About Our Guests:

Steve DeMott: Producer, engineer, songwriter, and musician who has worked with the Grammy nominated Tribe collective 

Richard Hilton: Musician and producer well known for his work with Nile Rodgers and Chic

So how did you do you? Let us know.

About Our Guests:

Steve DeMott: Producer, engineer, songwriter, and musician who has worked with the Grammy nominated Tribe collective 

Richard Hilton: Musician and producer well known for his work with Nile Rodgers and Chic

About Our Guest: Andrew Scheps is an American mix engineer, recording engineer, record producer, and record label owner based in Los Angeles and the United Kingdom. He has received Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album for his work on Red Hot Chili Peppers' Stadium Arcadium, Album of the Year for Adele's 21, and Best Reggae Album for Ziggy Marley's Fly Rasta.[2]

About Our Host: Ashea is a platinum selling songwriter,  music producer & audio engineer. Credits & Placements Include… Alan Walker, Holy Goof, TS7,, MER, Sony Music, 2Tone Records.

About Our Guest:Andrew Scheps is an American mix engineer, recording engineer, record producer, and record label owner based in Los Angeles and the United Kingdom. He has received Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album for his work on Red Hot Chili Peppers' Stadium Arcadium, Album of the Year for Adele's 21, and Best Reggae Album for Ziggy Marley's Fly Rasta.[2]

About Our Host: Ashea is a platinum selling songwriter,  music producer & audio engineer. Credits & Placements Include… Alan Walker, Holy Goof, TS7,, MER, Sony Music, 2Tone Records.

About Our Guests:

Hyunkook Lee: Professor of audio and psychoacoustic engineering, Founder/director of the APL, & recording/mixing engineer

Emre Ramazanoglu: Immersive audio engineer, mixer/producer/drummer

Mark Gittins: Immersive engineer/mixer/producer/outside broadcast engineer.

About Our Guests:

Hyunkook Lee: Professor of audio and psychoacoustic engineering, Founder/director of the APL, & recording/mixing engineer

Emre Ramazanoglu: Immersive audio engineer, mixer/producer/drummer

Mark Gittins: Immersive engineer/mixer/producer/outside broadcast engineer.

About Our Guest:

Tony Perrey, Director of Audio and co owner of Windmill Lane Recording Studios.

Tony has been in the studio business since 1992, setting up a small midi pre production studio. The studios and clients grew bigger until he and his partners Naomi Moore and Aidan Alcock acquired Windmill Lane Studios in 2009.

Tony is also the head of Pulse College, whose audio faculty is also located within the iconic building.Tony was one of the original team to develop the Pro Tools world wide .

About Our Guests:

https://www.syncdna.com/ 

Mat: Chief Architect
 Mat Pataki is Chief Architect at SyncDNA™. He's built cloud platforms that serve millions of users at companies like Uken Games and Jam City. But he's also spent years in Toronto 

music studios on both sides of the glass—as an engineer and a performer. That combination of building massive-scale systems and actually living in professional audio workflows means he knows what creative professionals need, and how to deliver it.

Andreas: Chief Architect
 Andreas brings deep expertise in audio and video networking software and scalable systems, with experience at internet pioneering companies like AOL and Yahoo. As Chief Architect, Andreas designs our core audio/video processing infrastructure, DAW/NLE integration, and hardware integration. Combined with his perspective as a practicing musician, this combination of engineering expertise and artistic insight makes him an ideal fit for SyncDNA.

 Talking Points:

• A bit about you and your background.
• What is Sync DNA and How did you form?
• Creating the “Now moment” - Synchronization & Latency
• Sync DNA & Track Record
• Why choose Sync DNA?

Finds of the week:

Each week our guests share something they have found, (usually audio related but it doesn´t have to be; it can be anything from audio software to movies or even a jar of pickle):

 Mat:
For live shows I’ve been using this Allen and Heath SQ-5 digital mixer. Its graphic EQ “fader flip” function is pretty amazing.
 

Andreas:The Commoners Band

Learn More About Stephen Gallagher Here:

https://bio.site/StephenGallagher

Learn More About Mark Willsher Here:

https://bio.site/pin3hot

Finds Of The Week:

Mark:

Apple & Blackberry Bakewell Tart 

Stephen:

 A Sunny Place For Shady People by Mariana Enriquez

Russ:

 The Genius Myth by Helen Lewis

Learn more about Sonic Summits here:

https://linktr.ee/sonic_summit

Experience the album and learn more about Justin here:

https://justingraysound.com/immersed/

Experience the album and learn more about Justin here:

https://justingraysound.com/immersed/

Talking Points:

• Inspiration for the album & The writing process
• The expressive use of space (reverb)
• Connecting audio and visuals to tell a story
• Capturing sound in 3D
• How  using a Dolby Atmos playback system helped artists with their creativity

About Our Guests:

James is a producer/engineer based in Oxfordshire, UK.

Luke Goddard is one of Production Experts very own. You can see his videos and read his articles on the blog.

Finds Of The Week:

Ashea:New Studio Chair (Inexpensive and comfy) 

Luke: Tape Bowing Ensemble by The Open Reel Ensemble.
Magnetic tape + bamboo bows + effects. This is a trio performance on the “JIGAKKYU,” a traditional folk instrument made by stretching magnetic tape across bamboo.

James: Yuzu Keycaps (for custom Pro Tools labelling)

Julian Sound of Noise - Music for One Apartment and Six Drummers 

Read The Article Here:

https://www.production-expert.com/production-expert-1/self-mastering-doesnt-have-to-mean-solo-mastering

About Our Guests:

James Richmons is a producer/engineer based in Oxfordshire, UK.

Production Expert’s very own Luke Goddard. Yes that one!

