Dance Music Production – Creative vs. Technical
Dance Music Production – Creative vs. Technical by Steve Powell What does it take to make a record in terms of equipment? A four track? A Mac Pro? An SSL4000E? What people use and how they use is of course crucial to the quality and type of dance music production that’s made. The equipment heavily dictates many of the attributes of the music that’s created, probably far more than many people realise. It was commented by one well known electronic music producer that “I realised that I was getting bored with a lot of the music I...
read moreSampling Frequencies & Bit Rates: 96 v 44.1Khz & 24 v 16bit
Sampling Frequencies & Bit Rates: 96 v 44.1Khz & 24 v 16bit by Stephen Powell I had a conversation recently with a guy who described himself as a “glitch-dubstep-lo-fi composer” He went on to describe a couple of his tracks which turned out to be pretty much what you might expect from such a description. When I asked him about his production he said to me: “I make all my tracks with a low sampling-rate and bit-rate for the whole project”. At this point I was a bit confused and so asked him to elaborate. Apparently all his...
read moreMixing Music with Creative FX | Mixing Desk
Mixing Music with Creative FX | Mixing Desk by Mr Steve Powell The signal chain is something always at work whether you’re in the studio, playing around with beats on the computer at home or playing a synthesiser live at a gig. If you are purely a performer, your worry with the signal chain ends when your voice seeps melodically into the microphone, or perhaps at the point your electric guitar strings leave their mark in the magnetic field of the pickup. However, if you have anything to do with the recording or production of sound, the...
read moreWhich DAW is better – Logic, Pro Tools, Ableton or Cubase?
Which DAW is better – Logic, Pro Tools, Ableton or Cubase?: Okay I don’t suppose I am the first nor will I be the last to raise this question that is which DAW is best out of Logic, Pro Tools, Ableton or Cubase but here is part one of my thoughts and coming up soon, part two and the thoughts of music production school tutors, Al, George and Paul. When I very first started in the olden days (early 90′s) we all used Atari ST’s with a whole 512k of Ram for sequencing Midi and not much else. Obviously all audio was dealt...
read moreAcoustic Treatment and Positioning of Studio Monitor Speakers
Acoustic Treatment and Positioning of Studio Monitor Speakers: Okay so now it’s time to choose and position your studio monitor speakers and just dip your toe into the wonderful world of studio acoustic treatment. More on this on the Mixing and Mastering course Most people listen to music in their cars or on a cheap home stereo sometimes even in mono. If your mix doesn’t sound good on a pair of small speakers, there’s not much point. A pair of ridiculously expensive active monitors may sound amazing, but no one else has...
read moreNorman Jay MBE on GSS and Notting Hill Carnival after party
Norman Jay MBE on GSS and Notting Hill Carnival after party: Just thought I’d celebrate my latest release with Toby Tobias by dishing out the horn sample we used for the downbeat of the drop. We’re calling ourselves Badnonday and the track is called Albondigas. Too early to say how it’s doing but as I write this, it’s the first record on Phonica’s homepage which is a pretty good sign! The horn is a long sample that rises towards the end and pans slightly from right to left. It really gives the drop an uplifting...
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