Blog - The Home Recording Studio

18Apr 2022 by Jon

The Ultimate Lo-Fi Plugins?

Blog, Composing, Home Recording Blogs, Recording & Mixing, Techniques

Are these the ultimate Lo-Fi plugins? Introduction In this post I take a look at Vulf Compressor and Tupe by Goodhertz and ask the question: are these the ultimate lo-fi plugins? Whether you make lo-fi hip hop, chill-wave or vaporware there are a growing number of lo-fi tools. Tape emulations, vinyl emulation and vintage compression, for instance. Some of my personal favourites include:- Waves J37 & Lo-fi SpaceChow DSP Chow TapeArturia Tape Mello-fiCaelum Audio Flux Mini and Tape Cassette,Klevgrand DAW CassetteYum Audio Lo-fi Pitch Dropout I've had good results with these tools (many of them are free) but I have often wondered if there are better options. Read on to find out more, including a secret 50% discount! Goodhertz? I have heard good things about Goodhertz plugins for quite some…

24Mar 2022 by Jon

FREE Cinematic Piano by Heavyocity

Blog, Composing, Home Recording Blogs, Sound Design

Free Cinematic Piano This week, Heavyocity announced the release of a free cinematic piano. The piano is the first instrument from Heavyocity's 'Foundations' range and works with the free Kontakt Player. In this video, I give the new instrument a full test and demonstration. https://youtu.be/wBJi9OB-fZY Heavyocity Foundations - Free Cinematic Piano Demo Heavyocity Foundations Piano If you are familiar with Heavyocity you'll know they offer a fantastic range of high quality orchestral, cinematic and hybrid instruments. Personally, I love their range of percussion instruments and own the epic 'Ensemble Drums' collection. The Foundations Piano didn't disappoint me. The interface allows you to blend the soft dynamics of a grand piano with an expertly crafted sound design layer. The instrument is highly customisable although the presets provide a great starting point.…

26Feb 2022 by Jon

Novation Launchkey 37 Mk3 Keyboard review

Blog, Composing, Home Recording Blogs

Looking for a midi controller keyboard? Watch my video: the Novation Launchkey 37 Mk3 Keyboard review. The latest piece of gear in the home recording studio is the Novation Luanchkey 37 Mk3 midi controller keyboard. It's a small keyboard but unusual in that it sits between the usual 25 key or 49 key models. It's rare to find a midi keyboard with 37 full-size keys. Up to now I have been using a 25 key controller keyboard. However, there are times when I find that I need at least another octave of keys. My desk is pretty small, so a 49 key controller would be a bit too big. 37 full size keys seemed like the best option for me. But don't let the size fool you! Novation have done…

26Feb 2022 by Jon

How to get your music on Pond5’s Subscription Service

Composing, Home Recording Blogs

****UPDATE**** As of June 2022 Pond5 automatically includes all your music in their subscription service. Watch MY LATEST video below for up-to-date information! https://youtu.be/d1VqqZFNIu0 For music composers who are already selling tracks on Pond5, you may be aware that customers can sign up for a subscription service. However, Pond5 don't make it obvious how to submit your music to sell through subscription. Here I explain in detail, the steps I took to contact Pond5, how to present your tracks for submission and how quickly I got accepted. Watch the video for more information. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnYUWbHxuRM Click here for more Blog posts.

22Jan 2022 by Jon

Why you should be using reference tracks

Blog, Home Recording Blogs, Mixing, Recording & Mixing, Techniques, Uncategorized

In this post, I’m going to talk about reference tracks – why they are important, how to use them and where to find them. When we mix our own music there is a danger of never having an end goal in sight. You might have an idea of what you want your music to sound like but sometimes we lose perspective. Our ears are very good at fooling us especially if we have listened to our own mix for a long period of time. If we don’t remind our ears exactly what we are trying to achieve we may just keep chasing our tails round and round. So, read on to find out more about how you can use reference tracks to up your mixing game. https://youtu.be/8Iyk9jmgRm8 Watch the video…

