Music Production Secrets

Larry Crane provides recording tips for tailoring effects, gaining sonic control, and opening new creative doors.

Introduction to the Music Production Secrets Weekly Series

• Introduction

September 2016

• Fix vocal Auto-Tune crossfades
• Repair bad kick with the Pro Tools Multiband Splitter
• Repair bad snare with the Pro Tools Multiband Splitter
• Use phase cancellation to change tracks

August 2016

• Remove explicit content
• Remove snare ring
• Line up out-of-sync tape tracks
• Parallel compression with aux sends

July 2016

• Double Compressing Vocals
• Taming Hi-Hats
• Tame string squeaks
• De-ess on vocals with RX5
• Clean tom tracks

June 2016

• Prepping acoustic guitar with RX 5
• Prepping electric bass with RX 5
• Automating EQ filters
• Predelaying reverbs

May 2016

• Changing cheesy drum machines
• Prepping organ for mixing with RX 5
• Vocal proximity repair with RX 5
• Prepping real pianos with RX 5

April 2016

• Autopanning guitars and keyboards
• Removing amplifier hum with RX 5
• Distortion as EQ brightening
• When to turn vocal effects off
• Reverse delay vocal effects

March 2016

• Clip gaining lead vocals
• Splitting a kick drum track into hi and low components for control
• Using short delay to stereoize guitars
• When and how to use reverb on bass guitar

February 2016

• Using alternate takes or nonmix mics as reverb sends
• Corralling harshness with bx_refinement plugin
• Using de-essers to control harsh midrange
• Using guitar amp plugins to modify guitar tones for mixing

January 2016

• Making guitar solos stand out in a mix
• Adding length to abrupt instrument fades
• Using Little Labs IBP for phase on bass guitar or DI situations
• Making and using bandpass filters (high- and low-pass combo)

December 2015

• Using delay to hide shaky pitch
• Using delay to add drumbeats
• Creating automatic double tracking
• Creating digital vintage tape delay sounds

November 2015

• Fades applied only to select frequencies with RX 4 (remove amp hum, etc.)
• Staggered creative song fade-outs
• Reverb and effects automation via track duplicate and parallel processing
• Using stem mixes to make alternate mixes

October 2015

• Frequency splitting tracks to control lo-fi or midrange material
• Utilizing EQ and compression on reverbs
• Frequency splitting tracks to manage bass guitar
• Using transient shaping plugins to alter acoustic guitar in a mix
• Fades applied only to select frequencies with EQ (remove amp hum, etc.)

September 2015

• Using iZotope RX 4 gain control to remove low-end content on vocals