The Studio Experience Podcast

Ah yes, the voodoo-infused, black magic art known as mastering! What is it really? And why is it so mysterious? You might be surprised to find that it's not actually as complex as it is often portrayed to be; it's simply misunderstood. In this episode, Adam gets into some details about his process with mastering, some of the common tools he likes to use for it, and lots of little nuggets that might help you improve your own audio along the way!

There are an infinite number of ways to mix a song. Some are complex, some are simple, and roadblocks are oftentimes just around the corner. So in this episode, Joe talks about his approach to mixing, which includes some of his favorite tools and techniques, as well as things he finds helpful and things he tends to avoid. Get ready for some excellent insight into his mixing process!

One of the most valuable, yet often overlooked skills in audio is listening. But good listening extends beyond critical listening in the audio sense...  it's arguably even more important to develop your skills in listening to your clients. Listening helps you make the right moves and avoid the wrong ones. With enough care and attention, it will propel your audio and personal skills to new levels. That's what this episode is all about - enjoy!

Making the jump to full time self-employment is a huge step in many people's careers, but there are lots of pros and cons to either side of that jump. Is it fun? Will you miss having a consistent day job paycheck? Will enough work come in? These questions and scenarios - along with so many more - are sure to run through your mind whether you're considering going full time, or already have and aren't quite sure about it. In this episode, we break down a lot of misconceptions and unknown facets to the coveted full time self-employed life, so that you can make a decision about the right next step for you, wherever you are!

Maintaining a full studio schedule, strong family dynamic, and consistent social media presence can feel like a near-impossible balance to achieve. But Daniel Dennis is doing it consistently and has a lot of insight to share about it! In this episode, we interview Daniel, a producer/engineer based in Nashville, Tennessee, and get a great look into how he makes it all work in a healthy, sustainable way.

Getting your music to sound great in your studio is one thing... Getting it to sound great EVERYWHERE is something else entirely. We've all heard (and experienced first hand) the stories of the dreaded car test where all your hard work seems to have been mysteriously undone after you exported your reference file. In this episode, we dive deep into why this happens and how you can avoid it, for good!

People across the world are actively searching for amazing audio engineers to hire. But with so many choices online, how can you stand out from the crowd and land more gigs? Two massive pieces of the puzzle are your website and portfolio. They're pretty much your business card for the Internet. This episode is dedicated to discussing the valuable roles that your website and portfolio play in not only representing you and your work, but also getting you more work, more often.

Achieving clarity and definition in a recording, mix or master can be challenging. Harder still is when you feel like the audio is either too dull or too bright, but you can't seem to find the middle ground. This episode is dedicated to those problems! We'll discuss ways to identify problem areas that might be too harsh, how to go about bringing in clarity without harshness, and different tools and approaches that can be used to do so.

A common trait in audio engineers is the desire to always level up your skills. But the journey can be tough, and there are many roadblocks along the way. When looking for advice, direction and techniques, there is no shortage of information on how to go about this journey. In fact, it can get incredibly overwhelming to know who to trust, what to do and how to do it. Then comes the frustration of hitting those roadblocks and feeling like you're stuck, making no progress. So with this episode, we address these challenges and lay out some practical advice on navigating it all so that you can actually move forward and improve your audio skills.

When do you call it done? When can you confidently hit send? We all want to put our names to something we can be proud of. And so at times, the problem is that we put too much into projects or tasks that don't need it. Or we might not be sure if we've done enough where a task is truly finished. The fact is, whether a project takes you 5 minutes or 5 months, it has to sound great, and that's what this episode is all about!