It is easy to both over- and under-process field recordings. Each has drawbacks, and a skilled recordist balances both while keeping the sound realistic and taking inspiration from others, but never copying.
Last Updated: 19-August-2026
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I use a variety of different binaural microphone setups for recording binaural soundscapes. Here are the ones that I have used and my experiences with each.
Last updated: 28-July-2026
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I use a variety of tools for post-processing my field recordings. Below are what I currently use. I will update this periodically as I change my workflow or learn new methods.
Last updated: 19-August-2026
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I like recording ambient sounds of nature, locations, equipment, and other assorted noises. When I play my recordings back, I want them to sound exactly like when I was there. Here is the technique, equipment, and settings I use.
Last updated: 26-July-2026
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I liked Akira Rabelais’s music and wanted to achieve the same kind of sound created by his Argeïphontes Lyre plugin so I set out to get it directly and took an unexpected turn. Here’s what happened…
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This technique can be used on almost any synthesizer and involves manipulating a low-pass filter to reveal the synth’s tone.
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To understand an artist’s track, it’s necessary to analyze it. Here’s what I do to learn the structure and elements involved in tracks.
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Whenever I make a track, I make a video to go along with it. However, the video is not the same size as required by Spotify for a canvas (short clip for a track). Here’s how I resize my videos for Spotify canvases using Handbrake.
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Boards of Canada is a personal favorite of mine, and I have studied their music to learn how they achieved their distinctive sound.
Here is what I think I have learned so far (I will continue to add to this page as I learn more).
Last updated: 25-March-2026
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For a track that was only on the original vinyl release, this one is a beauty, and lots of people like it a lot. I’d like to know how it was made and I think I can come close to understanding it. Here’s what I have so far.
Last updated: 19-December-2025
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I’ve been using AI to speed up my workflow in making tracks and albums. I think it can be a real tool to move along the process, and here’s one of the things that I’ve been using it for lately.
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Setting your music up for success on streaming platforms can be overwhelming, but here are some things I’ve learned, and maybe they can help you, too.
Updated: 11-June-2026
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I’ve long been a fan of William Basinski’s works with tape loops and have admired his techniques so I set out to understand the nature of his work with analog gear and to try and replicate it in my DAW with plugins.
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One of the more difficult things for artists is composing, but what if you could let nature take control here and provide you with a melody? You can and here’s how.
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Intervals in music are important for understanding the sounds of chords and dyads. Even melodies can benefit from a clear understanding of intervals. Unfortunately, a lot of the information I have found out there is confusing. I’m trying to unravel it for myself and you may get something out of it as well.
Last updated: 14-November-2025
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Synthesizer plugins can be overwhelming with all their features, knobs, dials, etc. But, if you take a few steps, you can calm the overwhelm and make great sounds. Here’s my method.
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I’ve been working on refining my mixing, and I’ve settled on a few essential plugins that are now a staple of my mixing strategy and are on my mix bus template for every new track.
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Since AI is a pervasive part of our lives now, I thought I would share with you what it has done for my music. Maybe you’ll find the same.
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In my latest work, “The Archaeology of Obscured Presences,” I needed a piano that I could always hear in my head but not find “out there’ anywhere. So, I created it, and here’s how I did it.
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I was able to make and release an album by doing some very intentional things to my music-making process. Here’s what they are in case they could help you as well.
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Each individual approaches the art of mastering music in their own unique way, influenced by their personal experiences, preferences, and the genres they are passionate about. I thought it might be beneficial to share my process in hopes of inspiring some ideas for others who are on a similar journey. This post serves as a personal reminder of the reasons behind my choices, ensuring I don’t regress in my mastering journey. It’s a way to anchor my methodology in memory, allowing me to reflect on my progress and the lessons I’ve learned along the way. I often find myself revisiting certain techniques and strategies that have proven effective, which helps me stay focused and motivated. However, feel free to take a glimpse into my world if you’re curious about my approach. Just a note—I’m not a seasoned expert and am still on my learning path, so please interpret my insights with a grain of salt. I’m genuinely thrilled to assist and share what I can, and I encourage others to share their experiences as well, as we can all learn from one another. The beauty of music lies in its diversity, and I believe that every perspective adds value to the conversation.
Last updated: 1-October-2025
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It is not always easy for me to name my tracks. I’m starting to favor using abstract names for tracks to prevent having to think about them so much. Here are some ways I’m starting to use for naming my tracks in abstract ways and maybe the same approach could help you too.