29Dec 2021 by Jon

Two things I do every day to increase energy and avoid burnout

Blog, Home Recording Blogs, Mindset & Wellbeing

In this post, I'm going to take a break from the usual topics and talk about how you can increase energy and avoid burnout. As we approach the New Year, many of us are able to take time to think about our goals for the coming year. Whatever your own personal goals or resolutions, one thing most of us would like more of is time and energy. As musicians or composers, we often have a second job, as well as family commitments and the demands of day-to-day life. Our musical endeavours might be restricted to an hour or two in the evening. But if we are too tired from our day job it’s going to be a struggle to make much progress in this small window. On top of this,…

01Oct 2021 by Jon

The Best Free Tools for Composers 2021

Blog, Composing, Techniques

Welcome. This is your guide to the best free tools for composers. There are many free plugins and sample libraries available if you know where to look. But what might surprise you is just how good some of them sound! I’m a composer for royalty-free music libraries and I use these free tools in my own compositions. So please try them out for yourself and have fun! In addition, check out my latest video. I'll show you how to create a cinematic percussion track using an amazing FREE sample library. https://youtu.be/kurh2D9Qh3E https://youtu.be/kurh2D9Qh3E Spitfire Audio, Labs. Let’s start with Labs by Spitfire Audio. This huge collection of high-quality instruments has to be heard to be believed. Labs covers a vast range of instruments from mandolins to synthesizers. Furthermore, the collection is…

29Aug 2021 by Jon

How to fit acoustic foam tiles

Acoustic Treatment, Blog, Home Recording Blogs, Mixing, Recording, Recording & Mixing

If you've ever thought about improving the sound in your home studio you may have considered using acoustic foam. In this post, we explore how to fit acoustic foam tiles. For many home studio owners sticking foam panels to the wall is a worry. If you are renting a space then you might not want to damage the walls. Likewise, if you decide to move rooms or change your studio layout then you may want to move the panels at a later date. Let's take a look at some of the options in this video. https://youtu.be/AP4tNcLTv8s The benefits of using acoustic foam tiles are:- Medium to high frequency sounds are more controlledImproves recording of acoustic instruments and vocalsImproves mixing when monitoring on speakersLooks great on the walls! Depending on your…

03Jul 2021 by Jon

What is a Large Diaphragm Condenser Microphone?

Blog, Home Recording Blogs, Microphones, Recording

What is a Large Diaphragm Condenser Microphone? In this month's post we will answer the question: what is a Large Diaphragm Condenser microphone? Some characteristics of a large diaphragm condenser microphone are:- It is good for recording quieter sounds, instruments or the human voiceDelivers warmth and clarityHas a wide frequency response (Low to high frequencies)It has an extended dynamic range (Quiet to loud)Requires Phantom Power This type of microphone is designed for increased sensitivity. Therefore, it requires phantom power. It is likely that your recording device will have an option for turning phantom power on or off. Most importantly, always make sure you turn phantom power on after connecting the microphone. Typical uses Spoken Word (e.g. Audio Books)Narration or Voice Over for moving imagePodcastingRadio Studio recording or broadcastingVocals for music…

03May 2021 by Jon

Can you make money selling Stock Music?

Blog, Home Recording Blogs

Can you make money selling Stock Music? If you are a musician hoping to make a living from music right now it’s a pretty tough marketplace. Digital streaming platforms provide poor revenue from selling music. Landing a record deal is harder than ever. Fan funding is difficult. And finally, the pandemic has put a stop to live music, removing the only decent revenue stream left for some bands. So, what other ways can you make money from music? One option for musicians and composers is to try writing for stock music libraries. For the last six months, I've explored the subject: Can you make money selling Stock Music? Here are my findings so far. What is Stock MusicStock Music LibrariesWhat makes a good Stock Music Track?Is it possible to make…