Techniques - The Home Recording Studio

29Dec 2023 by Jon

Sampling A Rubber Bridge Guitar

Blog, Home Recording Blogs, Recording, Techniques

Rubber bridge guitars have become a widespread phenomenon in the music scene, with their impact extending far beyond just altering the sound of a guitar. Surprisingly, the simple act of replacing a guitar's bridge with a piece of rubber has significantly influenced the production and songwriting techniques of notable artists like Taylor Swift, Aaron Dessner, Phoebe Bridgers and Olivia Rodrigo. My desire to make this unique guitar sound accessible to everyone, led to the ambitious idea of sampling a rubber bridge guitar. However, the project faced two challenges: my lack of experience, both in sampling acoustic guitars and in modifying guitars. Nevertheless, I decided to explore this uncharted territory! Finding a Guitar The first step was finding a suitable guitar for the experiment. Opting for an old Archtop parlour guitar…

17Oct 2023 by Jon

Can analogue synthesisers make drum sounds?

Blog, Composing, Home Recording Blogs, Sound Design, Sound Effects, Techniques

When it comes to making music, digital tools are popular for their convenience, but there's something special about analogue synthesisers. My journey with the Arturia Mini Brute, my first analogue synthesiser, has been a rediscovery of its unique charm and creative potential. But the question is: Can analogue synthesisers make drum sounds? Read on to find out more and claim for FREE Drum Samples. My First Analogue Synthesiser Purchased around five or six years ago, the Mini Brute stands in stark contrast to its modern counterparts. There are no LCD screens or presets as most of us are used to. It boasts a single main oscillator, a sub oscillator, and an LFO. It has a mixer for the different oscillator types, a filter envelope, and an amp envelope. The main…

27Sep 2023 by Jon

5 Best electric piano VST’s for producing lo-fi hip-hop

Blog, Composing, Home Recording Blogs, Recording, Recording & Mixing, Sound Effects, Techniques

Bedroom Music Studio Computer Music Equipment Lo-fi hip-hop is a genre of music that is characterized by its warm, mellow sound and its use of vintage and lo-fidelity samples. Electric pianos are a popular instrument in lo-fi hip-hop, as they can provide a rich and atmospheric sound that is perfect for the genre. In this post I'll discuss the 5 best electric piano VST's for Lo-fi Hip-Hop. Watch my latest video to hear 5 of the best VSTs for Lo-fi Hip-Hop. https://youtu.be/24xqw9ybE4g?si=VblGikEsBAH4qOnR If you are looking for the best electric piano virtual instruments for producing lo-fi hip-hop, here are a few of my recommendations: 1. Lounge Lizard.Lounge Lizard is a great sounding electric piano with both tine-based and reed-based presets. The tine-based are mainly Rhodes pianos and the reed-based are…

04Feb 2023 by Jon

Lofi Guitar Effect Tutorial

Blog, Home Recording Blogs, Recording, Techniques

How to create Lofi Guitar Effects In this video, I explain how to create a Lofi Guitar effect by using my Boss GT1000 Core. You can also download the patch to use if you own the Boss GT1000. Watch the video to find out more: https://youtu.be/s0WPXnXadEQ https://youtu.be/s0WPXnXadEQ How to create Lofi Guitar Effects In the video, I show you how I created my Lofi guitar patch using a combination of different effects. The most crucial effect that I use is the Echoplex Tape Delay. This gives you access to the Wow & Flutter controls that help to make that 'wobbly' lofi guitar effect. If you don't have a Boss GT1000 you can still create lofi guitar effects using whatever hardware or software you access to. Here are some examples of…

09Oct 2022 by Jon

Record Audio For Screencasts – with separate audio feeds

Home Recording Blogs, Microphones, Mixing, Podcast, Recording, Recording & Mixing, Techniques, Uncategorized

In this post, I will demonstrate how I record audio for screencasts and video tutorials. I'll show you a FREE application that allows you to record audio for screencasts with separate audio feeds for my microphone and system sound. Why do I need separate audio feeds? Most screen recording applications will record a mix of microphone and system audio. This means you don't have any control over the individual levels once the screencast has been recorded. In my videos, I like to demonstrate audio techniques by playing audio and talking at the same time. If I record my system audio too loud people won't be able to hear my voice and there is no way to fix this afterwards. How to record separate audio feeds In this video, I walk…

