Mixing / Production

Are the acoustics of your studio letting down your music? Improving the sound of your room needn't cost much and pays dividends in better recordings and more transportable mixes. Read on for the SOS guide.

To accompany this month's Acoustics article, open this page and download this MP3 of a Bass Staircase test sequence, then audition it on your own monitors.

Eleven mix engineers tried their hand at Kanye West's 'Stronger' before Manny Marroquin finally turned it into a record. He was rewarded with one of the biggest hits of 2007.

The rescue mission this month is to bring coherence and polish to the disparate elements of Solivern's interesting instrumental composition...

Here are links to the audio files from December 2007's MIX RESCUE article, for those readers who buy the magazine from the newsagent and don't wish to type in all the long URLs.

This month we look at monitor placement, tighten stereo imaging and tackle what was probably the world's smallest vocal booth!

The challenge: to remix 10 Depeche Mode albums in surround — while recreating the signature sounds created by the band and some of the worlds greatest producers. As Mute Records Head Engineer Kevin Paul explains, it was never going to be easy!

The role of the mix engineer is becoming ever more creative. Jack Joseph Puig explains how his imaginative approach helped shape Fergies smash hit Big Girls Dont Cry.

This month we tackle one reader's first ever attempt at mixing his own music.

Here are links to the audio files from November 2007's MIX RESCUE article, for those readers who buy the magazine from the newsagent and don't wish to type in all the long URLs.

We help install the equipment won by one of the lucky winners of the SOS and Digital Village prize draw held at Sounds Expo 2007.

If you record music on a computer, you have a huge amount of irreplaceable data that needs to be backed up. However, traditional data protection strategies have been expensive or tedious to operate. The solution? RAID on...

If you're stuck in a creative rut with sample libraries, why not look for inspiration in your own home?

When they hired Joe Chiccarelli to record their latest album, the White Stripes set him a stiff challenge: to create a modern, punchy, heavily edited sound, without leaning on modern digital tools.

Here are links to the audio files from October 2007's MIX RESCUE article, for those readers who buy the magazine from the newsagent and don't wish to type in all the long URLs.

We get weeding this month, to thin out a busy mix without sacrificing the big sound.

It's 70 years since the idea of digital audio sampling was first patented - so it's high time we laid to rest the myths and false perceptions that surround it.

Here are links to the audio files from September 2007's MIX RESCUE article, for those readers who buy the magazine from the newsagent and don't wish to type in all the long URLs.

This month we deal with thorny phase-cancellation problems, overhaul musical arrangements and get creative with effects, as we rise to the Mix Rescue challenge.

Producer and engineer Mark Endert not only mixed the lead single from Maroon 5s second album: he also co-produced it and programmed many of the parts.

For her second album, Back To Black, Amy Winehouse and producer Mark Ronson crafted a heavily retro sound. Mix engineer Tom Elmhirst describes how he massaged their '60s soul vibe to create a radio-friendly hit in 'Rehab'.