My guest on the show today is Mark Haffner, an Emmy Award-winning TV/film composer, with many film studio & TV network credits. Some of Mark’s clients include Disney, NBC, CBS, ABC, Orion Pictures, Atlantic Records, P. Diddy, Usher, Busta Rhymes, Notorious B.I.G., and many major-market USA TV stations.

Mark Haffner is a creative media production professional with over 25 years experience in the television, film, music, and advertising industries. He is passionate about helping entrepreneurs and businesses shape their personal and business brand with well-crafted storytelling and focused messages.

He provides consulting and production services to clients combining his unique blend of experience in copywriting, voice coaching, music consulting and original production, video editing, show packaging, & promotional videos.

For you as a listener of Recording Studio Rockstars and for a limited time, Mark is offering a FREE 30 minute consultation on how you can better brand your business with video, music, & podcasting. 

Mark is also a business partner of mine and cohost of Podcast Professors were we teach you how to get started in podcasting. If you are interested in podcast yourself or even the audio side of podcasting you can check us out at;

Q: Can you share an inspirational quote for making music, recording, your business, or life in general?

A: Star Wars- “These are not the droids you’re looking for.” We in the music business have had to money move around a lot. It’s a very exciting time for musicians to branch out. You don’t wait for permission anymore. It’s a magnificently, democratically, freeing thing for the artistic spirit.

Q: What was an important failure or setback that became a learning lesson for you in the studio?

A: The excitement of composing in multiple genres, drove me into television and I got to work with a lot of big names doing a lot of different projects. After awhile I realized why I was getting paid so well, because I wasn’t putting out my own message, I was putting out the message of my client, the TV company that needed to raise ratings. I lost myself.

Q: Tell us about a moment of success for you in recording?

A: When I was 15, I wrote a song about my band called ‘A Dream in the Making.’ It got on our first record, and others heard it and related to the message. It became a generic “dream” not just for a rock band.

Q: What are you excited about right now with your recording?

A: With podcasting and social media. I’m coming out of the box starting Mark Haffner show (podcast). I want help people make money; I want people to enjoy themselves. My area of doing that is television and film. It’s still music, still your rock band, and still song licenses but instead of licensing to Atlantic Records, you license it to Paramount and then earn royalties that can be substantial over the years if you get in a good show!

The Jam Session

Q: What was holding you back at first from getting started in recording?

A: I had a fair amount of talent at a young age, and it was not hard for me to amaze people with music. But at the same time it made me very lazy. In high school I started to see people who practiced their asses off start smoking me, and I realized I needed to practice.

Q: What recording tip, hack, or secret sauce would you like to share from your experience?

A: Work backwards from the talent you have available. Record them first because then you’ll hear what they’re good at. Instead of structure and forcing everything,

Q: Can you recommend a favorite book or film about making records?

A: It’s a book about film. Rebel without a Crew by Robert Rodriguez. Book is basically a journal about how he made a movie with $7,000 while balancing a family. It sparked the revolution of people making their own movies.

Q: Can you share a favorite hardware tool for the studio?

A: Miktek ProCast SST. I have always used Neumann U-89. If you are a serious musician, save up your money to get an amazing mic!!

Q: Can you share a favorite software tool for recording?

A: CLA plugins. I think they are very quick and easy. They add all the elements you need, they tweak everything behind the scene. It gets everything in the zone quickly.

Q: If you were dropped in a strange city and could only take a simple setup for recording what would you choose? How would you find people to record, and how would you make ends meet right away to continue recording?

A: It’s all about the energy. Meet musicians wherever you can find them. I have a Zoom H6. I could walk in, meet a band, plug into their board and start recording a multitrack! I would also make videos because of social media to share a piece of the action. I’m old school and use Digital Performer to edit music. For videos I use Adobe Premiere, Photoshop, and After Effects those three programs are available through Adobe Creative Suite. You can also use Final Cut Pro, but I recommend the Adobe products!

Markhaffner.comE-mail- Mark@markhaffner.com

Twitter @mhprod

Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/user/MarkHaffnerProd

If you have any or questions about recording you would like me to answer on the show or suggestions for the show please email me:

lij@recordingstudiorockstars.com

If you dig the show and find it helpful I would be honored if you would subscribe, and leave a rating, & review in iTunes.

And if you want to get on the email list for free content full of videos, tips, studio tricks, and special offers just text RSROCKSTARS to 33-444 from your phone (super easy and I promise you won’t get spammed!)

Credits: Thanks so much to Merissa Marx and Hunter Hansen for assisting with editing audio and show notes. You guys totally rock!

Cheers!

Lij

My guest today is Kern Ramsdell a music lover and creator of the recording blog Home Recording Weekly. His goal is to share everything that he learns about writing, playing, recording, mixing, and mastering music in home recording studios.

“I simply must get the music that I hear in my head, out. I love it when a song begins to come to life.”

Kern publishes videos, product demos, and reviews to help you out as well as hosting the Home Recording Weekly Podcast.

Home Studio eBundle

​Kern also created the FREE Home Studio eBundle to help you get more realistic MIDI instruments in their productions, better sounding bass and guitars using Virtual Instruments, and better mixes as a whole. You can find out more at his site HomeRecordingWeekly.com

Get the Home Studio eBundle Now!

