Elaine Sy

5 Awesome EQ Plugins for Mixing Vocals (+ Mix Tips)

February 6, 2019 by Elaine Sy Leave a Comment

EQ is arguably the most effective tool in shaping the timbre and tone of a vocal so that it works correctly within the context of a mix. Here are the five equalizer plugins that I find myself using most frequently when mixing vocals.

The FabFilter Pro-Q 2 is the perfect surgical and subtle tone-shaper. It’s got a clean, transparent sound and a visually stunning user interface, which provides so much great useful information when mixing. The Maag EQ4 is available from both Plugin Alliance and UAD, the high end of the EQ4 is virtually unmatched.

10 Workflow Enhancing Keyboard Shortcuts For Ableton Live 10

February 5, 2019 by Elaine Sy Leave a Comment

Ableton Live 10 has been out for a couple of months now. I figured I would share my top 10 shortcuts to help you speed up your workflow and get you more time for the fun part—producing good music!

Toggle Automation Mode is by far my most used keyboard shortcut in Live 10. Pressing A on the keyboard hides and/or reveals automation lines for your tracks. It also does the same for the clip fade handles too. Having those fades right on the edge of the clip at the click of one key is awesome too!

How To Build A Recording Studio

February 4, 2019 by Elaine Sy Leave a Comment

Thinking of building a recording studio? This is how I built mine and a few key things to consider before you go about starting your project.

Finding a space is a pretty obvious point but it’s also probably the most important. The thing to keep at the forefront of your mind is ‘What is the studio going to be used for?’ Are you going to be recording bands live? Are you going to need enough space to fit a Grand Piano in? Are you going to want to record choirs? Are you just producing beats, record voice-overs, or writing music?

Read more about this here: https://audient.com/tutorial/build-recording-studio/

5 Compressor Plugins for Mixing Vocals (+ Mix Tips)

February 3, 2019 by Elaine Sy Leave a Comment

The human voice is one of the most dynamic musical instruments, and therefore presents unique challenges when recording and mixing. Here are the plugin compressors that I find myself using most frequently when I mix vocals.
The plugin emulations of 1176/LA2A Combo are a dime a dozen. Most on the market are pretty great and are mostly faithful to their hardware counterparts, and at a fraction of the cost. Next is the FabFilter. While most are creating tools that faithfully mimic the sonics and controls of tried-and-true hardware units, FabFilter has always been more interested in developing state-of-the-art plugins.
Read more about this here: https://theproaudiofiles.com/5-amazing-compressors-for-mixing-vocals-mix-tips/

Recording electric guitar – Combining several mics

January 31, 2019 by Elaine Sy Leave a Comment

I’m a real fan of the “less is more” philosophy and try my best not to use too many tracks for a single instrument. However, when recording an electric guitar, sometimes a single mic in front of the amp isn’t enough to capture the “real” sound of the guitar.
If despite all your efforts, you can’t find the ideal placement/mic combination to get the sound you have in mind, you might want to consider adding a second mic to complement the first one. Do note that the most important word in that sentence is “complement.”
Read more about this here: https://en.audiofanzine.com/recording-mixing/editorial/articles/recording-electric-guitar-combining-several-mics.html