Recording

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.

I want to add a Cuica drum part to a Latin jazz fusion piece and have a nice Cuica drum similar size to the one in this...

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

Shirley Collins’ album Lodestar has been a long time coming. Thirty-eight years, in fact...

I’m using Ableton Live and bounced my last few finished tracks in the 32-bit float format. I’d rather not have too many different versions of the same tracks floating around, so is there a preferred word length for when I bounce files out for mastering?

The challenge of creating a glass-themed sound world for her third album led Agnes Obel to explore some little-used instruments and techniques.

Like their debut, Bastille’s Wild World was recorded in a South London basement — but this time around, the band were global superstars.

A few years ago I decided to concentrate on producing my own music. I’ve since spent thousands of hours going through...

The Avalanches’ debut album Since I Left You took the art of sampling to new heights — but it has taken them 16 years to finish the follow-up!

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...

Singer, songwriter and producer Jack Garratt is only 24, yet his debut album Phase still draws on a decade’s experience in the music business.

Technical Editor Hugh Robjohns: In last month’s SOS we printed a query derived from the SOS...

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

Grammy-winning producer/engineer Vance Powell welcomes SOS to Sputnik Sound in Nashville to show us how he recorded a track for rock act Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown.

PJ Harvey’s long-term co-producer John Parish is uncompromising in his willingness to experiment — even with the world watching!

I’m struggling to understand what’s really happening when you use different compression ratios. Can you explain please?