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David Mellor, a sound engineer and the founder and Course Director of Audio Masterclass, introduces us to Gain Staging in a brand new series of podcasts. In this first episode he teaches the correct use of terminology and gives his three golden rules of Gain Staging. Chapters00:00 - Introduction01:38 - Using The Correct Terminology05:56 - Why Use Gain Staging?11:04 - The Benefits Of Gain Staging15:31 - Working In Digital Audio27:17 - Three Golden Rules Of Gain Staging David Mellor BiogDavid Mellor got his start in pro audio through the Tonmeister course at Surrey University studying music, piano performance, acoustics, electronics, electro-acoustics and recording. He went on to work at London's Royal Opera House, with responsibilities including sound design, front-of-house operation, stage monitoring and electronic design satisfying the likes of Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and Karlheinz Stockhausen. He has also had over 600 works published in the field of production music, including the Chappell and Carlin music libraries (now combined into Universal Publishing Production Music). Notable uses of his music include the BBC's Horizon, Fahrenheit 911, and the Oprah Winfrey Show. David has been actively involved in Audio Education since 1986, teaching students of City of Westminster College and Westminster University, and also returning to lecture at Surrey University. He also worked with John Cage on the International Dance Course at the University of Surrey. David now specialises in online audio education and has been Course Director of Audio Masterclass since 2001. https://www.audiomasterclass.com/

Eddie Bazil demystifies Compression and Expansion with a detailed explanation of their uses and with a range of practical examples using plug-ins. Chapters00:00 - Introduction00:22 - Compressors And Expanders Explained01:33 - Compressor Behavioural Types02:40 - Common Compressor Topologies06:06 - Example 1: Boz Digital Manic Compressor On Drums10:26 - Example 2: FabFilter Pro MB On A Synth Line13:28 - Example 3: PreSonus Studio One Expander On A Drum Beat15:26 - Example 4: A Drum Beat Using Different Topologies20:24 - Example 5: Using Sidechaining On Reverb 23:28 - Example 6: FabFilter Pro MB On A Vocal Line27:16 - Example 7: Sidechain Compression And Expansion To Create Texture And Motion CreditsExample 6 - The song and the poem are both called Everyone Sang. The poem was by Sigfried Sassoon and was set to music and performed by Anne Gregson.www.annegregson.co.ukRecorded at www.mrpunch.info Eddie Bazil BiogEddie 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/

Paul White takes us through the history and evolution of guitar synths, from early attempts at creating onboard sounds and audio to MIDI pick-ups, through to using pedals and plug-ins to emulate synth effects. Chapters00:00 - Introduction00:13 - Types of Guitar Synths 04:03 - The Introduction Of MIDI05:19 - Pitch To MIDI Pickups08:04 - Alternative Systems10:38 - Using Pedals To Emulate Synths13:31 - Introducing Plug-ins15:10 - The Future Of Audio To MIDI Paul White BiogPaul 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 1970s 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/

Paul White explains how to get the best out of Amp Simulation software, from getting a good guitar input signal, setting up effective monitoring for encouraging the best performance and tips on achieving the desired end-effect. Chapters00:00 - Introduction00:50 - Getting A Guitar Signal03:39 - Dealing With Latency04:42 - Monitoring05:54 - Using Your Own Pedals08:15 - Using Speaker Cabinet Emulations09:11 - Adding Room Ambience10:00 - Creative Sound Design10:27 - Using Amp Modelling With Other Instruments Paul White BiogPaul 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 1970s 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/

