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FM synthesis is a way of making sound where one wave modulates the frequency of another, and the wobble between them creates brand new tones. FM stands for frequency modulation, the same idea as ...

Subtractive synthesis is the art of starting with a bright, harmonically rich sound and carving away the parts you do not want with a filter. You begin loud and busy, then subtract. That is the w...

To connect a microphone to a computer you have two routes. Plug a USB microphone straight into a USB port, or run an XLR microphone into an audio interface that then connects by USB. That is the ...

Phantom power is 48 volts of DC electricity that your audio interface, mixer or preamp sends up the same XLR cable that carries your audio, to run a microphone that cannot power itself. It is cal...

Studio monitor placement means putting your two monitors and your head at the three points of an equal-sided triangle, tweeters at ear height, angled about 30 degrees inward, and pulled a little ...

The short version of condenser vs dynamic microphone comes down to one thing, sensitivity. A condenser mic is highly sensitive and detailed, so it captures air and nuance beautifully, and it need...

The best audio interface is not the one with the most knobs or the biggest number on the box. It is the one with stable drivers, enough inputs for what you actually record, and a clean preamp tha...

Whether you want open-back or closed-back headphones comes down to one word, and that word is air. Open-back cups let air move freely through the driver, so the sound breathes, opens up, and leak...

A synthesizer is an instrument that builds sound from scratch, using electronics instead of strings, air, or a very patient drummer. You start with a raw electronic tone and shape it into anythin...