THE BLOG
Mixing tips, mastering guides, gear reviews, and music production tutorials from a studio with 20+ years of experience.
The Decca Tree Mic Technique: How It Changed Recording Forever
The Decca Tree is the mic array behind some of the greatest orchestral and film-score recordings ever made. With Neumann...
XLR vs USB Mics: What Actually Matters When You're Choosing
The old "XLR is pro, USB is a compromise" rule doesn't hold up anymore. Hybrid mics carry both connectors, onboard DSP d...
The Microphone Proximity Effect, Explained
Get too close to a directional mic and the low end swells up. That's the proximity effect, and it can make a voice sound...
Microphone Polar Patterns: Which to Choose and How to Use
Polar patterns decide what your mic hears and what it ignores. This guide breaks down every pattern in plain English, co...
Everything You Need to Know About Phantom Power for Microphones
Phantom power gets misunderstood a lot, and one popular myth about it could stop you from ever leaving it on. Here's wha...
What Does a Pop Filter Do, and Do You Need One for Vocals?
A pop filter is that little screen between your mouth and the mic, but a lot of the advice around it is outdated or just...
The Top 5 Best Drum Mic Kits for Recording Your Kit
Miking a drum kit shouldn't mean piecing together a dozen mismatched mics. A good drum mic kit gives you everything in o...
Top 5 Best Microphones For Vlogging
Picking a vlogging mic shouldn't feel like a guessing game. We rounded up five microphones that actually deliver clean a...
The Best Ribbon Microphones for Studio Recording
Ribbon mics have a sound nothing else quite matches — smooth, natural, and easy on the ears. We rounded up five of the b...
The Best Kick Drum Mics for a Punchy, Pro Low End
A kick drum can make or break a track, and the mic in front of it does a lot of the heavy lifting. We picked five dynami...
The Best Drum Overhead Mics To Capture Your Kit
Overheads are where your drum sound lives or dies — they're the picture, and everything else is detail. We rounded up fi...
The Top 5 Best Microphones for Acoustic Guitar (2024)
For any guitarist, you know there's nothing quite like capturing the true essence of your instrument in a recording. The...