There are countless effects units out on the market that help mold, shape, and totally distort your sound. But today I’m going to tell you a little bit about, one of the more popular, and commonly used effects, the flanger effect. So what is a flanger exactly? Well, a flanger effect is kind of like a delay that happens really quick(1-10 ms), so quick in fact that you can not hear the delay by the human ear, instead we hear a whooshing sound on the instrument. The flanger is most commonly applied to a guitar, and/or drums.

The flanger effect comes in a few different forms. You can find it as a software effect,a hardware (rack mount) unit, or as an effect pedal for your guitar. If your looking to get your hands on one of these effects pedals. The Boss BF3 Flanger Effects Pedal is a great deal for about a hundred bucks, but if your more of a music programmer than a software version of a flanger effect is maybe more up your alley. Some synthesizers and mixers also have a flanger effect built in as an added feature.

Common Parameters

LFO Waveform – The waveform that manipulates the actions of the delay on the sound.

Sweep Depth – The span between the minimum and maximum value of the amplitude on the delay. Continue Reading...

Every musician goes through a different process when creating a mix but generally the process goes through three stages: creating the initial tracks, mixing down the song, and then mastering. Each one of these stages is usually done by a different person, each one a professional in their field. A musician will create the song, a producer will mix the track, and a mastering engineer will master the track to production quality.

With indie labels on the rise allot of these jobs are done by the same person, you. I highly recommend hiring a mastering engineer, if you can actually afford to do so. But like most musicians your struggling, so lets get on with a few tips to help you create a production worthy mix, on a musician style budget. In this article we are going to cover mixing down your track.

Mixing Levels

Two of the biggest problems with mixes today are the levels of instruments and muddying of frequencies in a mix. Lets go over a few basic guidelines when mixing a track. There is a difference to mixing levels on a software mixer as opposed to a 32,24 or 16 channel analogue mixer which can handle about +3 db without clipping, this will vary on the quality of mixer that you are using. When mixing with software the ceiling of your mix is 0db (no exceptions) anything louder than this will clip the audio signal and Continue Reading...

By Sarit Bruno

Studio Considerations

The magic of the recording studio has often mystified even the most seasoned professionals. With all the knobs, switches and buttons on various gear and large format consoles, no wonder confusion sets in to most non-techies. Many people, especially artists, composers, producers, and engineers, will end up putting together their own studio for writing and pre-production, with some eventually deciding to take the plunge and create a full-fledged recording complex that is capable of recording major albums. This article will try to shed some light on the considerations to take into account when making a studio, be it a small home studio or a professional recording studio.

Is size important? Some may say it is so but this is not always the case. The dimensions of the studio are very important. A room too large may become over-reverberant or full of unwanted echoes. A room too small may sound tight and unnatural. It is important that the room size and room sound is relevant to the type of music you are recording. You don’t want to go into a very small tight room to record BIG rock drums. Although, big room sounds can be achieved by adding external reverb effects to simulate rooms at a later time when necessary.

It is best to find the room that suits the sound you are trying to achieve from the beginning of the recording process. The smaller the room, the Continue Reading...