The Self-Recording Band

Here are three next steps for you to take:

1. Get our free video training & checklist, "Standout Mixes - The DIY Musician's Guide To Exciting Mixes That Stand Out And Connect":
theselfrecordingband.com/standoutmixes
-
2. Apply for The Self-Recording Syndicate, our personalized coaching program!

It all starts with a free first call where we talk about your music, give you feedback and a step-by-step action plan that you can then implement on your own, or together with us.

Best case: We end up working together and completely transform the sound of your music forever.
Worst case: You get an hour of free coaching and feedback.

Sounds fair? Cool. Apply now and book your free coaching call:
theselfrecordingband.com/call
-
3. Join the free Facebook Group ("The Self-Recording Band Community"):
theselfrecordingband.com/community
--
Episode show notes:

How loud does my music need to be and how do we measure it in 2023? 

 We got a very interesting question on Instagram.

An experienced engineer who does great work but took a relatively long break from music production was wondering about how we measure loudness today, whether RMS was still relevant now that we have LUFS, and whether we can still master as loud as we did years ago, without negative consequences when our songs are played next to others on streaming platforms.

And he's definitely not alone. Many people seem to be confused about different ways of measuring loudness and also the always changing trends and opinions on the topic. 

 To answer the question directly, we also explain the difference between RMS and LUFS:

RMS:
 “Root mean square”. The average level of your audio signal, measured over a longer period of time, and close to what your ears perceive as the loudness of your audio.

LUFS:
 “Loudness units relative to Full Scale”. This is a loudness standard designed to enable the matching of perceived audio levels. So that different signals (or songs) will sound equally loud, no matter what the dB meter says. 
 
 Loudness Units (or LU) is a unit that describes loudness by taking into account how our hearing perceives volume. Not just pure sound pressure or amplitude, like “dB” does. 
 
 And again, “FS” means “relative to full scale”. So, for example, -18 LUFS means “18 LU away from the maximum of 0”. The difference between -23 LUFS and -18 LUFS, for example is 5 LU.

 Then we're sharing how we do it in our own projects:

• How loud do we master and why?
• How do we measure it?
• How important is it to us?

 And one final word of caution:

Be careful about different RMS settings on your meters! AES-17 on/off makes a 3dB difference. One RMS value doesn't necessary equal another RMS value. 

Be careful when comparing anything, basically. There's many different ways to measure loudness and volume and it's easy to get confused and compare different things without noticing.

More details on that in the episode.

Let's go!

-Benedikt

--
For full show notes go to: https://theselfrecordingband.com/155

Send us Fan Mail

If you have any questions, feedback, topic ideas or want to suggest a guest, email us at: [email protected]

Here are three next steps for you to take:

1. Get our free video training & checklist, "Standout Mixes - The DIY Musician's Guide To Exciting Mixes That Stand Out And Connect":
theselfrecordingband.com/standoutmixes
-
2. Apply for The Self-Recording Syndicate, our personalized coaching program!

It all starts with a free first call where we talk about your music, give you feedback and a step-by-step action plan that you can then implement on your own, or together with us.

Best case: We end up working together and completely transform the sound of your music forever.
Worst case: You get an hour of free coaching and feedback.

Sounds fair? Cool. Apply now and book your free coaching call:
theselfrecordingband.com/call
-
3. Join the free Facebook Group ("The Self-Recording Band Community"):
theselfrecordingband.com/community
--
Episode show notes:

In this episode, we're going to take a deep dive into the anatomy of a rock bass guitar tone. We'll explore the different components that make up the sound of a bass guitar and how they can be manipulated to achieve the desired tone.

This episode on bass guitar tone was inspired by a message that we got from our long time listeners in a band called Stepa. 

They were fascinated by a particular bass pedal that we're talking about on this episode, too, the Darkglass Microtubes Infinity.

Stepa suggested doing a breakdown of its features and a deep dive into the pedal, while also mentioning alternatives that we all have available in our DAWs. 

Because we agree that this pedal is pretty phenomenal, we thought we should do an episode on what it is that makes tools like this so valuable, what we're actually able to manipulate with it and what makes up a great bass tone in the end.

--
For full show notes go to: https://theselfrecordingband.com/154

Send us Fan Mail

If you have any questions, feedback, topic ideas or want to suggest a guest, email us at: [email protected]

Here are three next steps for you to take:

1. Get our free video training & checklist, "Standout Mixes - The DIY Musician's Guide To Exciting Mixes That Stand Out And Connect":
theselfrecordingband.com/standoutmixes
-
2. Apply for The Self-Recording Syndicate, our personalized coaching program!

It all starts with a free first call where we talk about your music, give you feedback and a step-by-step action plan that you can then implement on your own, or together with us.

