LEARN PRO AUDIO
The Audio Masterclass Music Production and Sound Engineering Course is a fully-tutored, entirely practical online course. We'll help you learn how to get the best from your home recording studio. We'll listen to your work, help you resolve any problems, and take you all the way to a commercial release standard of production.
Select and position microphones
Select microphones according to their method of operation - dynamic, capacitor or ribbon.
Select capacitor microphones according to their construction and gain-stage element - small-diaphragm or large-diaphragm; FET transistor or vacuum tube.
Select microphones according to their polar pattern - omnidirectional, cardioid, hypercardioid or figure-of-eight.
Learn microphone positioning for mono and stereo recordings, using either close or ambient microphone technique.

Control warmth with your microphone preamplifier
Nicola Dines records with an AEA phantom-powered ribbom microphone through a Universal Audio Solo/610 vacuum tube preamplifier set to high gain/low output for a warm sound texture.

Blend and shape instruments and vocals with equalization
Learn filters - low-pass, high-pass, band-pass and notch. Set the cut-off frequency and slope to lower bands of frequencies, or remove them almost entirely.
Learn equalisation - how to optimise the frequency balance of vocals and instruments, and how to help blend instruments together in the mix.
Learn how to operate EQ controls - frequency, gain and Q (bandwidth). Work with different types of EQ including parametric and graphic.

Control and enhance dynamic range with compression
Chilli Gold records through a Neumann U47 vacuum tube amplifier, processed through a Universal Audio 1176 compressor set to a high degree of compression.

Add interest and texture with reverb and effects
Use reverb and effects to create interesting sonic textures, add to an otherwise uninteresting recording, or disguise and conceal problems.
Use delay as 'slapback', automatic double tracking, or spin echo in both mono and stereo.
Use algorithmic and convolution reverb. Learn how to use convolution reverb to sample acoustic spaces.
Apply flanging, phasing, chorus, harmonic generation and pitch-shifting techniques to your recordings.

Mix professionally produced recordings
Apply processes and effects either as inserts or send-and-return.
Optimize individual instruments and vocals individually, correct problems and enhance.
Blend instruments together with EQ, faders and pans. Know when and why to use compression on individual tracks.
Get the vocal to sit at the right level in the mix among the instruments yet strong, full and clearly audible.

Add the final touch of professionalism with mastering techniques
Take your mix to the next level with professional mastering techniques that you can use yourself with your own digital audio workstation.
Use EQ, compression, multi-band compression and look-ahead (brickwall) limiting. Fully understand and be able to apply clipping as a mastering tool (as pro mastering engineers do).
Blend and match tracks across an album. Prepare your work for commercial release on CD or download.
