Here's a collection of tips, tricks, and secrets for music production covering everything from your skills, productivity, inspiration, and gear. This is the first book in a new series of titles related to music production, mixing and mastering, digital audio workstations (DAWs), sample libraries, stock and third-party plugins, and more.
The Secrets of Dance Music Production pulls together all you need to take a mix from concept to club-ready master whether you make house or techno, 2-step or D&B, EDM or trance. Studio fundamentals: Synthesis and sampling; studio setup and monitor placement; EQ, ambience and compression all covered in detailed 101-style guides. The golden rules of mixing: Learn how the pros get loud, defined and dynamic mixes stacked with interest and energy. Essential techniques: Layering, frequency bracketing, lo-fi processing, bass splitting, vocal production, mastering... It's all inside. Up your writing chops: Compose inspired bass and toplines with kick-starter approaches to voicing, arpeggios, syncopation, killer chord progressions and more. Bigger beats: 50+ pages of rhythm-making insight. Masterclasses in drum sound design, transient shaping, swing crafting and ghost placement plus 30+ beats broken down. Get that sound: From vintage arps to supersize FX; ripping Reese basslines to stacked EDM leads; ethereal soundscapes to deep house keys - dozens of sounds built from the ground up in media-rich walkthroughs.
A guide to producing cutting-edge house music, covering making beats, drum sounds, basslines, remixes, instrumentals, FX, and more. Includes a CD with more than 300 audio samples.
In this new edition, discover how to achieve commercial-grade recordings, even in the smallest studios, by applying power-user techniques from the world’s most successful producers. Recording Secrets for the Small Studio is based on the backroom strategies of more than 250 famous names. This thorough and down-to-earth guide leads you through a logical sequence of practical tasks to build your live-room skills progressively from the ground up, with user-friendly explanations that introduce technical concepts on a strictly need-to-know basis. On the way, you’ll unravel the mysteries of many specialist studio tactics and gain the confidence to tackle a full range of real-world recording situations. Specifically designed for small-studio enthusiasts, this book provides an intensive training course for those who want a fast track to releasing quality results, while the chapter summaries, assignments, and extensive online resources are perfect for school and college use. Learn the fundamental principles of mic technique that you can apply in any recording scenario – and how to avoid those rookie mistakes that all too often compromise the sonics of lower-budget productions. Explore advanced techniques which help industry insiders maintain their competitive edge even under the most adverse conditions: creative phase manipulation, improvised acoustics tweaks, inventive monitoring workarounds, and subtle psychological tricks. Find out where you don’t need to spend money, as well as how to make a limited budget really count. Make the best use of limited equipment and session time, especially in situations where you’re engineering and producing single-handed. Pick up tricks and tips from celebrated engineers and producers across the stylistic spectrum, including Steve Albini, Neal Avron, Roy Thomas Baker, Joe Barresi, Howard Benson, Tchad Blake, T-Bone Burnett, Geoff Emerick, Brian Eno, Paul Epworth, Shawn Everett, Humberto Gatica, Imogen Heap, Ross Hogarth, Trevor Horn, Rodney Jerkins, Leslie Ann Jones, Eddie Kramer, Jacquire King, Daniel Lanois, Sylvia Massy, Alan Meyerson, Justin Niebank, Gary Paczosa, Tony Platt, Jack Joseph Puig, David Reitzas, Bob Rock, Laura Sisk, Fraser T Smith, Young Guru, and many more. Now extensively expanded and updated, with new sections on contact mics, software instruments, squash mics, and ensemble depth distortion.
Discover how to achieve release-quality mixes even in the smallest studios by applying power-user techniques from the world's most successful producers. Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio is the best-selling primer for small-studio enthusiasts who want chart-ready sonics in a hurry. Drawing on the back-room strategies of more than 160 famous names, this entertaining and down-to-earth guide leads you step-by-step through the entire mixing process. On the way, you'll unravel the mysteries of every type of mix processing, from simple EQ and compression through to advanced spectral dynamics and "fairy dust" effects. User-friendly explanations introduce technical concepts on a strictly need-to-know basis, while chapter summaries and assignments are perfect for school and college use. ▪ Learn the subtle editing, arrangement, and monitoring tactics which give industry insiders their competitive edge, and master the psychological tricks which protect you from all the biggest rookie mistakes. ▪ Find out where you don't need to spend money, as well as how to make a limited budget really count. ▪ Pick up tricks and tips from leading-edge engineers working on today's multi-platinum hits, including Derek "MixedByAli" Ali, Michael Brauer, Dylan "3D" Dresdow, Tom Elmhirst, Serban Ghenea, Jacquire King, the Lord-Alge brothers, Tony Maserati, Manny Marroquin, Noah "50" Shebib, Mark "Spike" Stent, DJ Swivel, Phil Tan, Andy Wallace, Young Guru, and many, many more... Now extensively expanded and updated, including new sections on mix-buss processing, mastering, and the latest advances in plug-in technology.