Best case: We end up working together and completely transform the sound of your music forever.
Worst case: You get an hour of free coaching and feedback.

Sounds fair? Cool. Apply now and book your free coaching call:
theselfrecordingband.com/call
-
3. Join the free Facebook Group ("The Self-Recording Band Community"):
theselfrecordingband.com/community
--
Episode show notes:

Many people record and mix on headphones, because most rooms suck, treatment and speakers are expensive. And because mobile recording or mixing rigs are becoming more and more popular, as we can do almost everything on laptops now.

The problem is: While the room is not an issue anymore when you're on headphones, working without speakers comes with a completely different set of challenges. 

 If you want your songs to translate well, you need to be aware of the flaws, inaccuracies and characteristics of your headphone system. And you need to know how to deal with those.

 So let's talk about how you can optimize your headphones (and entire monitoring chain), so you can get predictable, high quality results anywhere!

Let's go!

-Benedikt

--

For full show notes go to: https://theselfrecordingband.com/153

Send us Fan Mail

If you have any questions, feedback, topic ideas or want to suggest a guest, email us at: [email protected]

Here are three next steps for you to take:

1. Get our free video training & checklist, "Standout Mixes - The DIY Musician's Guide To Exciting Mixes That Stand Out And Connect":
theselfrecordingband.com/standoutmixes
-
2. Apply for The Self-Recording Syndicate, our personalized coaching program!

It all starts with a free first call where we talk about your music, give you feedback and a step-by-step action plan that you can then implement on your own, or together with us.

Best case: We end up working together and completely transform the sound of your music forever.
Worst case: You get an hour of free coaching and feedback.

Sounds fair? Cool. Apply now and book your free coaching call:
theselfrecordingband.com/call
-
3. Join the free Facebook Group ("The Self-Recording Band Community"):
theselfrecordingband.com/community
--
Episode show notes:

I sat down with one of my favorite coaching students, Greg Bohemen.

 Greg is a musician & songwriter from Canada who is recording his own music and also building a community for musicians and bands in his area.


When we started working together he was a very talented musician but he was in the very early stages of learning how to record, produce and mix, working from an untreated room with minimal gear. 

 Since then Greg put in a shit ton of work, turned into a sponge, soaking up advice and knowledge, and was always open for new ideas and things to try.

 Now he has built out his home studio, created processes and a better workflow for himself and keeps sending me mixes that I think are phenomenal and a night and day difference from where he was not too long ago.

  
This interview was recorded in June 2022, but his journey didn't stop there. Not at all. He was just getting started.

At the end of 2022 Greg officially released two singles, "Virtual Christmas" and "Live For Today"


And throughout the year he re-arranged and re-recorded an entire album 🤯 that he had already released a while back because he knew that those songs could sound and feel so much better with the setup and skills he has now.

 The difference is unbelievable. Night and day. Through passion, hard work and the guidance and confidence he got from The Self-Recording Syndicate (our coaching program), he was able to transform his music. 

 Super stoked to share Greg's music and story with you!

 Let's go!

-Benedikt

--

For full show notes go to: https://theselfrecordingband.com/152

Send us Fan Mail

If you have any questions, feedback, topic ideas or want to suggest a guest, email us at: [email protected]

Here are three next steps for you to take:

1. Get our free video training & checklist, "Standout Mixes - The DIY Musician's Guide To Exciting Mixes That Stand Out And Connect":
theselfrecordingband.com/standoutmixes
-
2. Apply for The Self-Recording Syndicate, our personalized coaching program!

It all starts with a free first call where we talk about your music, give you feedback and a step-by-step action plan that you can then implement on your own, or together with us.

Best case: We end up working together and completely transform the sound of your music forever.
Worst case: You get an hour of free coaching and feedback.

Sounds fair? Cool. Apply now and book your free coaching call:
theselfrecordingband.com/call
-
3. Join the free Facebook Group ("The Self-Recording Band Community"):
theselfrecordingband.com/community
--
Episode show notes:

If you're struggling with getting your reverbs to sit right, or you feel like you're not quite getting the effect you want, listen to this episode. 

Using reverbs is an essential part of mixing. 

But as great as they can sound, they can also completely ruin your mix or get in the way of more important elements of your arrangement, if you use them the wrong way. 

There are quite a few reverb mistakes that we hear all the time in a lot of songs and that we are trying to avoid when we work on our own mixes. 

And of course, there's always a solution and a better way, which is exactly what we're talking about today.