Paul White and Hugh Robjohns pick their hardware and software highlights from the last 12 months, plus feature some late arrivals. Chapters00:00 - Introduction00:14 - ASM Hydrasynth Deluxe 02:01 - Boss RE-202 Space Echo / IK Multimedia Amplitube X-SPACE Reverb / Red Panda Particle 2 Granular Delay02:57 - Moogerfooger Plug-ins / UAFX Amp Emulator Pedals04:12 - IK Multimedia Amplitube TONEX Amp Simulation Software04:47 - Arturia Efx Fragments Granular Delay / Eventide Physion II05:25 - PMC6-2 Monitors07:00 - MiMU Jellyfish Granular Synth07:45 - The Great Chip Shortage09:11 - Rob Papen eXplorer-8 Bundle / Sub51 and Soundtrax Drop Pad 10:26 - Sonnect Audio Sound Bullet11:46 - Eventide H90 Harmonizer® Multi-FX Pedal / Two notes ReVolt Amp Simulator Pedal13:38 - Waves BB Tubes Plug-in14:27 - Hardware Recorders17:05 - Synth Sounds For Guitar Paul White BiogPaul 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 BiogHugh 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! 

In the final episode of this 5 part series, Mark Mynett, sound engineer and senior lecturer at Huddersfield University, gives us an in-depth look at how to process and mix the various elements of a song recorded using live instruments. Chapters00:16 - Introduction01:36 - Mix Preparation: Performance Edits and Mix Groups01:00 - Polarity Summation07:27 - Waveform Edits and Gating09:48 - Multing10:20 - Drum Sample Implementation10:57 - Three Approaches To Mixing12:56 - Master Buss Processing14:28 - Compression and EQ: Signal Chain Order16:07 - Compression Topology19:43 - Drums: Compression, Signal Stability, Transient Design and Colouration32:53 - Drums: Parallel Compression37:09 - Drums: EQ47:45 - Drums: Reverb Processing49:40 - Bass: Compression and EQ54:38 - Acoustic Guitar: Compression and EQ 56:19 - Harmonically Distorted Electric Guitar: EQ, Dynamic EQ and Multi-band Compression 60:28 - Vocals: Compression and EQ65:46 - Vocals: Effects Processing Mark Mynett BiogAs well as Senior Lecturer in Music Technology and Production at Huddersfield University, Mark Mynett is a live music front-of-house engineer, and record producer/engineer/mix and mastering engineer. Mainly focused on indie, rock and metal genres, he produces from his own studio - Mynetaur Productions – where he recently completed the latest My Dying Bride album ‘The Ghost of Orion’: referred to by Dom Lawson (The Guardian, Metal Hammer, Prog, Classic Rock) as “…a master class in modern metal production”.Metal Music Manual (instructional book for producing contemporary metal music)

Mark Mynett, sound engineer and senior lecturer at Huddersfield University, presents part four of his recording series. Here he details how to prepare a vocalist for studio recording and how to select and set up your recording equipment for optimal results. Chapters00:15 - Introduction00:31 - Preparing For Vocal Recording 05:08 - Recording Vocals At Home06:53 - Microphone Selection14:41 - Microphone Placement24:05 - Printed Compression30:27 - Headphone Cue MixMark Mynett BiogAs well as Senior Lecturer in Music Technology and Production at Huddersfield University, Mark Mynett is a live music front-of-house engineer, and record producer/engineer/mix and mastering engineer. Mainly focused on indie, rock and metal genres, he produces from his own studio - Mynetaur Productions – where he recently completed the latest My Dying Bride album ‘The Ghost of Orion’: referred to by Dom Lawson (The Guardian, Metal Hammer, Prog, Classic Rock) as “…a master class in modern metal production”.Metal Music Manual (instructional book for producing contemporary metal music)

Mark Mynett, sound engineer and senior lecturer at Huddersfield University, details best practices for setting up and recording rhythm and lead guitar parts. Chapters00:00 - Introduction00:40 - How To Manage Distortion06:10 - Pre-Recording Preparation07:16 - Double Tracking And Quad Tracking09:07 - Finding A Clear Midrange Tone14:20 - Isolation And Ambience15:46 - Microphone Selection19:23 - Mic Placement25:17 - Multitracking Tips34:03 - Recording Guitar Solos36:39 - Adding EQ At The Recording Stage Mark Mynett BiogAs well as Senior Lecturer in Music Technology and Production at Huddersfield University, Mark Mynett is a live music front-of-house engineer, and record producer/engineer/mix and mastering engineer. Mainly focused on indie, rock and metal genres, he produces from his own studio - Mynetaur Productions – where he recently completed the latest My Dying Bride album ‘The Ghost of Orion’: referred to by Dom Lawson (The Guardian, Metal Hammer, Prog, Classic Rock) as “…a master class in modern metal production”.Metal Music Manual (instructional book for producing contemporary metal music) Audio Clips: Baron CartaBaron Carta at Spotify

