My Take on Music Recording with Doug Fearn
Doug Fearn draws on his 50+ years as a recording engineer, record producer, studio owner, and pro audio equipment designer to explain the art and science of recording for the audiophile, music lover, and people in the music recording industry.
Episodes
103 episodes
Building a Studio
Most recording occurs in a studio, and the design of that facility has a major effect on the quality of the recordings made there.In this episode, I discuss some of the things that I think are most important for a successful studio. I do...
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Season 1
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Episode 103
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34:19
Monitor Speakers and how to get the best sound out of them
Monitor speakers are a necessity for most of our recording. But I have always had a problem with the sound of speakers, and I explain why in this episode.Speakers always exist in a space with boundaries, even outside. Our control r...
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Season 1
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Episode 102
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31:47
Recording for Vinyl
Vinyl record sales have been increasing every year for a while now. Today, vinyl outsells CDs. Fans like vinyl for its unique sound, and the large format of the jacket.Record pressing plants are busy! Most are backlogged for months.<...
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Season 1
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Episode 101
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35:37
How We Learn Audio Engineering
If you are working as a recording engineer, how did you learn your craft? A formal recording program? As an intern with an accomplished engineer? Or maybe you figured it out on your own.All are valid ways to get started. Many successful ...
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Season 1
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Episode 100
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28:49
Single-Mic Recording
Using a single microphone, or one stereo mic, to record a musical performance all at once without any overdubbing can result in a recording that is very compelling to the listener. When everyone is performing in the same space at the same time,...
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Season 1
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Episode 99
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28:27
Choosing Microphones to Buy
When you are just starting out in recording music, you are likely to need microphones. And if you have been recording for a while, you may feel the need to add to you microphone collection.But how do you make those choices? In this episo...
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30:48
Joseph Arnold - Violinist, Author
Joseph Arnold is a talented violinist that has played on a variety of projects I have produced. He is also an excellent writer, who just published his first book, titled, “Soul Force: How to discover your artistic purpose, create more freely, a...
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Season 1
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Episode 97
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44:39
The Art of Producing - Part 3 - Mixing & Mastering
In this last of three episodes on the art of producing, I talk about my process for mixing. It is all part of the concept of a song from the beginning. Mixing is where everything comes together to create the version of the song that the artist ...
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Season 1
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Episode 96
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46:13
The Art of Producing - Part 2 - Mic'ing
This is the second of three episodes on the Art of Producing. In this one, I talk about the mics and equipment I use in my studio, and the reasons why.The example used for this series features an album project for singer-songwriter Corri...
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Season 1
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Episode 95
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30:23
The Art of Producing - Part 1
The art of producing a record requires knowledge of music, mastering the technical aspects of the recording process, and an ability to work with people.This is the first of a three-part series about producing. In this episode, I talk abo...
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Season 1
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Episode 94
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31:31
Fletcher, Munson, and You
Our perception of frequency balance varies with loudness, a fact documented by Harvey Fletcher and Wilden A. Munson, two scientists at Bell Laboratories. In 1933, they published a paper called, “Loudness, its definition, measurement and calcula...
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Season 1
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Episode 93
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19:38
Getting the Best Vocal Recording
Almost all pop music features someone singing. Getting the best vocal performance is crucial, since most listeners respond to the words of a song and need to be able to hear them.In this episode, I first discuss the human factors involve...
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Season 1
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Episode 92
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38:09
Studio Accessories
There are many things that are important to create the proper studio environment for creative success. Most of these things are pretty mundane, but they do make a difference.Examples I cover in this episode include microphone stands and ...
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Season 1
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Episode 91
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41:21
Shawn Dealey on Dolby Atmos
Ever since its announcement, I have been interested in learning more about Dolby Atmos. I was skeptical at first, primarily because of my experience with “Quad” back in the 1970s. That 4-channel concept never gain any popularity with either the...
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Season 1
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Episode 90
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57:11
Compression
Compression and limiting are tools we use to modify the dynamic range of the music we record. In this episode, I present a brief history of where this technique came from, how it evolved over the years since the 1930s. I discuss the various way...
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Season 1
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Episode 89
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41:55
Audiophiles Guide to Music Recording - Part 2
This is part 2 of the Audiophiles Guide to Music Recording. You can listen to part 1 athttps://www.buzzsprout.com/942952/14335456Or you can access part 1 wherever you listen to podcasts.My Take on Music Recording is primarily ai...
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Season 1
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Episode 88
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41:52
Audiophiles Guide to Music Recording - Part 1
My Take on Music Recording is primarily aimed at people in the professional recording world, but there are a significant number of listeners who are music lovers and audiophiles. This episode provides an overview of the recording process for th...
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Season 1
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Episode 87
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45:16
Reverb
Music is meant to be heard in an appropriate acoustical environment. But many times, we have to record in a space that does not have the right sound to it. Artificial reverb is often the solution.In this episode, I talk about good room s...
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Season 1
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Episode 86
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38:04
Plug-ins vs Hardware
In this episode, I talk about software plug-ins vs hardware. It is a question that I get frequently from listeners. It is relatively short.Can a plug-in perfectly emulate a hardware device? What are the tradeoffs a plug-in designer needs...
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Season 1
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Episode 85
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17:41
Improving Acoustic Spaces
Every recording is made is some sort of space. It might be a room, and studio, a church, a concert hall, or even outside.The space where the music is performed, and where the microphones pick up the music always influences the sound of t...
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Season 1
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Episode 84
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40:21
Record Better
How do we make our recordings better? I have thought about this for over 50 years and in this episode, I have tried to distill what I learned into a dozen general rules.The best way to make great recordings is to start with great perform...
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Season 1
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Episode 83
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19:19
Recording Unfamiliar Instruments
What if you were suddenly confronted with recording an instrument you had never had in the studio before? Or one you never heard before? Or one you never knew existed?How do you figure out how to capture its sound? Where do you place a m...
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Season 1
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Episode 82
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28:04
In Case You Missed It...
After three and a half years of producing the “My Take on Music Recording” podcast, I thought it would be useful to review the 80+ episodes and point out some of the interesting topics you might have overlooked.You might have missed some...
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Season 1
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Episode 81
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19:23
Justin Gray on Immersive Audio Part 2
My conversation with musician, producer, mixer, and mastering engineer Justin Gray continues, in this second of two parts. In this episode, Justin discusses how to provide optimum tracks for an immersive mix. He also talks about the minimum imm...
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Season 1
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Episode 81
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50:50