Blogs, Articles and New Monday
New Monday #33
September 30, 2024
TRB's "Power in the Darkness"
New Monday #32
September 23, 2024
Hawksley and Puff Puff tips
New Monday #31
September 16, 2024
Oh no! My Vikings are intermodulating again!
Inharmonicity, Strike Tones and Intermodulation Distortion
Inharmonicity is a problem. It happens with instruments and especially with both analog and digital devices.
New Monday #30
September 9, 2024
St Vincent, Saturation, and Mr Flowers
What’s Special About the MDR
A slice of history about the effects units that inspired the Micro Digital Reverberator.
New Monday #29
September 2, 2024
Nick, Albert, and Roger in Eden
The Mixback
A very common recording technique from the days of analog tape is worth considering in the DAW age.
New Monday #28
August 26, 2024
Doobie Brothers, Marvin Gaye and EQ'ing ideas
The Chart and EQ’ing Ideas
Pitches correspond to frequencies. Here’s an ever-growing library of ideas related to pitch, frequency, and EQ. And download the handy dandy chart!
New Monday #26
August 12, 2024
Tchad Blake, the AIP and Frankenklangfilm
New Monday #25
August 5, 2024
Spirit's The Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus
New Monday #24
July 29, 2024
Singers: Elizabeth, Jeff, and Nina... and a movie that is killer!
New Monday #23
July 22, 2024
David, Gus, Terry, Wayne and Herbie. And Malcom.
New Monday #22
July 15, 2024
Herbie saves the day for the Godfather of Glam?
New Monday #21
July 8, 2024
The coolest song of 1973? Herbie Flowers, Advision
New Monday #20
July 1, 2024
Cloudbusting, Grooves
New Monday #19
June 24, 2024
Krautrock! Conny Plank! PZM tips
New Monday #18
June 17, 2024
Great songs, terrible covers
New Monday #17
June 10, 2024
A great debut album, RTB, 40 tracks and overloading the input
New Monday #16
June 3, 2024
A Podcast, Shakespeare & Double the Production Tips Inside
Double Compressions Changes Everything
This is a technique that will boost your engineering skills through the roof if you master it.
New Monday #15
May 27, 2024
Minimal Drum Micing, Stealing Serge's Ideas
Discovering the SSL Listen Mic Compressor: from Curiosity to Creation
The Talkback Limiter began as bunch of parts soldered up and sitting on a workbench at my studio. Here’s the tale, from why isn’t this working to can I have a lot more, please.
New Monday #14
May 20, 2024
Mixing coolness and weirdness
Ears, speakers and mixing
Everything is digital but not your ears or physics. Here are some ideas about mixing with multiple speakers and your ears.
New Monday #13
May 13, 2024
Steve Albini
New Monday #12
May 6, 2024
Good Karma, old and new
Drum Recording Mastery with Pierce the Veil
Pierce the Veil’s latest features fabulous drum sounds. Here’s a run down on how how Dan did it.
Radiohead and Karma Police and the Drums
Kama Police was an instant classic by Radiohead. Great drum sound with a twist: three overheads!
New Monday #11
April 29, 2024
V - IV, John Barry, BBC’s Soul Music
New Monday #10
April 22, 2024
The Puff Puff, Dickey and the Allman Brothers
Revolver Changed My Life
Appropriate for an April 15th, The Beatles started recording Revolver in April of 1966. This album changed the planet.
New Monday #9
April 15, 2024
Taxes and Taxman, Wow - use a moving coil microphone
Mixing with The WOW Thing
As a challenge, I mixed the stems of a song with The WOW Thing. I was amazed at how versatile that little plug-in is.
New Monday #8
April 9, 2024
Hendrix in the West, an artistic principal, use plug-in backwards
Jimi Hendrix Meets El Juan
Great stuff on YouTube that sounds awful. I “fixed” this with the El Juan Limiter.
New Monday #7
April 1, 2024
Fugazi in a Sundress, TV music, cutting Vox, AI sux
Back off the mic on vocals!
