Recording & Mixing

Helmuts Bems, Co-Founder and CEO of Sonarworks, joins Sam Inglis to discuss the findings of their recent AI survey. The conversation explores differing industry perspectives on generative versus assistive AI and provides insight into the extent to which professional musicians are already adopting these emerging technologies. Chapters00:00 - Introduction00:33 - A Data-Driven Audio Company04:56 - Assistive Vs Generative AI07:36 - New Categories Of Tools08:27 - Early Adoption Of AI Tools12:50 - Negative Or Neutral Tensions18:37 - Tackling Ethical Issues21:25 - Where Music Production Is Heading26:33 - The Impact Across Industries And Musical Genres33:05 - Changes In Music Consumption37:08 - How Technology Has Shaped Music42:41 - AI As A Huge Industry DisruptionFor more insights and data read the related article: www.soundonsound.com/music-business/ai-music-tech-2026Full Report (PDF): https://blog-uploads.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/2026/01/ai-music-production-skills-report-2026-sonarworks.pdfSonarworks Blog (Short Version): www.sonarworks.com/blog/research/future-music-production-human-producer-survey-2026Sonarworks BiogSonarworks is an award-winning audio technology company specialising in sound calibration and audio personalisation. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Riga, Latvia, the company develops patented calibration and AI-driven technologies that enable consistent, reference-grade audio across a wide range of listening environments and professional workflows. Sonarworks’ solutions are trusted by more than 300,000 studios worldwide and are widely used by audio engineers, producers and content creators.In addition to its professional studio tools, Sonarworks has expanded into consumer audio through its SoundID personalisation technology, which adapts sound to individual hearing profiles and preferences. The company licenses its technology to global audio and consumer electronics partners and continues to be recognised internationally for its innovation in precision audio and sound optimisation.https://www.sonarworks.com/blog/researchHelmuts Bems (Co-founder, CEO) BiogHelmuts Bems is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Sonarworks, a leading audio technology company based in Riga, Latvia. He co-founded the company in 2012 and has overseen its strategic growth into a global innovator in sound calibration and personalised audio solutions, securing multiple financing rounds and international partnerships to expand its technologies across professional and consumer markets. Bems holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Business Administration from the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga. Under his leadership, Sonarworks has been recognised for advancing precision audio technologies used by engineers and studios worldwide and has achieved notable industry accolades and commercial milestones. Driven by complex challenges, Bems combines strategic planning and team leadership with a commitment to advancing deep-tech innovation, and maintains personal interests in endurance sports and outdoor pursuits.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.comCatch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

In this episode, Paul White and Hugh Robjohns address some of the most frequently-asked questions about home studio recording and production. They share practical, experience-based advice to help you get the best results from your setup, whatever your budget or space.Chapters00:00 - Introduction00:14 - Improving Your Room Acoustics 02:29 - Working On Headphones04:13 - Dampening With A Duvet05:50 - Choosing The Right Speakers06:50 - Mics And Preamps09:02 - Cables And Connectors11:28 - Hardware Vs Plug-ins14:09 - When To Add A Patchbay16:18 - Preparing Music For Streaming18:59 - Bass Drivers And Room Size#IsoAcoustics #AKGC414 #NeumannU87 #AudioTechnica2020 #ShureSM57 #ShureSM58 #Neutrik #CannonPaul 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!Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

Paul White explores the creative potential of using 'found' sounds, demonstrating how items found within your surroundings can be sampled, manipulated and transformed into complete tracks within your DAW using a few simple tools.Chapters00:00 - Introduction00:36 - Software Options01:27 - Methods Used For This Demo01:58 - Creating A String Patch04:49 - A Few More Examples08:03 - Constructing A Unique Percussion Kit11:01 - Layering Sounds With Synth Pads12:13 - Using The Voice Creatively13:00 - A Finished Track Using The Sampled SoundsPaul 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 and in 2010 he received a BASCA award for his contributions to the music industry.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, David Mellor continues his exploration of microphone polar patterns by discussing techniques for capturing stereo recordings. He examines how the choice of polar pattern and microphone placement can be used effectively to achieve a balanced and immersive stereo image.Chapters00:00 - Introduction01:10 - Defining Mono03:08 - Binaural Recording04:24 - Defining Stereo05:28 - Number Of Mics And Placement06:58 - Polar Patterns07:48 - Figure of 8 Demo09:09 - The Blumlein Pair Configuration11:05 - Coincident Cross Pair Figure Of 8 With Demonstration16:53 - Coincident Cross Pair Of Cardioid With Demonstration21:35 - Mic Spacing - The ORTF Configuration24:31 - Mic Spacing - Omnidirectional Without Angling27:28 - Medley Of Configurations29:38 - SummaryDavid 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. David has also had over 600 works published in the field of 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, also returning to guest lecture at Surrey University. From 2001 until recently David has offered courses in audio online with Audio Masterclass. David now enjoys making YouTube videos for his 84,000 subscribers and releasing music on streaming services and Bandcamp for his dozen or so listeners.YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@audiomasterclassSpotify - https://open.spotify.com/artist/6OkaDx4vB4O2ssUA5p4M8gBandcamp - https://davidmellor.bandcamp.com/Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

