blog posts | cleancutaudio

Why Buy 3rd Party Plugins for Podcasting?

Tom Kelly

Aug 30
4 min

Why Buy 3rd Party Plugins for Podcasting?

You can make something great with stock plugins, but here’s a couple of reasons to buy 3rd party plugins...

Summer Break and the Future of Clean Cut Audio

Tom Kelly

Aug 7
1 min

Summer Break and the Future of Clean Cut Audio

I wanted the opportunity to let you all know that I'm taking a break from the podcast for a while! I plan on coming back in a few months w...

28. Explaining and Listening to the 4 Topologies of Compressors (VCA, FET, Opto, and Vari-Mu)

Tom Kelly

Jul 30
1 min

28. Explaining and Listening to the 4 Topologies of Compressors (VCA, FET, Opto, and Vari-Mu)

It's very important to know that every compressor is different and it will make your audio sound differently depending on how it processe...

27. Compression for Color, Tone, and Depth

Tom Kelly

Jul 16
2 min

27. Compression for Color, Tone, and Depth

Compression is a topic I've covered extensively (but also not nearly enough) on my YouTube channel. Even with all the hours of teaching I...

26. What My Dog Taught Me About Love, Audio, and Community

Tom Kelly

Jul 9
2 min

26. What My Dog Taught Me About Love, Audio, and Community

Death has a crazy way of putting a lot of things into perspective. With the recent passing on my dog and best friend Levi, I've been thin...

25. How to Become an Amazing Podcast Engineer (without a degree in audio production)

Tom Kelly

Jul 2
2 min

25. How to Become an Amazing Podcast Engineer (without a degree in audio production)

Something I've been seeing recently in Facebook groups and forums is people claiming they can't be great at audio because they don't have...

24. Noise Reduction in the Recording and in Post

Tom Kelly

Jun 18
1 min

24. Noise Reduction in the Recording and in Post

Many folks think noise reduction is something that can only be done in post production, but I'm here to tell you that's a bald-faced lie....

23. Ear Training and Critical Listening Exercises to Better Hear and Mix Podcast Audio

Tom Kelly

Jun 11
2 min

23. Ear Training and Critical Listening Exercises to Better Hear and Mix Podcast Audio

When new podcasters or audio engineers are reaching out to their peers for help with their production, it's not uncommon to hear the supe...

22. Local Recordings: The Only Way to Capture Great Podcast Audio

Tom Kelly

Jun 4
1 min

22. Local Recordings: The Only Way to Capture Great Podcast Audio

I vow to never stop talking about local recordings until every podcast on Earth at least KNOWS it's an option. Whether or not they choose...

21. Mixing Your Podcast on Headphones or Studio Monitors: The Pros and Cons of Each

Tom Kelly

May 21
1 min

21. Mixing Your Podcast on Headphones or Studio Monitors: The Pros and Cons of Each

When it comes to mixing audio, you'd be hard pressed to find a more lively debate than the one between headphones and studio monitors. Th...

20. A/B'ing Your Audio to Produce Better Sounding Podcasts

Tom Kelly

May 14
3 min

20. A/B'ing Your Audio to Produce Better Sounding Podcasts

My father always taught me the worst thing you can do is to constantly compare yourselves to others. It can be limiting, anxiety inducing...

19. Get More for Your Money By Buying Used Podcast Equipment!

Tom Kelly

May 7
2 min

19. Get More for Your Money By Buying Used Podcast Equipment!

The title says it all. You can almost stop reading now if you want to. But, I find buying used gear to be one of the most valuable "life ...

18. Defining, Identifying, and Maintaining Resonant Frequencies in the Voice

Tom Kelly

Apr 30
3 min

18. Defining, Identifying, and Maintaining Resonant Frequencies in the Voice

No matter what instrument you are recording, how it was recorded, or what hardware it was recorded with, you will always capture unwanted...

17. Sample Rate, Bit Depth, and MP3 File Conversion Listening Examples

Tom Kelly

Apr 23
3 min

17. Sample Rate, Bit Depth, and MP3 File Conversion Listening Examples

we're going to focus a bit on HOW our voices are converted and encoded into a digital signal, as well as how it's converted back to analog.

16. How to Dial in Midrange and Presence Frequencies for a Great Sounding Podcast

Tom Kelly

Apr 16
3 min

16. How to Dial in Midrange and Presence Frequencies for a Great Sounding Podcast

The entire series on frequency has been leading up to this point. The importance of the midrange and presence frequencies

15. Equalizing by Octave: The Characteristics of Each Octave Band on the Human Voice.

Tom Kelly

Apr 9
5 min

15. Equalizing by Octave: The Characteristics of Each Octave Band on the Human Voice.

We are now exploring more subtle and intentional moves when it comes to equalizing vocals for a podcast!

14. Frequency Bands: How to Hear So We Can Better Create. The Science of Sound 301

Tom Kelly

Apr 2
4 min

14. Frequency Bands: How to Hear So We Can Better Create. The Science of Sound 301

In order to produce a great sound, we first need to learn how to hear good sound. In this listening heavy episode, we isolate the 7 frequ...

13. Frequency Response, Perceived Loudness, and the Fletcher Munson Curve. The Science of Sound 201

Tom Kelly

Mar 26
5 min

13. Frequency Response, Perceived Loudness, and the Fletcher Munson Curve. The Science of Sound 201

When it comes to audio and creating a good sound, everyone will tell you "just trust your ears". It's a blanket statement that really mea...

12. Frequency, Wavelength, and the Speed of Sound: the Science of Sound 101

Tom Kelly

Mar 19
3 min

12. Frequency, Wavelength, and the Speed of Sound: the Science of Sound 101

You can't master your craft until you've mastered the fundamentals ten times over. This week's episode is all about the fundamentals.

11. Your Podcast is a Performance. Start Acting Like It.

Tom Kelly

Mar 12
3 min

11. Your Podcast is a Performance. Start Acting Like It.

There are many hills I'm willing to die on, but one I never feel bad about is that your podcast, my podcasts, everyone's podcast is a per...

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