Q: What were some of the first failures you experienced that probably someone with a home studio is experiencing right now?

A: I knew I had to EQ my tracks, but I thought there was a right way and a wrong way. I was putting the same “happy face” EQ’s on all my tracks and they weren’t sounding right. I didn’t understand how to make each track have its own frequency space. It’s something you learn over time.

Q: What were some of the things you started to see that felt like you were succeeding?

A: When people started asking me questions and I was able to help. It made me feel like they trusted me because I’ve been in their shoes.

Q: How do you manage time with your studio and your family?

A: It’s tough, I wasn’t good at it. I was absent when I started my podcast. It takes great amounts of time to be an online presence. You have to wake up early and stay up late, do what you have to do to make the time you need. To balance time, you have to schedule and plan ahead. Realize what time you have available and how to use it the best you can.

The “Jam Session” Q&A:

Q: What was holding you back from getting started in recording music and running your home studio?

A: I didn’t think I had anything to offer. I didn’t believe in myself. Once I got over those hurdles, I put my head down and said I want to share what I’m learning. I got so frustrated and I know there are others out there going through the same things, I don’t want them to stop.

Q: What was some of the best advice you received when you were getting started?

A: Definitely “get it right at the source.” The song production pyramid is set up so you spend most of your time in the pre-production songwriting portion. The higher you climb the pyramid the less time you spend on the task, recording, mixing, and mastering at the top. Get that instrument sounding the way you want at the beginning, you don’t want to take away from the sound with the computer.

Song Production Pyramid Podcast

Q: What is a great recording tip, hack, or secret sauce that our listeners could use for their records?

A: Put your microphone up, record a piece, listen to it, then move it. Do it a few times until you find the best spot. You can even use the light on your phone to look in the speaker cabinet to get a better idea of what the speaker actually looks like to place your mic in a better place.

Q: What’s a favorite hardware tool you love having with you in the studio?

A: Due to my injury, I just got a standing work station. You push a button and my desk goes up or down. It’s amazing, I can work longer and feel better at the end of the day. Another one is my Heil PR-30. I didn’t get it due to G.A.S. but to fix a problem in my band, but man it’s a great mic.

Q: Can you explain G.A.S?

A: Product manufactures hype up their products to make it seem we can’t get good recordings unless we buy their equipment or plugins. G.A.S is that Gear Acquisition Syndrome we all fall into where we think we need more gear to sound better. We don’t, we just need to learn to use what we do have.

Q: What is a favorite software tool you use?

A: Definitely StudioOne. Their mastering part of it just sold me on it. Also the T-RackS collection. I think their stuff is great, I use it all the time. You can do mid-side processing with most of their stuff. In mid-side mode, you can treat the extreme left and right stereo field separate then the mono center channel.

Q: What’s a good resource for the business side of recording your music?

A: Any business person you know, if they’re successful, emulate what they do. That being said, I recently reviewed a product called The Voiceover Playbook written by voiceover expert, Bill Dewees. He talks about branding, how to get clients, how to conduct yourself. I learned a lot from that.

Q: Imagine you were dropped in a strange, new city and you could only take a simple set up to record AND you had to make ends meet somehow. What would you do?

A: It’s all about word of mouth. You have to be out there meeting people. Go where the musicians are, be a friend first and eventually your name will get passed around.

Q: Can you share with us the single most important thing a listener could do to become a rock star of the recording studio?

A: Slow down and get it right. Experience with your microphones and do the heavy lifting before you hit the record button. Also commit. Don’t save all of your options for later on in the mixing and mastering, make up your mind and commit! Don’t be scared there are no mistakes, it’s art.

Sites:

Website/ Blog - http://www.homerecordingweekly.com/

Youtube – https://www.youtube.com/user/kernman2

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/Home-Recording-Weekly-blog-240576362700652/?fref=nf

Twitter - @SKernR

Email – Kern@homerecordingweekly

Pat Flynn The Smart Passive Income Blog - http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/smart-passive-income-podcast/id383084001?mt=2

All About Microphones

If you have any or questions about recording you would like me to answer on the show or suggestions for the show please email me:

lij@recordingstudiorockstars.com

If you dig the show and find it helpful I would be honored if you would subscribe, and leave a rating, & review in iTunes.

Credits: Thanks so much to Merissa Marx and Hunter Hansen for assisting with editing audio and show notes. You guys totally rock!

And if you want to get on the email list for free content full of videos, tips, studio tricks, and special offers just text RSROCKSTARS to 33-444 from your phone (super easy and I promise you won’t get spammed!)

Cheers!

Lij

If you have any or questions about recording you would like me to answer on the show or suggestions for the show please email me:

lij@recordingstudiorockstars.com

If you dig the show and find it helpful I would be honored if you would subscribe, and leave a rating, & review in iTunes.

Credits: Thanks so much to Merissa Marx and Hunter Hansen for assisting with editing audio and show notes. You guys totally rock!

And if you want to get on the email list for free content full of videos, tips, studio tricks, and special offers just text RSROCKSTARS to 33-444 from your phone (super easy and I promise you won’t get spammed!)

Cheers!

Lij