In this edition Julian and Ashea are joined by Luke Goddard and Paul Maunder, where they discuss tried and tested production rules and ask, does anyone care about that anymore and if so, why?

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

In this podcast short Russ Hughes explores how audio professionals can get ahead in marketing. "I remember being on Zoom call with some of the most respected names in music production some time ago. I was talking about marketing strategies to help them get new clients and to grow their businesses. As we went through the Q&A time and the session drew to a close one of them said; “What we really want is for you to do this for us!” They weren’t joking, they all knew how important marketing is, but all hate the thought of doing it.

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."

In this edition Julian & Ashea are joined by Miles Fulwider, Producer, Engineer & Educator working extensively in Immersive formats and CEO of ADK Microphones. where they discuss how to take the simplistic, ‘less is more’ approach by capturing the best sound at source.

Talking Points:

• 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

In this edition Julian is joined by William Wittman & Steve DeMott, where they discuss transparency vs colour.

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

In this edition Julian & Ashea are joined by David Barber, President of the Motion Picture Sound Editors. Reid Caulfield, sound editor, mixer & audio consultant in Los Angeles & Alex Gregson, head of audio & Post Production mentor at 344 Audio, where they discuss how to adapt to the shifting goal posts in Post Production.

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

In this edition Julian & Ashea are joined by Justin Webster of The Cargo Cult and Mixing Engineer Paul Maunder, where they discuss ways in which we can apply tools used in Post Production to improve our immersive music mixes.

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

In this edition, Julian & Ashea are joined by Noam Levinberg of Safari Pedals & Mark Gittins from Sensound, where they discuss how to break free from outdated schools of thought during the production and mixing process.

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

In this edition Julian and Ashea are joined by Grammy Award-winning Producer, Engineer & Musician Chris Shaw & Multi-Platinum Engineer Bainz , where they discuss ways in which we can streamline our workflow to help stay in the creative zone.

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