News

Mark Gittins joins us on Tuesday 10 November for an evening on immersive mixing, with the Neumann team. Free tickets, 40 seats.

Gentry Studer joins us on Thursday 29 October for a talk from SPL and an hour-long mastering walkthrough. Free to attend, thirty seats.

Tom Longworth broke down his mix of “All I Ever Asked” by Rachel Chinouriri featuring Sombr at our Liverpool masterclass, after a talk from PMC.

There is a specific groan that comes with wiring the back of a rack. A patchbay is how you stop earning it. In the latest journal entry, we cover what a patchbay actually does, how normalling works (with diagrams), how to choose the right one, and the one phantom power habit that saves your gear. Have a read, and get in touch if you're sizing one up.

When should you reach for open-back headphones, and when closed? A hands-on look at the difference, using Sennheiser's HD 490 and HD 480 as a clean example of each.

Why does a third driver matter? A plain look at how speaker crossovers work, what a dedicated midrange driver buys you, and three industry-standard three-way monitors worth knowing.

The best EQ is the right microphone. A plain guide to ribbon, dynamic and condenser mics, how each one works, and which to reach for on vocals, drums, guitars and horns.

Transformer, transformerless or valve? A plain look at the three families of mic preamp, what each one does to your sound, and how to start choosing the one that fits the records you love.

Plugins can do almost anything, so why are compressors selling more than ever? A look at how analog compression shapes the way an artist performs, and why committing to a tone beats keeping every option open.