Recording

Over the years, Iceland has produced more than its fair share of innovative, experimental pop music. The country's latest hot exports, Sigur Ros, are currently recording an album in a disused swimming pool...

Direct Injection (DI) boxes can be real problem-solvers in the studio, but you have to choose the right one for the job.

What can you do when you've reached the limits of technical innovation? According to Garbage, the answer is to go back to the basics of songwriting.

You can achieve a lot with just a computer and a soundcard, but when you want to accommodate external sound sources or record with high-quality microphones then you really need to add a hardware mixer to your setup. Here's how to hook it all together for maximum flexibility.

Do hit songs have a hidden ingredient that makes them successful by appealing directly to our emotions? It's a question that musicians and scientists have sought the answer to for many decades. Acoustic researcher Ernest Cholakis has a new take on the theory...

We all want to improve the quality of our recordings, but there's often no need to rush out and buy new equipment. You just have to take a close look at the way you're using what you already have.

Why can't I run Cubase 5.1 on Windows 95? Is there a software package that acts purely as a virtual tape recorder? What is panning law? How can I get equal monitoring levels? Do multi-client soundcards still exist? Which hard disk format is best for PC audio?

The Strokes' Is This It was many critics' choice for the best album of 2001, and has gone platinum in the UK. Remarkably, it was recorded in a basic New York project studio by a then-unknown producer.

There are now lots of different ways to make a stereo master recording of your final mix, so how do you work out which one is best for you?

Why is phase important? What orchestral sample libraries are available for HALion? Where can I get Windows-based ASIO drivers for an Audiomedia III card? Are there really reverb and synth plug-ins supplied with Mac OS X? How can I isolate the vocals from a stereo mix?

Find out how to get the highest-quality audio into your computer music system.

UK garage is the biggest underground dance music phenomenon for years, and has taken London collective So Solid Crew to the top of the charts. Crew member Swiss talks to SOS about their approach to production.

One-time SOS writer Mark Cunningham hadn't produced an album for almost 10 years — until a soulful ex-prisoner inspired him to get back behind the desk...

Recorded on eight-track cassette, cLOUDDEAD's extraordinary debut album is an object lesson in lo-fi production and the creative use of budget equipment.

Recording a large orchestra can be fairly tricky, even in the most well-equipped of studios, but trying to get a great sound on location, using only the gear you can fit into your car, adds challenges all of its own.

This month's Readerzone doesn't have a home studio at all, but instead has chosen to concentrate on location recording — and with his modest Portastudio-based setup he's achieving a degree of local success.

BT revitalised the sound of boy band N'Sync, composed some of the most radical soundtracks to appear in mainstream films, and has a good claim to have invented trance. And he still finds time to talk to SOS...

You don't need a wand to conjure up sonic magic, just a few well-chosen recording tools.

Recording to a computer can make it easier than ever before to produce a great vocal sound - but there are also pitfalls to watch out for...

Richard Buskin talks with two of Sweden's hottest writer-producers about their ongoing work as part of the Murlyn Music Group, including recent hit recordings by Jennifer Lopez, Samantha Mumba and Jessica Simpson.

Paul White provides some practical tips for achieving better recorded bass guitar and bass synth sounds.