Read Along With The Article:

https://www.production-expert.com/production-expert-1/drowning-in-ideas-how-audio-pros-can-learn-to-say-no

About Our Guests:

Will Shanks: Senior Product Designer / Professional Plugins

James Santiago: Senior Product Designer / Guitar Products

Talking Points:

• The Secret History of the A-Type Processor
• A-Type processor, and how UA pushed it even further with modern circuit mods and expanded creative features.
• A-Type as historic preservation tool of a particular era of recorded music
• Analogue Vs Digital Vs Analogue Emulation with additional features.
• UA’s impact on bringing hardware magic to the digital age 

About A-Type Multiband Dynamic Enhancer 

For modern music producers, the name “A-Type” conjures images of analog recording studios and ancient equipment used for workhorse tasks like noise reduction and tape transfers to digital. But such associations don’t tell the whole story. The legacy of the Dolby A-Type noise reduction system* isn’t just about preservation — it is also a story of transformation. What began as a groundbreaking noise reduction circuit in the golden age of magnetic tape quietly shaped the sound of some of the most iconic records of all time as a creative effect. Now, reimagined as a modern tool for music producers and engineers working in DAWs, the UAD A-Type Multiband Dynamic Enhancer plug-in brings this forgotten “studio secret” back into the spotlight. 

A-Type Blog - https://www.uaudio.com/blogs/ua/making-of-uad-a-type 

Finds of the week:

Each week our guests share something they have found, (usually audio related but it doesn´t have to be; it can be anything from audio software to movies or even a jar of pickle):

 Julian: Surrounded by Sound: Ray Dolby and the Art of Noise Reduction

Ashea: https://wiredmasters.co.uk/ (Tape Baking Story)

Will: Amazon Pants 

James:Installation of tone makers in Times Square Max Neuhas -

About Our Guest: Christian Luther:
Christian is the founder of Playfair Audio and a seasoned audio software developer from Hannover, Germany. With a background in electrical engineering and years of experience at companies like Kemper Amps and Sennheiser, he’s spent his career building tools that make audio production more intuitive. Through Playfair Audio, he focuses on solving the technical challenges so others can focus on being creative.

Talking Points:

• The interplay between creativity and technical ability 
• Using technology for a more seamless creative mixing process 
• Careful consideration vs instinct while mixing
• How tools, interfaces and working environments shape the creative process
• The role of dynamics when mixing 

Finds of the week:

Each week our guests share something they have found, (usually audio related but it doesn´t have to be, it can be anything from audio software to movies or even a jar of pickle):

Ashea: Logic Pro Latest Updates- Stem Splitter Improvements
Christian: https://www.keybr.com/

Talking Points:

• The AI revolution in the audio industry and why choosing ethical options is so important.
• A literal game-changer, despite this phrase being embarrassingly over used- let’s discuss the ways that Auribus is changing how we make music.
• Voice by Auribus Features:

Finds of the week:
Julian: Air Fryer! - me too… Snootiful Hound sighthound harness
Ashea: Monument Valley Game
Juan: Anthony Hopkins film Hitchcock - title: “Hitchcock”
Neal: Air Fryer, Factotum Movie, 

About our guests:

Thomas is convenor of the EU working group to prevent hearing loss in music listening and gaming; and researcher at Finnish monitoring company, Genelec. Out of a medical background, Thomas has worked in Danish healthcare, and contributed to international standardisation on sound.

Stephen: Stephen’s company, LimitEar, have supplied hearing safeguarding technologies for headphone users at The BBC, Global Radio, BSkyB, F1, amongst others. He is the Chair of the UK Make Listening Safe Campaign, a WHO initiative, a Trustee of the UK Hearing Conservation Association and an Invited Expert to the ITU’s Safe Listening safety standards groups. 

 https://www.hearangel.com/the-company/

Stephen: History Rage Podcast

Finds of the week:
Julian: Steinberg SpectraLayers

Ashea:  Ear Peace Music Pro

Thomas:  https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/noise/about/app.html

https://www.museepicassoparis.fr/en/degenerate-art-modern-art-trial-under-nazis

Stephen: History Rage Podcast

Listen To Marcellos New Music Here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_y7BLmHCX9A

Keep Up With Marcello's Delusion:
https://www.instagram.com/marcellospooks?igsh=MTducHRocGY2Z2QwcQ==

About Our Guests:

Robert Marshall: Principal inventor and co-founder, overseas product development concepts and sales & support teams. He is the recording /mixing engineer for SUM1 in Chicago and works daily with our remote tools around the world in that capacity. He also has an extraordinary daughter who just started film school who is showing that the next generation is full of talent and good spirits.

Rebekah Wilson: Technical co-founder and CEO, overseas engineering and product teams and general business functions. Originally trained as classical & electronic composer in conservatory-style, before source elements she toured as a composer/performer and worked in an experimental music institute in Amsterdam, work that merged into her interest of using tools such as Source-Connect for networked music performance and avant garde music, primarily as teacher and researcher.

Click here to follow along with the article:

Read The Article Here:
https://www.production-expert.com/production-expert-1/three-music-technology-predictions-that-never-came-true

About Our Guests:

Korey Pereira is a Dialogue Editor and Sound Supervisor for film and television< a member of the Motion Picture Sound Editors Board of Directors as well as a Professor at the University of Texas at Austin.

Mike Thorne is a studio owner in Kent- Rimshot productions: https://www.rimshotstudio.co.uk/

Reid Caulfield is an LA based re-recording mixer & sound editor.

Finds Of The Week:

Julian: The Synths Behind Don't You Want Me - Video by Alex Ball

Mike: Meter Plugs Perception AB Chord Electronics Alto

Korey: Tascam DR-07XP Adjustable mics between AB/XY, 32-bit float

Soundfield ST450mkii

Link to the Article:
https://www.production-expert.com/production-expert-1/why-i-only-use-pro-tools-as-my-daw-of-choice

• A history of sampling.
• Present day sampling practices.
• Tips and industry insights for sound designers & producers in TV & Film.

