Key Of Grey

Photo courtesy of John Bell August 9th, 2010 - Thanks to DigitalLush for the question. As always, please feel free to email me questions and I will do my best to answer them. Stumbled upon your site the other day and have been checking back reading different articles of interest. I came across one you had written on mixing. So here's a question that I don't know if it was covered indirectly, but I'm still curious about: When mixing for live performance or ... Read More

Photo courtesy of Kimble Young August 8th, 2010 - If you've been on the internet for any amount of time (which I assume you have been since you're reading this), you'll no doubt be familiar with the phenomenon of rickrolling. Internet meme aside, I just read a Sound on Sound article on the creation of that song, from the songwriting, to the production, and finally to the engineering stage. It's a good read. Also, although I love the song, I hate being rickrolled. Classic ... Read More

August 7th, 2010 - If you've ever cut apart a song for samples, and then tried to a create a song in a different tempo with the pieces, you'll know the frustration of samples that end too early. While you can stretch and warp vocal and melodic samples within reason, percussive samples never sound quite right. AudioTuts has a tutorial that explains a technique to extend the tail of a drum sample. Essentially it involves copying another reversed version of the same ... Read More

Photo courtesy of Dan Machold August 6th, 2010 - I love TED presentations; I could waste all day watching them (and have). The talk below by Matt Ridley is about "idea sex". While the sexification of the subject matter is a little iffy, I do agree with collaboration being a key factor in our personal evolution. For musician/songwriter/producers, collaboration is an important part of expanding your own abilities. This may seem like an oxymoron, but working with someone else who has different skills and ... Read More

Photo courtesy of Sheldon Wood August 4th, 2010 - Last night, I watched a BBC documentary on Jeff Buckley and was reminded that, while I thought everyone knew who he was, many don't. The first track I heard from him was a haunting cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah". While many have covered the song, none have come close to the emotion that Jeff Buckley infused into it. He was a troubled soul, struggling to simultaneously reconcile his artistry with his sudden stardom, and his ... Read More

Photo courtesy of Tobias Steinhoff August 2nd, 2010 - Yesterday, while preparing a new project, I stumbled upon a remix I worked on last year. I created it because a friend asked me to; there wasn't any other real reason. It wasn't a remix of his music (although I am helping to produce an EP for his band currently), rather it was a song that he liked that he felt needed a remix. Often when people learn that I produce music and they themselves ... Read More

Photo courtesy of Alfred Hermida July 31st, 2010 - You might not be a fan of Lady Gaga, and you might not like her music, but knowing the techniques that were used to produce her songs serves to expand your own toolbox. Dave from BoyInABand.com has put up a tutorial of how to re-create Lady Gaga's Poker face using synths in Reason. What I like especially about this tutorial is that he built the synths from scratch rather than loaded up a VST. ... Read More

Photo courtesy of Mike Senese July 29th, 2010 - Sure you can pirate audio, but you can never pirate the soul and grit of vinyl. Or can you? Check out this DIY tutorial on making a playable copy of a vinyl record. The process involves making a silicone mold of the original vinyl record, then applying a liquid plastic to the negative. Once you drill out a hole in the middle, you're good to go. I would mix this tutorial with the one on ... Read More

Photo courtesy of xyz_man007 July 28th, 2010 - According to an article in Psychology Today, ceiling height affects productivity. Based upon my own experiences with cramped spaces, I can see how this would be true. When I feel closed in, I get distracted and irritable which clamps down on my creativity. I know that many music producers like working in a cave-like atmosphere, but along with the potential negative psychological effects for some individuals, low ceilings are generally detrimental acoustically. Early reflections are a ... Read More

Photo courtesy of Marionzetta July 26th, 2010 - This weekend I was at the Tulalip Casino near Seattle playing the slot machines for the first time. It was fun and incredibly addictive. Why bring this up? Well one of the reasons that slot machines are so effective at luring and keeping gamblers is the sound. The clicking that the rollers make as the bright graphics rotate, the ringing sound of coins dropping when you win; even my girlfriend kept humming the winning music. I ... Read More