Blogs
The Mix Consultancy: The Four (and a Half) Jobs in a Studio
Grammy Award-winner Dom Morley takes us through the variety of jobs in a modern studio and the responsibilities they entail.
Engineer
Music Production
Elliot Mazer, Legendary Producer/Engineer, Dead at 79
Legendary producer/engineer Elliot Mazer, best-known for his work with Neil Young, Janis Joplin and others, died of a heart attack in his San Francisco home on Sunday, February 7, 2021.
The Wire
Songwriter/Producer/Engineer DJ Bless Runs a Virtual “Metric Halo Console” with Metric Halo Production Bundle of Plugins
SAFETY HARBOR, FLORIDA: DJ Bless, who often goes by his darker alter-ego Sutter Kain, was a songwriter and producer first and only became known as a mix engineer when other musicians needed his help to achieve his signature “Ghetto...
The Wire
Eleven ATC Monitors Define Decades of Tom Petty’s Box Set “Wildflowers & All The Rest”
Relying on Eleven ATC Monitors, Producer/Engineer Ryan Ulyate Unifies Decades of Tom Petty’s Demo, Live, and Studio Recordings Into Wildflowers & All the Rest Box Set in Stereo and Dolby Atmos LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Producer/Engineer Ryan Ulyate has been...
Music Production
Producing the Producer: Creating Rick Rubin’s ‘Broken Record’ Podcast
Rick Rubin's Broken Record podcast has seen the music industry icon interview everyone from The Black Keys and Leslie Odom Jr. of Hamilton to fellow producers like Dave Cobb and Wyclef Jean. Shaping and editing hours of raw material...
Music Production
UK Producer Steve Brown, Dead at 65
Steve Brown, producer/engineer behind hits by Freddie Mercury, Wham, The Cult, Manic Street Preachers and more, has died following a fall in December.
Business
MixedByAli Lands Former Death Row Records Studio
Grammy-winning mix engineer Derek “MixedByAli” Ali has purchased the facility that created classic tracks by Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Tupac Shakur and others.
Music Production
Grammy-Nominated Engineer Louis Bell Breaks Out
When Post Malone's "Circles" landed a GRAMMY nomination for Record of the Year, it was yet another recognition of Louis Bell's work. Now the go-to producer, engineer and co-writer reveals his streamlined workflow, talks about working out of Electric...
Blogs
Sounding Board: Networking Works When You Know Your Part
Industry veteran Mike Dias explains why career networking works best when you know your part.
Blogs
Top Guitar Miking Tips—How to Capture a Roaring Guitar Amp
Recording guitars so that they still sound big on small speakers isn’t easy. Here’s guitar miking advice from the pros, sharing how they’ve miked the likes of Alex Lifeson (Rush), Ace Frehley (Kiss) and other guitar legends.
Music Production
Recording Roddy Ricch for Round Two
Throughout the pandemic, engineer Chris Dennis has been recording the follow-up to the platinum-selling debut album by Roddy Ricch
Music Production
Steve Albini Gets Fuzz on Tape at United
Power trio Fuzz hit United Recording with recording legend Steve Albini just before lockdown for the group’s new collection, “III.”
Post and Broadcast
‘Working Class Audio’ Podcast Tackles Realities of Recording Life
Uncertainty is constant in audio production, but creator Matt Boudreau shows a different path.
Music Production
Hard Rock Producer/Engineer Martin Birch, Dead at 71
Martin Birch, who recorded more than 60 albums for Iron Maiden, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Fleetwood Mac and others, has died.
News
James Altucher Podcast Beats Quarantine with SSL
The James Altucher Show podcast hasn’t skipped a beat during the pandemic, thanks to engineer Jay Yow and a Solid State Logic 2 audio interface.
Gear and Technology
Hotshot 48V Condenser Mic Switcher Launched by Radial
Radial’s new Hotshot 48V Switcher diverts a mic signal away from the house PA to stage monitoring or in-ears for discrete communication.
Music Production
Producer Robert “Bobby Digital” Dixon, Dead at 59
A mainstay of 1980s and 90s reggae, producer/engineer Robert “Bobby Digital” Dixon died of kidney disease.
Music Production
How Hip-Hop Stars Are Recording During the Pandemic
Roddy Ricch, YBN Cordae and Young Thug are recording hip-hop at home during COVID-19 times as studios cautiously start to reopen.
Music, Etc
Music Etc. – Huey Lewis and the News Deliver ‘Weather’ Report
Steve Harvey talks with Johnny Colla, founding member and longtime producer of Huey Lewis & the News, about their latest album, Weather; mixing with Bob Clearmountain; and how highpoint “One of the Boys” came together.
