mic's blog

Harsh vocals

Submitted by mic on Tue, 08/11/2026 - 13:58

I had a badly recorded vocal – too close to the mike, too many peaks at various frequencies (450 Hz, 13 kHz, 17 kHz), big low end, too much presence at 2.4 kHz. I tried everything – compressors, EQ – but ended up with a do-nothing pitch shift.

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Arrangement before mixing

Submitted by mic on Mon, 12/01/2025 - 10:27

Below are several mistakes to avoid when arranging songs.

First, a back story: Years ago, I sat with a session drummer and went over one of my early songs. His first words were: "This riff is great, but I am already bored." I was a beginner and the whole exercise was an eye-opener. It was the first time I thought about arrangement seriously and understood that three chords and a riff do not make a song.

I am now working on one of my first songs – an even earlier one. It has issues.

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Digital vs. analog

Submitted by mic on Sun, 08/04/2024 - 08:23

I am a music lover who studied math and started coding by chance. My work gravitated naturally towards digital signals and then audio DSP. I consider myself well versed in DSP, as I have designed, used, and sold DSP audio effects and guitar amp models. But I am not an engineer. I meet with some engineers who design tube guitar amps and, honestly, I have no idea what they are talking about. We have no common language.

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