5 Voice Effects to Add to Your Song

Written by Bobby Dellarocco on October 26, 2021.

When you’re a singer, your voice is your instrument. It sadly has its limitations because, well, you’re human. Many times, your voice is perfect; other times, it could use a little something extra to...

Gain Staging in the Workstation

Written by Dave Martin on August 11, 2021.

Gain staging is the process by which you manage the signal levels in the various sections of the signal path to minimize noise and distortion while maintaining the best signal level. The basic principle...

Why Bit Depth Matters

Written by Dave Martin on August 4, 2021.

While discussions of bit depth may seem a bit esoteric, the subject has real-world ramifications for those of us working with audio. Let’s start with the basics. While the sampling rate of a digital...

Creating Custom Reverbs (Impulse Responses) in my Living Room!

Written by Bobby Dellarocco on February 9, 2021.

I was getting new flooring installed in my house recently. I walked in the door after work and was greeted with my concrete slab foundation and all of the furniture moved out of my living room. I took...

5 Tips from a Producer for a Smoother Session

Written by Dave Martin on October 27, 2020.

During the production process, mutual understanding is paramount. What some musicians might call a “bridge,” others may call a “pre-chorus,” and still others will refer to as “the middle eight.” The...

A Discussion with Studio Engineers Phil Naish, Dave Martin & Bobby Dellarocco

Written by Phil Naish on October 12, 2020.

Earlier this year, Sweetwater Studio engineers Phil Naish, Dave Martin and Bobby Dellarocco met up virtually with Niclas Jeppsson from 'Your Audio Solutions' for a round table interview where they discussed...

Tips for Song Arrangement in the Studio

Written by Dave Martin on August 24, 2020.

A good rule of thumb is that, when preparing for a recording session, the more time you spend on pre-production, the better your production will be. This is especially true when creating song arrangements....

Recording at Sweetwater Studios (Video)

Written by Dave Martin on July 28, 2020.

The Sweetwater Studios team works with singer Carolyn Martin to record the classic 19th century ballad, “Wayfaring Stranger”. Listen in as they arrange the song and get a glimpse of how our engineers...

Ear Candy

Written by Bobby Dellarocco on June 30, 2020.

Ear candy has always been one of my favorite aspects of listening to music. Even before I started down the road of sound engineering, I always liked the bits of fluff that were added into songs. Now...

Auto-Tune: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Auto-Tune: When and How Should it be Used?

Written by Phil Naish on June 15, 2020.

Auto-Tune is a tool, and like most tools, it is defined by the person working with it. Some people just slap Auto-Tune in the automatic position and the vocals end up sounding like T-Pain is singing...