Engineer Kyle's Blog

Kid’s Music

engineerkyle — Thu, 06 May 2010 22:18:32 +0000

Just finished mixing a new record of kid’s music for the band Hullabaloo. I had a lot of fun working on it and the songs are still in my head! Check them out at http://www.hullabalooband.com/

-Kyle

iTunes Sells its 10 Billionth Song

engineerkyle — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 16:10:39 +0000

As imperfect a way to listen to music as an MP3 is, you can’t deny the amazing power of the delivery medium. Apple single handedly opened up world wide (legal) distribution to bands that never would have had the chance at such wide exposure. So, I’m celebrating the landmark achievement.

Now, with broadband internet gaining a foothold across the country, let’s hope next for some better sounding downloads in the future. We can’t be too far from full bandwidth WAV downloads through the iTunes store, can we?

Organized Sound

engineerkyle — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:23:22 +0000

I’m currently teaching my lovely wife to play drums right now for our nascent garage rock band and in addition to talking about basic rock and roll stuff like melody, bridges, etc, we’ve also discussed what music is anyway.

Music engages me on so many levels, but it’s hard to pin down exactly why. It’s just sound, really, and sound is one of the most common stimuli in our lives. From the moment of birth to our death we are barraged with sound. The vast majority of what your ear receives, your brain throws away. If you live near a freeway, train or airport you know what I mean. Remember how loud it was when you moved in? Do you hear it now? No. That’s because your brain, in order to focus on what is relevant to your interests, disregards most of the sound it takes in.

That’s why I think that music, which is just sound organized with regard to pitch and rhythm, is so amazing. If you meet someone who isn’t engaged by music of some sort, you have found a rare individual, maybe even someone with a slight brain abnormality. The human brain is wired for music (for an great read on this subject, check out Daniel J. Levitin’s book http://www.yourbrainonmusic.com/). Sound is everywhere and yet some individuals can organize it such a way that can strongly evoke every emotion humans are capable of, from elation to bitter sadness.

If you’re reading this, you’re likely one of those sound manipulators. I hope you appreciate it

Kyle

Ch ch ch ch changes…

engineerkyle — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:33:54 +0000

I’m new to blogging, but it’s a new year with great and exciting things afoot, so I’m embracing change. Here’s what’s going on with me.

ICONIC AUDIO

I am very proud to unveil a new collaboration that has changed the way that I think of making records. Many of you know of Paul Abbott from the records that he has mastered that I have engineered or from his articles in Tape Op, EQ, Sound on Sound, etc. I sought him ought years back when I realized I was short changing my clients by not encouraging them to have their recording professionally mastered. I looked around and realized that Zen Mastering was the only way to go.

Flash forward to 2010 and Paul and I are introducing launching a new concept – Iconic Audio – for home or project studio recordists. People can record at home, take their time getting the best possible performance without the pressure of the studio clock and then send the tracks to us for mixing (me) and mastering (Paul). We’ve already done a couple of projects this way with great results. Even projects tracked in real, well equipped studios can benefit from the ears of people who specialize in mixing and mastering. The history (and current state, at the top 40 level) of recording is in specialization. This is how great records are made – by people who are fine tuned to their specialization.

There’s other great stuff going on too. More blogs to follow. New bands! New studio/musician/engineer friends! New guitar!

Take care and make some great sounds

Kyle