Phase inversion is a subtle, yet versatile music production tool capable of many distinguished feats. First, what is phase inversion? Inverting a wave’s phase means swapping the location of its peaks and troughs. This creates cancellation when peaks of one wave coincide with the troughs of the other wave, like in this article’s thumbnail Read more

You can never have too much RAM, CPU Power, or too optimized a system. A basic computer-based studio will handle a basic DAW sequencer, like Cubase or Sonar; it will run the basic bundled plugins, plus some basic VST instruments, and 10 or 15 channels of audio. A powerful system will handle taxing convolution reverbs, multiple Read more

A lot of our readers know that a weak beat can be strengthened with a compressor, but what settings are best for what applications? What are the optimal compression settings for a Hip Hop snare, kick, bass, or percussion? In Hip Hop, if you want to compress like the best, you need knowledge of standard compressor settings used by Hip Hop producers. Read more

What’s the difference between a solid drum beat, and a flimsy drum beat? Many times, the difference is the mix. A good drum mix requires an evenly balanced stereo field & soundstage. Many amateur productions have narrow, almost mono, drum mixes. These narrow drum mixes throw off a song’s overall balance where instrument tracks Read more

How much difference does one 8th note make? How much difference does one instrument make? In fact, they can make a huge difference! A big part of becoming a songwriter or becoming a music producer is learning how very small changes to an original idea can transform it dramatically. In our previous hook composition tip, we showed Read more

Ever come across instruments that sound narrow, bland, or just plain uninspiring? If you’ve determined that timbre, rhythm or performance isn’t the problem, then what’s left? Why does it still sound flat? If the recording is in mono, that could be your problem, and how many times have you recorded a guitar or voice through a single mic input? There’s no Read more

Everyone listens to what’s hittin’ the top of Billboard. Hundreds of those songs get copied, remixed, re-invented, and imitated by hundreds of artists. How many times have you heard a novice producer’s beat and thought “hey, I recognize that”? Really, there’s nothing wrong with learning or sampling from melodies that are already popular, but what if - instead Read more

To create catchy melodies, all you have to do is play an instrument, and channel your creativity. Easy right? Sure. The hard part is paving the way for that creativity. So, how do you pave the way for that creativity and compose compelling melodies? Let’s take a look at melody composition using basic musical exercises as a starting point. Read more

Have you ever wondered which mics are best for beat boxing? We’ve got the answers. Whatever your price range, there is a perfect microphone for the job. Most up’n'coming producers begin building their studio with an all-purpose large diaphragm condenser, like the Rode NT-2, but when you want your homie to beat box, havin’ a condenser Read more

Understanding how and how not to record acoustic guitar is critical knowledge for a producer in any field of music. First let us say that an acoustic guitar almost always sounds better through a microphone, but noise, and other culprits can often force a producer to plug directly into a hi-z input. Thus, Hit Talk’s first guitar recording tip deals with plugging the Read more