-Benedikt

--

For full show notes go to: https://theselfrecordingband.com/151

Send us Fan Mail

If you have any questions, feedback, topic ideas or want to suggest a guest, email us at: [email protected]

Here are three next steps for you to take:

1. Get our free video training & checklist, "Standout Mixes - The DIY Musician's Guide To Exciting Mixes That Stand Out And Connect":
theselfrecordingband.com/standoutmixes
-

2. Apply for The Self-Recording Syndicate, our personalized coaching program!

It all starts with a free first call where we talk about your music, give you feedback and a step-by-step action plan that you can then implement on your own, or together with us.

Best case: We end up working together and completely transform the sound of your music forever.
Worst case: You get an hour of free coaching and feedback.

Sounds fair? Cool. Apply now and book your free coaching call:
theselfrecordingband.com/call
-

3. Join the free Facebook Group ("The Self-Recording Band Community"):
theselfrecordingband.com/community

--
Episode show notes:

To celebrate 150 episodes of The Self-Recording Band Podcast 🤯, we're sharing the replay of our Mixes Unpacked - Vol. 2 Q&A session with you!

We got amazing questions on things like drum samples, saturation/distortion, gain staging, routing, acoustic guitar processing, channel strip plugins, panning, side-chaining, limiting, distorted guitar tones, vocal stacks… - and we answered them all!

This was part of the early-bird deal, when we first launched the course. Students could leave questions and comments for us below each video and we promised to reply to all of them in a live session, so they would get the most out of the course. 

When it was time for us to answer, we decided to turn the Q&A session into a public event for our community, so that everyone could benefit from their peers' questions, get detailed mixing advice and discover what's waiting inside Mixes Unpacked!

What a fun, end-of-the-year meetup that was! 

Listen to the full session now on the podcast.

Thank you for another year of listening to this show, thank you for being a part of our community and thank you for making music. Your art matters and the world needs it.

-Benedikt

--
For full show notes go to: https://theselfrecordingband.com/150

Send us Fan Mail

If you have any questions, feedback, topic ideas or want to suggest a guest, email us at: [email protected]

Here are three next steps for you to take:

1. Get our free video training & checklist, "Standout Mixes - The DIY Musician's Guide To Exciting Mixes That Stand Out And Connect":
theselfrecordingband.com/standoutmixes
-
2. Apply for The Self-Recording Syndicate, our personalized coaching program!

It all starts with a free first call where we talk about your music, give you feedback and a step-by-step action plan that you can then implement on your own, or together with us.

Best case: We end up working together and completely transform the sound of your music forever.
Worst case: You get an hour of free coaching and feedback.

Sounds fair? Cool. Apply now and book your free coaching call:
theselfrecordingband.com/call
-
3. Join the free Facebook Group ("The Self-Recording Band Community"):
theselfrecordingband.com/community
--

Episode show notes:

Are you a cave dweller? A lone studio wolf, always figuring things out on your own?

Too many musicians, engineers and creatives in general, are working and creating in isolation.
 
Many of us are introverts. When given the choice between leaving home to go to a social event, or working on our latest track some more, we often choose the comfort of the home studio.

And instead of reaching out, we just consume and watch. We're lurkers in the online groups that we're in, instead of participating. Not good. :)

Malcom and I have both been part of countless social events, communities and conversations , that have changed our lives and careers.

We often didn't feel like going to a meetup, party or show, offering our opinion or advice on a forum, or replying to a comment and starting a conversation that way.
 
But almost every single time we did it anyway, it was 100% worth it.

Opportunities seemed to show up out of nowhere, lasting relationships have been built as a result, collaborations happened, our skills improved way quicker because of the help from various communities, etc.

So on this episode we share our stories, talk about how you will benefit from connecting with your peers, and what you're missing out on, if you don't.

Let's dive in!

 -Benedikt

--

For full show notes go to: https://theselfrecordingband.com/149

Send us Fan Mail

If you have any questions, feedback, topic ideas or want to suggest a guest, email us at: [email protected]

Here are three next steps for you to take:

1. Get our free video training & checklist, "Standout Mixes - The DIY Musician's Guide To Exciting Mixes That Stand Out And Connect":
theselfrecordingband.com/standoutmixes
-

2. Apply for The Self-Recording Syndicate, our personalized coaching program!

It all starts with a free first call where we talk about your music, give you feedback and a step-by-step action plan that you can then implement on your own, or together with us.

Best case: We end up working together and completely transform the sound of your music forever.
Worst case: You get an hour of free coaching and feedback.

Sounds fair? Cool. Apply now and book your free coaching call:
theselfrecordingband.com/call
-

3. Join the free Facebook Group ("The Self-Recording Band Community"):
theselfrecordingband.com/community

--
Episode show notes:

2022 is coming to an end and so we want to take a look at the music production landscape and how it's going to evolve in 2023 and beyond.

The question is: How can you make your songs stand out and resonate with an audience? 