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There are a lot of ways to measure the levels of sound in your music production. Meter scales vary widely, and there are many misconceptions about what are the correct levels. Here below is what I have found currently works best for me.
Last updated: 19-August-2025.
There’s another, more current post about this: Levels in Mastering for the Various Streaming Platforms (and what happened to the K-system of metering)
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I use the Millennia Media TCL-2 compressor plugin from Plugin Alliance for both mastering and on keyboard channels because of it’s smooth transparent nature. Here’s how I set it up for both situations.
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I use the Purple Audio MC-77 FET compressor plugin from Plugin Alliance to control and enhance my drums and other instruments, and here is how I set it up and use it.
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Here are some examples of the kinds of things I do to create my music and maybe they can inspire you to do the same.
Last updated: 8/26/25
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When you like to make all different kinds of music, how do you make good albums? Here are my thoughts on that.
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I like the sound of old samplers, and I use plugins to emulate their sound, but I wanted to know what these emulation effect plugins were doing, so I analyzed a few of my favorites.
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I looked for a way to add binaural beats to my music, and I found it in the most unusual place – Valhalla’s FreqEcho. It is so easy; it is unreal. Oh, and it’s free.
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Since people like variety and playlists, and artists favor releasing singles instead of albums, could an album of various types of music but of a similar nature, be a good strategy for an artist to pursue? For example, an album of ambient and electronic music, some with beats and some without, but all using a similar style, may be a good album typifying this idea. Would it get more plays than an album of all the same type of music? The answer is not too surprising…
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I’ve written a number of AI agents for assisting in my music production, and here is one that helps a music producer define an album concept and lay out the tracks for an album.
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I like the idea of console emulation plugins so that I can have the sound of a console in my DAW. It gives my tracks a more polished sound and implies I am using a hardware console which is more of a high-end mixing situation. Here are what I found console emulations are producing.
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I have a massive vault of tracks that are in various stages of unfinished-ness. I’d like to make them into tracks and albums with common themes, but how to sort them?
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Softube Modular is a fantastic synth but I’ve had trouble getting some sizing that I could actually see while using it in FL Studio. Here’s what you need to do to resize it to a workable level.
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Adopting the concept of “Structured Music Creation” allows an artist to work on new material from both creative and technical aspects, depending on the artist’s mood and mindset at any given time. It can also move the artist toward creating more inspired music, spurring on the creative process and removing artist blocks.
This is done by giving structure to both the technical and creative steps of music production. Below, I show you one such interpretation.
Last updated: 26-May-2025
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Ever heard a song and liked the drum track in it? Ever wanted to use that beat in your own tracks but without outright copying it? You can convert it to MIDI and insert it with your own drums. Here’s how…
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Ever heard those albums where one track melds into the next, and the next, and the next, seamlessly transitioning from song to song for the whole album? It’s like the old style mix tape. It’s not hard to make one in your DAW. Here’s how…
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Like most people, my hearing lacks in some frequency bands. But now I can hear what I’m mixing thanks to a plugin, and it’s changed my music production – for the better!
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Here’s a free (yes free) way to adjust your headphones when mixing and mastering so they are sonically neutral and you are getting unbiased results out of them.
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The piano plays a significant role in the Blade Runner movies. Here are my observations.
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I think some artists struggle with the question, “What is my style?” If that’s not you, then don’t read this, but if so, then maybe what I did could help you too.
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Why are you streaming your music?
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Here’s how to read a correlation meter and why it matters.
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Using TAL Vocoder (free), you can make some interesting “percussive-toned beats” that sound similar to the band Plaid. But you have to use the vocoder in an unusual way. The idea came to me as I read an interview with the members of Plaid, a band I like.
Updated: 3/8/24
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I like ambient music and would like to expand my expertise in making such music, so I’ve begun a study of some of what I consider the best ambient drone-type of music. This will be an ongoing collection of information, and you are welcome to check back when it has been updated.
Last updated: 28-June-2024
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Why do you often hear Rush’s “Tom Sawyer” played before rock concerts while you’re walking into the venue and they’re testing the sound system?
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I have made some presets for the U-he Satin tape machine plugin and put them in my Dropbox, where you can get them.
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Here below is a selection of synth plugins that I have found have that nostalgic, lo-fi, vintage sound epitomized by Boards of Canada and others.
Last updated: 27-August-2024.
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The Sonnox products are top-notch, and I wanted to know exactly what the Limiter and Inflator are doing, so I checked them out with some tools.