Finds of the week:
Julian: UAD Polymax For Free For Pro Tools Customers Via Inner Circle
Ashea: Warp- Baby Audio X Andrew Huang
Roger:  Silk Vocal from Waves
Russ: 

If you are affected or know someone who is struggling with the issues mentioned in this podcast short, please know that you are not alone and there most definitely is hope.

Helpful links:

https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/

https://www.mind.org.uk/donate/acq-christmas-2024/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA1Km7BhC9ARIsAFZfEIv-nrundcUa2BAWKmRI3WnNoK41m4IrGj3aDxZrnlNvNA7bM-Zd1wYaAh3YEALw_wcB

Talking Points:

• Our journey into audio and production
• What we get out of it
• Inspiring others- the importance of representation, (you can’t be what you cant see).
• AES and advocacy. 

Learn more about AES here:
https://aes2.org

Marcel Schechter: joined Genelec as Customer Experience Specialist in 2021, before that he already spent seven years as a product specialist for the German distributor Audio Pro. He worked for ten years as a sound engineer and uses his practical experience to advise customers on choosing, optimising and calibrating loudspeaker systems. 

Talking Points:

• Why a great listening environment is the best time saver and other benefits.
• What to do about less than ideal rooms.
• Using referencing to improve our mixes. 

Finds of the week:
Julian: Zennor Sounds
Ashea: Hydraulic Press Channel
Marcel: The YouTube channel Audio University
Andy:  Cory Wong - The Sorcerer

Talking Points:

• Good advice or cool production tips you´ve learned that you´d like to share.
• Plugins or hardware that people need to know about.

Finds Of The Week:
Julian: Krotos Ambience generator
Ashea: Waves Center
Mark: Orla Gartland

Talking Points:

• Pick 2-3 tracks you love from the 80s-today.  
• We compare why. Production, musicality, expression, cultural influences, demographic. 

Ashea´s Tracks:
Back Bone- Chase & Status & Stormzy  

Charlie XCX Sympathy Is A Knife 

Luke R´s Tracks :

The 1975 - Oh Caroline 

Sam Fender - Spit of You 

Luke G’s tracks:

Tears For Fears -Seeds of Love

Can't Get You Out Of My Head - Kylie Minogue

Royals - Lorde

Julian’s Tracks

Madonna Vogue

Sabotage Beastie Boys

Get Lucky - Daft Punk

Talking Points:

• Being in the room with the artist/client, is it still necessary? Does it even matter?
• Have listeners' ears become accustomed to things like Auto tune, heavy compression, would anyone care if we stopped doing these things?
• Loudness Wars- does anyone care anymore?
• Mix Assistants E.g EZ mix, is it cheating?

Finds of the week:

Julian:Using what you already have in the studio (Carbon story, Caldigit Ethernet, audio key on piano)
Ashea: Audio Ease- Speakerphone 3
Paul: BlackMagic UltraStudio Recorder
Luke:  Leaf Audio 

If that’s you, then here’s my attempt at helping those of you who want to get ahead in audio when you hate the thought of marketing."

• You can’t polish a ****, why capturing the best sound in the recording process will make your life easier.
• Mic and recording techniques for a ‘Grammy’ worthy sound. 
• The only gear you’ll ever need. If we could only use a handful of tools for the rest of our careers, what would they be and why
• How might these approaches and philosophies apply to audio education?
• Applications in immersive audio (such as off-axis freq response). 

Finds of the week:
Julian: Airsound
Ashea:Charli XCX Album- Brat
Miles: Maag PreQ2

Talking Points:

• Coloured Vs Transparent gear,(mics, etc)  when, why and how do you use it?
• Arguments for and against.
• Gear recommendations.

Recommended by Steve: Q2 Audio

Finds of the week:

Julian: New IEMs
William: youtube channel : Sorted Food  
Steve: Netflix DocuSeries - Rise of Empires: Ottoman 

Talking Points:

• Post Production, post Covid, How has it changed? Has remote working affected/improved things for you, if so how?
• With so many AI and other new tools, the requirements of audio engineers in Post seem to be changing. What kind of changes are you seeing in your work and how are you adapting to these changes?
• What tools are you adding to your workflow to assist with new demands, or improve the quality in general?
• Scaling your team and business sustainably during challenging times

Finds of the week:

Julian: 1985 Aria Pro II Laser Electric Classic
Ashea: Rule Tec Heritage Pro
David: Matrix 20th anniversary event
Reid: Relab VSR REV6000
Alex: Streamdeck and Auto Hotkey

Talking Points:

• What are some techniques that you often hear/use in Post Production that      could benefit music mixes?
• Perfecting the low end, LFE channel. (Subquake)
• Panning tricks 
• Cutting/Creating in Stereo vs surround.
• Human Perception in 3D 
•  Downmixing
• Atmos objects vs fixed channel formats

Finds of the week:
Julian: Brunost
Ashea: Noise Works Audio- Gain Amp Pro
Justin: Godzilla Minus One!
Paul: Marantz AV10 Audio Processor

Talking Points:

• Wild thoughts on classic studio techniques- what are some new, out there or avant-garde techniques or practices that work well work for you and conversely, what are some outdated tips/workflow?
• Breaking free from limiting schools of thought examples
• Mix sounding a little too tame? How to inject some excitement
• Plugins and tools that add interest 

Finds of the week:
Julian: Antares Vocal Deesser
Ashea: Minimal Audio- Flex Chorus
Noam: Oeksound Bloom
Mark: SSL DrumStrip

Talking Points:
What are some repetitive & time consuming tasks in our production/mixing workflows and what can we do to cut back on them and stay creative?