In this episode, sound-designer Eddie Bazil looks at ways of enhancing a variety of individual tracks and full mixes using plug-ins that are designed to achieve the retro warmth and cohesion of tapes and valves.Chapters00:00 - Introduction01:32 - What Is Harmonic Distortion02:32 - Advances In Music Production Quality04:47 - The Introduction Of CD05:59 - Triodes And Pentodes Vacuum Tubes06:47 - Analysing Harmonic Content07:56 - Example 1: TR-808 Sub Bass10:35 - Example 2: Affecting A Whole Mix*12:39 - Example 3: Adding Saturation15:07 - The Benefits Of Tape17:26 - Example 4: Applying Tape Effects To A Bassline*20:59 - Example 5: Adding Tape To Beats23:47 - Example 6: Enhancing A Piano Track26:56 - Summary* Demonstration track ‘Puppet’ (Examples 2 and 4), written, performed and recorded by John Walden. Vocals sung by Yvonne McKeown.#voxengospan #SummitAudio #T-RackS #Kraftur #Aphex #SSLEddie 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/Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

In this episode, Paul White looks at some creative ways that you can manipulate the standard plug-ins found in your DAW, using them alone or in combination with one another, to create some unique sounds, effects and rhythms. Chapters00:00 - Introduction00:08 - Hard Tune Effect01:39 - Processing Speech03:15 - Fast Pitch Processing04:04 - Using Match EQ On Guitars06:07 - Distortion And Reverb07:14 - Adding In Pitch Shift07:41 - Reverb And Distortion 09:07 - Adding More Reverb And Delay10:02 - Using Distortion On Drums11:30 - Using A Rotary Speaker On Drums12:43 - Using An Impulse Response With Convolution ReverbPaul 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/Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

For musicians and producers that struggle to finish tracks, Eddie Bazil explains the benefits of creating musical snippets and gives us some examples as to how we can tap into different moods, use sound design techniques to create something unique that becomes a useable addition to our musical catalogues and create pieces that stand the test of time.“Snippets and the creating of, serve to strengthen sound ideas, hone mixing and production skills, help to understand timing and flow, act as a testbed for song structuring ideas and are the playground for testing and mastering all manner of plug-ins”.Chapters00:00 - Introduction00:19 - What Is A Snippet?01:53 - The Benefits Of Creating Snippets04:26 - Planning Your Snippets06:07 - Sound Design06:53 - Example 1: Phased Pad17:33 - Example 2: Happy, Mood-Lifting 22:01 - Example 3: Drama And Tension#SoundtoysPhaseMistress #FabFilterTimeless2 #EventideBlackhole #SteinbergGrooveagent #GforceimpOSCar3 #WavesOvoxVocoder #SteinbergHalionTrip #RobPapenAlbino #Kontakt #NIMaschine2 #AirHybrid3Eddie 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/Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

Pro Audio Design Engineer Andy Bereza summarises his impressive career in a chat with Paul Gilby. Andy founded Allen & Heath Mixers before working for TEAC/Tascam, where he conceived the TEAC Portastudio the portable multitrack cassette tape recorder that revolutionised the home recording market in the 1980s. He then co-founded Bandive-Turnkey where he developed a range of budget signal processors and the famous Great British Spring reverb to sell to the rapidly expanding Home Studio Recording market. At the same time, he was a consultant for the Fostex X15 multitrack cassette as well as helping to steer further product designs. Chapters00:00 - Introduction00:34 - Getting Into Electronics01:45 - Building Custom Desks04:09 - Allen & Heath Mixers06:07 - The Minimixer08:54 - The Pink Floyd Desks12:24 - Allen & Heath Mod II Mixer13:20 - Expanding The Company15:23 - Moving To Tascam 16:58 - Constructing The Portastudio 21:57 - Setting Up Bandive / Turnkey24:55 - Creating Products For The Home Studio 29:03 - Fostex Releases in the 80s30:48 - Bandive Seck Mixers32:08 - Expanding Turnkey35:14 - Selling To Harman38:38 - Launching Digital Postcards41:07 - A Brief Career Summary42:13 - Proudest Career MomentAndy Bereza BiogAndy Bereza started his career as a Audio Design Engineer after moving to London in 1967 to study Electronics at Chelsea University. A chance encounter with Siggy Jackson in Tin Pan Alley gave him his first custom commission and many more soon followed, with Andy building mixers for Bill Shepherd (producer of the Bee Gees), Alan Price, Maurice Gibb and also a location recording mixer for the Clockwork Orange movie.In 1970 Andy became the Founder of Allen & Heath, where he initially developed the black range of mixers, then their first mass market product the Minimix. At the same time he creating custom quadraphonic live desks for The Who along with Pink Floyd's Pompeii and Dark Side Of The Moon touring desks.In 1975, Andy joined TEAC America and was employed to introduce Tascam into Europe. Then in 1976 he was contracted directly with TEAC Japan where he developed the iconic Portastudio that changed the face of the home recording industry. In 1977 he became one of the founders of Bandive Ltd and helped to develop further products for the home recording market and created the popular Turnkey By Mail catalogue during the late 1970s to mid 80s. Bandive then opened the Turnkey retail store in central London.Following the sale of Bandive / Turnkey to Harman UK in 1987, he briefly became their Marketing Director, before signing up to become Managing Director of Fostex in 1991. Later in the 90s Andy left the Pro Audio industry and turned his attention to multimedia where he developed interactive product catalogues on CD-ROM.Paul Gilby BiogPaul Gilby is the co-founder, along with his brother Ian, of Sound On Sound magazine in 1985. Having written many product reviews and interviews over the years he now heads up the Digital Media side of the business managing the team that looks after the SOS website as well as the video and podcast productions.Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

