The PA system, short for Public Address system – is the backbone of any live performance or event. Whether you’re a musician, sound engineer, or venue owner, choosing the right PA system is critical. Tell us if you’ve probably experienced this before. You attend a music event. You’re excited that your favorite band is playing. But as soon as they start, something feels off. The music doesn’t sound powerful. You left feeling slightly disappointed. Blame that on a bad PA system. Contrast this with attending a 30,000-person big concert with huge sound systems. Every time the drummer does a bass k ..read more

For the past 8 or so years, I’ve written on this site, made videos on YouTube, and then sort of went off the grid for 3 years. All while I was pondering the question: What’s the point of making music? You see, when someone creates music, it’s usually for themselves – it feels important, valuable, and meaningful. But what does it do for others? How are you contributing to the community? Having not found an answer, I became demotivated to produce music or create videos. I felt like I wasn’t providing any value, so I stopped doing it. I know I sound like a self-serving bugger, but it’s true. Plus ..read more

Imagine a blank canvas before you, filled with infinite possibilities. With every adjustment, twist of knob, the power is in you to sculpt your music. There are no rules you have to follow. It’s only, you. This is what it means to be mixing your music. Generally – mixing music is the process of blending individual audio tracks together to create a cohesive and balanced final audio mix. That’s the definition. You would put in elements like volume, panning, compression, EQ, and adding effects to achieve a polished and professional sound. Sure, mixing music means making sure they sound good on di ..read more

Over the past few days, I had a chance to try a iTop Screen Recorder. As a Mac user, I’m familiar with screencasting software like Screenflow and Camtasia. For the most part, Screenflow has been quite idiot-proof, at least for someone like me. That said, I’m curious to find out if I’d enjoy using iTop screen recorder – so let’s dig in. First impressions on iTop Screen Recorder First up, iTop screen recorder only works on PC. They don’t have a version for Mac, yet. Second, and this is important. The free version has a recording time limit of only 2 minutes, and exports video at 480p only. If y ..read more

I get it… All this talk about “EQ” and “gain staging” or “parallel compression” can be scary. However, if you break down these seemingly complex and “scary” tasks into bite-sized pieces, you can get them figured out in no time. In this guide, I’m going to focus on how to use equalizers for your tracks. My name is Luke, and I’m the founder of a production company called WavGrind. We’ve worked with Kap G, Lil Gotit, Houdini, Pressa, Lakeyah, Moneybagg Yo, Dj Drama, Lil Keed, and more! My team and I have worked hard to learn and perfect our EQ methods, and I can’t wait to share them with you. Fir ..read more

You’ve heard it again and again. “Music sounds better (warmer, thicker, fatter, etc.) when summed through analog gear.” The reason? Analog devices add saturation, harmonic distortion, and compression to your sound. The constant shaping of the signal by the tube amps, pre-amps, compressors, and EQs, adds that certain magic to the sound – giving it that ‘warmth’ and ‘fatness’. But what if you only produce music on a DAW and don’t have access to all these expensive analog gear? Well, worry not because this is where saturation and ‘sound fattener’ plugins come in. Introducing Thickify by Rocket Po ..read more

USB microphones are really popular these days, especially when everyone seems to be a creator. Whether you create content or run live streams, you create a better experience for your listeners when you sound better. I don’t understand people who say they want to do good for their audience, yet proceed to annoy their audience with bad audio, using a cheap microphone. But whether you should go out and buy a USB microphone really depends on what you’re using it for. Some common uses: Video calls on Zoom. Livestreaming. Creating video content & you need better sound. Recording podcasts and vo ..read more

In 2016, I made a career shift from being a full-time music producer to spending more time on digital marketing. Despite that, I still produce music. It’s just that I usually work outside the studio these days. Wherever I worked, I would have a MIDI controller keyboard with me. Anytime I needed a break from serious marketing work, I would just hook up the MIDI controller and make a bit of music. Unlike the recording studio, my home office desk had sunlight coming through the window. While that made me more productive, over time, the keys on my MIDI controller keyboard (a Novation Launchkey 49 ..read more

When it comes to editing videos for TikTok, YouTube, or a music video – one thing is real. We are living in a world of content. Even as a music producer, there is no running away from creating videos. Because of improving internet speeds and the adoption of smart devices, video consumption is now higher than ever. Your audience expects to see you churning video content. If you want success with your art, promoting it as a video medium will make a good bet. When we think about video editing software, we often think about using professional video software like Adobe Premiere or Apple Final Cut P ..read more

Do you also feel uncreative & uninspired to create a new music track sometimes? Maybe you feel your production quality to not be on the same level as the big music artist.  As a music producer, it can be hard to constantly come up with new ideas. However, as a creative – you must understand that even big-name music producers hit creative blocks as well. The way out? Do enough bad work, and good ones will re-appear, as Seth Godin explains in The Practice. Or – you could refresh your creative palette by experimenting with new samples and presets. This is why you’ll find most active musi ..read more