Dante Fumo

With more and more engineers and studios adopting Dolby Atmos every year, the experimental novelty of the format has slowly worn off, and certain best practices have begun to emerge. Just like panning guitar solos back and forth in stereo eventually became a cheap gimmick, it’s no longer impressive to spin a vocal track around the room. Today, creating a great Atmos mix means using both innovation and restraint to best serve the music. Continue reading →

The tried-and-true eight-preamp rackmount interface is a format that has been done by nearly every brand in the space. Preamp and converter quality is uniformly amazing these days, DSP mixing and effects are now standard features, and almost every model features enough I/O for a medium-sized studio. So what makes an interface stand out in today's crowded market? In the case of the Antelope Audio Discrete 8 Oryx, it’s not just the eye-catching new color scheme of olive drab and champagne gold or the crisp and colorful IPS display.  Continue reading →

Karno's SEPIA is a new audio platform that combines the best aspects of analog processing and digital control. At launch, the SEPIA system consists of the L6 rackmount host unit (available with analog or digital I/O) and 22 SEPIA modules from 15 brands. The L6 fits up to six SEPIA modules and provides comprehensive digital control over the fully analog signal path, allowing you to use real analog hardware with the ease and flexibility of plugins.  Continue reading →

Bob Clearmountain is a mixing engineer’s mixing engineer. Starting out as a staff engineer at Mediasound and Power Station studios in 1970s New York, Clearmountain cut his teeth working with acts like Kool & the Gang, Chic, and Bruce Springsteen. By the 1980s, he was being hired exclusively for his mixing talents by the likes of David Bowie, Roxy Music, and The Rolling Stones, and eventually became the first mixer to receive a percentage of royalties. He was also an early adopter of 5.1 surround sound, mixing countless records in the format before switching to Dolby Atmos—all on his trusty SSL 4072 G+ console.  Continue reading →

When Bruce Springsteen stepped into the studio to record his third album in January 1974, he had a head full of ideas and a lot to prove. Although East Coast audiences and critics praised his previous records (Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. and The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle), poor sales caused co-producer Jim Cretecos to quit and Columbia Records to begin tightening the purse strings as they shifted their attentions toward more profitable artists like Billy Joel. Continue reading →

This article was originally published in a previous issue of Playback Magazine. Subscribe to Playback for free to stay up to date with our latest articles, interviews, product reviews, and more. From the moment the first hand-built Pulse Techniques EQP-1 equalizer landed in studios in 1953, the name Pultec began to acquire an almost mystical connotation. With its expertly engineered passive EQ circuit, characterful tube output stage, and limited but musical controls, the EQP-1 has garnered a reputation for effortlessly enhancing any signal.  Continue reading →

Ben Kane is a Brooklyn-based producer, mixer, and engineer who holds three Grammy Awards and a Latin Grammy for his work with D’Angelo, Cultura Profetica, PJ Morton, and CeCe Winans. In 2018, Ben and co-founder Drew Vogelman opened Electric Garden: a colorful, inspiring studio with an eclectic vibe that seems to mirror Kane’s adventurous production style. Kane’s "Five Sounds With" interview offers a blend of creative production, masterful songwriting and musicianship, soulful vocal performances, and occasional psychedelic flourishes. From breathing new life into Bilal’s demo tracks to stacking harmonies with D’Angelo and recording jazz ensembles direct to analog tape, Kane brings unique and thoughtful contributions to everything he’s a part of. Continue reading →

From the first specialized loudspeakers designed for full-range sound reproduction to the latest and greatest active monitors with DSP and automatic calibration, the humble studio monitor has undergone many evolutions over the decades. While the core technology of loudspeakers has always been based on magnets moving air, studio monitors are specifically engineered to deliver the clearest, most accurate sound possible. ...

Equalization (or EQ, as anyone reading this probably knows it) is the single most common type of audio effect. It’s in our DAW software, our outboard racks, our consoles, our synthesizers, our guitar pedals—even your phone probably has a built-in EQ.  Continue reading →

Andrew Scheps is a rare breed of audio nerd and music lover who combines acute technical mastery with a Zen-like ability to zoom out and focus on how a song feels, regardless of his attachment to the mix. Whether he’s mixing chart-toppers like Beyoncé, Hozier, and Green Day; pouring his creative energy into passion projects like Low Roar; or sharing his knowledge via platforms like Mix With The Masters and Puremix; Scheps’ guiding principles never change: know your tools, be honest with yourself, and most importantly, “Don’t be a dick.”  Continue reading →