Mark Mynett, sound engineer and senior lecturer at Huddersfield University, talks us through prepping for and recording a bass session, including ways to generate multiple layered tracks for use in your final mix. Chapters00:00 - Introduction01:30 - 1. Intonation And Tuning02:54 - 2. Active DI Boxes06:00 - 3. Amp, Cab And Mic Setup14:01 - 4. Layering Bass Sounds17:51 - 5. Introducing DistortionMark Mynett BiogAs well as Senior Lecturer in Music Technology and Production at Huddersfield University, Mark Mynett is a live music front-of-house engineer, and record producer/engineer/mix and mastering engineer. Mainly focused on indie, rock and metal genres, he produces from his own studio - Mynetaur Productions – where he recently completed the latest My Dying Bride album ‘The Ghost of Orion’: referred to by Dom Lawson (The Guardian, Metal Hammer, Prog, Classic Rock) as “…a master class in modern metal production”.Metal Music Manual (instructional book for producing contemporary metal music)

Mark Mynett, sound engineer and senior lecturer at Huddersfield University, talks us through the setup and recording of live drums. Chapters00:00 - Introduction00:36 - Recording Multiple Instruments01:12 - Pre-Recording Preparation03:46 - 1. Miking The Kick 12:08 - 2. Miking The Snare 24:24 - 3. Miking The Toms29:24 - 4. Miking The Cymbals38:54 - 5. Overheads For Room AmbienceMark Mynett BiogAs well as Senior Lecturer in Music Technology and Production at Huddersfield University, Mark Mynett is a live music front-of-house engineer, and record producer/engineer/mix and mastering engineer. Mainly focused on indie, rock and metal genres, he produces from his own studio - Mynetaur Productions – where he recently completed the latest My Dying Bride album ‘The Ghost of Orion’: referred to by Dom Lawson (The Guardian, Metal Hammer, Prog, Classic Rock) as “…a master class in modern metal production”.Metal Music Manual (instructional book for producing contemporary metal music)

Grammy Award winning engineer Bob Clearmountain details his unique approach to mixing music in Dolby Atmos using an analogue desk. Chapters00:00 - Introduction00:26 - Mixing In 5:104:16 - Setting Up Studio Monitoring06:24 - Upgrading For Atmos 08:24 - How To Approach Atmos11:14 - Placing Sounds 15:25 - Beds And Objects19:11 - Working From An Analogue Console23:11 - Using The Centre Speaker27:23 - Incorporating Plug-in Effects 28:40 - Adding Compression In Surround34:29 - Checking The Mix37:21 - Frustrations With Atmos41:34 - Recommended Listening Bob Clearmountain BiogBob Clearmountain is an American recording engineer, mixer and record producer. He has worked with many prominent names in music including Bruce Springsteen (mixing Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. and 25 other projects), The Rolling Stones (re-mixes of the singles "Miss You" and "Out of Tears" ) as well as their Tattoo You album amongst  over 20 album, movie and concert video projects, Bryan Adams (producing and/or mixing nearly all of his albums since 1983), Robbie Williams, Huey Lewis & The News, Toto, Bon Jovi (These Days, Crush, Bounce), Simple Minds, The Pretenders, David Bowie, Roxy Music, Bryan Ferry, INXS and 235 other artists. Bob has released some signature plug-ins with audio hardware and software manufacturer Apogee Electronics. https://www.mixthis.com/ Apogee Electronics BiogApogee originally made their name with special anti-aliasing filters that solved many of the early problems associated with digital audio. Later, Apogee’s complete conversion systems pushed the envelope of digital audio quality and established Apogee as a key innovator in the field of professional digital audio. Today, Apogee converters and audio interfaces are regarded as the reference standard in the audio industry. Products such as Symphony I/O, Big Ben, Ensemble and Duet all set the benchmark by which digital audio recording hardware is judged. Now with their latest products JAM and MiC, designed especially for Apple’s iPad, iPhone and GarageBand software, Apogee continues to be at the forefront of recording technology. Apogee’s mission is to build products that offer ultimate sound quality and innovative design to all music creators from the aspiring artist to the discerning audio professional. https://apogeedigital.com/ Sam Inglis BiogEditor In Chief Sam Inglis has been with Sound On Sound for more than 20 years. He is a recording engineer, producer, songwriter and folk musician who studies the traditional songs of England and Scotland, and the author of Neil Young's Harvest (Bloomsbury, 2003) and Teach Yourself Songwriting (Hodder, 2006). https://www.soundonsound.com

