This gallery contains 1 photo.
De todos los elementos de la mezcla el ritmo es uno de los más complejos junto con la armonía. De hecho, es uno de los elementos que requiere de una gran destreza y conocimiento musical. El ritmo es el … Continue reading
This gallery contains 2 photos.
The series of blog entries I’m going to be making are going to be focused on the process of recording a song or project from scratch. We’re going to cover from the recording of the song all the way to … Continue reading
This gallery contains 1 photo.
Delay is an audio effect which records an input signal to an audio storage medium, and then plays it back after a period of time. The delayed signal may either be played back multiple times, or played back into the recording … Continue reading
This gallery contains 1 photo.
Here’s a piece of information for all the guys who mix from their home and take the product to a Mastering studio or to a Mastering engineer. Throughout the years it’s been increasing the amount of both established professional engineers … Continue reading
This gallery contains 1 photo.
De todos los elementos de la canción la melodía debe ser el más memorable. No es una tarea fácil trabajar u opinar sobre la melodía como ingeniero o productor; recuerden que este elemento es muy subjetivo y personal y los … Continue reading
This gallery contains 3 photos.
Gates are known to be the second most common dynamic range processor in mixing after compressors. Gates are also called noise-gates, a name that implies their traditional usage as noise eliminators. Noise, however, is not the only thing gates are … Continue reading
Lately I’ve realized the importance of acknowledging the artist’s perspective when getting a mix done. It’s more than mixing a song “The right way”, the taste of the artist has a lot to do with the success of the project.
Image by gorshine.buzznet.com
An important thing to ask them is which band or artist they want to sound like, or “what sound they wanna get”, although it’s a tricky question because many artists have reservations on wanting to sound like someone else, since each one has an individuality no one wants to violate. In this case, always tell them to send you or give you names of songs they feel that appeal to they style. Many may tell you the drums should sound like one band and the bass like this other band, and so on and so forth. The more communication the better.
Another vital aspect of the dialogue is to use technical terms, many artists get a little on the bohemian when explaining what sound they are trying to get on the mix of the song or of a specific instrument and they say things like “oh, I want my guitars to sound round and bluesy” or “Put some shiny effect on my voice”, or a good one “Don’t use Autotune ‘cuz it will ruin the mix”. Things like this may have a meaning in the Sound Engineering world, but it needs to become clear that they have the same meaning in the artist’s mind.
One last thing I consider important too is, never argue with the artist on “how the track should sound”. There have been may attempts in the history of music of creating something different, some have had success, others not so much, but the artist has the last word. The mixing engineer should be able to transform what is in the artist’s mind into sound.
Join our Newsletter and Get Up to 50% OFF
Francesca Costantino
Producer/Songwriter
www.CriticalRecordingStudio.com
786.347.5800
Connect with Us
This gallery contains 5 photos.
DAWs come with all sorts of features that are made to enhance and quicken your workflow. But, sometimes, these great new features are also the issues that slow your creativity. These are 5 ways to help speed up you … Continue reading
This gallery contains 2 photos.
En el artículo anterior me dedique a explorar muy brevemente los 11 aspectos de una canción a tener en cuenta en una mezcla. Ellos son: el concepto, la melodía, la armonía, la estructura o forma, el ritmo, la calidad de … Continue reading
This gallery contains 1 photo.
With the exception of pure orchestral recordings, reverb is used in nearly every mix. They allow us to add and build up these missing elements in the mix, and they are also be beneficial for many other mixing tasks. But … Continue reading
This gallery contains 2 photos.
Para lograr una mezcla profesional de buena calidad el productor tiene que tener en cuenta ciertos aspectos; no solo técnicos, sino también musicales. Estos elementos tienen que analizados objetivamente y en base al proyecto o canción en general; no se … Continue reading
This gallery contains 1 photo.
A lot of my friends always want me to do the Chopped & Screwed effect to their vocals, so I was searching online how to do it and couldn’t really come across anything. I then started looking at the different plug ins … Continue reading
This gallery contains 1 photo.
A lot of people working in the music industry work for themselves; it can be the best decision you ever make. But too many people go into starting a business without knowing some key things that are a normal part … Continue reading
Over six years has passed since Justin Timberlake released his last album “FutureSex/LoveSounds.” Since then, the 32-year-old singer has continued to focus more on his acting profession and private life. He now returns to his primary love; music, with his … Continue reading
En el mundo en que vivimos siempre habrá alguien con un material “mejor” que el otro. Tanto en la industria de la música como en la del cine, televisión, danzas, teatro, y en el mundo corporativo y del deporte. La … Continue reading
This gallery contains 4 photos.
First of all, there’s nothing wrong with thin guitars in a mix. In fact, there are thousands of hits that have thin, weak guitars. Now, do not think that that was unintentional. Not at all, everything is well planned usually, … Continue reading
This gallery contains 1 photo.
Ever seen a one-man-band? Well, check out Lone Wolf! We had the honor to have him at Critical Recording Studio to record his first album back in 2010 and he came back for his third 13-song album “Mine Us 13″. The … Continue reading
This gallery contains 1 photo.
On a previous article I described what fattening was and I also explained some of its applications. However, after reading it a few more time I felt that I could expand on the topic and go deeper. Just to review … Continue reading
This gallery contains 1 photo.
Shelving Filters are the bass and treble controls found in our domestic hi-fi systems, also known as tone controls. Conceived by Peter Baxandall in the late 1940s, opposed to pass filters, which only cut frequencies, shelving filters can also boost … Continue reading
This gallery contains 16 photos.
Welcome to Critical Recording Studio. Enjoy the most recent pictures that we took of our location
This gallery contains 1 photo.
