Mixing / Production

Harry Gregson-Williams's drive to explore original ideas and sounds has made him one of Hollywood's leading composers, scoring everything from romantic comedies to spy thrillers and historical dramas.

Writing music for picture seems like the ideal career. You get to work in your studio for a living, you can earn good money, and there's so much potential work: action films, travel and nature documentaries, romantic comedies, cartoons, low-budget sci-fi, even breakfast cereal ads. But how do you break into this lucrative world?

He took an unusual and unhurried career path, but Toby Wright has helped to create some of the most influential hard rock records of the last 20 years, including Metallica's definitive ...And Justice For All, and is now one of America's most sought-after engineers and producers.

The Go! Team's debut album, a glorious pile-up of mangled samples and lo-fi home recordings, is now attracting widespread acclaim — but its path to Mercury nomination and commercial success has been anything but smooth.

He is one of the most famous drummers in the world, having played on more than 200 records. His CV reads like a Who's Who of English, American and French popular music, and even if he prefers not to lose himself in computers, he always takes a PowerBook with him, to write songs, at home or on tour. Meet Manu Katché, drummer extraordinaire.

When I plug my guitar into my 16-track and send the same signal to two channels, if I pan both channels to the middle it sounds louder. Why?

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.