THE BLOG
Mixing tips, mastering guides, gear reviews, and music production tutorials from a studio with 20+ years of experience.
XLR vs USB Mics: What Actually Matters When You're Choosing
The old "XLR is pro, USB is a compromise" rule doesn't hold up anymore. Hybrid mics carry both connectors, onboard DSP d...
Distortion vs. Overdrive: How These Tones Shape a Guitar Sound
Distortion and overdrive get lumped together and mixed up constantly, but the difference comes down to one thing: how th...
How AI Music Generators Actually Work
AI music generators don't stitch together clips of existing songs — they work in a way that's stranger and more interest...
What Is a Click Track? A Practical Guide for Recording and Live Performance
A click track is more than a metronome ticking in your headphones. It keeps your overdubs tight, syncs players in differ...
AI Vocals vs Real Vocals: What Still Gives Them Away
The robot-gargling era is over — modern AI vocals sound smooth. But smoothness itself is a clue. Here's the engineer's e...
Can You Release AI-Generated Music on Streaming Platforms?
Yes, you can release AI music on Spotify and most platforms — but only if you play it straight. Here's what's actually a...
How to Gain Stage: From Mic to Mix
Gain staging isn't dead — even with 32-bit float and loudness normalization changing the game. Here's how to manage leve...
Can You Copyright AI-Generated Music?
AI music copyright confuses a lot of people, and most of the confusion comes down to one word: authorship. Here's the ac...
Suno Studio 2.0: I Recorded My Own MIDI, Then Had It Build Me a Plugin
I built a lo-fi track in Suno Studio 2.0 using my own MIDI performance, then had it generate a custom plugin from a text...
The Microphone Proximity Effect, Explained
Get too close to a directional mic and the low end swells up. That's the proximity effect, and it can make a voice sound...
The Haas Effect: What It Is and How to Use It
The Haas effect is one of the oldest tricks for making a mono sound feel wide, and it still works. But there's more to i...
What Is Audio Clipping, and Is It Always a Bad Thing?
Clipping gets a bad reputation, but the full story is more interesting than "never let it happen." Here's what clipping ...