Whether you're in a high-end studio or your bedroom setup, understanding when a mix is finished and how to prepare it for mastering is the key to unlocking the full potential of your musical creations!

Uncover the Magic of Bus Mixing: All Aboard the Sonic Journey!

Chris and Jody embark on a journey through the intricate world of mixing with buses. Buckle up as we explore the scenic route of signal routing, weaving through the musical landscape to create a harmonious blend of instruments and tones.

🚍 All Aboard the Mix Bus Express: Chris and Jody will guide you through the concept of mix buses and how they act as the conductors of our sonic symphony. Discover the power of grouping instruments together, and learn how buses can be the secret sauce to achieving good organization, cohesion and balance in your mixes.

🎸 Pit Stops Along the Way: We'll make strategic stops to delve into specific examples of using buses for various instrument groups. From drums and percussion to guitars and vocals, each stop offers a unique perspective on how buses can elevate your mix, adding depth, dimension, and clarity.

🎧 Gear Spotlight: Explore some of the essential gear and plugins that can take your bus mixing game to the next level. From analog outboard gear to cutting-edge software solutions, we've got recommendations for every budget and style.

Join us on this audio adventure, and let's navigate the roads of mixing together. Whether you're a studio veteran or a bedroom producer, there's always something new to discover when you're riding the bus to sonic bliss!

The Ultimate Vocal Chains Breakdown: Mic, Pre, EQ, Compressor - Everything You Need to Know! 🎤🔊

Chris and Jody delve into the warm waters of Vocal Chains. Those oft talked about elusive orders of microphone to final product with vocals. What mic, what pre, what eq, what compressor, what order and so on, and so on, and so on. Never fear they've come here this week with an example of a lead vocal out of a chorus and discuss the finer points of each stage along the way. Then to make it even better, there are audio examples to hear the changes on each step.

Mixing Made Easy: Master the Art of Arrangement for Stellar Results

Chris and Jody take in a listener request regarding the impact of a good arrangement on a mix. How does it help a mix when an arrangement is well thought out? What hurts a mix when the arrangement isn't planned out? How to think thru an arrangement so that a mix will practically mix itself. Plus road warrior stories about arrangements.

Revisiting Old Mixes: A Thrilling Journey through Nostalgia and Innovation

Chris and Jody take a stroll down mixing memory lane. Talking about revisiting old mixes. The Who, what, where, when and why you would ever, ever, want to do this. There's a portion talking about bringing old formats into the new DAW realm as well. Are there benefits to doing this stuff? Or is it all a giant waste of time? Find out.

Unlocking the Secrets of Classic Guitar Tones: Stratocaster, Telecaster, and More!

Chris and Jody whip up some classic guitar tones from a Stratocaster, a Telecaster and a straight up Strat style guitar with a humbucker. They delve into several pickup settings and run thru come simple chords and riffs to compare each sound and then explain what they’re hearing in each tone setting.

 

Stratocaster with Fishman Fluence Fender voiced pickups.

Telecaster with standard single coil telecaster pickups.

Schecter with a Schecter humbuckers in the neck and bridge (PAF style).

Breaking Down All-In-One Plugins: Should You Jump on the Bandwagon

Chris and Jody fulfill a listener request to talk about the ever present All-In-One plugins. You know, those plugins that are meant to be the be all end all of a particular mixing component. Are there pros to these plugins? What are the cons of these plugins? Do we use them?

Take Your Guitar Mixes to the Next Level: Exciting Techniques Unveiled

Chris and Jody get into the nitty gritty with tactics for mixing electric guitars. The prep steps that should be taken. The EQ and compression techniques and when to use them. The FX that may or may not get used. Plus there's an extra bit end that helps to really get guitars to stand out in a song.

From Average to Amazing: Transform Your Lead Vocal Mixes with These Techniques

Chris and Jody get down and dirty with tactics for mixing lead vocals. The prep steps that should be taken. The EQ and compression techniques. The FX used. Plus there's an extra bit end that helps to really blend a vocal into a song.

From Hardware to Heaven: The Best Reverb Emulations Revealed

Chris and Jody unleash their favorite picks for reverb emulations. What are the 6 hardware boxes that have been made into a great reverb emulation. There's also some bonus emulations for something different from hardware. Listen in to find out the picks we make.