Finds of the week:
Julian: The Sopranos
Ashea: Sonicbox Studios
Bainz: VLC Mixwave Audio Channel Strip
Chris: Lean into frustration when mixing

Talking Points:

New Logic Session Players

Global Track and Region Chords

Stem Splitter

ChromaGlow

Dolby Atmos Enhancements

Sound & Producer Packs

Pitch Source Parameter

Logic Pro for iPad 2

Eli's Videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCNPNC0eRBI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92n-Nc-5kX0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=it7GuEgViHI

Finds of the week:

Julian: Universal Audio SD 3, 5 & 7 Hemisphere Mics
Ashea: LED Strip Lights
Eli: Star Trek Continues

Talking Points:

Mixing the new Judas Priest album

How does your approach differ when mixing in Atmos vs stereo?

Important things to consider

Maintaining the feel of the stereo mix

Workflow

Rooms, headphones ,monitors, home setups and tips for mixers getting started with immersive mixing.

Finds of the week:
Julian: Shure Nexadyne Mics
Ashea: Glaze 2
Mark: Safari Pedals Plugins

Talking Points:

Workflow tips, shortcuts and things you’ve discovered along the way

Recording, production and mixing tricks.

Things you wish you knew when you first started out

Mindset tips

How has your approach changed since entering into this industry?

Who were your mentors, inspiration and reasons for adopting a different approach, workflow or mindset?

Must have plugins or gear.

Finds of the week:
Julian: DX7 Podcast On SOS
Ashea: PSP Bin Amp
Paul: Beyer DT700 Pro X

Talking Points:

Working to a brief: What is your process for capturing the mood and creating an experience that complements the visual storytelling?

Sound choice, inspiration, foley etc.

What makes a sound instantly recognizable, e.g Netflix. What is the process like getting to that point?

Optimising workflow: Tools, gear, deadlines. 

Emerging trends, challenges, and opportunities facing sound designers in an ever-evolving industry.

Finds of the week:

Ashea: Waves Stream
Dallas: Buy Back Your Time- Dan Martell

Talking Points:

• What are some of the current threats AI poses in society/the audio and music industry today?
• Synthetic media, voice cloning software and other tools are still in their early stages but are incredibly powerful tools that can all be really useful if used wisely, however there needs to be ethical principles in place. 
• The dangers of Deepfakes
• Provenance.
• Please tell us about Respeecher, what this tool offers and how you are putting ethical practices and policies at the forefront of your company.

Damian’s article On Respeecher 

Finds of the week:
Julian: Now TV has ads
Ashea: Notion App
Anna: Brief History Of AI - Michael Aldridge, Chip War Michael Phillips

Talking Points:

• Social Media age and the “democratization” of the industry.
• Labels vs the new A.I/Digital gatekeepers
• Youtube, Google and artist revenue

Finds of the week:
Julian: High Strung/Nashville Strings
Ashea: MCenter
Steve: Pulsar 1178 

Talking Points:

LA Times Article:
https://www.latimes.com/.../ai-artificial-intelligence...

From the article:

"In the music and sound-recording industry, the tasks most likely to  be affected by AI are voice generation and cloning, music generation and  recording and lyrics composition,  followed by mastering, mixing and  tools programming, according to the study.

More than 50% of survey  participants anticipated that AI would displace sound designers in the  next three years, while more than 40% saw AI coming for music editors,  audio technicians and sound engineers. Roughly a third of respondents  predicted a similar fate for songwriters, composers and studio  engineers."

Our thoughts on the survey

Bearing this in mind how should audio professional go about keeping themselves valuable (better than A.I)?

How can we use A.I to our advantage?

Finds of the week:
Julian: PSI Audio A17-M
Ashea: Landscape With Invisible Hand
Reid: Altiverb 8, Arrival

• What was your first pro gig and how did that come about?
• Getting work in a traditional studio setting
• Freelancing
• Types of clients and how to deal with them
• Balancing a day job
• When/how to transition into full time

Finds of the week:

Ashea: All You Need To Know About The Music Business
Russ: Criminal Record Show , i73 Pro
Paul: Deity Theos digital radio mics

Talking Points:

PMC & its history - background of company

Relationship with UGM/Dolby

PMC and suitability for Immersive - any particular features which you think make them particularly suitable?

How does an ATL differ from a ported or band pass cabinet in performance?

PMC and DSP, Network Control

What, if anything, can you share about future developments at PMC?

Finds of the week:
Julian: Focusrite Vocaster Two
Ashea: Crumple Pop Plosive Remover
Maurice: Voyage Audio Spatial Mic, Julia Holter Something In The Room She Moves
Oliver: Audient Oria

In this episode Ashea is joined by Russ Hughes & Lexie Morgan of HHB London and formerly iZotope, to give three different perspectives on the recent UK government report about the obstacles women are met with while pursuing a career in the music industry.

Summary of the UK Government report:

The Report:

Production Expert Article:

Let’s briefly discuss how we feel about this report and how our experiences correspond with the data from the report.

Sexual Harassment & Safety Issues:
What safety & other measures do studios and workplaces need to put into place? What desperately needs changing?

Dismantling The Bias:
Change needs to take place from within. As well as the wonderful work that women (and men) are already doing to improve things, we also need to get more help from our male colleagues, bosses, fellow artists etc. What can men do to be better ‘allies’?

Mentioned In This Podcast:
https://www.production-expert.com/home-page/2017/7/31/pro-tools-expert-podcast-episode-280

Finds of the week:
Ashea: Quickbooks App
Russ: Billy Joel - Turn The Lights Back On
Lexie: Poor Things Movie

Talking Points:
Wolff Audio Console
Heritage Audio i73
SSL 360
Blue Cat Audio
Yamaha- Seq track
Raven MTi2
Beyerdynamic -DT-770-pro
ACE Studio - AI vocal synthesizer

Finds Of The Week:
Julian: Kii SEVEN
Ashea: Solodome
Eli: The red plastic water flask my wife got me for NAMM

Talking Points:

How much emphasis is placed on the following?

