I Belong to The Shuffle Generation.
Anyone that has worked with me is aware of how little I am concerned with the genre or style of music I’m working on, listening to, etc. I don’t believe that good or bad music is tied to any specific genre, style, song structure, recording scenario, or format. I believe in the effectiveness of communicating […]
In Other(s) Words.
“As a songwriter and someone who values certain recording aesthetics, I really appreciate working with Rick at Handwritten Recording: he is not just an engineer (though he’s a really good one!), he is a collaborator and a resource. Rick knows music and he is interested in what works best for the song rather than putting […]
50 Things I Have Learned in 10 Years.
Yesterday marked the 10th anniversary of the first recording session here. To commemorate that achievement, here are 50 things I have learned along the way. No two recording sessions present the same opportunities / challenges / snack options / inside jokes. Everyone loves talking about food. Most people don’t give a shit about compression thresholds, […]
Your Vocals Have Consequences. (Let’s Be Vigilant.)
For starters, you will care more about the vocal performance on your record more than I ever could. You get it. I get it. I just approach it from a much different perspective. To me, they are a signal in our mix and are equally important as the sound and shape of our floor tom, […]
5 Things I Do in Every Session. (and so should you?)
Trust the person from moment one. Simple, but important that I start from a place of trust with you. I trust that you have a direction for the recording and that you will make the best decisions to get there. I hope you start at the same place with me. It just makes more sense […]
Producer v. Engineer: You may care, I sure don’t.
One of the most common questions I get is, “Do I produce records?”. Super fair question. I actually think its a better question to gauge personality on the response more than anything else. (musical rorschach test?) Anyways, my stock answer used to be “No, you do. I’ll help.” – but I’m starting to think it either […]
Mastering Misconceptions.
I have been mastering a fair amount of audio here as of late and wanted to take a moment to post about it. The misconceptions about the process are starting to become apparent and, judging by the relief I sense in the wake of some initial conversations, this post might be of some use to […]
Restraint.
Dear Diary, Exercising restraint is often one of the most difficult challenges in putting together recordings. The opportunities we have in building sound from silence are endless- and we can easily fall in to the trap of associating “more” with “better”. We can always add another layer to our arrangements- but does it make an […]
Blah-g.
Thanks for taking the time to check out the newest portion of the site- and this post- my maiden voyage into the abyss of the blogosphere. At best, I’m hoping this page can provide an entertaining glimpse into my brain as it makes sense of the noises being made both inside and outside of Handwritten. […]