The Music Producer's Handbook, Second Edition reveals the secrets to becoming a music producer and producing just about any kind of project in any genre of music. Among the topics covered are the producer's multiple responsibilities and all the elements involved in a typical production, including budgeting, contracts, selecting the studio and engineer, hiring session musicians, and even getting paid. Unlike other books on production, The Music Producer's Handbook also covers the true mechanics of production, from analyzing, troubleshooting, and fixing a song that isn't working to getting the best performance and sound out of a band or vocalist. In addition, Bobby Owsinski tackles what may be the toughest part of being a producer – being a diplomat, a confidant, and an amateur psychologist all at once. This edition also includes new chapters on self-production, small studio production, and how the new songwriter-producer and engineer-producer hybrids make money in our new digital music world. It also features several new interviews with some of the best-selling producers from different musical genres, who offer advice on getting started, getting paid, and making hits. Packed with inside information and including exclusive online media, The Music Producer's Handbook, Second Edition provides invaluable tools and advice that will help beginners and seasoned professionals alike. Item includes online resource.
If you're new to mixing and aren't sure what to do, or your mixes aren't anywhere near where you'd like them to be, then The Music Mixing Workbook is exactly what you need. Written by Bobby Owsinski, author of the award winning and highly acclaimed Mixing Engineer's Handbook (the standard reference book for mixing in schools around the world), The Music Mixing Workbook features hands-on exercises that teach you all the things that make a mix sound great, as well as all the things to avoid along the way. Designed to meet the needs of anyone relatively new to or confused about the once mysterious process of mixing multiple music elements together, the book features 175 different exercises covering every operation needed to complete a modern professional-sounding mix, complete with tips and tricks that come directly from the A-list pro mixers. The easy-to-follow exercises can be used with any DAW application or hardware console, and on any genre of music. Although the reader can easily use the Workbook with any current mixes they may be working on, most of the exercises are built around professionally recorded tracks featuring a wide variety of mix elements that are available for free download. Among the many topics covered in the book include: DAW vs. console channel signal flow Basic monitoring setup to optimize your playback environment Balancing mix elements using a never-miss technique Panning techniques for various mix elements Multiple EQ strategies for powerful and distinct tracks Compression, gates, and saturators and how to use them Reverb, delay and modulation effects and how to layer them like the pros Master mix techniques, and much more The Workbook is meant to be used in conjunction with Owsinski's popular Mixing Engineer's Handbook to provide the practical training behind the many concepts involved with mixing.
This book is the sequel to my first book, "Audio Mastering Secrets" the best selling audio mastering book for 2020 and 2019! If you're into audio engineering, this is a great music production book to add to your home recording studio collection. Packed with step-by-step proven methods. Since 1999, I've worked with over 8,000 clients (that's 6-8 per week) in every genre imaginable. Working with this many clients gave me the rare opportunity to discover what areas most sound engineers are having problems with. Most of the mixes clients submit are pretty good. The sound engineer definitely does not need to read a 400 page book on basic mixing techniques, or take a six week mixing course. They're way beyond that. What they do need is a book that points out the most common mixing errors that most sound engineers make, so they can check their mixes for them. Problems they don't even realize their mixes suffer from. That's what "Song Mixing Secrets" is all about! I Show You How To Quickly Fix These Common Problems - Mix is too crowded, no space or clarity Vocals can't cut through the mix Inconsistent levels from section to section Mix is too bassy, muddy Mix is too bright, tinny, thin Stereo field is weak (your song is really mono) And More!! This book is for someone who has a good understanding of basic mixing procedures. Sometimes as a solution to a problem, I might suggest compressing the lead vocal a bit. But, I don't get into detailed threshold and ratio settings. I assume you already know how to compress a vocal track. I wrote this entire book in simple plain English (layman's terms). I eliminated all the words you never heard of and hi-tech jargon, so anyone at any level can understand and learn from this book. You've invested hundreds, if not thousands, of hours into your music. If you're serious about it, now's the time to make a very small financial investment in this book so your music will sound the very best it can! I wrote this book so you can quickly learn (in a matter of days) the techniques, tips, and secrets that took me over 20 years to learn!