Hello again Stephen. You’ve been very helpful to me and I am hoping you will help me through one more dilemma. I am putting a mic in my all tube Marshall combo to record distortion guitar. I am using a Sennheiser e609, a dynamic mic, right up against the grill off my Marshall DSL40. I […]

Breakdown of the mix of Ben Smith's drums The drummer for Heart, Ben Smith, helped me out with some drum tracks for one of the songs I co-wrote with Coreena, "If You Wanna".  We tracked the drums at the famous London Bridge Studio, which has a HUGE room, and then I mixed them in my […]

Want bigger & fuller sounding songs?  Less is More! The biggest problem I encounter with inexperienced artists, producers, and engineers these days is that there is too much of everything.  Too many parts in the song arrangements.  Too many tracks in the recording.  Too many plugins in the mix.  Too many frequencies competing with each […]

I'm curious as to how often you might (and I know it probably depends wildly) cut high frequencies as a matter of course. For example, I usually cut quite a bit of low frequencies on most tracks just to keep the muddiness to a minimum in the overall mix. Do you also do the same […]

Is there any use for a multiband harmonic exciter? A harmonic exciter, I thought and correct me if I'm wrong, adds a high frequency "touch" to a sound. Couldn't an EQ do the same thing? What would be the advantage of multiband harmonic exciter? Harmonic exciters are different than EQ. EQ simply boosts or cuts […]

I'm attempting to mix a song and am trying to create a sense of depth. The delays are working well as are the reverbs. However, my question is more concerned with EQ'ing for a sense of depth. Instruments that are "right in your face" are the brightest, and as you move back (depth) in the […]

I'm wondering if someone could explain what serial compression and parallel compression is, and the advantages of each and when one would be used vs the other. Serial compression is when the compressor is inserted in the signal chain and you use 100% of the processed/compressed signal. Parallel compression is when you set up a […]

I greatly appreciate this site. It is such a treat to be able to speak to experienced and knowledgeable mixers. Question: I know technology in the recording field has come far in the last 40 years, but compressors were around in the 60's yet you do not hear the "punch" on those records like you […]

This is my first post on this forum. Somehow I lost my original post after I previewed it. I read the article "3D and the Art of Mixing," I think it was called, where it discussed fitting frequencies together to keep mixes from getting messy, heavy, conflicting, etc.... My question: if two instruments both have […]

Wise One: Do you have any tips for recording distorted guitars?  When I try it, the recording sounds for ssssssizzzzly. I have a Big Muff and a Boss OD2.  I've experimented with an SM57, a Cascade ribbon and I'm about to get a Sennheiser MD421.  I have a Marshall JCM2000. Any tips would be greatly […]