Tobias Reyes

A stem is a grouped audio file, and labeling stems correctly comes down to one formula: a two-digit track number, a plain-language instrument name, … Read more

A sample library is just a structured collection of audio files on your machine — loops, one-shots, and multi-sampled instruments — kept somewhere you … Read more

The short version: keep three copies of every session, on two different kinds of storage, with one copy somewhere physically off-site. That is the … Read more

Learning how to arrange a beat for an artist comes down to three moves: map the section lengths off a reference track, build the … Read more

To make a drum break from a sample, you isolate the drum section of a record, find its tempo by ear, slice it into … Read more

An 808 is a pitched bass instrument derived from the Roland TR-808 drum machine, and that single fact is the whole answer: because it … Read more

Muddiness almost always comes from the same place: the reverb tail is carrying frequencies the dry signal needs. Learning how to use reverb without … Read more

Loudness normalization is how streaming services adjust a track’s overall level with a single gain change, up or down, so every song plays at … Read more

If you have ever wondered why does my mix sound bad in the car, the honest answer is short: a car is a small, … Read more

The difference between mixing and mastering comes down to what you are working on. Mixing takes your separate recorded tracks — drums, bass, guitars, … Read more