Not everyone has access to a professional studio with bespoke wiring. Here, Paul White and Hugh Robjohns discuss the best practises for avoiding and eliminating electrical noise interference in your home studio.Chapters00:00 - Introduction00:21 - Arranging Plugboards In A Home Studio02:09 - Uninterruptible Power Supplies03:59 - Grounding Issues In Laptop Systems07:19 - Radiated Interference08:54 - Isolated Power Supplies11:10 - Procedure For Eliminating Noise12:38 - Breaking The Ground Pathhttps://www.groundology.co.uk/https://artproaudio.com/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! Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

An introduction to using sample libraries focusing on the string section. Composer and Producer Sam Boydell talks us through selecting an orchestral sound library, creating a simple string motif and incorporating more realism into the finished piece by using a range of techniques, including articulations, dynamics and panning.Chapters00:00 - Introduction01:18 - The Tools Of The Trade03:13 - Choosing Your Sound Library06:01 - Starting With A String Motif10:39 - Allocating Orchestral Positions11:58 - Humanising The Performance14:57 - Fine-Tuning Velocity And Timing17:15 - Adding MIDI Automation19:56 - Placing The Orchestra In A Space22:17 - Incorporating Articulations24:39 - Creating More Dynamics27:46 - Mixing And MasteringSam Boydell BiogLearning his craft by working in studios with the likes of Gareth Young (Sugababes), Stephen Lipson (Hans Zimmer) and Mark Hill (Craig David), Sam has grown into being credited for Composing many award-winning Commercials and Documentaries such as drift-racing’s, ‘Clipping Point’ (2022) rated at 9.3/10 on IMDb, as well as, prestigious TV shows like, Match of the Day (BBC).Sam is also considered one of the premiere Sound Recordists & Commercial Mixers in the UK, having worked with the likes of David Beckham, ITV and Ferrari.Further enterprises include the music label 60hz with Mark Hill and Neil Simpson, which works to nurture talent such as Nat Slater & Kyi in the past. And, Education, where he works with local universities and schools.https://boyde.tv/Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

A valuable test for recording engineers, David Mellor gives examples of different mic types to emphasise the importance of knowing your mic collection in detail so that you're using the correct one for the recording task at hand. Cardioid, Supercardioid, Figure of 8 and Omnidirectional are compared.Chapters00:00 - Introduction00:23 - Testing The Schoeps CMC 601:44 - Cardioid Examples05:39 - Testing With Percussion06:33 - Supercardioid Examples08:40 - Figure Of 8 Examples11:22 - Omnidirectional Examples14:05 - Testing With Percussion14:58 - Testing Each Mic Type at 0 Degrees17:00 - Testing Each Mic Type at 45 Degrees18:19 - Testing Each Mic Type at 90 Degrees19:42 - Testing Each Mic Type at 180 Degrees21:15 - SummaryDavid 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/Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts

Paul White and Hugh Robjohns pick their software and hardware highlights from the last 12 months.Chapters00:00 - Introduction00:16 - Universal Audio Waterfall Rotary Speaker03:25 - Boss GM-800 Guitar Synthesizer04:24 - Tokyo Dawn Records Simulathe Cut06:33 - PreSonus Eris 3.5 Studio Monitors07:32 - Prism Audio Dream ADA-12810:07 - Walrus Audio Fable Granular Soundscape Generator10:59 - Blackstar St. James Amp Plug-ins11:55 - Zoom F8n Pro Field Recorder14:13 - Strymon BigSky Multi Reverb / Deco Tape Saturation14:49 - Line 6 HX One PedalPaul 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! Catch more shows on our other podcast channels: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos-podcasts