Last Updated: 24-September-2024
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I like Biosphere’s (Geir Jenssen’s) music very much and one of my favorite albums is Shenzhou. The album is made up of repeated looping of Debussy orchestral track samples. The title song is particularly interesting to me as I like the depth and width of the sound. I was able to figure out how to remake it and I’d like to show you how I did that.
Updated 11-July-2023
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Microtonal music is not for everyone. A lot of it sounds awful to me. But I found that you can use microtuning to your advantage and come up with some rather unique compositions and musically-pleasing recordings if you do it right. I have Aphex Twin to thank for it. Here’s why.
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Sometimes two things just go together like ham and cheese. Here are two of those things. This one-two punch will kickstart your creative process. It does mine.
- Record everything.
- Release it before it’s “ready.”
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“Better” is subjective but here are my preferences when it comes to listening to Spotify.
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I have found that I like a certain kind of music from a mastering and quality point of view, and I set out to determine why I like it based on several factors that I think could be relevant.
I used the Youlean Loudness Meter to make the measurements. I took downloaded song files from Bandcamp or ripped from CDs of the music I found best-mastered or best-sounding and measured each.
Here are the factors that I measured:
- Integrated LUFS (Long-term LUFS)
- Loudness Range LU
- Average Dynamics (PLR=”Peak to Long-Term (Integrated) Loudness Ratio”) = (Integrated LUFS – True peak Maximum dB) in LU
- Dynamics (PSR=”Peak to Short-Term (peak) Loudness Ratio”) = Short-term LUFS – True Peak Maximum dB) in LU
- Momentary Maximum LUFS
- Short-Term Maximum LUFS
- True Peak Maximum dB
What I found was a bit astounding to me:
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There’s a lot of stuff I l read and listen to, that maybe could be helpful or interesting for you as well so I thought I would share.
Last updated 28-July-2023
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After having made ambient music and professed to be an ambient musician, I thought I would take a step back and find out exactly what it is. It turns out that it can be surprisingly complex to define.
Updated: 15-February-2023
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Definitions of Single, EP (extended play), or Album (or LP, long play):
- Single = A single is considered 1-3 songs, each less than 10 minutes.
- EP = An EP is considered 1-3 songs with one song of at least 10 minutes in length and a total running time of 30 minutes or less. Or, an EP is considered 4-6 songs with a total running time of 30 minutes or less.
- Album = An album is considered to be 6 or more songs running, over 30 minutes in length, and is considered to be one product.
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Xfer Records Cthulhu program creates arpeggios and chords like none other. Lots of patterns when used with the correct synths, can sound a lot like deadmou5 and this makes sense as Joel Zimmerman has been known to use Cthulhu made by his associate, Steve Duda.
I find that often it is desirable for me to get the actual notes Cthulhu creates out to the piano roll in FL Studio so they can be edited individually and outside of Cthulhu.
I’ll start by showing you the basic set-up and then the one where you can get at those individual notes.
This also works for applications other than Cthulhu, such as HY Plugins.
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Using a reference track when mastering is a kind of standard practice, but it can be done much better with the wonderful EQ matching functions found on so many equalizer plugins. Here’s what I’ve tried and how it’s worked out for me.
Last updated: 10-July-2023
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Psychic Modulation has made a synthesizer that combines that “lo-fi” sound with vintage tape and synth type of processing, for a synth that sounds remarkably similar to artists such as Boards of Canada and others of that type.
It comes as a low-cost vst file type of plugin that works in your DAW (digital audio workstation). I use it in FL Studio.
Simple to use and fun to adjust, Phonec2 shatters the learning curve usually associated with many soft synths out there today. I like it in my music because it gives me the sounds I need that fit my genre.
I have made my sound bank of presets for Phonec version 2 available to everyone that owns Phonec2.
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In general, you should not expect to make much, if any, money from music. Do the music for you and not for anyone else. Don’t do it for the money because that is a really rough road to travel – and it leads to poverty (in my opinion).
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Listen to the chords in the video above. Some of what makes Boards of Canada’s songs (or for that matter, any artist’s songs) interesting for me are the chords. If you know the chords, you can get a feel for how to make your own song sound similar or “in the flavor of” so to speak. From the chords, you can often get a melody you like by building off of them or playing along with them. You can even arpeggiate them.
I took the chords from Boards of Canada songs and put them into Xfer Records Cthulhu. From Cthulhu, you can make variations, add low notes, and change to major/minor/suspended. This gives a lot of inspiring chord progressions from some of my favorite Boards of Canada songs. I put them into a zip file of chord presets that you can use in Cthulhu for yourself (see below).
