DIY Recording Guys

www.threeminutemuse.com

Download the free Rights and Royalties eBook here: https://www.kharazmusic.productions/rights-and-royalties Vadim's website: https://www.kharazmusic.productions/

We've had an absolute blast making this podcast. It's given us ample opportunity to learn. To teach. To meet new people around the world. Now it's time move on....but not before we reminisce and, of course, share some favorite tips and tricks. Where to Find the Guys Free DIY Recording eBook: https://www.howtorecordyourband.com Vadim's Studio Site - Get your FREE test mix today! - https://www.calmf...

Ever wish you could just use your OWN drum kit sounds in a VI or sampler like Slate Trigger? Ben did.  On this episode he talks about how to do it and what he learned. Where to Find the Guys Free DIY Recording eBook: https://www.howtorecordyourband.com Vadim's Studio Site - Get your FREE test mix today! - https://www.calmfrogrecording.com Benjamin's Studio Site - https://www.dreamloudstudio.com Le...

After more than a decade of using Pro Tools, Vadim has switched to Reaper as his DAW.  At the time of this recording he'd had less than 2 weeks and only 1 mix under his belt but the impact was clear: Reaper was going to be his new DAW for the next decade.  On this episode you'll learn: Why Vadim finally decided to try another DAW 10 of the features that caught his attention in the first 10 days of...

Conventional advice on compression often boils down to: "don't squash the life out of your tracks with over-compression" and "buy THIS plug-in because it adds that extra special sweet saucy goodness to your tracks!" But why ARE we actually compressing our tracks?  The truth is, many DIY productions actually suffer from under-compression and it's because 1: compression is hard to hear so people don...

Reverb can seem simple...it's just a washy effect, right? Sure. It could be that but it's also so much more. From being your "backwards/forwards" lever, to creating texture, to adding thickness, to creating an illusion of space, reverb ends up being one of the most important parts of a well-crafted production.  Oh. And there's like a dozen different kinds. But don't worry! On this episode, we'll h...

Sometimes you hear a song that sounds so huge your jaw drops. How did they do that?  The answer is almost always: layers. And while all of this is more art than science, there are a few guidelines to keep in mind when building layers that will help your quest.  On this episode you will learn What different elements can be layered for impact. These include frequency, harmonic content, stereo field,...

OK. It's not the most sexy part of producing music but it's one of the most important. There's an amazing thing that happens when you've finished editing the tracks in a song and hit play for the first time: it starts to sound like a SONG. Even before compression, before EQ, before that sexy saturation trick you learned from Johnny Lots-o-Grammys, things will start to sound GOOD after some proper...

Critical listening is the ultimate skill of the recording enthusiast and headphones are the tool we trust most to enable this skill. Why? Well, because most of us are not working in ideal spaces and it's much easier to get an objective (and affordable) perspective in headphones. But what kind of headphones should we use? The answer depends in large part on application - although some designs do te...

More episodes en route. But first I need more coffee...

Reference tracks. The internet forums are full of wisdom regarding using references (whether to or not, when, how, etc.,).  References play an important part in the workflows of both Ben and Vadim - throughout the ENTIRE audio production process from ideas to final master. They've picked some of their favorite tips and best practices and share them on this episode.  In this episode you will learn:...

Well. Another year has come and gone. In many way, nothing has changed. The pandemic is still here and we're still trying to get even better vocal takes.  Still, we've learned many important lessons, uncovered new challenges for the coming year and bought one or two things we shouldn't have.  Hear all about it on this episode and, from everyone at DIYRG, we wish you a happy and healthy new year an...

Want to try mixing with outboard gear but don't have any? Sure you do! Every guitar pedal can be used as outboard gear for awesomely creative results.  In this episode you will learn: What people mean when they say "outboard gear"...and why you actually probably have some - even if you thought you didn't Why you may want to try using outboard gear if you never have Several ways to use pedals as ou...

The room where you mix your music is a sacred space. A temple to your craft. It wants to be honest. It needs to be pleasant to spend long periods of time.  On this episode you will get a solid, start-to-finish strategy for setting up (or refining) your mixing space.  You will learn: How to select a room How to choose a listening position in that room How to set up your speakers Where to focus your...

It can be really difficult to isolate a specific instrument from a finished mix...and that's kind of the point! A mix is like a stew, it should taste like a stew - not like a bunch of individual ingredients. Wouldn't it be cool if you could isolate individual instruments of a finished mix and hear what they sound like solo'd? We thought so too! That's what we do in this episode.  You will learn: H...

Plugins, microphones, outboard gear. These are the tools of our trade.  If you fancy yourself a craftsman, then you probably love tools of your craft. You probably watch videos and get served ads. You probably pay attention to what others are using. You've also probably amassed a hefty collection yourself! We know we have.  On this week's episode we do some soul searching on why we love some tools...

Before the days of DIY, recording music could be a more intense process. Bands were prepared to spend weeks or even months in a studio trying different instruments, different amps, different mic techniques, different arrangements, etc., - all before ever hitting RECORD.  Mixing, on the other hand, was more about achieving balance between those carefully produced tracks.  Today, it's the exact oppo...

If you've just been sticking to open guitar chords and pentatonic scales then you're cooking with salt and pepper. What if you had a whole arsenal of spices to work with? Sure you might make some weird meals at first but you'd probably also make some pretty memorable ones - and over time, you'd learn when to use (and not use) certain spices. Hint: NEVER use star anise. That stuff will ruin anythin...

Many of us had unpleasant run-ins with music theory through involuntary music lessons as kids but is it actually useful as a studio tool? Maybe. Sometimes. It's a tool that can help you out of arrangement and production jams. Stuck trying to figure out which chord to play next in a progression? Need to get a bassline that will work with your vocal melody? Theory can help.  In this episode, Ben tak...

Neve. SSL. API. 1176. LA2A. Pultec. We've all heard these names. We've all seen the countless plug-ins that emulate them. How did these names become so coveted in the recording world? Is there really an audible difference or is it all clever marketing?  These are just some of the questions we had for gear lover/designer/inventor Brad McGowan of Louder Than Liftoff.  Louder Than Liftoff is a compan...

You know the feeling once you've felt it: that dragging in the back of your head when you just can't believe you have to set up the routing on all of those guitar tracks AGAIN. Didn't you just to do this for the last session? Can't you just jump right into the fun part?  When you feel that dread of session setup tedium, what you're actually discovering is an opportunity to improve your workflow wi...

Sampling offers a ton of creative opportunities. We all know about downloadable samples that you can use to build out productions but literally anything you record can become a sample library. And any sample library can be an instrument that you can play using a MIDI controller. The possibilities are endless - which means results can vary.  On this episode, you will learn: What "sampling" means Ho...

One the key pieces of a successful production is maintaining the listener's attention effectively.  There are many ways to do this - some subtle and others through a bit of gamesmanship and shock value - but if your production doesn't manage transitions effectively, you are guaranteed to lose the listener at some point.  They won't know exactly WHY something isn't but they'll just feel like they'r...

Programmed drums have come a LONG way in the last decade.  We use them all the time in our productions and they sound great but how do they hold up when compared to a live drummer? And, even if the live drummer is better, are the workflow hassles of setting up a kit and mics, having the drummer learn the part, being nice to the drummer, and then editing the drums on the back end worth it?  Find ou...