Mixing / Production

Ed Sheeran’s phenomenal success depended on hard work, a few lucky breaks, and the talents of long‑term co‑writer and producer Jake Gosling.

Audio files to accompany the article.

The multitracks for Evanescence’s third album were so big that they required two maxed-out Pro Tools rigs to play back!

We aim for more punch, depth and clarity in a quirky urban track.

Audio files to accompany the article.

If hisses, clicks, thumps or hums wreck a great take, don’t panic: do something about it!

Audio files to accompany the article.

Optimising vocal recordings and tackling some troublesome mixes are on the agenda this month, as the SOS team travel to Paul Shepherd’s studio in Nottingham.

• Rizzle Kicks 'Down With The Trumpets' • Foo Fighters 'Rope' • Christina Perri 'Jar Of Hearts' • Nicki Minaj 'Super Bass'

Many musicians spend their lives trying to cram hundreds of tracks into just two speakers — but performing with an NSML system presents exactly the opposite challenge!

Ambition and talent can take you a long way, as Alex Da Kid has discovered on his journey from the football pitch to the recording studio.

The Chemical Brothers bring more gear on stage than most of us have in our studios. Matt Cox is the man who has to make sure it all works come showtime!

Fabian Marasciullo’s mixes for the latest Lil Wayne album were so valuable he had to guard them at gunpoint.

This month, we figure out how to pack some much-needed punch into an interesting instrumental track.

Audio files to accompany the article.

Sampling a record may be child’s play, but using such samples effectively in your own compositions requires plenty of skill and finesse.

These audio files accompany the How To Build Tracks Around Sampled Tunes feature that featured in SOS December 2011.

The SOS team head out to singer/songwriter and media composer Olivia Broadfield’s studio, to solve her monitoring issues.

• Calvin Harris 'Bounce' • Arctic Monkeys 'Spangled Shalalala' • DJ Fresh 'Louder' • Bon Iver 'Calgary' • Pitbull 'Give Me Everything'

John Forbes talks to SOS about how he became musical director for Ne-Yo, creating live arrangements for one of the world’s top R&B artists using recorded parts.

Not many artists would make an entire album from field recordings of the life of a pig. But not many artists are like Matthew Herbert...