This may not pertain to you:
The download is free. The number of complaints I get about it is almost enough to take it down. And the complaints are extremely stupid from ignorant people that don’t understand music or music production. Again, it is a free download. Take it or leave it. Download or not. Stop whining, please.Updated: 4/14/24
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Here are some things to try if you are experiencing jerky video renders from ZGameeditor in FL Studio.
Last updated: 24-September-2024
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It may seem strange to want background noise in a recording, but it gives it a certain realism as opposed to the cleanliness of a digitally-mastered DAW creation. I like the sound I hear in the background of Susumu Yokota’s Saku from his Sakura album, so I was able to replicate it using common pink noise and equalization. Here’s how:
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Using the synth “Fundamental” from SonicLab, I made several interesting sounds that producers of music might find interesting to use in their own compositions.
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A lot of people ask what kind of chords work well for Ambient music. That varies a lot.
As I research it further, I will post more, but for now here is what I have.
Last updated: 2/26/21
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Song structure consists of repeated sections of verse (melody) and chorus (different melody) interwoven, but what exactly is it?
Last updated: 28-November-2020
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Demonstration of Roygbiv Bass in TAL Bassline 101 You can easily recreate the sound of the bass and lead in Boards of Canada’s song “Roygbiv” by using the TAL Bassline 101 synthesizer vst plugin. Here’s how…
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Making music with loops is not a new process. However, after thinking about it, I was surprised at how many different ways there are to loop samples to make music. I’ll add to this as I discover more, but the list is long right now.
Last updated: 26-December-2020
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I have been building presets for TAL Sampler for awhile and thought I would share some of them that I particularly like. These have a sound that reminds me of Boards of Canada. I even named a few with telling names based on Boards of Canada tracks and titles.
They are free for you to use in your commercial works. Yes. Free. (Not that you would, but please don’t resell them or anything crazy like that.) You can download them in one Zip file (see below).
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For the aspiring tape loopers out there, I’m sure I speak for us all when I say that we’d all like to have the time to play around with splicing tape into loops and recording through a four-track. But when this is not possible, here’s an easy alternative right in your DAW.
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To make my synths and drums more interesting, I sometimes use a simple trick – adding a LFO.
I learned this whilst studying Boards of Canada’s music. It often has a wobbly frequency or envelope to it, and I can often replicate this without hardware, but within a DAW using LFOs.
Here’s a simple method that takes less than a minute to apply and gets great results.
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Loop recording in FL Studio is one thing I would like to master because it means I can potentially create Eno-style tape loops. In the following months, I will be adding to this post with whatever I can find that can enable me to get some good loops going.
I have put my method for getting perfectly seamless loops from Edison and FL Studio in here also. I divide this post into my research first and then my practice section after where I have tried various things.
Updated: 21-September-2020
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I use the Modartt Pianoteq vst plugin as one of my main piano instruments and frequently modify or create new presets. This is my page for sharing those presets in the form of FXP files (.fxp).
Updated: 1-June-2021
I have used many piano vst plugin instruments and have a page dedicated to that: Getting Authentic Piano Sound in a VST Plugin and DAW
In the post below, I have provided all of the presets that I am using and what each sounds like. Feel free to download and use these as you like.
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Programming can be difficult – no doubt about that. It is a whole new language to learn and I am just starting. But where to start?
First, I think you need to know where you are going. I am considering programming audio plugins and here are some things I’ve found.
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Diva by U-he is a fantastic analog-emulating synthesizer. It is a vst or soft-synth plugin for DAWs. While incredibly versatile, it is also intimidatingly complex.
Here are what I have learned about this synthesizer. I will be updating it as I learn more, so check back.
Last updated: 18-April-2020
Diva emulates several popular analog synthesizers. Here is a rough guide to the ones that Diva emulates:
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It is easy to be a perfectionist, for me. I like things to be just right and as near perfect as I can get them. This extends well into music and my production of it (or lack thereof). But it doesn’t have to be this way.
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Simulating a Real-World Piano
After having been to Budapest and found an 1896 C. Bechstein piano in the lobby of The Continental Hotel, I’ve learned much more about how I can make the same sound of it or any other piano within Pianoteq or via other vst instruments and effects. But, in fact, I aim to make it sound even better. Here’s what I have learned so far.
Last updated: 04-October-2019
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I am not a master at organization when it comes to my music, but I can tell you what works and what doesn’t work for me. Maybe it could help you.