In this Behind The Brand feature, Nuno Fonseca of Sound Particles talks to Paul White about their rapid rise in the film and audio industry and how they are using their sound particle plug-in technology to bring exciting new developments to sound design and audio recording. Chapters00:00 - Introduction 00:13 - Launch In The Film Industry02:59 - Moving Into Music04:53 - Controlling 3D Sound07:26 - EastWest WordBuilder11:05 - Density14:07 - The End-User Format17:04 - Solving Binaural19:45 - Head Tracking21:42 - Future DevelopmentsSound Particles BiogSound Particles creates 3D Audio Software that brings the power of computer graphics to the sound world, allowing sound professionals to create breathtaking sounds that simply would not be possible to create in any other way. Sound Particles provides the world’s first native 3D audio software combining CGI and audio techniques to create a new audio standard. The software creates the most realistic sound effects allowing perfect coherence between image and sound due to its true 3D CGI integration, while increasing the productivity of audio professionals. Based in Leiria (Portugal) and founded by Nuno Fonseca, a former university professor, Sound Particles has been steadily growing since being founded in 2016 and is now composed of a team of over 30 people (with 1 in the UK and 1 in LA). Sound Particles’ unique software is used in all major Hollywood studios and top videogame companies, in productions like "Dune", “Game of Thrones”, “Ready Player One”, "Frozen 2", "Star Wars" and many others. https://soundparticles.com/ Paul White BiogPaul 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 1970s 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/

Tony Ni from Soundtoys sits down with Sam Inglis to discuss his mixing workflow and to explain how he uses core Soundtoys plug-ins to achieve his sound. Chapters00:00 - Introduction02:54 - 21 Plug-ins 05:44 - Workflow Tools07:05 - Getting The Balance Right11:24 - EQ And Saturation21:22 - Parallel Processing The Drums28:38 - Using Saturation On Vocals35:07 - Adding And Automating Echo47:06 - Getting Started With SoundtoysSoundtoys BiogBased in Burlington Vermont, USA, Soundtoys (formerly Wave Mechanics) was founded in 1996 by Ken Bogdanowicz, the DSP effects designer behind the legendary H3000 Ultra-Harmonizer and the DSP4000 line of hardware signal processors from Eventide. Soundtoys develops world-class, creative signal-processing software for audio production, mixing, and sound design. Soundtoys users include Mike Dean, David Sitek, James Blake, Ariel Borujow, Jamie Lidell, Greg Wells, Dave Pensado, Tony Maserati, Tim Kelley, and Blake Mills. https://www.soundtoys.com/ Sam Inglis BiogEditor In Chief Sam Inglis has been with Sound On Sound for more than 20 years. He is a recording engineer, producer, songwriter and folk musician who studies the traditional songs of England and Scotland, and the author of Neil Young's Harvest (Bloomsbury, 2003) and Teach Yourself Songwriting (Hodder, 2006). https://www.soundonsound.com

