Mixing / Production

Last month we discussed how to prepare mixes so that they are ready for the mastering engineer. This month, we look inside the mastering room during the processing of an album, to see what kind of equipment is used, and the sort of processes that are applied to finish the tracks to the required standard.

Production pioneers Massive Attack are going through exciting times — they've built an awesome recording studio, moved into surround soundtrack work, and they have a new album on the way. We take a spin around their new workspace.

This issue's Studio SOS comes to you from the other side of the world, as we help an Australian reader sort out his vocal recordings.

For his latest album, musician/producer Brian Eno has returned to the world of songwriting. But his ideas about music are as radical as ever...

Steve Albini has become a legend in the world of alternative music by championing traditional engineering skills, respecting the opinions of the artists he records, and doing business ethically.

For over a decade, Nainita Desai has earned her living designing sounds and composing for film and television. She speaks about her experiences in the industry, and explains what opportunities there are for newcomers who want to get their foot in the door.

In Cubase SX, can signals be 'routed' to a compressor's side-chain to modulate another signal?

Jeff Wayne's classic musical adaptation of H.G Wells' novel The War Of The Worlds was a technical tour de force and an enduring commercial success. 27 years after its release, it has undergone a complete rework for 5.1 surround using Pro Tools.

Most modern musicians use samples, even if only in Sample & Synthesis-based keyboards or virtual instruments. But sampling itself has become something of a lost art. In the first part of a short series on rediscovering this skill, we look back at how the technique and the technology developed.

Even with the subwoofer turned down a bit, the amount of boomy low bass was incredible and pushed the other frequencies to the back. Do you have any tips on how to prevent this from happening?

DJ Format has been making funky, sample-led hip-hop since the old school was new — and it seems the world has finally caught up.

The Dust Brothers changed the course of record production with a new approach to sampling. In their first ever in-depth technical interview, John King and Mike Simpson explain their unique way of making records and open the doors of their remarkable LA studio, The Boat.

I was wondering if it's possible to use a single mono compressor that can be stereo linked (the Focusrite ISA430, for...

East Norfolk Sixth Form College needed help integrating their hardware multitracker with their computer sequencing system, so the SOS team travelled over to Great Yarmouth to lend a hand.

When DJs produce their own albums, the results can be mixed — but Laurent Garnier is not your average DJ, and his 'The Cloud Making Machine' is anything but a conventional house or techno record.

Over a 40-year career, Phil Ramone has built up perhaps the most impressive discography of any producer working today — and although he emphasises the importance of traditional engineering and people-management skills, his work is also at the limits of what cutting-edge technology makes possible.

Myles MacInnes (aka Mylo) has given the dance world a wake-up call with his Destroy Rock & Roll album, blending house music and '80s soft rock to surprising effect.

I am trying to recreate the famous gated reverb effect on Phil Collins's records. Can you tell me how the original effect was created?

I have some sampled drum patterns that I am trying to loop. I find that they are losing sync over the course of the track. What's going wrong and how do I fix it?

Celebrities from around the world were keen to contribute to a fund-raising single for victims of the Asian tsunami, and converting all of this goodwill into a finished record required innovative use of broadband Internet to collect together their performances.

Producer, singer/songwriter Trevor Horn has been at the forefront of technological innovation since his earliest work with The Buggles, in a career that has yielded countless classic singles and albums.