Creating Music and Sound

Do Drummers Make For Great Producers?

Being a drummer/producer myself, I'm a bit biased — I think the answer is of course yes.

Our ears have a unique perspective which comes from years of playing live — we sit in the center of the stage, usually hearing the best blend of everyone else. Also, because we focus on rhythm, our ears naturally track what everyone else is playing musically.

But I'm curious what everyone else thinks. And to quote the punchline of a producer joke: "I don't know... what do you think?"

p.s. I saw this random pic of one of my drum setups in my studio, and it reminded me to ask the question.

#drums #drummer #drumming #musicproducer #musiclovers

2 days ago | [YT] | 12

Creating Music and Sound

Here's the album that Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer" is from - So, and if you haven't heard it, it's a must listen, and a desert island album for me.

I had never owned a vinyl copy of So because I was an early adopter of CDs and thought they were the greatest thing ever. Fast forward to 2001 when CD prices were truly inflated - $15-$18 for those cheap little discs and I was at Amoeba and noticed there was a bin of new releases on vinyl, they were cheaper than CDs, and I thought "it would be fun to get back into vinyl" and so began my reentry into buying new releases on vinyl.

Doves “The Last Broadcast” came out around this era, and The Flaming Lips “The Soft Bulletin” came out a few years before - both sound great on vinyl and are also desert island albums 🙌

At a certain point I realized some of my favorite albums, like So, I had only ever had on CD, so I set out to replace my favorite CDs with vinyl. Turns out that in many cases, the vinyl versions sounded better than their CD counterparts.

So I have to ask the big geek question - Did anyone go back and replace their CDs with vinyl, or am I a true freak?

Let me be explicitly clear because some people misinterpret me when I've said this in lives and elsewhere. I am not saying that vinyl records are a better format (they are not!), but albums made in the era of vinyl had their own dynamic mastering that often wasn't matched with CDs. CDs had their own (different) mastering - and in some cases the original vinyl versions do sound better - like how we remember them sounding on our old stereos. This is a hot topic for some and perhaps we can dig into this more.

P.S. This whole post was inspired by the Sledgehammer breakdown which will be posted this week.

#vinylrecords #vinylcollection #petergabriel #so #musiclovers #80smusic

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 52

Creating Music and Sound

I just realized I can't demonstrate why the Mellotron couldn't have been used on "I'm Not In Love" if I don't have the virtual version installed 😂

These are excellent virtual instruments from a company called ‪@ArturiaOfficial‬ that I've been using in my own music for years. A big 👍 👍

Also really excited to get the Fairlight CMI V on this new computer. If you don't know the Fairlight, it's one of the instruments that literally defined the sound of the 80s — and I want to show you exactly how.

Have you ever played a real Mellotron or Fairlight? Drop it in the comments 👇

#arturia #mellotron #fiarlight #fairlightcmi #samples #keyboards #recordingstudio #musicproduction #musicproducer #jonmattox

2 months ago | [YT] | 13

Creating Music and Sound

In September 1981, David Byrne walked into the studio to produce the B-52's — fresh off Remain in Light and My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. He was simultaneously finishing the soundtrack to The Catherine Wheel. The man did not sleep.

And somehow, in the middle of all of that, Byrne managed to produce this EP for the B-52's.

"Deep Sleep" has everything you love about the B-52's — but is something moodier, trippier, more atmospheric. It doesn't sound like anything else in their catalog.
I've wanted to do a Breakdown of it for a long time. Maybe even a Name This Song episode — though this might be a deep cut even for you.

Have you heard this EP? 👇

#vinylcollection #vinylcommunity #80s #80smusic #musiclovers #musicproduction #CreatingMusicAndSound #jonmattox

3 months ago | [YT] | 22

Creating Music and Sound

SERIOUS MUSIC GEEK POST 😂

For the serious music nerds:Before digital audio, before undo, before "we'll fix it in the mix" — editing a song meant a razor blade and a steady hand on analog tape.

This is my reverse engineering of how Norman Whitfield's team edited the nearly 12-minute album version of Papa Was A Rollin' Stone down to the 7-minute single. The blue track is the single, cut up and aligned to show exactly where the edits were made against the full session below. The black gaps are what they removed.

Every one of those edits was skillfully cut and stitched together seamlessly. And yet every edit feels inevitable — like nothing is missing. That's not luck. That's a producer who knew exactly what the song needed to be.

