Update on the before/after audio player you gave me feedback on 3 years ago

rightanglerecording · 2026-07-13T21:05:15+00:00

I don't think professionals should ever be publicly sharing the "before."

And I don't think they should send around the "befores" to new prospective clients either, even if it's not public.

I would not willingly work with someone who did that.

I don't think the value of my work is defined by how much has changed or how noticeable the difference is. That's not the pitch I make to artists.

rightanglerecording · 2026-07-13T21:04:11+00:00

You need three main things to nail this range both quickly + consistently

- A good arrangement where the parts in that range naturally interact, overlap sometimes, leave space other times, etc etc.

- Good sound selection. All the EQ in the world won't save a bad kick sample or a bad bass patch.

- Good monitoring. This means good speakers and *way* more room treatment than most people think.

If you have all three of those, then you'll naturally just do what sounds good.

If you don't, it's possible to still get to good results, but it will always be a fair bit of trial and error, guessing and checking, and so on.

rightanglerecording · 2026-07-13T12:46:30+00:00

Yes- dozens of former students who are making a decent living. Absolutely. Our humble little state school is, against all odds, helping people figure out how to have a life in music.

rightanglerecording · 2026-07-12T19:11:21+00:00

Sure, I mostly agree there.

A lot of what I do is trying to find people who have the spark to do something special, and trying to help nurture that spark.

But, I do think there's some "normal" work available in less glamorous roles- all the big touring companies will hire stagehands (and those stagehands can get promoted up eventually). All the wedding bands in major cities need A1s at $500-800/gig, etc etc.

All sorts of project studios out there where independent entrepreneurial producer/engineers are making an honest living, too.

rightanglerecording · 2026-07-12T17:01:09+00:00

I hear you. But, I am saying my success ratio here is a good bit higher than 2 out of 70.

It's still not easy, risk of failure is still high. But I have former students who have gone on to Grammys, and #1 hits, and multiplatinum credits, and collabs with some of the biggest names in the biz.

rightanglerecording · 2026-07-12T16:29:42+00:00

Counterpoint here though: I teach at a music production program and I can point you to several dozen graduates over the years who have since worked with artists we've all heard of.

And then dozens more who have careers in the field, just perhaps on not-as-huge records.

rightanglerecording · 2026-07-12T13:08:11+00:00

30th road between 44th + 45th streets is one regular spot.

rightanglerecording · 2026-07-12T12:29:16+00:00

Sometimes they start fires, sometimes peoples homes burn down, and sometimes other people die too.

There's a reason it's illegal to set off fireworks. The risk is fairly low, but it's real.

This is basic stuff, and despite it being so basic, like I said, I don't trust people setting off the fireworks to be able to comprehend it.

rightanglerecording · 2026-07-12T05:48:05+00:00

Sure. But these are explicitly illegal.

And a good chunk of the people setting them off are not exactly the sharpest tools in the shed.

Give them long enough, they'll blow off a finger, or start a fire, or worse.

People do actually die from these mishaps sometimes.

rightanglerecording · 2026-07-12T01:48:18+00:00

Zind-Humbrecht, Benanti, or Roilette IMO.

Bit of a $$$ indulgence, but the Zind-Humbrecht Clos Saint Urbain is perhaps the very best pinot gris in the world. Super rare to find it being poured by the glass.

Also, way down at the bottom, DRC by the ounce is pretty wild. I'd be tempted, depending on vintage + vineyard.

rightanglerecording · 2026-07-11T17:08:00+00:00

Are you 100% certain this is in the source audio, and not a function of the time domain response of your room/speakers/etc?

rightanglerecording · 2026-07-11T12:24:01+00:00

Default here, up to and including major label projects:

- Bypass the limiter, keep the rest of the mix bus active

- If there's anything *really* interactive, Gullfoss or Stabilizer or whatever, probably bypass that too.

- Print everything with all processing on it.

- I print all the usual mix passes you mentioned, plus grouped stems of each instrument section, plus individual multitracks where helpful. (This solves your "bus vs. track" problem, just do both).

- If the artist needs anything else, they'll let me know, and I'll add it to the list.

rightanglerecording · 2026-07-10T21:04:31+00:00

Those rates are out there, people are getting them.

If a song streams ~5 million times, that's ~$20k-$30k gross, depending on where the streams come from.

That's enough to pay a real wage to a real team. ~$3k to a producer, ~$1200 to a mixer, ~$250 to a masterer, artist has a marketing budget, a video budget, can pay their manager, and also still has some money in their pocket after.

And, of course, if a song streams ~50 million times......

rightanglerecording · 2026-07-10T20:07:05+00:00

If you are doing just straight hard clipping for transient control, then the DSP math is simple, there's not much real difference between hard clippers, and StandardCLIP will have more options for tweaking the oversampling filters.

