On a recent “Late Show with David Letterman,” longtime-band member bassist Will Lee is crooning the 1960’s classic “MacArthur Park” while laying down a punchy rhythm on his Sadowsky four-string Will Lee model bass.
Surrounded on three sides by the CBS Orchestra, with special guest Jimmy Webb, composer of the Read more...
Many years ago, I got a chance to sit behind a name-brand producer/engineer (no names here, only credits: One Direction, Flo Rida, Leona Lewis) and watch him mix a song for the band Augustana.
There was a bit of contention: This particular producer/engineer saw no such slash in his title; Read more...
Evolution is supposed to happen gradually – biologically speaking, a few thousand years is a nice brisk pace for major changes to unfold.
Some elite New York City facilities are operating on a different timeline. This past February SonicScoop reported on the freshly renovated Studio Q1 at Quad Studios, where Read more...
For those of us that love music/sound synthesis, sound designing, and electronic production, we are living in glorious times indeed. We now have a vast ocean with a plentiful bounty to fill our synthesizer appetites. Every week it seems I’m reading yet another email or news article about a new Read more...
He’s not the hardest-working man in music — yet.
But give Matty Amendola time, and the Brooklyn producer/engineer/composer/multi-instrumentalist may yet get a share of that coveted title. There’s nothing musical he won’t do, whether it’s artist development, laying down a killer drum track, or cutting vocals at 3 AM to Read more...
Surround sound is becoming more ubiquitous than ever, but when it comes to music, stereo is still king. While up to 40% of American households now have surround sound systems, the penetration of stereo is high enough to consider it 100% for all practical purposes—once you take into account all Read more...
What is the Proximity Effect?
The proximity effect describes how bass frequencies build up when a microphone is brought very close to a sound source. This effect frequently occurs when a vocalist moves around a lot while singing, varying their distance from the microphone diaphragm from phrase to phrase, or Read more...
Dreamin’ California? If so, Orange County is coming on strong.
Some interesting action is unfolding there, with a fresh wave of studios coming online in a market they see as overtalented and underserved. The latest is ReAmp Recording Studios, which is making a big statement about the region with their Read more...
A handful of documentaries released since the turn of the new century, from 2002’s Standing In the Shadows of Motown to 2013’s Muscle Shoals, have helped us put names and faces to the backing musicians that brought some of our favorite recordings to life.
It can be surprising to learn Read more...
Adore analog? Dig digital only? Nothing blurs the audio lines like software emulations of hardware processors.
Producers and engineers who are evolving their studios now have an embarrassment of emulations available to them. These are virtual versions of classic and/or rare boxes, and we need them because the real thing Read more...
