Recording

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.

You might be a virtuoso instrumentalist and a dab hand at programming, but can you get the two skills to work together? Sam Inglis offers some tips.

We explain how to get the best practical results from equalisation by understanding the true frequency ranges of most instruments and voices.

Simon Millward demonstrates how to use the tools for extracting groove templates from audio recordings within most MIDI + Audio sequencers and offers his tips and techniques for using them to achieve more feel in your tracks.

While physical modelling preamps may take the hassle out of recording electric guitars, you're still going to need to reach for a mic when recording acoustic guitar. Paul White shows you how to get the best recorded sound, and offers a few of his favourite tricks of the trade.

How do you follow 10 years in The Prodigy, one of the most successful bands of the last decade? By recording a solo album in an outhouse adjoining a disused windmill, naturally. Matt Bell meets former Firestarter Leeroy Thornhill and his studio designer Joe Morena to discuss the making of a recording facility in a former double garage.

EQ is a vital tool in modern music production, and an understanding of how each type of equaliser works is important if you are to choose the most effective one for each situation. Paul White and Mike Senior explain the basic principles of equalisation and the different practical implementations.