Newswire
The Panama Sound Newswire is a living archive of field notes from the studio—observations, experiments, frustrations, small victories, and hard-earned clarity from inside the recording process. This is where I document what actually works (and what absolutely doesn’t). Expect essays on vibe, sessions, technology-as-tool-not-religion, and the quiet moments that don’t show up on spec sheets. New posts land weekly. Read slowly. Take what you need. Leave the rest.
Why We Don’t Fix It in the Mix
We live in a time where nothing ever has to be final. Unlimited undo buttons, endless plug-ins, infinite tracks, infinite versions. The modern digital studio promises that no decision is permanent, that every mistake can be polished away later. And while that’s technically true, it’s also one of the most dangerous myths in music-making. Just
Should You Record to a Click Track?
Posted
Reading Time
1–2 minutesShort answer: sometimes. Long answer: only if it serves the song. A click track is a tool, not a rule. It can help lock in arrangements, tighten transitions, and make editing or overdubbing easier. For some styles—modern pop, electronic, layered productions—it’s often the right choice. It gives everyone a shared reference point and keeps the
Why Small Studios Can Compete With Big Rooms
For a long time, the industry equated scale with seriousness. Bigger rooms, bigger consoles, bigger budgets. If you wanted a “real” record, you booked a “real” studio. That logic came from a time when records were slow, expensive, and infrastructure-heavy by necessity. That era is over. Small studios compete with big rooms because the work
Rock vs. Cancer, A Review
Every once in a while, something cuts through the noise and reminds you why you started doing this at all. I watched Rock vs. Cancer and I was in tears by the end of it. It snuck up on me like a flash flood. The film follows John Grabski III, a musician dying of cancer,
Why We Don’t Record Weaponized Messaging
A few weeks ago, I turned down what Might’ve been steady monthly work. The kind of reliable booking that any new business would normally jump at without thinking twice. I said no. Not because the music was poorly written. Not because we couldn’t technically handle it. I said no because the songs weren’t really songs—they