Recording and releasing music is more accessible than ever. More than 60,000 songs are uploaded to Spotify every day 🤯. The tools and knowledge are out there and if you are just a little talented and tech savvy there's zero excuse for having a bad sounding record out. 

Your music matters and it deserves to sound great, so your message can be heard.

So, in this week's podcast episode we're discussing what you can do to make that happen.

Let's dive in!
--
For full show notes go to: https://theselfrecordingband.com/148

Send us Fan Mail

If you have any questions, feedback, topic ideas or want to suggest a guest, email us at: [email protected]

BOOK A FREE IN-DEPTH COACHING CALL TO GET FEEDBACK AND A STEP-BY-STEP PLAN TO TURN YOUR SONGS INTO PRO QUALITY RECORDINGS:
https://theselfrecordingband.com/call

Join the free Facebook Group ("The Self-Recording Band Community"):
https://theselfrecordingband.com/community

--
On this show, we always talk about how to blend drum samples transparently with your real kit. Or how to program natural sounding MIDI drums. 

But what about the opposite approach? 

You can use static, one shot samples in your drum mix to either make it explode, or to enhance your real, authentic sounding drums in a different way.

Here's why and when you might want to use one-shots:

·      Consistency - Many performances are just too inconsistent and dynamic. If you want a steady pulse and groove that hits hard throughout the whole part or song, one-shots are your friend.

·      One-shots give you huge professional sounds instantly, when you might not have access to an environment that could provide that.

·      Self-made one-shot drum samples from your session can be a life-saving replacement (as a last resort) if the performance was a complete disaster.

·      Creative effects (adding a huge room samples for just one part of the song, for example).

And here's how to do it and what to watch out for:

·      Have an organized folder structure on your computer where you store your samples. Keep it organized, and remember your session references this folder (so you can’t change computers without bringing these along!)

·      Choose your sampler (or copy/paste manually, using tab to transient or something similar, depending on your DAW)

·      Learn how the detection circuit of your trigger plugin or audio to MIDI tool works: Sensitivity, threshold, retrigger pad, etc.

·      Learn how to set your sampler's dynamic response

·      Learn how to manipulate the envelope (attack & sustain) of your one-shots being played

·      Tune your sample to suit the original drums in the song

·      Set it all up so you can audition and change samples quickly

·      Make intentional and logical routing decisions: Do you only trigger close mics or a blend of everything, including rooms or effects? Is it a mono or stereo sample? Based on those things, where does it go? To the drum bus? To your kick/snare/toms groups? To the mix bus? Does your group need to be stereo then?

Let's dive into this in full detail and discover the power of one-shot drum samples!

--
For full show notes go to: https://theselfrecordingband.com/147

If you have any questions, feedback, topic ideas or want to suggest a guest, email us at: [email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

If you have any questions, feedback, topic ideas or want to suggest a guest, email us at: [email protected]

BOOK A FREE IN-DEPTH COACHING CALL TO GET FEEDBACK ON YOUR RECORDINGS AND A STEP-BY-STEP PLAN TO TURN YOUR SONGS INTO PRO QUALITY RECORDINGS:
https://theselfrecordingband.com/call

Join the free Facebook Group ("The Self-Recording Band Community"):
https://theselfrecordingband.com/community

--

"The pros never don’t do the basics." I love this quote, because reminds me every day that I shouldn't skip essential steps in the mixing process, even though they might seem trivial or less exciting than more advanced techniques.

In fact, if you take this seriously and get those seemingly basic things right, your mixes will already sound better than 90% of all DIY-mixes out there, because NOBODY is really doing that.

The perfect balance for every part of the song, including transitions, is the most important thing in any mix. More important than any individual tone.  

Nobody cares about tiny EQ moves or a slightly different compression setting, if the balance is off. But everybody notices when the vocals are buried or the kick drum is too loud.

When every part of your mix is well balanced, it will translate well and (most importantly) connect emotionally. Nobody will question the mix. 

Plus, your EQ moves, compression and other decisions will be much easier if you keep a good balance and proper gain staging throughout in your session.

It will help you make better mixes instantly, by focusing on what really matters. 

It's a guide for the self-recording musicians who also want to mix themselves, that leads to more effective mix moves, more confidence, less tweaking and ultimately - better mixes.

So get this FREE resource now and do what most amateur mixers don't do: 

Focus on the most important mixing concepts and techniques that really matter.

 
On this episode we give you an overview, show you what’s inside Standout Mixes and outline the process that is described in-depth in the actual video and checklist. 

--

For full show notes go to: https://theselfrecordingband.com/146

If you have any questions, feedback, topic ideas or want to suggest a guest, email us at: [email protected]

Send us Fan Mail

If you have any questions, feedback, topic ideas or want to suggest a guest, email us at: [email protected]