Recording & Mixing

Matt Johnson of Jamiroquai talks us through five favourite processing tips that he uses to create movement and interest in synth parts.

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
00:53 - Tip 1: Reverb And Sidechained Compression
02:48 - Tip 2: Panned Effects
04:47 - Tip 3: Chopped Audio
06:53 - Tip 4: Adding Effects To Duplicate Tracks
09:55 - Tip 5: Adding Reverb Before Compression

All music composed and performed by Matt Johnson © Matt Johnson Music

Matt Johnson Biog
For the last 20 years Matt has been the keyboard player for Jamiroquai, co-writing most of the band's output during that time and co-producing the last album ‘Automaton’.

In between working with the band he has recorded as a session player with numerous artists in many genres including Duffy, Ashanti, J.P.Cooper, Jax Jones, S.G.Lewis, Purple Disco Machine, Newton Faulkner, Nolwenn Leroy, Will Young and many more.

Now Matt has released his debut solo record ‘With The Music’ under the Splash Blue label, with a retro Jazz Funk feel.

https://www.mattjohnsonproducer.com/

Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

Eddie Bazil gives six sound design tips, using various plug-in filters to create unique instrument sounds and to add interest and movement to mixes.

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
00:56 - The First Filters
02:23 - Modern Filters
04:37 - Example 1: Filtering A Triangle Wave Into A Sine Wave
06:15 - Example 2: Using Self-Oscillating Filters To Generate Tuned And Tracked Tones
07:27 - Example 3: Adding Movement To A Sub Bass
11:44 - Example 4: Filtering A Drum Beat
14:45 - Example 5: Using Resonant Filters On Beats
17:34 - Example 6: Creating Texture With Formant Filters

Eddie Bazil Biog
Eddie Bazil launched his music industry career at the age of 17 as a synth programmer for a range of Electro / New Wave bands including Art of Noise, Spandau Ballet, Pet Shop Boys, Bobin, Paul Dee, DJ Krush, DJ Shadow, Jets Orchestra. By his 20s he was working as a sound designer for Akai, Roland Emu/Ensoniq, eventually signing on exclusively with the latter. Later, due to a growing demand for software instruments and libraries, Eddie started to develop libraries for various software manufacturers, including Native Instruments, Kiesel, Sound Effects Library, Arturia and Propellerheads. A meeting with Phil Allen, a Capital Radio DJ, resulted in the company Samplecraze, which Eddie has spent 20 years developing as an educational resource. At this time he trained in music production and soon gained a number of prominent contracts working with some notable artistes such as Busta Rhymes, Greensleeves, 9 Bar, SFP, Sleeveless, Chris Campbell and Gam Productions. He contracted to Island Records and Chrysalis as a producer and remixer,  plus was commissioned to write the score for Macbeth that ran at 2 Way Mirror at Alexander Palace for the Cambridge Shakespeare Company. His ongoing development of Samplecraze has led to him offering educational workshops and classes, releasing four books via PC Publishing and becoming a contributor and forum moderator for Sound On Sound. Recently he has established The Audio Production Hub for online education and been invited by the Recording Academy to become a Grammy judge.
https://eddiebazil.co.uk/

https://samplecraze.com/

https://theaudioproductionhub.pivotshare.com/

Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

Howard Gray gives us a fascinating look behind the scenes of recording and engineering some of the biggest tracks of the 80s. James Gardner chats to him about his journey, starting out as a tape op through to becoming a highly regarded freelance engineer.

