CLASSIC ALBUM REVIEW – “Brothers In Arms” by Dire Straits

Well, I thought I’d finish off the year with a review of one of my all time favourite albums and one that was very influential for me.  It is none other than “Brothers In Arms” by Dire Straits. Dire Straits were a band that inspired me to pick up the guitar as a youngster.  I […]

5 TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR GUITAR PLAYING

No matter what level you are at with your guitar playing, there’s always room for improvement and growth.  Levelling up your playing doesn’t happen overnight, it takes dedication and consistent focused effort.  Today, I’m going to give you my top 5 tips on how you can improve your guitar playing. I’ve been playing guitar for […]

90’S ROCK MIXING TECHNIQUES

The 90’s had some of the most amazing rock and alternative music.  Today, I’m going to delve into the mixing side of things and talk about some of the techniques that were used to get those amazing sounding records. So, grab your beverage of choice, sit back and let’s get into some 90’s rock mixing! […]

TOP 5 TIPS FOR RECORDING ROCK GUITARS

When it comes to recording rock guitars, I have to say that I believe that less is more.  In terms of the recording aspect, I should preface this by stating that I’m largely referring to distorted rock rhythm guitars, as opposed to lead guitar.  It’s become a modern trend to capture countless versions of the […]

THE STAGES OF MUSIC PRODUCTION

Have you ever wondered what a full music production encompasses?  Whether it be a single song, EP or full album, the following points highlight the key components and common workflow: IDEAS The early stage of song conception can be both vague, highly focussed and intentional, or a combination of random musings or scribbles.  It could […]

7 TIPS FOR MIXING GUITARS

The intrinsic nature of a recorded guitar sound is arguably less forgiving when approaching a mix.  The reason for this is because, fundamentally, there is actually very little mixing required.  Even if a recording is subjectively bad and your initial response is to apply a multitude of effects/processing during the mixing stage, you may find […]

Guitar strings… what’s the difference?

If you’re relatively new to the guitar-slinging world (or even if you are an experienced campaigner) you may, at some point, have wondered: what’s the difference between the various types of guitar strings available?  You may have even browsed the ‘wall of strings’ at your local guitar shop for a while and then decided to […]

7 Tips For Playing Live

The importance of the live performance is arguably at it’s highest level for some time.  Artists income and revenue streams are becoming narrower with the shift to digital streaming formats, which means artists and performers need to be at a significantly higher level to compete in the live arena.  The following tips will help you […]

8 TIPS FOR LAYERED GUITAR RECORDINGS

Capturing great guitar recordings and creating lush, layered sound can give your music amazing depth.  For many genres of music, it is one of the secrets to establishing the midrange warmth that creates a full, well-rounded sound.  The following tips provide some options for how to achieve this in your guitar recordings: Tone blending This […]