Business
Recording All-Stars Welcome Niko Bolas to METAlliance
Chuck Ainlay, Frank Filipetti, George Massenburg, Elliot Scheiner and Al Schmitt have named producer/engineer Niko Bolas as a new member of the METAlliance.
HOW Sound
Expanding Church Adds Audio Updates
Gateway Church has centered the audio systems at its seven satellite locations and broadcast center around DiGiCo consoles.
Music Production
Funk Studios Opens New Studio A
Salt Lake City’s new Funk Studios has opened with three rooms, including its Studio A, centered around an SSL Duality desk.
Music Production
Asher Postman’s New Monitors Deliver
Viral remix artist Asher Postman’s ADAM Audio monitors survived the Nashville tornado and are in use throughout quarantine.
Live
Danny Leake, Legendary Studio/Live Engineer, Dead at 69
In addition to working as Stevie Wonder’s FOH engineer for three decades, Danny Leake also recorded dozens of top artists in the studio, leading to six Grammy nominations for his efforts.
Music Production
Live on KEXP Podcast Blurs the Lines Between Live and Studio Recording
When engineer Kevin Suggs records a live session for Seattle’s KEXP, that becomes the raw materials for podcasts, radio broadcasts, streaming and other formats.
Music Production
Sam Clayton Jr, Producer-Engineer / Jamaican Bobsled Team Member, Dead at 58
The producer/engineer, who worked with acts like Steel Pulse and Toots and the Maytals, was also a founding member of the storied Jamaican bobsled team that competed in the 1988 Winter Olympics.
Recording
Producer/Engineer Knox Phillips, Dead at 74
The son of Sun Records founder Sam Phillips, Knox Phillips made his own way, recording the likes of Willie Nelson, John Prine and Jerry Lee Lewis before becoming an emissary of Memphis’ music scene.
Music Production
Eddie Kramer to be Focus of New Rock Documentary
Legendary producer/engineer Eddie Kramer will be the focus of an upcoming documentary, From the Other Side of the Glass.
Music, Etc
Music, Etc. – Rob Graves – Creating an Atmospheric Solstice
Dove Award-winner Rob Graves talks about producing hard rockers Red, recording his own new album and why coronavirus might become a positive experience.
Business
Live Sound Pro Recovering from COVID-19
Freelance audio pro Joe McGrath is recovering from a near-death experience after contracting COVID-19 on the job.
Gear and Technology
Book Review: Get Tusked – The Inside Story of Fleetwood Mac’s Most Anticipated Album
Grammy-winning co-producer Ken Caillat and assistant engineer Hernan Rojas spent a year recording Fleetwood Mac’s epic double-album, Tusk. Now they share what went wrong: Everything.
Music Production
Legendary Producer Keith Olsen Dead
Keith Olsen, the Grammy-winning producer/engineer who arguably defined the sound of hard rock in the late Seventies and Eighties, has died.
Music Production
Finneas on Producing Billie Eilish’s Hit Album in his Bedroom
Finneas O’Connell—Billie Eilish's co-writer, producer, older brother and an artist in his own right—discusses recording her sonically adventurous debut at their family home.
Music Production
Recording Engineer Nick Blagona, Dead at 74
Canadian engineer Nick Blagona designed Le Studio and recorded classic tracks by The Police, Bee Gees, King Crimson, Deep Purple, Alexisonfire, April Wine, Chicago, Rainbow and others.
Music Production
Tim Boyle, Hollywood Score Mixer, Dead at 71
A first-call score mixer for decades, Boyle had more than 300 film and television credits across his career.
Gear and Technology
Gear of the Year 2019
Top audio pros look back at 2019 and share what new equipment caught their eye, what was added to their audio arsenal, what old standbys took their projects to the next level and more.
Music Production
Sure Sure Brings It All Back Home
Something akin to a mashup of Steely Dan and Talking Heads, Sure Sure have been living together since 2014, mixing, engineering and producing all their own music in their home studio.
Blogs
Music’s Unluckiest Night
Producer/engineer Morten Lindberg has a career total of 28 Grammy nominations and 0 wins—the unluckiest streak in Grammy history. Will he finally win in 2020?
Gear and Technology
Real-World Review: Making Sound — Creative Music Production Tips and Philosophies
Producer/engineer Russ Long pages through Making Sound and declares, "I don’t think there an engineer alive who won’t receive some benefit from reading it."
Gear and Technology
Sterling Audio S400 and S450 Headphones Ship
Sterling Audio S400 and S450 Headphones are aimed at recording engineers for monitoring use.
Business
2020 Production Grammy Nominations Announced
2020 Grammy Nominations have been announced, including the production, engineering, mixing, remixing and mastering categories.
Post and Broadcast
Periscope Appoints Polanco as Chief Engineer
Polanco will oversee the ongoing build-out of Periscope's new L.A. facility.