Recording

Creating alien worlds, bringing droids to life and giving Star Wars more realism. We talk sound design and foley with the team behind the critically-acclaimed Rogue One.

Neneh Cherry’s breakthrough 1988 single melded hip-hop and cut-and-paste sampling into a perfect pop record.

Watch engineer/producer extraordinaire Eric Valentine as he crafts a shimmering surf guitar sound, in the vein of Smash Mouth or Third Eye Blind, that employs three amps and judicial use of modulation effects.

We sat down with songwriter/producer Jake Gosling ahead of his masterclass at ACM in Guildford, UK, to talk about creating better arrangements, getting the best out of performers, and the advantages of having a simple recording setup. 

Maximising A Minimal Arrangement: Our engineer tackles the recording of some stripped-down electric-guitar and vocal arrangements.

Armed with nothing but an Atari, a pair of S950 samplers and his faithful TB303, Fatboy Slim took the charts of the late 1990s by storm.

Our engineer battles the clock while keeping the artists at ease, to capture seven tracks in a single weekend.

LA-based producer Eric Valentine (Queens Of The Stone Age, Slash) recreates the guitar sound from QOTSA's unique 2002 album, Songs for the Deaf. We look at every link in the chain from tuning and guitar choice through to amp settings, pedals, mic selection and post-processing.

In 1985 John Lydon found himself in a New York studio with producer Bill Laswell and a group of session musicians. The result was to become one of PiL’s most recognisable tracks.

David Crosby’s latest album has gained much praise for its sonics. The man who tracked and mixed it offers SOS readers the inside story — with audio examples.

Audiobook Recording: spoken word in the project studio presents a different set of challenges to most music productions.

How should a band prepare for their first session in a pro studio, and what can the producer do to help? We went to Kore Studios to find out.

Everyone agrees that when you’re tracking drums, the room makes a difference — but with so many other variables in play, identifying its specific contribution can be tricky. Enter producer Tommaso Colliva, drummer Alex Reeves, and a unique experiment...

When recording drums, sometimes it’s best to go with the ‘safe’ options — but occasionally there’s time to experiment!

The Don Camillo Chor: Our engineer records a choir singing in their practice room, and tries to make it sound like it was captured in a church!

1982’s ‘The Look Of Love’ paired an ambitious band with an ambitious producer, and the result was a perfect piece of pop music.

Sylvia Massy shares weird recording tips

Must modern metal drums rely on triggered samples? Our engineer shows how you can mic up a kit for a modern, heavy sound.