Cardioid mics for vocals can cause issues. Here’s what’s happening and what you can do about it.
Mics Leak from the Front
Getting leakage in a directional mic? Chances are it’s coming in the front and not from around back.
Reasons to use a Moving Coil Mic
Just because condensers have gotten cheap and are everywhere doesn’t mean you should use them for everything. Moving coils are better in some applications.
Why that kid's a great drummer
This kid in this video is a great drummer. Here’s why you want to work with drummers like this kid.
New Monday #6
March 18, 2024
Mix like Blur, and a question for Dan
New Monday #5
March 11, 2024
Happy 3/11, guitar amp mixing, and falling down the stairs
New Monday #4
March 4, 2024
Happy Accidents, Gorillaz and EVH
New Monday #3
February 26, 2024
Happy Mondays and some useful tips
New Monday #2
February 19, 2024
From AI music to the Dyna Comp.
It’s a New Monday
February 12, 2024
Our New Monday newsletter starts here!
The Greatest Christmas Song?
There’s more to the guilty pleasure that is Slade and Christmas songs than meets the ear.
Recording live in the studio with John Densmore and The Doors
In the 60's there weren't a lot of tracks to work with and not a lot of equipment. The best bands of the era had great, imaginative players. John Densmore made magic with a 4 piece kit and some great playing.
I Can See Clearly Now - it’s a masterpiece
This song was a huge hit in the early 1970’s and for good reason. It’s a great song with great performances and a killer arrangement.
What’s going on in Season of the Witch?
A psychedelic pop song from the mid-60’s is a masterclass on simplicity, lyric writing and making the best of what you’ve got to work with.
Stereo? Point Source Mono!
Not a lot of tracks used, and not a lot of stereo either. Some ideas for you on stereo, mono and recording.
How to Choose a Mentor
Finding a mentor is an important choice. Here’s advice from Dan based on decades in the studio and the business.
Mentors Kick Your Ass with Love and Other Thoughts
If you’re lucky, you’ll have mentors at all stages of your life. If you’re really lucky, they’ll give you exactly what you need at exactly the right time. I was, and continue to be, very very lucky.
My First Mentor
If you're lucky, a person will come into your life and change it forever in a good way. I was lucky.
Changing Short Term Dynamics
A video on poke and hang, using pink noise to show how compression can reduce masking.
What the Heck is Up With Transformers?
The physics behind a transformer is complex, but the effect it has is pretty simple to understand.
Poke, Hang, Compression and Saturation
Here’s a different way of thinking about how to get something to “sit” correctly in a mix: Is it poking through? Does it need to hang around longer?
Trouble Shooting: Ideas and Expletives
Troubleshooting problems in the studio is an essential skill. Here are some ideas on how to approach it and how much you should curse.
Compression, Saturation and Distortion
Engineers use terms like Distortion and Saturation almost interchangeably. This post discusses that, and offers ideas on how to think about this stuff while recording.
At Last! Gain Staging
Gain Staging is actually a no brainer. Here’s how to do it for tracking.
Nominal Level and Meters
You must understand the relationship of nominal level to the meters on your equipment.
Dynamic Range, Headroom and Nominal Level
This is the Ultimate Audio Treasure, in terms of knowledge. If you get this stuff you can solve any audio recording situation or problem. Knowing this will improve everything.
Noise in Audio Engineering
Noise is anything you don’t want to hear. But in terms of how audio gear works and audio engineering, it’s not quite that simple.
What Causes Harmonic Distortion
Understanding what causes harmonic distortion is essential engineering knowledge.
Harmonics and Harmonic Distortion
A simplified explanation of harmonics and harmonic distortion. Knowing this stuff is essential if you want to up your engineering game.
What the Heck is Bias?
Bias is a critical adjustment that often makes all the difference in the proper operation of analog audio equipment. This article is a non-technical explanation of bias and demonstrates how it is implemented on Korneff Audio plug-ins.