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
00:48 - A Tape Op At Manor Studios
02:25 - A Typical Day At The Manor
03:45 - The Engineers And The Bands
06:01 - Tape Editing
07:56 - Switching To Digital
09:18 - From House Engineer To Freelance
09:42 - Hugh Padgham and Steve Lillywhite
12:24 - Early Sampling
13:03 - Using An SSL Desk
17:45 - Scritti Politti Cupid and Psyche
18:25 - Synchronising MIDI and Tape
22:24 - Getting The Scritti Sound
23:48 - Working With UB40
28:01 - The Age Of Chance
28:15 - From Tape To Digital To HD Recording
29:09 - Working With Slave Reels
30:48 - The Change To Digital Tape
31:58 - Preferred Recording Medium
33:02 - Engineering Apollo 440
34:31 - Recording A Jazz Quartet
35:59 - Using Logic and Plug-ins

Howard Gray Biog
Howard started out in the early 80s as a teenage razor-sharp tape operator at The Manor - Virgin Records’ quintessential getting it together in the country recording facility, before graduating to house engineer at one of the first Solid State Logic console equipped studios, west London’s legendary Townhouse. Sessions there included Kate Bush, Phil Collins, XTC, OMD, PIL, The Stranglers, Japan, Rip Rig & Panic, Van Morrison and ABC. He worked on countless classic 80’s records with producers like Mick Glossop, John Leckie, Hugh Padgham, Steve Lillywhite, Adrian Sherwood and Trevor Horn, engineering albums such as Simple Minds’ Sparkle in the Rain, and the paradigm shifting Cupid & Psyche for Scritti Politti.

His first production credits with UB40 (Red Red Wine) led to more, including The Cure, Terence Trent D’Arby, Danny Wilson, Manic Street Preachers, Age Of Chance, Screaming Blue Messiahs, Pete Wylie, Tom Jones and Art Brut - at the controls in seminal London studios Air, Trident, Roundhouse, Sarm, Metropolis, Eden, Strongroom, as well as New York, Paris, Tokyo, Munich, Oslo, Baltimore and more.

Witness to the dawn of digital and early adopter of the Sequential Circuits Studio 440, the possibilities of sampling led Howard in the early 90s to form dance/rock/dub combo Apollo 440, prolific producers and remixers of, amongst others, U2, Scritti and Shabba Ranks, Jean-Michel Jarre, James, Hotei, Puretone and Jeff Beck from their Camden Town ‘Apollo Control’ base. The group delivered three albums for Sony Records, numerous top 40 singles, including international hit Stop The Rock, film themes Lost in Space and Charlie’s Angels. He still regularly directs their live performance/Dub sound system at European festivals from FOH. 

Mixer of The Anfield Rap, co-writer and producer of Pass and Move (it’s the Liverpool Groove), and now nearing 500 credits on Discogs. His recent projects include Jazz LPs and Baroque Opera.

James Gardner Biog
James Gardner is a composer, synthesizer programmer, researcher, and broadcaster based in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland). Born in Liverpool, James played and programmed synthesizers in London during the 1980s, and in 1990 co-founded the band/remix team Apollo 440. Following encouragement from Michael Finnissy, he left the group in 1993 to concentrate on notated composition. Moving to Aotearoa/New Zealand in 1994, he established the contemporary music ensemble 175 East, which he directed until 2010.

As well as composing, he has written and presented many programmes for RNZ Concert including features on Frank Zappa, Morton Feldman, John Barry’s James Bond soundtracks, and These Hopeful Machines – a six-part series on electronic music. 

https://www.rnz.co.nz/concert/programmes/hopefulmachines

As a teacher, Gardner has lectured on music and music technology at the University of Auckland, Unitec Institute of Technology and the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, where he is an Adjunct Senior Fellow. His primary research topic is the synthesizer company EMS, and the electronic music studio of Peter Zinovieff.

Website: https://www.gardnercomposer.com/

Twitter: @JEGcomposer

Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

Paul and Hugh wax lyrical about the things they dislike about today's gear.

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
00:18 - Power Supplies
02:32 - USB Connectors
03:07 - Software
04:37 - Audio Specifications
06:15 - Digital Meters
08:02 - Detented Potentiometers
09:01 - OS Upgrades
10:28 - Non-Removable Batteries
11:39 - Impractical Hardware

Paul White Biog
Paul White joined the Sound On Sound team in 1991 where he became Editor In Chief, a position he held for many years before recently becoming Executive Editor. Paul has written more than 20 recording and music technology textbooks, the latest being The Producer’s Manual.

