SAMPLED▌ FRONT AND CENTER
Music producer contract: every clause explained, and the numbers that count as standard
Points, splits, work for hire and the sample clause — a plain-English walk through what actually belongs in a producer agreement before anybody hits record.
// also right now
MusicDolly Parton's career, start to finish: the songs, the albums, and the coat she gave everybody
From Locust Ridge radio to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame — the records that matter, the copyrights she refused to give away, and what a working artist can actually take from sixty years of it.
MusicThe Opry is giving Dolly Parton back to the room that made her: how to watch tonight
Tonight the Grand Ole Opry dedicates its Saturday show to Dolly Parton, with Carly Pearce, Kathy Mattea, Molly Tuttle, Dan Tyminski and more. Here is the start time, the lineup and every free way to watch or listen.
// from the dispatch
Portable synths worth taking on a train
Battery power, built-in speakers, and keybeds that survive a backpack. Sketching away from the studio.
How to record analog synths without ruining the low end
Gain staging, DI vs line, and the high-pass decisions that keep a fat patch fat in a mix.
Oscillator drift is the sound: tuning stability explained
The instability people pay extra for, the instability that ruins takes, and how to tell them apart.
Analog filters: ladder, state-variable, and diode compared
Why two synths with the same oscillators sound nothing alike once you sweep the cutoff.
Eurorack on a budget: your first 84HP
A sane starter rack, the modules that earn their space, and the ones that quietly waste it.
Semi-modular for people who hate patch cables
Semi-modular gear works out of the box and only asks for cables when you want more. A gentle way in.
The best analog synths under $500 right now
Real voltage-controlled instruments that cost less than a decent audio interface, and what each one gives up.
Mono vs paraphonic vs polyphonic: what you are actually buying
Voice count is the single most misread spec in synth shopping. Here is what each mode can and cannot do.
How to program your first analog bass patch
A step-by-step patch you can build on any two-oscillator mono synth, plus the three knobs that do most of the work.