I fixed a monitor problem that wasn’t a monitor problem, and it took a bad night to see it.
No, the $2,000 Cable Doesn’t Make Your Guitar Sound Better
Someone has to say it, and the science already did — I’m just repeating it louder.
Custom IEMs Ruined Stock Earbuds for Me Forever
Six drivers, molded to my ears, from InEarz. Why customs beat universals, what the break-in period nobody mentions feels like, and how they expose the rest of your chain.
Parallel Compression for Vocals: When It Works, When It’s a Crutch
It’s not a magic vocal button. It’s a specific fix for a specific problem, and using it without that problem just makes things worse.
Vintage Gear Worship Is Mostly Nostalgia Marketing
The tone isn’t in the year it was made. It’s mostly in the story you were sold about the year it was made.
The Drum Rig: DW Shells, a Black Beauty, and One Heavy K
The kit that actually gets recorded at Aina Studios — DW, the inevitable Black Beauty, Masterworks cymbals, a heavy K ride, and Ahead sticks — and why each piece survived.
I Ran a Budget Wireless IEM System for a Month — Here’s the Real Verdict
It’s not as good as the system that costs four times more. It’s also not supposed to be, and that changes how you should judge it.
The Click Track Mistake That Will Wreck Your In-Ears
The click isn’t the problem. What you built around the click is the problem.
How the Mic Locker Actually Gets Used
Warm Audio, Shure, sE, United Studio Technologies, Neumann — sorted by the jobs they actually do when the clock is running, not by trophy value.
The Studio Brain: Studio One, Melodyne, and a Pile of Waves
The software stack at Aina Studios — Studio One, Melodyne, Waves, Analog Lab — and the philosophy behind it: less friction between the idea and the take.