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You know how to make music, but maybe you’re a little frustrated by getting it actually done? Can’t seem to produce new works? This post is for you.
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Where exactly do songs come from? Not an easy question. But, I believe there are two distinct ways that music arrives to the musician.
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Wondering how to get started making music? It’s not hard and I can tell you what I did. Read on and you’ll be able to know my experiences and can adapt these ideas for your own.
My background is not music. For me, I had a little piano experience when I was a kid, but that was it (and not really very useful in itself.) I just, in the last few years, had this need to make music. A desire. I wanted to make music. Somehow.
So I did. Here’s how:
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Last updated: 3-December-2021
I had the goal of creating a great multi-band compression/expansion scheme using Pro-MB. Fortunately for me, Xfer Records gives away a free plugin effect called OTT that is a three-band compressor. It performs upward and downward compression and is a recreation of the Ableton Live OTT setting (Over the Top) in their compressor.
I like it because it gives a bright and vibrant sound quality to any track it is applied. Also, it is free.
But, I wanted more control like I can get from Fabfilter’s Pro-MB multi-band compressor. So, I set out to replicate it (kind-of). While not the same as OTT, I found it quite easy to get the sound I was after once you know what the OTT is doing:
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Brian Eno is, to me, the undisputed king of ambient music. He coined the term, “ambient music” in his groundbreaking album “Music for Airports.”
Here I will revel in his sound-creating process and offer some captured bits of what I know of it – not as an attempt to deconstruct, per se, but more as an aspiration to his greatness.
As I learn more, I will post more, and update this one.
Last updated: 1-March-2019
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Cinematic music is fascinating to me. It moves the story of the movie along and the movie itself is nothing without it (at least it is a completely different movie).
I’m interested in deconstructing the sound of cinematic music and Hans Zimmer is one of the composers at the forefront.
Here I have assembled what little I have learned about Hans Zimmer and his music.
Last updated: 4-February-2019
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Here’s one of a number of brief guides and details about the microphones available in Pianoteq.
Last updated: 7-November-2024
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Here’s one of a number of brief guides and details about the microphones available in Pianoteq.
Last updated: 07-November-2024
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There’s not a manual with the Gwylim Simcock Felt Piano by Spitfire Audio, so here are my notes about the microphones used to record this wonderful piano. This piano is excellent and I highly recommend it.
Microphones recorded the sound with Neve pre-amps and Cranesong AD converters at 96k. In the interface, the microphones can be involved more or less by sliders with letters beneath them. Here are what those letters mean:
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I really admire deadmau5 (Joel Zimmerman) and his excellent music, including his use of chords and arps. He has a knack for it. I’ve watched him create on Masterclass and he just absolutely knows what he is doing. Moreover, he seems to be a guy who is limitless in his thinking while still knowing what he likes and dislikes. He doesn’t put out a ton of crap that is not up to his standards. Admirable.
Well, I wanted to know more about his producing talents, so I deconstructed some of his music, his chord progressions, and arpeggios. I’ll be adding more as I learn more, so stop back and check the “last updated” text below.
Last updated: 2-July-2024
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Modes can add interest and really shape a musical piece so knowing the modes and what each is noted for is a good thing. I come back to this post quite often when I am composing so I can choose a mode.
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The Boards of Canada “Music Has the Rights to Children” album cover. The blurred faces on the album cover of Boards of Canada’s “Music Has the Rights to Children” evokes an old, nostalgic, feel.
While the album cover may have been intentionally blurred (it is not known for sure), the same blurred face effect can be seen in old television commercials on VHS tape.
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Here’s one of a number of brief guides and details about the microphones available in Pianoteq.
Last updated: 7-November-2024
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Here’s one of a number of brief guides and details about the microphones available in Pianoteq.
Last updated: 7-November-2024
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Here’s one of a number of brief guides and details about the microphones available in Pianoteq.
Last updated: 7-November-2024
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Here’s one of a number of brief guides and details about the microphones available in Pianoteq.
Last updated: 7-November-2024
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I’ve come to have a new respect for those musicians who say to “keep it simple” when it comes to compositions, melodies, and instruments in songs. Here’s why. (more…)
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Composing Electronic Music is a book that has proven invaluable in my equalization settings in my electronic music creations. I would highly recommend it!
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Want to capture the sounds of nature and then make a great-sounding soundscape recording?Here is how I do it using Audacity software:
Last updated: 02-April-2018
