Recording

Sound On Sound's May 2000 SAE/MPG competition offered readers the chance to win a recording session in a London studio with a top producer. Tom Flint talked to the lucky winners about the recording of their demo — and to producer Steve Levine, who took on the job of transforming it into a potential chart-topper.

How can an electronic band produce exciting, spontaneous, unpredictable and visually engaging perfomances? And if they do, is it really possible to capture the experience of being there in a recording? Rick Smith and Karl Hyde of Underworld believe they have the answers, as Paul Tingen discovered.

Mike Senior answers some of the most common questions we receive about sending out demos, and helps you to make the kind of impression that will get your music heard.

Ken Nelson favours the old school of recording, based around clean signal paths, live playing and analogue tape — but that hasn't stopped him working with some of the hottest new bands in Britain. Among them are Coldplay, whose debut Parachutes album crashed straight into the charts at number 1. Sam Inglis finds out how it was recorded.

Paul White offers a few levels for soundcard-based music systems.

Those who bemoan the lack of invention and experimentation in today's rock music must make an exception for Mercury Rev and the Flaming Lips, two of America's finest and most successful 'alternative' outfits. Their shared producer and engineer Dave Fridmann tells Sam Inglis about their unique approaches to recording.

If I make a digital copy of one Minidisc recording onto another Minidisc, will the data compression reduce the quality of...

Some of the most common problems encountered when working in a home studio arise from having to record in the same room as your recording equipment. However, good-quality recordings are still perfectly possible in such conditions. Hugh Robjohns advises on how to obtain the best results.

Although 'Money' took new British R&B star Jamelia into the top 5 at the age of 17, her apparent overnight success was built on more than a year of hard work by producer Colin Emmanuel. Sam Inglis uncovers the story behind the single.

As a producer and engineer, Alan Moulder has been responsible for some of the most sonically innovative rock music of recent years. In a rare interview he talks to Richard Buskin about his approach to recording and working with Nine Inch Nails and Smashing Pumpkins.

When is the professional signal level no longer standard? When you want to connect to digital equipment! Hugh Robjohns explains the mysteries of exchanging signals between analogue and digital domains.

Most of us are aware that MP3 encoding offers a way of drastically reducing the size of digital audio files while preserving reasonable sound quality. But how many of us know how it works? Paul Sellars explains the theory behind MP3, and offers some tips on making your own coded files sound better.

Christina Aguilera's debut single was a worldwide smash hit last year, thanks in no small measure to the distinctive work of producer and co‑writer David Frank. Mike Senior finds out how he did it.

From his early days as a pioneer of British synth-pop, Martyn Ware has forged a career on the cutting edge of electronic music. And he is still innovating today — in 3D.

Sound On Sound's September 1999 SAE/Quantegy competition offered the fantastic prize of an all-expenses-paid recording session in a New York studio with a top producer. Tom Flint talked to the lucky winners to find out how they put their winning demo together — and found out how producer Nicky Graham transformed it into a potential chart smash.

I've been playing in bands ever since I saw George Harrison and the boys in 1963 (I'm still a Beatle‑freak!) Now,...

In the first part of a new series, Paul White looks at the practicalities of stereo editing. So, if you plan on compiling your stereo mixes into an album master, you'd better read on.