Joe Albano

Joe Albano

Joe is a musician, engineer, and producer in NYC. Over the years, as a small studio operator and freelance engineer, he's made recordings of all types from music & album production to v/o & post. He's also taught all aspects of recording and music technology at several NY audio schools, and has been writing articles for Recording magazine for many years.

Articles by Joe Albano

/ 319 Articles

Review: EastWest SPACES II

Impulse Response reverbs can bring the sound of real world locations to your tracks. Joe Albano checks out SPACES II, the latest IR plugin reverb from EastWest.

Monitor Calibration: Process & Use

Correctly calibrating your monitors using software like Sonarworks' Reference 4 can help your mixes by providing more accurate sonic reproduction. Joe Albano shows you how it's done.

Using A MIDI Drum Kit To Trigger Virtual Drum Instrument Plug-Ins

Combining hardware and virtual worlds can give you the best of both - a live performance feel with total control over the drum sounds. Joe Albano is your guide to making it happen.

6 Mistakes To Avoid When Managing Your Next Recording Session

Capturing a sound isn't the only important part of a recording session - there's a lot of other things to consider. Here are 6 mistakes you must avoid to ensure the best results.

Why Some Compressors Don't Need Lots Of Controls

Compression is a staple of the production process, but why do compressors offer such a variety of controls? Joe Albano explains why sometimes less is more.

Review: Yamaha TF-Rack Mixer

Yamaha's latest live sound mixer has a ton of I/O, a great touchscreen and can be remote controlled from an iPad. But that's just the start, as Joe Albano discovered.

Musical Applications For iZotope RX

iZotope's RX suite of audio repair modules is usually thought of as a post-production or mastering tool, but it has many music and mixing applications as well. Here are a few of them.

Double Your Pleasure: Doubling Mixing Tricks

Doubling is a relatively simple yet effective trick for creating depth, richness and interest in an arrangement and a mix. Joe Albano shares his top tips for doubling up.

Pros & Cons of the 4 MIDI Editors in Logic Pro X

Logic Pro X has multiple tools for editing MIDI and each one has its own specific strengths. Joe Albano explains when you might want to turn to which one for the best results.

Stereo Image Mixing in Logic Pro X

Logic Pro has some excellent tools for stereo imaging that go way beyond simple left / right panning. Joe Albano explains how to take advantage of them to make more creative mixes.

Review: Krotos Audio Reformer Pro - Sound Designers Dream?

This unique tool for turning your own sounds into foley effects - and much more - is capable of some amazing things. Joe Albano put it to the test and here's what he discovered...

Reverb Plug-Ins Every Producer Should Know

If you haven't explored beyond your DAW's stock reverb plug-ins, you could be missing out on a wealth of mixing options. Joe Albano shows you what's what when it comes to reverbs.

How To Record With An Analog Front End

Using an analog stage when recording digitally is common practice and can be a good way to give a warmer and more authentic sound to your recordings. Joe Albano explains how it works.

Mixing Live Multitrack Recordings? Read This!

Expert producer Joe Albano shares his years of experience mixing live multitrack recordings. Here's what he has learned about the best way to approach every kind of sound source.

Review: Positive Grid Bias Amp 2

Positive Grid has a reputation for making uniquely powerful amp simulations with more features than most. Joe Albano put Bias Amp 2 to the test.