Recording

These files accompany the Mike Skeet obituary in the March 2016 issue of SOS.

Through his work as an engineer and author, Mike Skeet inspired enthusiasts to build their own equipment and make better recordings.

When Ornette Coleman died last year, a planned celebration of his 85th birthday turned into an epic tribute album. Either way, no-one wanted a “jazz guy” to mix it...

Musician Chris Thile is quoted as saying he'd decided never to record wearing headphones again. I don’t get this. What’s wrong with headphones?

Our engineer explains how to go about getting decent results from a live-band tracking session when pressed for time.

The same pitfalls present themselves time and again in project-studio recording. Learn to avoid them and your tracking sessions will be transformed!

Now considered one of the classic tracks of the 1960s, the Zombies’ ‘Time Of The Season’ almost disappeared without trace...

When cult funk band Cymande returned to the studio, they insisted on hiring the same production team — 41 years after their previous album...

Classic rock: even well-recorded drums can require plenty of work to make them fit the track.

I’m looking for extremely detailed and natural omnidirectional microphones for two-channel small ensemble recordings on location.

Audio files to accompany the article.

This month, producer and engineer Nicolas Vernhes welcomes us into his Brooklyn studio, Rare Book Room.

Audio files to accompany the article.

Bandlab encourages collaborative music-making between people in different locations by providing tools for recording ideas, plus a social network within which ideas can be shared.

Audio files to accompany the article.

We pull a problematic live recording back from the brink.

I have two sets of monitors. The first pair are 40 inches apart and the second, outside of these, around 55 inches apart.

I’m an amateur double bass player and eager reader. While playing gigs, I usually record my band with an Apogee Quartet...

Most of the advice I’ve seen about speaker placement suggests keeping them well away from the walls, but I was recently advised to place my monitor loudspeakers directly against the back wall...

The best engineers thrive on pressure. Which is handy when they’re recording the farewell tour of one of the world’s biggest rock bands, and timecode trouble is brewing...

Audio files to accompany the article.