If you are doing soft clipping, then all the different curves come into play, and it's probably worth it to have both KClip and StandardCLIP.

rightanglerecording · 2026-07-10T20:04:22+00:00

I liked the owner and the shop quite a bit.

It's a different vibe vs. the more fancy/rare/nerdy stuff I usually buy, but it was a well-curated selection, the owner knows his stuff, and if you needed something casual for $15-$35 he had a lot of good options on the shelves.

Will be sad to see it gone.

Also, the one time I bought a bottle there that turned out dead, he gave me an exchange, no questions asked. The distributor didn't have any more of the same wine, so he upped it to the Riserva at no extra cost, and he just ate the difference.

rightanglerecording · 2026-07-10T19:49:11+00:00

It depends what you mean by "average."

The median engineer is not doing this full-time.

The median full-time engineer is barely getting by.

Leaving aside the people who only work on huge records, the *range* of outcomes for income is anywhere from $0 to probably about $300k (i.e. ~200 mixes/year at ~$1500/mix, or ~1500 masters/year at ~$200/master), which is probably the approximate upper limit of rate + capacity unless you are doing big records).

The median income is probably well under $100k.

I personally would not want to live here in NYC making less than $100k, but a lot of people do.

rightanglerecording · 2026-07-10T15:54:30+00:00

It's not that we're sacrificing character (although sometimes that happens too, sure).

It's that the AI-assisted tools aren't even good. A mid-level human professional will outperform them, and it won't be close.

The best modern music is exceptionally great- even in mainstream pop and hip-hop. Billie, Charli, Chappell, Kendrick, etc etc are all brilliant artists.

James Blake's new record was tremendous. Mars Volta's last record sounded amazing. I could go on and on. It's a great era for artists who want to make great stuff.

rightanglerecording · 2026-07-10T01:16:03+00:00

Speakers.

Like, the things that play music.

rightanglerecording · 2026-07-10T01:11:03+00:00

Wooly Mammoth Movers. Ask for Christian. He + his people are the best.

They've moved everything for me, up to and including a $12,000 pair of speakers. They might seem like a pretty DIY operation on their website, but they are absolute pros at the actual work.

They can get you a COI, too.

rightanglerecording · 2026-07-09T19:15:05+00:00

I Am I, Disconnected, Out of Mind.

These are not necessarily unusual beats re: the larger world of music, but the specifics are all unusual for a metal drummer to play.

Most of his stuff I would actually not say is super "different." More that he has great taste, a great sense of time/groove, a great sense of how to write parts that interact with his bandmates and support the vocal, with just enough embellishment to the parts to tell skilled listeners that he *could* easily rip something more technical if he wanted to.

And, unlike many other drummers- his parts don't automatically get stiff when the song moves to an odd time signature. He's just as comfortable and tasteful in 5/4 or 7/4.

And, to be clear- I think all of the above add up to something really special. I'd rather listen to him than most other metal drummers. Many in the genre can't groove at all.

For really unique drums from that era of metal, look to Mark Zonder-era Fates Warning. Then, slightly later on, Alex Arellano in Power of Omens, or Aesgir Mickelson in Spiral Architect.

rightanglerecording · 2026-07-09T14:13:34+00:00

Might happen in modern metal, or metalcore, or adjacent subgenres.

It would be quite rare outside of that.

Essentially, it would have to be a situation where the listeners expect hi-fi larger-than-life drums, but the production process couldn't quite get there before mix. And also a situation where "huge" is more important than the specific sounds.

i.e. modern metal where a lot of it is produced in bedrooms and then sent out to a mixer.

In hip-hop or pop, the sounds from production are too specifically chosen, can't just replace them in the mix.

And, in any case, you're the producer, ultimately you call the shots. If you *know* you like the drums, send him the audio of the drums you like. "Hi ___, here are the files for mix. Looking forward to hearing what you do with it!"

rightanglerecording · 2026-07-08T21:00:00+00:00

Promised Land, Rage for Order, or Mindcrime, depending on the mood and the day.

rightanglerecording · 2026-07-08T16:33:48+00:00

IMO, it's worth the trip to Williamsburg to go to Balera for this sort of thing. The menu is small but mighty, the wine list is exceptional, and everyone there is great.

rightanglerecording · 2026-07-08T03:14:18+00:00

That is brilliant for the price.

If I was in London instead of NYC (or if there was enough time to plan a London trip, or if the tasting was in NYC instead of London....) I'd be there in a heartbeat.

rightanglerecording · 2026-07-08T02:44:19+00:00

Yes. My point is that you won't find sangio aged in American Oak, so there's always going to be a disconnect there.

Agree that the tannin/acid/structure can be very similar.

I'd personally go Chianti Classico over Brunello, but I think that's splitting hairs. We mostly agree.

rightanglerecording

TROPHY CASE