True is the first extended play (EP) by American recording artist Solange Knowles. It was released on November 27, 2012 digitally through Terrible Records. It is Knowles’ first release under the label after leaving her contract with Interscope in 2009. The entire EP is produced by longtime collaborator, Dev … Continue reading
This gallery contains 2 photos.
Although equalizers attenuate or boost only specific range of frequencies by altering the tone of the signal. All equalizer’s earlier were only attenuate frequencies or in later designs where they could boost frequencies are based on a concept known as … Continue reading
This gallery contains 1 photo.
Now that might seem like a smug thing to say, but believe me I’ve had hard drive crashes on several occasions, the first time I tried spending £450 with a specialist recovery firm, only to get back half the data. … Continue reading
Having a good online presence is the main component to have a successful business or career nowadays. Artists, corporations and small businesses invest thousands of dollars to create a following in their social networks. Many of them use it to … Continue reading
R&B newcomer and 2013 Grammy award winning artist Frank Ocean’s debut LP ‘channel ORANGE’ (2012) is one of the best cohesive and original male R&B albums since Usher’s ‘Confessions’ (2004). Ocean delivers a stellar seventeen-track full-length album that alternates through channels … Continue reading
This gallery contains 3 photos.
As human’s we are capable of hearing frequencies between approximately 20 Hz and 20 kHz (20,000 kHz). Everyone isn’t capable of hearing frequencies up to 20 kHz, and the one’s that are our ability to hear high frequencies decreases with … Continue reading
This gallery contains 1 photo.
Sometimes depending on the style of music you are recording, there’s a need for achieving a really big sound in the mix for some instruments; if not all of them. The process of making an instrument sound bigger is called … Continue reading
This gallery contains 3 photos.
The Komplete 9 bundle could be the only thing you need for your music production. It includes a total of 65 plugins and the size of the sample library is a whopping 370 Gb! It has all of the essentials … Continue reading
This gallery contains 1 photo.
Avid announced today Avid Pro Tools® 11, a major upgrade of its industry-leading digital audio workstation that redefines music and audio production for today’s workflows. This latest version enables audio professionals to take on the most demanding productions with new, … Continue reading
This gallery contains 1 photo.
Do You Know What Your Kids Are Listening To? In today’s super Connected Intelligence environment where everyone can access information at blinding speeds, responsible parents need a device that will help protect their children from some of the negatives that … Continue reading
From my experience and what I have learned from industry moguls is that the first step is to record every delivery as if you were performing the song on stage in front of a large audience. Hopefully you don’t get stage … Continue reading
Many say it’s a no brainer, just splash words in a paper, put some music and “the hell with it…”. From Lennon to Sheryll Crow or Coldplay, and a bunch of others in between, Lyrical Impressionism has touched not only … Continue reading
Have you ever wanted to learn more about a certain subject? Or learn how to use the latest software? Or even learn photography or Logic Pro without having to take expensive college courses and having to be in class on … Continue reading
Let the old die so the new can live. That’s what’s going on right now in the music industry. The old guard is dying and new ideas are taking over. There are no rules, just guidelines. You can also make … Continue reading
Want to have a good sound? Let me give you an equation for that. Good musician+good instrument+good performance+good acoustics+good mic+good placement=good sound Good musician: Practice, practice, and practice. Do not just repeat an exercise, and a lick, a … Continue reading
Equalizer’s in today’s use is not used to make one sound equal to the other, but manipulate the frequency content for various mix elements. The frequency virtue of each individual instrument and how it appears in the overall frequency spectrum … Continue reading
Componer un tema es más que inspiración. Con la inspiración logramos reunir la idea y los componentes básicos en cuanto a melodía, progresión armónica de los acordes, frases y el tema principal de la composición. Pero para lograr completar … Continue reading
There are many dynamic processes that are used to manipulate audio. Some of these processes include compression, expansion, limiting, gating, and de- essing. Compression is used to decrease the dynamic range of a signal. It can be used to control … Continue reading
Numark has decided they will not stay behind in the Dj controller market. They have recently released information about their newest controller; an upgrade to the previous NS7 is the NS7 II. They have kept the previous layout from … Continue reading
Ableton Live is one of the top used DAW’s (digital audio workstation) in the hip-hop and EDM industry. The capability of setting up your automation in a matter of 1click towards any parameter you choose. It’s far by one of … Continue reading
When mixing in Pro Tools, delay can be used in a variety of different ways. I will briefly go over some of the different types of delay that can be accomplished. When actually going to use the delay, these numbers … Continue reading
Muchos artistas y gente que empieza en la industria de la música confunde un poco los roles de las diferentes personas encargadas de llevara cabo ciertas funciones en la carrera de dicho artista. Hay que tener claro quién es quién, … Continue reading
This gallery contains 1 photo.
Song Chemistry Discover the tips that make the HITS! This is a website that provides in-depth information about your favorite music: genre, lyrics, vocalists, arrangements, etc. They provide a broad analysis of all types of music from elemental to complex … Continue reading
Automation is an important tool for creating polished mixes. It is often used to fix problems, introduce and enhance effects, and to vary the mix levels throughout different sections of a song. Automation is a very vital function that needs … Continue reading
Realmente, de todos los programas de grabación y producción que he usado durante los últimos cinco años aproximadamente, ninguno me ha desilusionado. Todos han sido efectivos, versátiles, y poderosos. Entre los programas que he tenido acceso se encuentran, Sonar (edición para … Continue reading
The Electronic Musicians Editor’s Choice Award goes to a Digital Performer 8 for their amazing arsenal of guitar tones. The legendary AC30 guitar amp that has been used by many major artists such as The Beatles and U2’s The Edge … Continue reading
Tamika J (singer-songwriter) is of African-Haitian-American descent and was born and raised in Miami, Fl. Music has played an influential role in her life. Her love for music and performing has always been with her even at an early … Continue reading