• Hands on experience, using hardware, navigating a mixing desk and traditional studio setups.
• A.I and one knob plugins: How granular are you taught to get with plugins?:
• Career Goals & Prospects: Training for commercial studio vs freelancer.
• The role of entrepreneurship, how the industry,networking and career advancement is changing.

Finds of the week:
Julian:  Avid NAMM Tech Preview
Ashea: VEA
James: Pythogorean Tuning

Talking Points:

‘The Power of No’ in music production, recording & mixing.
 Expanding on William Wittmans article:

Finds of the week:
Julian: PMC 6-2
Ashea: Sketch Casette 2
Steve: Zoom H6 field recorder

Talking Points:

• Dealing with anxiety and other mental health issues that plague freelancers and audio professionals. 
  
  
• The stigma attached to mental health issues.
  
  
• The role of social media and how it can affect our mental health.
  
  
• Coping and good practices to reduce stress etc.

Finds of the week:

Russ: A Therapeutic Journey Book
Ashea: Contact- Movie
Reid: The Demon- Haunted World , Blink, McDSP SA3

• As an engineer at Strongroom, what is your role, and what are the main things you get asked to do? Have you witnessed people’s role changing/morphing over time, if so how?
• Producer, beatmaker, songwriter let’s discuss our interpretations of those roles and how they have developed/changed.
• Stems,multitracks. Any definitions that are commonly confused?
• Our thoughts on Russ’ article. https://www.production-expert.com/production-expert-1/its-none-of-your-business-how-people-choose-to-make-music

Finds of the week:
Julian: PSP Auralcomp
Ashea: Nutribullet Blender
Ary: Amedeo Modigliani

Talking Points:

•  Universal Audio Opens LUNA to All Mac Users in Inclusive Software Update
•  Avid Now A Private Company As STG Completes Acquisition
•  Apple Logic Pro For Mac And iPad Updated - Includes Mastering Assistant And More
•  Serato Unexpectedly Announce Native Apple Silicon Support For Pitch 'n Time  Plugin
•  Steinberg Nuendo 13 Announced : A Comprehensive Update for Post-Production Professionals
• Slate and SSL Gobbler
•  Universal Audio Sound City Plugin Announced
•  Spatial Audio And Using Audiomovers Binaural Renderer For Apple Music 
• Ginger Audio iRender Spatial Released
•  SSL E 4K released
  
  

Finds of the week:

Julian: Loudspeakers For Music Recording And Reproduction
Ashea: Fletcher & Mills Studio Desk 
Nathaniel: ChatGPT 3.5’s new voice conversation feature 

• Let’s discuss some of the gear/software that we find ourselves relying on and why that is.
• Open Back Headphones, 
• Sit Stand Desk, 
• Macbook Pro,
• VisLM, 
• Celemony Melodyne. 
• Neve 1073 Mic Pre, 
• Neumann U87. 
• Logic Pro

Finds of the week:

Julian: Caldigit TS3 Plus -

Ashea: Waves Silk Vocal 

Graham: Supperware Bridgehead 

• We hear the terms ‘radio ready’ and ‘sounds like a record’ used a lot in this industry, so let’s break down the elements that make a song worthy of that statement, and why do some songs fail to sound like this?
  
  
• Music is constantly changing, and so the definition of a ‘record’ surely has too. Let's compare some hits of yesteryear and how they match up to those of today.
  
  
• Can a  great production/mix make an average song sound like a record?
  
  
• Gear and tools used on many of the great records. 
  
  
• Eli, as we have you on, let’s discuss the new Logic Pro updates.  

Finds Of The Week:

Julian: Sonos Era 300
Ashea: Witness For The Prosecution Play
Eli: Model N Channel 

• Let’s discuss some of the new trends and practices we are seeing pop up in the industry in general.
  
  
• Steve, you mentioned a few days ago that you’ve noticed a trend in audio plugins, how they seem to be geared towards improving subpar recording techniques- Let’s discuss this point.
  
  
• Are there any areas that need more attention in terms of technological development?
  
  
• Are there areas that we feel would be best left to traditional practices and can’t/shouldn’t be solved by a plugin?
  
  

Finds of the week:

Julian: McDSP SA3
Ashea: Miloco Gear's Pro Audio Showcase Returns
Steve: KiiveAudio Complexx

Talking Points

• Do you have a lot of unfinished material sitting around on your hard drive? If so, why do you think that is?
  
  
• Let’s discuss some useful ways as producers we can make use of the old unfinished material.
  
  
• Are there some good tools you know of to speed up & help the process of finishing songs?
  
  
• Platforms that allow us to put our work to good use, e.g beatstars, sample libraries etc

Finds of the week:

Julian: Live From Daryl’s House Glenn Tilbrook
Ashea: New Logic Pro Updates
Luke: Middle Kids Dramamine

• Supertone- Clear Voice Separator (Goyo)
• Gik Acoustic- SlatFusor 4S
• Harrison Audio Mixing Console
• Landr Mastering Plugin,*
• Presonus- Open Source DAW Collaboration
• Maag Audio Pre Q2

Finds Of The Week:
Julian - New Macbook Pro
Ashea- New Super Atomic Material
William - Eventide MicroPitch Immersive 

• What first attracted you to your DAW of choice?
• Let’s briefly discuss platform compatibility for Logic X, Pro Tools & Ableton
• What do you like about your DAWs user interface? Have you tried other DAWs, what didn’t you like about them?
• MIDI, Virtual Instruments and samplers: What is this like with the DAW you use, is there room for improvement?
• Audio Recording and Editing.
• How does your DAW of choice fit into your workflow?
  
  
  Finds Of The Week:
  
  
• Julian - 32 Classic Mixing Console
• Ashea-LANDR Mastering Plugin
• Siobhan - Natural Symphony

Talking Points

• What are some common acoustic problems in recording studios, and how can they be solved?
  
  
• How can room size and shape impact the acoustics of a recording space?
  
  
• Are there specific materials or treatments that are essential for improving room acoustics in a studio?
  
