Industry Talk

Half teacher, half technician, as a producer you're going to have to coax the best from your charges, identify their strengths and conceal their weaknesses. David Mellor dons the velvet glove...

Multimedia artist Nick Rothwell isn't very old. But he's old enough to remember a time when we didn't need hallucinogenic drugs to have a visual imagination. What's he on?

Alesis made their name with their reverbs, but really came of age with the revolutionary ADAT digital multitrack. Paul White talks to the company's founder and President Keith Barr about the impact of ADAT, and the future of technology in music.

An 'Unplugged' session is going to require a very different studio from a techno track bursting with MIDI bells and whistles. Beyond that, choosing a recording studio is down to that elusive spiritual ingredient, 'the vibe'. David Mellor investigates pop psychology...

Music journalist Rikky Rooksby considers the effect technology is having on music, and tries to extract some of the digit from digital.

The remarkable success of the Drake Music Project is proving that where music technology is concerned, disability is no handicap. Mark J. Prendergast joins the levellers...

Regular SOS contributor Mike Collins blows the trumpet for the Apple Macintosh, whilst sounding a note of caution to those musicians considering the Mac as a work platform today...

Continuing our occasional series of reports from long-term users of studio equipment, this month Brian Heywood talks to two producers about their Soundscape digital recording system, and how they used it to put together a hit track.

Debbie Poyser and Derek Johnson conclude their conversations with the engineers who service with a smile.

Once the artist, their record company and A&R manager have agreed the balance sheet, there are still artistic questions to be resolved. This month, continuing his look at working as a team, David Mellor explains how producer, arranger, programmer and session musician can live together in perfect harmony...

SOS writer Craig Anderton is all for musical literacy, but sees no benefit in instant gratification.

Disaster strikes! Your most essential piece of gear dies on you mysteriously. What should you do? Take it to the professionals, of course. In the first of a two-part feature, Debbie Poyser and Derek Johnson talk to some of the engineers who service with a smile — and find they have some amazing tales to relate from the inspection pit of the music industry.

To the budding pop star, A&R managers hold the power of life and death — and it's not much easier for the producer. David Mellor explains how to win friends and influence people

Having resolved the nebulous role of the record producer in Part 1, this month David Mellor addresses the practical matter of pre-production.

Time was when synths weren't all weedy presets and wheyfaced copies of real instruments. Regular SOS contributor Paul Nagle is living off his memories...

SOS reader Eugene Romain frankly faces up to the embarrassing problem of gear lust, and asks: do we really need the next 'big thing'?

A record producer's career is seen as glamourous and exciting, but what does the job actually entail? Over the next few months, David Mellor will be talking to top producers about the whole process, from initial concept to final pay cheque. This month he looks at the different types of record producer in the music business.

During a fleeting visit to SOS headquarters, Paul White managed to soften up DOD/Digitech's Product Development Manager, Randy Thorderson, with a tasty curry before pumping him for info about products and future developments.

London's famous Turnkey music store was recently completely redesigned to offer instant hands-on access to virtually every major product in stock. SOS checked out the new facilities.

Sound On Sound's first decade has been graced by synths that were revolutionary, synths that were fascinating, synths that were seminal, and synths that were simply loved. Julian Colbeck takes a personal look at 10 of the best from synthesizer history.

Martin Russ takes a look at the changing face of technology during the first decade of SOS.