14Sep 2022 by Jon

HOW TO PRODUCE HIGH-ENERGY HIP-HOP

Blog, Composing, Home Recording Blogs, Mixing, Stock Music, Techniques

In this video, I show you how to produce high-energy hip-hop. Watch as I break down one of my high-energy Hip-Hop tracks, showing you the sounds and techniques I use to produce this popular genre. https://youtu.be/cin_4NJPx1c When producing this type of track it's important to have the right references in mind. Consequently, this will help you meet the brief and stay within the genre. Here are some of the characteristics of High-Energy Hip-Hop:- Very much influenced by 90's Hip-HopLargely sample-basedVintage feelSoul and Funk samplesTempo between 90 and 100 BpmUse of spoken word samplesscratchingRepetition, contrasted with variation in samples and structure If you need inspiration check out artists such as DJ Shadow, Public Enemy, Fat Boy Slim, and De La Soul. More specifically, you can find inspiration from Audiojungle Author, Coffee…

06Sep 2022 by Jon

How to create 60 second edits like a pro

Blog, Composing, Home Recording Blogs, Stock Music, Techniques

Do you compose Stock Music or Production music? Then you need to create edits of your tracks. In this guide, I show you how to create 60 second edits like a pro! Why do I need to create edits? So, you've created your track and you want to upload it to Stock Music Libraries like Pond5 and Audiojungle. However, if you want to maximise your chances of selling, you need to create some edits. Here's why: Edits add value for the customerCustomers may need longer than the track you have created - this is why we make Loop editsCustomers need short, concise edits for certain mediums30 or 60 seconds is a common length for TV or Radio commercialsYou can sell edits as separate tracks (on certain libraries), increasing the potential…

24Apr 2022 by Jon

Recording the sound of nature: Stereo microphone shootout

Blog, Field Recording, Home Recording Blogs, Microphones, Recording, Sound Effects, Techniques

Stereo Recording Shootout In this stereo recording shootout I test two different stereo recording techniques. One, a mid-side (M/S) stereo setup costing over $2000. The other, a pair of inexpensive stereo omni-directional mics. Can these $100 microphones compete against the higher priced alternatives? So, join me for this stereo recording shootout as I record the sound of nature. The Location I recently visited the Welsh countryside and took the opportunity to record the sounds of nature. Understandably, it's difficult to make good recordings near cities or towns. For example, traffic, and other noise can easily ruin recordings. So, while I had the chance I compared two stereo recording techniques. Read on to find out how I made the recordings. Listen to the results In the video below I explain the…

18Apr 2022 by Jon

The Ultimate Lo-Fi Plugins?

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Are these the ultimate Lo-Fi plugins? Introduction In this post I take a look at Vulf Compressor and Tupe by Goodhertz and ask the question: are these the ultimate lo-fi plugins? Whether you make lo-fi hip hop, chill-wave or vaporware there are a growing number of lo-fi tools. Tape emulations, vinyl emulation and vintage compression, for instance. Some of my personal favourites include:- Waves J37 & Lo-fi SpaceChow DSP Chow TapeArturia Tape Mello-fiCaelum Audio Flux Mini and Tape Cassette,Klevgrand DAW CassetteYum Audio Lo-fi Pitch Dropout I've had good results with these tools (many of them are free) but I have often wondered if there are better options. Read on to find out more, including a secret 50% discount! Goodhertz? I have heard good things about Goodhertz plugins for quite some…

22Jan 2022 by Jon

Why you should be using reference tracks

Blog, Home Recording Blogs, Mixing, Recording & Mixing, Techniques, Uncategorized

In this post, I’m going to talk about reference tracks – why they are important, how to use them and where to find them. When we mix our own music there is a danger of never having an end goal in sight. You might have an idea of what you want your music to sound like but sometimes we lose perspective. Our ears are very good at fooling us especially if we have listened to our own mix for a long period of time. If we don’t remind our ears exactly what we are trying to achieve we may just keep chasing our tails round and round. So, read on to find out more about how you can use reference tracks to up your mixing game. https://youtu.be/8Iyk9jmgRm8 Watch the video…