  
• .What role does speaker placement play in achieving optimal room acoustics for mixing and monitoring?
  
  
• What advice do you have for home studio owners on a budget who want to improve their room acoustics for better audio quality?
  
  
• Are there any myths or misconceptions about room acoustics that you'd like to debunk?
  
  
• What are some common mistakes that recording engineers make when dealing with room acoustics, and how can they be avoided?
  
  
• Let's Talk SAM, GLM, GRADE Reporting etc
  
  
• How can the UNIO Audio Monitoring Platform help with the points we’ve just discussed?

Finds Of The Week:

• Julian -  Lola Young Conceited
• Ashea- UAD Free Plugin LA 2A
• Marcel - Jacob Collier Little Blue

Talking Points:

• How has education helped you in terms of knowledge and your career?
• There’s a plethora of free material online, on Youtube etc, how valuable is learning via this method?
• The value of structured courses. ‘You don’t know what you don’t know’
• Should we learn from the very beginning? Can learning backwards be a thing?
• Online vs attended courses.
• How important is studying audio engineering in the era of A.I & assisted mixing etc. Can you still be a good producer/engineer without this knowledge?

Finds Of The Week:

• Julian - Shure SM7dB
• Ashea-Antares- Spanish Language
• Paul - Soundly Cloud libraries
• Roger-Amie (by Meyer)

• Export Selection In Pro Tools 2023.9
• Autobounce
• Pro Tools Sketch
• DX Revive 
• Nugen AB Assist
• Sontec MES-439-D9D
• Mixland Vac Attack Vacuum Tube Limiter
  
  Finds Of The Week:
• Julian - Kii Seven
• Ashea- Encounters- Docuseries Netflix
• Steve-  Sontec MES-439-D9D

Pro Tools Perpetual Licences are now available for sale exclusively through authorised Avid resellers, they will not be sold via the Avid Web Store, thoughts on this?

Pros and cons of perpetual licences vs subscription-based models from both the consumer and companies perspective.

Compatibility issues-  Operating Systems- Backwards forwards compatibility- legacy versions. 

What considerations should audio professionals keep in mind when deciding between perpetual licenses and subscription-based access for their software tools?

How do perpetual licenses affect software updates and support? Are there potential drawbacks in terms of staying up-to-date with technology? (Avids announcement re updates).

Are there specific scenarios or types of users for whom perpetual licenses make more sense, and conversely, situations where subscription models might be preferable?

In the ever-evolving world of audio technology, how do perpetual licenses impact the long-term sustainability and compatibility of software tools?

 With the rise of cloud-based services and remote collaboration, how do perpetual licenses fit into the changing landscape of audio production and software accessibility?

 What advice would you give to audio professionals looking to make informed decisions about licensing models and software access in today's market?

How do licensing models impact the relationship between software developers and users? Are there community and support differences between perpetual and subscription models?

Finds of the week:
Julian - Blue Cat Audio Axiom
Ashea- Slate Digital- Infinity Bass
James- Razer Basilisk V3 Pro mouse and SteerMouse

• Ways in which A.I/ new technology has changed the way we work in music up until now
• How will our jobs need to evolve with the ever improving advances in technology?
• How can we make A.I work to our advantage?

Finds of the week:
Toy Box Audio- Thump One
The Godfather Of Harlem - TV Series

Talking Points:

•  Avid Pro Tools Sketch
• Focusrite Scarlett 4th Gen Interface
• Sonnox Voca
• STL Tones Control Hub
• UJAM UFX Reverb
• Allen & Heath CQ Series Mixers

Finds of the week:

Julian - Audio Plugin Uninstaller
Ashea- Acon Digital Remix Real-Time AI Stem Separation Plugin
William- TONEX Pedal 

Talking Points:

• How often do you end up changing parts of the arrangement to improve a mix? 
• The importance of sound selection, layers and instrument placement.
• Frequency masking and arrangement tricks that can help. 
• Filling in frequency gaps:
• Combining kick and bass, for a better low end.
• Vocal layers and processing

Finds Of The Week:

• Julian - Miso Gochujang noodles
• Ashea- Sonnox Voca
• Gareth - Korneff Audio- Amplified Instrument Processor

• How important are visuals to us?
• Visual, graphical displays vs skeuomorphic designs, what are some of the pro’s and cons?
• What Plugin UI features do you think improve your mix/production decisions and why? 
• Inter-Plugin communication and why is that useful to us?
• How can plugin developers make better use of the technology available today?

Finds of the Week:

Julian - David Bennet Piano Beatles 7 Modes
Ashea- Mixing Night Audio- LOL Comp
Graham - Mix To Mobile
Steve - Fender J Bass

• What are some of the challenges and pressures that audio professionals face in the music industry that might impact their mental health?
• Pressures of freelancing-How do we address the financial and emotional pressures that audio professionals might experience, and how does this impact their mental well-being? 
• How does the music industry handle issues like sickness burnout, anxiety, and depression, which can be prevalent in this field?
• How do you address the stigma around mental health in the music industry and create a supportive environment for musicians/artists?

Finds Of The Week

• Russ- Colin From Accounts- Tv Show
• Ashea- Essentialism- Book
• Karen- Sound Of Silence- Song by Disturbed

• All four of us are producers/mixers of slightly different vintage, so it would be interesting to go around the table and hear a little about which techniques & practices we learned from and perhaps how that affects our workflow today.
•  Gainstaging, 
• 32 bit recording- Is anyone working with this?
• Analogue workflow (e.g. making decisions early, capturing “the sound” from the start vs. capturing a clean sound to manipulate later, etc).
• Mixing/Producing in and out of the box, we compare techniques and results.
• Favourite analogue emulation plugins, how do they compare to the real deal?

