by Jon Goad

The Behringer Ultramatch Pro SRC2496 is a Sample Rate & A/D/A Converter that allows you to transfer digital audio between devices with different sample rates, formats, or interfaces, and remove dropouts or jitter from digital media. The various digital outputs can be used simultaneously, allowing the unit to also serve as a digital signal splitter/patchbay. The SRC2496 also provides up to 24-bit/96 kHz A/D/A conversion, making it what could be the most affordable stereo A/D/A converter on the market. Continue Reading »

by Jon Goad

For several years, I’ve had some Sennheiser e604′s that I’ve always used for recording the toms on drum kits. Lately though, I had been particularly unimpressed with how my tom tracks have sounded, so I decided to try out a pair of the much-loved-for-toms, CAD M179′s. I only bought two M179′s and set one mic between my two high toms (10″ & 12″) and the other between my two floor toms (14″ & 16″). I engaged the -20 db pad on the M179′s and set the pattern to hypercardioid to try and minimize bleed. Continue Reading »

by Jon Goad

A few weeks ago, I was watching the movie Kung Fu Panda with my son. In the film, Po (the Kung Fu Panda), finally learns the secret of both Kung Fu, and of his adoptive father’s noodle soup: there is no secret ingredient. If you’ve seen the movie, you know what I’m talking about. A few days later, I started considering how this same revelation applies to the world of recording. Continue Reading »

If you’re confused by the multitude of common digital audio connections available today on many recording interfaces, such as ADAT, S/PDIF, AES/EBU, S/MUX, Word Clock, etc., you owe it to yourself to read this excellent article from Presonus:

Digital Audio Connections and Synchronization

by Jon Goad

The Behritone C50A

For quite some time now, I’ve known about the merits of checking your mixes in mono to test for phase problems, and having some “grot boxes” (cheap, lo-fi speakers) to see what your mix will sound like on a less-than-stellar playback system. The idea behind the mono grot box is this: who cares if your mix sounds great on your studio monitors if it sounds like garbage on most listeners’ playback systems? Continue Reading »

by Jon Goad

Most recordists will agree that acoustic drums are perhaps the most challenging instrument to record (and record well). One of the reasons (among several) is that a drum kit has so many moving parts that are prone to rattles, squeaks, buzzes, and other annoying sounds. It’s also quite a task to tune a drumkit, which always needs to be done prior to any recording session. Continue Reading »

by Jon Goad

Tunecore is a service for musicians that allows you to sell your music on the iTunes store and other digital retailers with minimal hassle. I recently had a client who was trying to get his music uploaded to Tunecore, but wasn’t sure how to create the specific file type that is required by them. Continue Reading »

by Jon Goad

When working in the studio, some producers/engineers prefer to record each instrument completely separate from each other. First, they’ll record the drums, then the bass guitar, then the rhythm guitar, then the keyboards, etc. It’s almost like building a brick wall, with each instrument representing a single layer of bricks. Continue Reading »

Between November 2010 and March 2011, I had the opportunity to do something I had never done before–record the audio for a short film. Some friends of mine who have a video production company here in Northeast Arkansas (Anthem Pictures), were producing it, and recruited me to handle the audio. Continue Reading »

by Jon Goad

How many times has this happened to you? You’ve been slaving away for hours, even days, mixing your latest musical masterpiece in your home studio. Everything sounds absolutely perfect. Then, you burn it to a CD, jump in the car, and pop it in your CD player. You’re ready to hit the open road and jam out to the greatest tune you’ve ever recorded. Then, the CD starts playing. You’re underwhelmed. The CD sounds dull and lifeless. There’s not enough high end. There’s too much low end. And what happened to the snare drum? You can hardly hear it at times because it’s being buried in the mix by other instruments. Continue Reading »