http://www.apetraxstudios.com/blog Weblog for Chicago's Ape Trax Recording Studio Mon, 05 Oct 2009 05:04:07 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en How many hours a week do you find yourself on the web searching for audio and recording questions? Two, three..ten? When I do finally come across the topic I'm looking for, it's almost always buried somewhere deep in some train wreck of a forum post. What ... http://www.apetraxstudios.com/blog/forums-suckwhat-can-we-do-about-it My current band practices at a facility that neighbors Steve Albini's studios, Electrical Audio,  and oftentimes I feel a bit humbled traveling in such close proximity to a massively well fitted studio,  not to mention its head engineer.  Occasionally I'll peruse his gear and mic listings with an envious lust,  ... http://www.apetraxstudios.com/blog/the-hammond-b3-is-the-new-corvette Since it's just a fact of life that all studio engineers are gear heads it only makes sense that I was drooling over the new Sound Performance Lab channel strip dubbed Frontliner. Oh how we love preamps here at Ape Trax Studios and this one sure looks superb. The one-knob ... http://www.apetraxstudios.com/blog/digging-the-new-spl-frontliner Ok, this always seems to be a hot topic on most recording forums and I don't understand why people still think that mixing with headphones is so much worse than mixing with monitors. In fact, I think that it's more important to mix with headphones than it is with ... http://www.apetraxstudios.com/blog/the-myth-about-mixing-with-headphones It may or may not come as a surprise that many of the singers that walk through the doors of our studio know little to nothing about microphone technique and how it affects their voice and, of course, their final recording.  I've seen singers attempt to use a microphone ... http://www.apetraxstudios.com/blog/improving-your-vocal-mic-technique You may have noticed a few extra links on the Ape Trax home page as of late. We now have an official newsletter, blog, and twitter account for the studio. Here's what you can expect... Studio Newsletter We now have a studio newsletter that will include many of the great ... http://www.apetraxstudios.com/blog/newsletters-blogs-and-twitter-oh-my Realize that by going into the recording studio you are putting your band and your music under a microscope where it will be poked and prodded into submission. Every line, every transition, and every break will be revealed in astonishing clarity and failing to prepare yourselves and your music ... http://www.apetraxstudios.com/blog/recording-studio-checklist