Hearing Different Reverb Types
If you can hear the difference between different reverb types, it is much easier to make decisions on your recordings.
Do You Put the Damn Compressor Before or After the EQ?
Compressor before or after the EQ? Here are some ideas and guidelines to help you develop your own thinking about this.
Use the Pawn Shop Comp Backwards
Dan approaches using the Pawn Shop Comp from a very different angle. Here’s why he does it, and here’s how to do it.
The Three Reverb Set-up
Nailing the reverb and ambience on lead vocals can be really tricky. This is a fast way to do it that is nearly foolproof for any genre of music
A Cool Snare Trick
A really useful mixing trick for snare drums using two instances of the Micro Digital Reverberator. This one is courtesy of Dan Korneff.
Pumpkin Spice Compressor?
It's fall! Need some spice in your audio life so it goes well with your pie? Then the PSC is your guy.
Practical and Impractical Reverb
Dan Korneff shares his thoughts on using reverb in a mix to create space and as a special effect.
Write in Character
Some ideas on how not to write the same old thing you usually write. With some guest appearances by David Bowie, the 10CC and the incomparable Nina Simone.
How Not to Wreak Your Mix
Wanna wreak your mix? Spend a lot of time on one stupid aspect and lose your view of the whole thing. Read this to find out how NOT to do something that damn dumb.
30 years of music: by Dan
30 years ago Dan was a kid who loved music, but had no idea where it would lead him. 30 years ago he took the first steps on a journey that brings us all here.
Fix that Dumb Love Song’s Ass Right Proper
Even a dumb country love song can have cool lyrics. This post is the start of a bunch on production ideas, starting with songwriting and lyrics. 8lbs 4oz Baby Jesus, try not to make it all about you.
Masterfading 2: Riding the Masterfader
Improve the interest and dynamics of your song by moving the masterfader a little bit here and there during your mix. It’s easy. It’s fun. It won’t stunt your growth.
Talkback Limiter = Bass Amp???
It’s all about breaking the rules. Dan K. shows you how to do it for bass sounds in this short video.
Masterfading 1: Better Fade Outs
Fadeouts on a record can be a work of art, or they can sorta suck. Here are a bunch of ideas on how to up your game at the end of the song.
How to Win
Much can be learned when an unpronounceable hurricane takes out your power and you need to get your generator fixed. And it applies to audio! Surprise surprise!
How to Screw-Up
Mistakes will be made, in the studio and in life. Get beyond them. They mean you’re moving up and forwards in your career. Learn the lesson now!
Ye Shall Be Released... Understanding Compressor Release Time
The release is the hardest parameter to set on a compressor, making it just as hard to explain what it is and how to set it - but here we do just that.
Slap, Punch, Transients, Compressors, Oh my!
Having issues getting your mix punchy? You probably aren’t setting the attack time right. This article covers exactly that, with a really clear explanation of how to do it, and some video examples.
Limiters, Compressors and Walking Dogs
We are talking about compressors for the next few weeks. It all starts with understanding the differences between Compressing and Limiting. Not as it is described in text books, but as it occurs in the studio.
Working Studio: block capitals, neat handwriting, Sharpies
You should get in the habit of labeling everything with a piece of Artists Tape and writing in block capital letters with a Sharpie.
Drums, Limiters, Gates, Hugh, Pete and Phil, etc.
Drum bus compressors have become a big deal. What follows are some ideas, some things to try, and some history to know about drum bus compression.
The Book that Changed my Life
Books can change your life if you read the right ones. Home Recording for Musicians changed Luke's life in the late 1970's.
Eddie Kramer's Drum Sound Secret
Engineering God Eddie Kramer is in the studio down the hall, but he won't let anyone see his drum mic set-up. What's an up and coming engineer to do? Sneak in, of course!
How the Pawn Shop Comp Came to Be
People love the Pawn Shop Comp, and they keep asking Dan, "How did you ever come up with this thing??" Read about the Pawn Shop Comp's labor and eventual birth!