This article was written by Chris McCown at Sweetwater. We’ve publishing an entire series of articles in the Lounge from Sweetwater. Keep your eyes peeled and check back often! And now for some motivation.

If you’re like me, then your studio consists of a DAW (digital audio workstation software), a computer, an audio interface, a decent set of monitors, a nice selection of plug-ins, possibly an outboard mic preamp or two, and a couple of good mics. Maybe you have an outboard EQ or compressor, and you may even be using a nice master clock with high-end AD/DA converters. Hopefully some acoustic treatment is present on the walls and in the corners.

If this is you, you will definitely benefit from what I’m about to tell you, although I believe a summing mixer – which is the key term of this article – will be beneficial to anyone who records audio whether it’s in a small basement studio or a full-blown commercial production facility.

What is a “summing mixer”? A summing mixer is an analog device that takes multiple audio outputs from your digital-to-analog converter or audio interface, and mixes them in the analog domain. Essentially you’re taking your mix out of the computer/DAW digital domain, and stepping into the analog realm to create a mixed stereo track filled with high-headroom, spatially present glory. A summing mixer can be either a dedicated box, such as those from Dangerous Music, TL Audio, Audient, and other manufacturers, or it can be a compact or console-style analog mixer. (more…)

This article was written by Forrest Powell at Sweetwater. We’ve publishing an entire series of articles in the Lounge from Sweetwater. Keep your eyes peeled and check back often! And now for some motivation.

I’ll start off citing a source, surely to some of my readers’ chagrin: I was at church today (I even saw a dude from work there). While I was there, this great pastor mentioned something stirring and brilliant that coincides with my attitude toward music:

“The word ‘amateur’ was never intended to define a second-rate person.”

It’s a common misconception of our audiences and our age that “pro” is somehow inherently superior to “amateur. I think of all the musicians out there, working hard and playing hard and not getting paid, and I just have to grit my teeth, because many musicians who DO get paid churn out emotionless pig-fodder. Pigs will eat anything, and it seems that so long as radio or the “professionals” can polish a turd, they will never have to go hungry.

(more…)

This article was written by Arend Raby at Sweetwater.  We’ve publishing an entire series of articles in the Lounge from Sweetwater. Keep your eyes peeled and check back often!

As a longtime singer/songwriter, I would have to say that one of the biggest banes to my existence has been writer’s block. Many of you surely know the feeling. There is nothing worse than enduring an extended period of time where the urge to create something doesn’t subside, but there is simply nothing there. It can be very frustrating, and the more we dwell on the fact that our creative resources seem to have “run dry,” the more the paradigm seems to perpetuate itself. Heck, an astute critic would likely notice that I’m attempting to think of something clever to finish this article with as I ramble through its introduction.

Levity aside, I’m going to share a few pointers that will help you get through those ugly periods of time. These are things I’ve found that seem to work for me. I hope the same is true for you.

(more…)

This article was written by Chris Scheidies at Sweetwater.  Over the next few months, we’re publishing an entire series of articles in the Lounge from Sweetwater. Keep your eyes peeled and check back often!

As a creative person this may be a hard article to read. The ideas presented within took many years of denial, blood, sweat, and tears before I accepted them. But when I did, I found my music career and income rose considerably. As creative folks, we want the art to speak for itself. The truth is: if you are a musician or trying to make money with your art, then you are a business and must think and position yourself as such.

(more…)

This article was written by Nick Schenkel at Sweetwater.  Over the next few months, we’re publishing an entire series of articles in the Lounge from Sweetwater. Keep your eyes peeled and check back often!

Over the years, I have played in many bands. I have labored to get band members to show up to practice. I have gone home exhausted after load out with a paltry couple bucks in my pocket. I have dealt with the drama that can erupt between two band members that are at odds with each other. I have been through it all, and I quit.

When I first realized that I no longer wanted to be part of a band, I had tough decisions to make. Was I going to just do the singer/songwriter, guitar and vocal approach? Was I going to do the “band in a box” thing? How was I going to do justice to the songs I had written while keeping the act solo?

(more…)

This article was written by Stuart Niven at Sweetwater.  Over the next few months, we’re publishing an entire series of articles in the Lounge from Sweetwater along with contests and prizes. Keep your eyes peeled and check back often!

After producing/engineering and mixing bands in Australia for nearly ten years I have worked with artists from their first demo to national releases for indie labels and labels with some pre-production projects for majors like Sony and Warner as well.

In this time I have seen and experienced many pitfalls, made mistakes, and learned some lessons. My hope in this article is not to enforce any rules or preach any “thou shalt do” – this is after all music and should be approached with the imagination, passion and free spirit that is music after all – but rather I hope to give you some tips on how to succeed in the studio!

(more…)

This article was written by Yuval Fuchs at Sweetwater.  Over the next few months, we’re publishing an entire series of articles in the Lounge from Sweetwater along with contests and prizes. Keep your eyes peeled and check back often!

Haven’t taken the plunge into home recording yet?  Yuval Fuchs helps guide the debate between standalone multitrack recorders and home computers as total recording solutions. (more…)