Finds Of The Week

• Julian - The Rest Is Politics Podcast
• Ashea - Techivation M-De-Esser
• Dom - PSP Audio BinAmp
• Steve- Dynaudio 9S subwoofer

SSL G3

Scheps Omni Channel 2

Slate Digital VIRTU

WavesFactory Equaliser

RME Fireface

Sound Particles Audio Matrix

Find Of The Week

• Julian - Focusrite Vocaster
• Ashea- Oura Ring
• James- DADlink from DAD/Avid

• Starting a track, what is your approach, does it change depending on the vibe/artist?
• Producing for very established artists, what is the process, how involved are the labels/artist in the sound and how does that differ to writing your own material?
• Making the ‘right’ decisions in production is very important, how do you deal with decision making?
• Samples, presets, sound design, any go to plugins that you use.
• Behind the track: Choose a track, either as Super-Hi or Red Triangle that you’d like to share with us. What was the production process ?
• Working together, do you have set roles? How to work successfully as a production duo
• Thoughts on A.I, are you already embracing this, if so how?
• Favourite studio gear and why?

Find Of The Week

• Julian - The Songs Of David Bowie - Songbook 1973
• Ashea- Sonible- Smart Gate
• Rick- Kilohearts Trancegate, Underwater jet pack
• George - Sheet Music Could Have Been Me The Struts

• Mastering for Streaming Platforms, let’s talk specifics
• Loundness Normalisation and Album Normalisation
• Loudness Wars, are they still a thing? Do we still need loud masters?
• True Peak Limiters vs normal limiters
• Clipping
• Widening mixes

Finds Of The Week

• Julian - Genelec GRADE Reports
• Ashea - Pope Audio
• Ian - AM coustics, Who Killed the KLF

• Julian - Genelec 8341 and 7350A
• Ashea- Cableguys Shaperbox
• Eli - The Private Equity Buyout Of Music Production

• Ashea - Gearfest UK
• Nathaniel - Auto Align 2
• Steve - Vanguard Audio V44S
• Julian - UAD Capitol Mastering Compressor

• Julian - Space Lens in Clean My Mac
• Ashea- Avid Collab with Audio Movers or CHAPEA
• Gareth - Hi Hat Bleed Trick
• William- Dr. Tver Robert pedal by Aclam 

• Let’s go round the table and talk about each of your current work and how affected by Atmos it is.
• What has changed in Pro Tools 2023.6 regarding Track Widths?
• What is the 7.1.2 ceiling and why does it exist?
• How is greater track widths better? Lets talk about beds vs objects and channel agnosticism. Why is 7.1.4 better than 7.1.2. What about 9.1.6, how does speaker density affect the listening experience?
• What about the two approaches to getting greater widths out of pro tools beds vs static objects. To what extent is this new?
• Are these changes going to affect how you work?

Finds Of The Week

• Julian - The Loudspeaker Design Cookbook 8th Edition Vol 1 
• Ashea - Steinberg Spectralayers
• Roger - Amie loudspeakers by Meyer Sound
• Korey - Kraken DET Speech Recognition Beta

What’s the collaborative process like with directors, producers, and other members of the creative team to understand their vision and translate it into musical compositions? 

When/how does a brief arrive? 

What factors do you consider when creating a score that complements the visual content?

Working with Deadlines: How do you manage your time and resources effectively?

Working with sound libraries or creating custom sound effects for TV and movies? How do you ensure that the sound effects align with the overall audio mix?

Best Software synths, plugins, gear etc…

Are there any specific strategies you use for revisions, feedback, project management, storage space and backups?

Talking Points

Greg - Agency on Netflix
Steve - Audioscape D-Comp Limiter
Ashea - Spatial Audio Festival at Media City Salford
Julian - Batch Converter in Rogue Amoeba's Fission

• Mac Pro - Who needs it when the Mac Studio exists?
• PCI cards - how relevant in 2023?
• Upgradeable SSD is back (kind of)
• New Mac Studio and M2 Ultra
• Game Mode in macOS Sonoma
• Apple Vision Pro

Find Of The Week

• Julian - Waterhaul
• Ashea -Meta AI Tool
• Reid - Goyo
• James - Auto Bounce

• Genelec 8381A Monitors Announced | Production Expert
• AIR Music Technology Delay Pro Plugin Released | Production Expert
• Apple Logic Pro For iPad Announced | Production Expert
• Plugin Alliance BX Masterdesk PRO
• Toontrack EZkeys 2 Released

Find Of The Week

Russ - Akai MPC Key 61
Ashea - UMG- AI Startup Partnership
Julian - Mimestream

• Ashea - Flower Pot Dessert at Bill’s 
• Julian - Mix To Mobile, routing to a Wifi Speaker
• Ary - Bloody Mary
• Iggy - Kara Jackson

• To what extent these days are songs written in a DAW?
• How involved are producers these days in the development of a song and how has that changed over the years?
• How many unfinished songs/tracks do you have on your hard drive and do you ever go back to finish them, if not why would you abandon them?
• When is your favourite time to write, during the day/at night and do you think that can affect your perception?
• How important is the overall mix, production, and song when pitching to labels/publishing?
• Eurovision
• What are 3 plugins that you can’t live without?

Finds Of The Week

Greig -  Jailhouse cafe
Ashea - Softube Model 80
Julian - Christmas Beach Barbecue

• Russ, in your article you talk about the importance of workflow, what inspired that article?
• In his recent article on plugins which he uses on every mix Julian found that none of the plugins he listed were there exclusively because of their sound, it came down to familiarity, ubiquity because they were stock plugins or workflow because they were available as AAX DSP plugins, Does this illustrate this point?
• Examples of gear/plugins and have significantly helped speed up or simplify your workflow?
• A.I and how that will help us as producers and engineers.