Matt Johnson of Jamiroquai talks us through five favourite processing tips that he uses to create movement and interest in synth parts. Chapters00:00 - Introduction00:53 - Tip 1: Reverb And Sidechained Compression02:48 - Tip 2: Panned Effects04:47 - Tip 3: Chopped Audio06:53 - Tip 4: Adding Effects To Duplicate Tracks09:55 - Tip 5: Adding Reverb Before Compression All music composed and performed by Matt Johnson © Matt Johnson Music Matt Johnson BiogFor 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/

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. Chapters00:00 - Introduction00:56 - The First Filters02:23 - Modern Filters04:37 - Example 1: Filtering A Triangle Wave Into A Sine Wave06:15 - Example 2: Using Self-Oscillating Filters To Generate Tuned And Tracked Tones07:27 - Example 3: Adding Movement To A Sub Bass11:44 - 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 BiogEddie 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/

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. Chapters00:00 - Introduction00:48 - A Tape Op At Manor Studios02:25 - A Typical Day At The Manor03:45 - The Engineers And The Bands06:01 - Tape Editing07:56 - Switching To Digital09:18 - From House Engineer To Freelance09:42 - Hugh Padgham and Steve Lillywhite12:24 - Early Sampling13:03 - Using An SSL Desk17:45 - Scritti Politti Cupid and Psyche18:25 - Synchronising MIDI and Tape22:24 - Getting The Scritti Sound23:48 - Working With UB4028:01 - The Age Of Chance 28:15 - From Tape To Digital To HD Recording29:09 - Working With Slave Reels30:48 - The Change To Digital Tape31:58 - Preferred Recording Medium33:02 - Engineering Apollo 44034:31 - Recording A Jazz Quartet35:59 - Using Logic and Plug-insHoward Gray BiogHoward 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 BiogJames 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

Paul and Hugh wax lyrical about the things they dislike about today's gear. Chapters00:00 - Introduction00:18 - Power Supplies02:32 - USB Connectors03:07 - Software 04:37 - Audio Specifications06:15 - Digital Meters08:02 - Detented Potentiometers09:01 - OS Upgrades10:28 - Non-Removable Batteries11:39 - Impractical Hardware Paul White BiogPaul 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 BiogHugh 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! 

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. Chapters00:00 - Introduction00:18 - Zoom F601:27 - Logic 10.701:59 - IK Multimedia AmpliTube X-Space 03:03 - Trinnov D-mon  05:06 - IK Multimedia AmpliTube 505:26 - Cherry Audio Stardust 201 Tape Echo05:41 - Waves Retro Fi06:14 - Rob Papen DelSane06:37 - SSL Native X-Echo06:49 - Classical Recording: A Practical Guide in the Decca Tradition 08:21 - Boss IR-20008:41 - Blackstar Dept.10 Dual Drive 09:47 - RME Audio HDSPe AIO Pro11:19 - SSL BiG SiX12:42 - Aum Guitars Vibraslide13:52 - Gamechanger Audio LIGHT Pedal15:06 - Grace Design m900 Paul White BiogPaul 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 BiogHugh 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! 

Vocoders are not just for vocals. In this episode, Eddie Bazil talks about the various vocoder plug-in options and demonstrates six creative techniques. Chapters00:00 - Introduction00:30 - A Short History Of The Vocoder02:15 - How Vocoders Work03:28 - 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 25:46 - Ending Eddie Bazil BiogEddie 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/

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. Chapters00:00 - Introduction00:25 - Early Memories Of Recording02:47 - Simul-sync03:40 - First Multitrack Experience07:03 - Noise Reduction10:12 - Favourite and Worst Tape Moments12:07 - Digital Recording14:15 - Early Computer Recording16:47 - Digital Storage18:06 - The Early DAWs19:16 - Modern DAWs20:15 - Data Backups and Cloud Storage Paul White BiogPaul 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 BiogHugh 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!