Having established his own multitrack home studio in the 1980s he’s worked with many notable names including Bert Jansch and Gordon Giltrap. He’s played in various bands over the years and currently collaborates with Malvern musician Mark Soden, under the name of Cydonia Collective. Paul still performs live claiming that as he has suffered for his music he doesn’t see why everyone else shouldn’t too!

http://www.cydoniacollective.co.uk/

Hugh Robjohns Biog
Hugh Robjohns has been Sound On Sound´s Technical Editor since 1997. Prior to that he worked in a variety of (mostly) sound-related roles in BBC Television, ending up as a Sound Operations Lecturer at the BBC´s technical training centre. He continues to provide audio consultancy and bespoke broadcast audio training services all over the world, lectures at professional and public conventions, and occasionally records and masters acoustic and classical music too!

Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

A rundown of some of the most intriguing product releases reviewed in Sound On Sound in 2021, as chosen by Paul White and Hugh Robjohns. Includes software and hardware from budget to pro audio.

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
00:18 - Zoom F6
01:27 - Logic 10.7
01:59 - IK Multimedia AmpliTube X-Space 
03:03 - Trinnov D-mon 
05:06 - IK Multimedia AmpliTube 5
05:26 - Cherry Audio Stardust 201 Tape Echo
05:41 - Waves Retro Fi
06:14 - Rob Papen DelSane
06:37 - SSL Native X-Echo
06:49 - Classical Recording: A Practical Guide in the Decca Tradition

08:21 - Boss IR-200
08:41 - Blackstar Dept.10 Dual Drive
09:47 - RME Audio HDSPe AIO Pro
11:19 - SSL BiG SiX
12:42 - Aum Guitars Vibraslide
13:52 - Gamechanger Audio LIGHT Pedal
15:06 - Grace Design m900

Paul White Biog
Paul White initially trained in electronics at The Royal Radar Establishment in Malvern then went on to work with Malvern Instruments, a company specialising in laser analysis equipment, before moving into technical writing. 

He joined the Sound On Sound team in 1991 where he became Editor In Chief, a position he held for many years before recently becoming Executive Editor. Paul has written more than 20 recording and music technology textbooks, the latest being The Producer’s Manual.

Having established his own multitrack home studio in the 1980s he’s worked with many notable names including Bert Jansch and Gordon Giltrap. He’s played in various bands over the years and currently collaborates with Malvern musician Mark Soden, under the name of Cydonia Collective. Paul still performs live claiming that as he has suffered for his music he doesn’t see why everyone else shouldn’t too!

http://www.cydoniacollective.co.uk/

Hugh Robjohns Biog
Hugh Robjohns has been Sound On Sound´s Technical Editor since 1997. Prior to that he worked in a variety of (mostly) sound-related roles in BBC Television, ending up as a Sound Operations Lecturer at the BBC´s technical training centre. He continues to provide audio consultancy and bespoke broadcast audio training services all over the world, lectures at professional and public conventions, and occasionally records and masters acoustic and classical music too!

Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

Vocoders are not just for vocals. In this episode, Eddie Bazil talks about the various vocoder plug-in options and demonstrates six creative techniques.

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
00:30 - A Short History Of The Vocoder
02:15 - How Vocoders Work
03:28 - Example 1: Processing Drum Beats and Pads
07:31 - Example 2: Adding Texture To Drums And Bass
10:41 - Example 3: Creating Rhythmic Bass Textures
13:30 - Example 4: Creating The Borg
16:00 - Example 5: Modulating Sounds Using A Beat
21:20 - Example 6: Adding Delay To Create Motion