Find Of The Week

Russ - Acon Digital Dialog Extract
Reid - Soundflow
Ashea -  Waves Superapp Performer

• Toontrack EZkeys 2 Announced
• Neumann MT 48 Audio Interface Announced
• Sound Radix Auto-Align 2 Released
• Antares Auto-Tune EFX+ 10.0 and Auto-Key 2 Released
• Speed Up Collaborative Mixes With Nugen Jotter

Finds Of The Week

Julian - Sonnox Envolution
Ashea - Grimes AI 50% Royalties
Russ - Freakonomics Podcast - Swearing

• Sound Radix Auto Align 2
• Yamaha DM3
• Sound Particles Skydust 3D
• Yamaha CK88

James

• Vangard Audio Labs - Stereo Tube/Valve Condenser Mic
• Nektar CS12 Channel Strip Controller.
• Antelope Audio Atlas i8 Active Speakers
• Fender Rhodes Mk8

Ashea

• Dreamtonics VStudio
• Eclipsed Sounds

• Waves…
• Audient iD24 1st look
• Fabfilter Twin 3 Synth Virtual Instrument - Expert Review
• Pro Tools 2023.3
• Cranborne Audio Carnaby 500 Harmonic EQ Announced

Finds of the Week

Ashea - Musikhack Master Plan
Russ - Cranbourne Audio Camden EC1 Preamp
Julian - The Lazarus Heist

• Julian - Kimchi Grilled Cheese
• Matt - Cello bow on Jackson 8 string
• Greg - Aikido Pioneers - Prewar Era by Stanley Pranin

• DAW Survey results
• UAD Native
• FabFilter Twin 3 Released
• Flux Evo series bundle - first look
• Softube Icons: The Compressor Collection Released
• Tierra New Twenties

Finds Of The Week

• Julian - Charity Shop guitar stand
• Russ - The Gold  
• Mike - Massenburg Dynamic Range Controller

• Universal Audio Release Successors To Townsend Labs Sphere L22
• Steven Slate Audio VSX Headphone Mixing System Tested
• Apple Announce New Mac Mini and MacBook Pro With M2 Pro And M2 Max 
• Audient EVO SP8 Smart Mic Preamp Announced

Finds of The Week

• Julian - Steel Plate in Lustrous Plates
• Russ - Pro Tools Carbon
• Mike - PACE ZDT

• Julian - Adobe Podcast
• Steve -  Great River Electronics Harrison 32EQ 
• Nathaniel - Cory Doctorow’s new book “Chokepoint Capitalism” 

• Julian - Expressive E Osmose
• Russ - Empower Station Mac Studio Rackmount Kit
• James -  Timbral

• Julian - Focusrite Customer Aftercare
• Craig - Paul McCartney: The Stories Behind 50 Classic Songs, 1970-2020
• Joel - Brian Eno's Book A Year Of Swollen Appendices

• Julian - Karen Down’s SSL Video for SOS
• Nathan - Avid LoFi  
• Carlos - Simon Gallup (Cure Bassist)
• Ephie - Chipotle Cholula Hot Sauce

• Sonarworks Sound ID Reference Multichannel
• Logic 10.7.3 with binaural spatial/Atmos monitoring
• Three Body Technology Kirchhoff EQ - Expert Review
• Pro Tools ARA Integration With Melodyne
• Mac Studio
• PT 2022.9 - Aux IO
• Studio One 6
• Toontrack Hugh Padgham's Hitmaker SDX
• MBOX Studio
• PT Intro
• Exclusive: Avid Slash Price Of Pro Tools For Pro Users

Finds Of The Week

• Russ - Mac Studio
• Luke - SSL UF8
• Julian - Nord Electro 6D

• Julian - bx_bassdude - Free with the Avid Inner Circle offer
• Tom - ‘Rock in a hard place’ 
• Freddy - Oeksound Soothe 2

• New Hitsville Reverb Chambers And PolyMax Synth Announced In UAD v10.2
• Exclusive: Avid Slash Price Of Pro Tools For Pro Users
• Massenburg DesignWorks MDWDRC2-Native Released
• Waves BB Tube & Lil Tube
• elgato Stream Deck Plus Programmable USB Controller Released

Finds Of The Week

• Julian - Yamaha FC7 Expression pedal
• Russ - Dexed DX7 VI
• Dom - Heritage Audio Successor

• Julian - PureMix’s new series on Brauerising in the box
• Eric - 360 Sony 
• Andy - Rhodes Mk8

• Julian - Free Plugin TAL Vocoder
• Bob - Ron Carter's Finding the right notes

• MBOX Studio
• SSL Origin 16
• Evergreen Massive Meter
• Process Audio Spicerack
• Inner Circle  - Get any of 130 PA plugins free

Finds Of The Week

• Julian - Keeping it simple (compressor gig story)
• Russ - Listen bus in Pro Tools
• James - Apple Shortcuts & Smart Plugs

• Julian - Dolby Atmos Music Training
• Henrik - Noble Amps Preamp
• Saf - Grace Jones is still performing

• Julian - Blackstar Ampfly 2
• James - Cableguys Shaperbox Bundle 
• Russ - 'The Boys' on Amazon Prime

• Krotos studio
• Acon Digital Extract Dialogue plugin update
• Sennheiser Acquires Merging Technologies
• Netflix Roll Out Spatial Audio Support
• Vienna Symphonic Library Vienna MIR Pro 3D Released
• Three Body Technology Kirchhoff EQ - Expert Review
• Why You Shouldn't Ignore The IK Multimedia MODO Bass 2
• Neumann Announce M49V Reissue

Finds Of The Week

Nathaniel - new workflow: real-time Spatial Audio monitoring while mixing
Luke - Sound Radix Powair
Julian - K&M 18950 table Style Keyboard Stand

• Julian - Apogee Soft Limit
• Russ - Rolling Stones documentary from BBC
• Dom - ‘Factfulness’ Hans Rosling

• Julian - Freqport FT-1 Freqtube
• Steve - Tomo Audiolabs LISA dynamic EQ
• William - KIT Plug Ins Mo-Q Equaliser