The second image is the 7 minute single (with edits of course) in blue against the full session.

Full breakdown coming soon. 👇

#musicproduction #analog #musicproducer #70smusic #70s #TheTemptations #papawasarollingstone #CreatingMusicAndSound

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3 months ago | [YT] | 23

Creating Music and Sound

Some songs you think you know.

Then you sit with them long enough and they reveal something that stops you cold. Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone by The Temptations is one of those songs.

One chord for nearly 12 minutes.

A groove that never fills in — no snare on the 7 minute single version, ever.

A single trumpet with echo printed right onto the tape.

And a mix built almost entirely from what Norman Whitfield chose to leave out.

Strings recorded. Muted in sections

Congas recorded. Not in the mix.

The absence IS the arrangement.

Today I went to pull a quick section for a Name This Song because the breakdown was taking longer than expected, and realized — the section I chose for Name This Song doesn’t even have strings or congas in the mix. Of course it doesn’t.

Nothing about this song is quick.

Special thanks to my wife who saw I was frustrated, and said “Why don’t you just post a picture of you working on it for now?”

So I handed her the iPhone. Wives are smart.

Full breakdown incoming. This one deserves it. Who’s been waiting for this? 👇

#70smusic #70s #funkmusic #musicproduction #RecordingStudio musicproducer motown

3 months ago | [YT] | 37

Creating Music and Sound

This was the vibe at MusicPro ‘26. A Conversation With Neil Giraldo — we talked about his work as an artist and as a producer, what happens in the studio, and how it all comes together. I’ve been told the video footage is on its way, so stay tuned — highlights are coming.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

#neilgiraldo #jonmattox #musicpro26 #musicproduction #musicproducer #patbenatar #musiceducation

5 months ago | [YT] | 17

Creating Music and Sound

DEEP CUT? Adam & The Ants · Cartrouble (Parts 1 & 2) 🐜

Is this one a deep cut to you — or did you have this on repeat? And if it IS a deep cut, is it your favorite off the album? (This is NOT the re-recorded version released as a single in 1980 with Jon Moss and Chris Hughes 😂)

Some of you have been telling me the Name This Song episodes are too easy. Maybe it's time to go deeper. 👀 (Fair warning: if I turn this into an NTS episode, you already have a head start 😂) You can tell by the waveform just how punchy and dynamic this one is!

———

Cartrouble (Parts 1 & 2) from Dirk Wears White Sox (1979)

Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica, Piano · Adam Ant
Bass · Andrew Warren
Guitar, Piano · Matthew Ashman
Percussion · Dave Barbe
Producer · Adam Ant
Engineer · Benny King

ALL CREDITS SUBJECT TO OFFICIAL VERIFICATION

#AdamAndTheAnts #NewWave #DeepCut #PostPunk #80sMusic #ClassicAlbums #MusicHistory

5 months ago | [YT] | 13

Creating Music and Sound

Had an incredible time hosting a conversation with Neil Giraldo at MusicPro '26 — we dove deep into his approach to producing music, technology, and why drum machines are legitimate musical instruments.

Much thanks to the amazing organizers pictured here, and grateful for the time and a room full of people who clearly love music as much as we do. 🥁🎸

#musiceducation #musicschool #musicproduction #musicproducer #recordingstudio #neilgiraldo #patbenatar #CreatingMusicAndSound #jonmattox

5 months ago | [YT] | 15

Creating Music and Sound

Nobody Knew Who Was On This Led Zeppelin IV Cover For Over 50 Years 🤔

Here’s the album that When The Levee Breaks calls home — and yes, someone asked “who’s the guy carrying the sticks on the cover?”

For over 50 years nobody knew — and most people assumed it was even a painting. It’s actually a hand-coloured Victorian photograph taken in 1892 by Ernest Howard Farmer. And the man’s identity wasn’t confirmed until 2023 — his name was Lot Long, a thatcher from Mere, Wiltshire.

Robert Plant found it in an antique shop in Berkshire and the rest is history. No band name. No album title. Just a mystery man on a wall — and one of the greatest albums ever made. 🎵
So… who do YOU think he is? 👇

#vinylcollection #vinylcommunity #ledzeppelin #70smusic #70s

6 months ago | [YT] | 24