Eddie Bazil Biog
Eddie Bazil launched his music industry career at the age of 17 as a synth programmer for a range of Electro / New Wave bands including Art of Noise, Spandau Ballet, Pet Shop Boys, Bobin, Paul Dee, DJ Krush, DJ Shadow, Jets Orchestra. By his 20s he was working as a sound designer for Akai, Roland Emu/Ensoniq, eventually signing on exclusively with the latter. Later, due to a growing demand for software instruments and libraries, Eddie started to develop libraries for various software manufacturers, including Native Instruments, Kiesel, Sound Effects Library, Arturia and Propellerheads. A meeting with Phil Allen, a Capital Radio DJ, resulted in the company Samplecraze, which Eddie has spent 20 years developing as an educational resource. At this time he trained in music production and soon gained a number of prominent contracts working with some notable artistes such as Busta Rhymes, Greensleeves, 9 Bar, SFP, Sleeveless, Chris Campbell and Gam Productions. He contracted to Island Records and Chrysalis as a producer and remixer,  plus was commissioned to write the score for Macbeth that ran at 2 Way Mirror at Alexander Palace for the Cambridge Shakespeare Company. His ongoing development of Samplecraze has led to him offering educational workshops and classes, releasing four books via PC Publishing and becoming a contributor and forum moderator for Sound On Sound. Recently he has established The Audio Production Hub for online education and been invited by the Recording Academy to become a Grammy judge.
https://eddiebazil.co.uk/

https://samplecraze.com/

https://theaudioproductionhub.pivotshare.com/

Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

Paul White and Hugh Robjohns discuss the evolution of recording from the perspective of their own experiences, starting with analogue tape and ending with computer-based digital systems.

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
00:25 - Early Memories Of Recording
02:47 - Simul-sync
03:40 - First Multitrack Experience
07:03 - Noise Reduction
10:12 - Favourite and Worst Tape Moments
12:07 - Digital Recording
14:15 - Early Computer Recording
16:47 - Digital Storage
18:06 - The Early DAWs
19:16 - Modern DAWs
20:15 - Data Backups and Cloud Storage

Paul White Biog
Paul White initially trained in electronics at The Royal Radar Establishment in Malvern then went on to work with Malvern Instruments, a company specialising in laser analysis equipment, before moving into technical writing. 

He joined the Sound On Sound team in 1991 where he became Editor In Chief, a position he held for many years before recently becoming Executive Editor. Paul has written more than 20 recording and music technology textbooks, the latest being The Producer’s Manual.

Having established his own multitrack home studio in the 1980s he’s worked with many notable names including Bert Jansch and Gordon Giltrap. He’s played in various bands over the years and currently collaborates with Malvern musician Mark Soden, under the name of Cydonia Collective. Paul still performs live claiming that as he has suffered for his music he doesn’t see why everyone else shouldn’t too!

http://www.cydoniacollective.co.uk/

Hugh Robjohns Biog
Hugh Robjohns has been Sound On Sound´s Technical Editor since 1997. Prior to that he worked in a variety of (mostly) sound-related roles in BBC Television, ending up as a Sound Operations Lecturer at the BBC´s technical training centre. He continues to provide audio consultancy and bespoke broadcast audio training services all over the world, lectures at professional and public conventions, and occasionally records and masters acoustic and classical music too!

Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

Paul White looks back over the history of the echo effect, from tape loops through to plug-ins, and how modern echo effects can be used as sound design tools.

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
00:15 - Early Echo Effects Using Tape Loops
05:05 - The Introduction Of Solid State Technology
06:43 - High-Quality Results With Digital Delays
10:04 - Vintage Emulations And Sound Design Using Plug-ins

Paul White Biog
Paul White initially trained in electronics at The Royal Radar Establishment in Malvern then went on to work with Malvern Instruments, a company specialising in laser analysis equipment, before moving into technical writing. 

He joined the Sound On Sound team in 1991 where he became Editor In Chief, a position he held for many years before recently becoming Executive Editor. Paul has written more than 20 recording and music technology textbooks, the latest being The Producer’s Manual.

Having established his own multitrack home studio in the 1980s he’s worked with many notable names including Bert Jansch and Gordon Giltrap. He’s played in various bands over the years and currently collaborates with Malvern musician Mark Soden, under the name of Cydonia Collective. Paul still performs live claiming that as he has suffered for his music he doesn’t see why everyone else shouldn’t too!

http://www.cydoniacollective.co.uk/

Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

In this episode, Eddie Bazil offers tips for creating a signature sound using sound design techniques and offers a range of suggestions on how drums can be processed to add more depth and texture.

