← Notes05 / CATEGORY
Technique
How the decisions actually get made — placement, staging, and the choices that happen before anyone touches a fader.
Technique · September 11, 2026 · 3 min readBass: DI, amp, or both
The bass is the instrument most often recorded badly by default. The choice between direct and amplified is a real one, and it should be made on purpose.Technique · September 11, 2026 · 4 min readWhat a compressor actually does to a vocal
Compression is not a volume control and it is not a polish. It is a timing device, and the controls that matter most are the ones people set last.Technique · September 11, 2026 · 4 min readGuitars and amps: the part that happens before the microphone
The largest tonal decisions on a guitar track are made by the player, the instrument, and the amp settings. The mic only records what is already there.Technique · September 11, 2026 · 4 min readMicing a drum kit: where the decisions actually are
Most drum sounds are decided before a microphone comes out of the case. Tuning, the room, and where the overheads go account for nearly all of it.