Mixing / Production

'Hips Don't Lie', by Shakira and Wyclef Jean, is indisputably the biggest single of the 21st Century so far. Engineer Serge Tsai was the man who brought together many diverse elements to create a colossal hit.

Songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Bryan-Michael Cox is one of the world's leading hitmakers.

With its 150-plus tracks encompassing everything from a marching band to a children's choir, it took a special talent to craft a hard-hitting, radio-friendly mix from My Chemical Romance's 'Welcome To The Black Parade'. Enter Chris Lord-Alge...

Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned pro, there's always something to learn about adding colour to your mix.

How much treble is too much? As this month's Mix Rescue discovers, it's easy to overdo things at the recording stage, but not quite so easy to correct them at the mix.

These audio files demonstrate some of the mix processing used to create the Wild Hope remix.

I have been recording music for quite a few years now, but I always get the same problem when I listen back to my mixes:...

I understand how to record and mix music for surround, but how do I burn an audio-only disc to share my surround mixes with others on their domestic systems?

His family might be rock royalty, but Mark Ronson has had to carve out his own path in the music business. His work has paid off thanks to huge hits with Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen, and he's about to unleash one of the most surprising covers albums ever made.

Bass is the linchpin for so much of today's music, anchoring the other sounds and providing a foundation for the mix as a whole. But at the same time, it can seem maddeningly difficult to pin down and control. Help is at hand...

Beyoncé's second solo album, B'Day, has yielded two of the biggest singles of the year. Jason Goldstein tells us how he put together hit mixes for 'Déjà Vu' and 'Irreplaceable'.

The accompanying audio files demonstrate some of the mix processing used to create this month's remix.

Drum-recording problems and an inappropriate choice of vocal mic threatened to hamper this month's hard rock track by New York rock band Generals & Majors.

I seem to get different information on the order in which mix processors should be used. What should I have on the master output of Cubase when I export my mix?

You've got four weeks left until your studio closes. How to make best use of that time? The Walkmen's answer was to recreate their favourite album, note for note, in all its drunken and shambolic glory.

When The Beatles' record company tempted their producer out of retirement for one last project, no-one had any idea how radical the resulting album would be.

John Legend's silky, R&B-tinged sound has revitalised soul music. Mix engineer Tony Maserati explains how he crafted that sound for Legend's hit 'Save Room'.

When you're aiming for an in-your-face rock epic, the last thing you want is a muddy mix! Krys Baxter's Afterglow gets the Mix Rescue treatment...

I'm looking to create a home studio so that I can make beats and improve my DJ and production skills. My current set up is...

Here are the links to the various MP3 files that accompany the March 2007 instalment of Mix Rescue.

Phil Tan, one of the leading mix engineers specialising in urban music, dissects his mixes for two worldwide hit singles from Rihanna: the apty-named 'SOS' and 'Unfaithful'.