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
00:19 - The Role Of A Producer
02:20 - Example 1: Adding Clarity And Bite To Drums
04:10 - Example 2: Thickening A Drum Beat
06:50 - Example 3: Creating Texture
09:58 - Example 4: Adding A Strong Attack To A Kick Drum
12:45 - Example 5: Adding Life To Acoustic Beats
16:22 - Example 6: Adding Ambience
21:09 - Example 7: Altering the Kick Within A Beat

Eddie Bazil Biog
Eddie Bazil launched his music industry career at the age of 17 as a synth programmer for a range of Electro / New Wave bands including Art of Noise, Spandau Ballet, Pet Shop Boys, Bobin, Paul Dee, DJ Krush, DJ Shadow, Jets Orchestra. By his 20s he was working as a sound designer for Akai, Roland Emu/Ensoniq, eventually signing on exclusively with the latter. Later, due to a growing demand for software instruments and libraries, Eddie started to develop libraries for various software manufacturers, including Native Instruments, Kiesel, Sound Effects Library, Arturia and Propellerheads. A meeting with Phil Allen, a Capital Radio DJ, resulted in the company Samplecraze, which Eddie has spent 20 years developing as an educational resource. At this time he trained in music production and soon gained a number of prominent contracts working with some notable artistes such as Busta Rhymes, Greensleeves, 9 Bar, SFP, Sleeveless, Chris Campbell and Gam Productions. He contracted to Island Records and Chrysalis as a producer and remixer,  plus was commissioned to write the score for Macbeth that ran at 2 Way Mirror at Alexander Palace for the Cambridge Shakespeare Company. His ongoing development of Samplecraze has led to him offering educational workshops and classes, releasing four books via PC Publishing and becoming a contributor and forum moderator for Sound On Sound. Recently he has established The Audio Production Hub for online education and been invited by the Recording Academy to become a Grammy judge.
https://eddiebazil.co.uk/

https://samplecraze.com/

https://theaudioproductionhub.pivotshare.com/

Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

In this episode, Eddie Bazil discusses using Transient Shapers in place of EQ and provides six practical examples of the ways that each of the various tracks in your mix can benefit.

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
00:25 - What Are Transient Shapers?
01:50 - Example 1: Adding Clarity And Punch
03:19 - Example 2: Highlighting Attack Transients
05:20 - Example 3: Adding Grit And Thickness
06:58 - Example 4: Shaping Attack And Sustain
08:58 - Example 5: Sustaining Short Notes
11:46 - Example 6: Transient Shapers In Sound Design

Eddie Bazil Biog
Eddie Bazil launched his music industry career at the age of 17 as a synth programmer for a range of Electro / New Wave bands including Art of Noise, Spandau Ballet, Pet Shop Boys, Bobin, Paul Dee, DJ Krush, DJ Shadow, Jets Orchestra. By his 20s he was working as a sound designer for Akai, Roland Emu/Ensoniq, eventually signing on exclusively with the latter. Later, due to a growing demand for software instruments and libraries, Eddie started to develop libraries for various software manufacturers, including Native Instruments, Kiesel, Sound Effects Library, Arturia and Propellerheads. A meeting with Phil Allen, a Capital Radio DJ, resulted in the company Samplecraze, which Eddie has spent 20 years developing as an educational resource. At this time he trained in music production and soon gained a number of prominent contracts working with some notable artistes such as Busta Rhymes, Greensleeves, 9 Bar, SFP, Sleeveless, Chris Campbell and Gam Productions. He contracted to Island Records and Chrysalis as a producer and remixer,  plus was commissioned to write the score for Macbeth that ran at 2 Way Mirror at Alexander Palace for the Cambridge Shakespeare Company. His ongoing development of Samplecraze has led to him offering educational workshops and classes, releasing four books via PC Publishing and becoming a contributor and forum moderator for Sound On Sound. Recently he has established The Audio Production Hub for online education and been invited by the Recording Academy to become a Grammy judge.
https://eddiebazil.co.uk/

https://samplecraze.com/

https://theaudioproductionhub.pivotshare.com/

Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts