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.

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
00:21 - Arranging Plugboards In A Home Studio
02:09 - Uninterruptible Power Supplies
03:59 - Grounding Issues In Laptop Systems
07:19 - Radiated Interference
08:54 - Isolated Power Supplies
11:10 - Procedure For Eliminating Noise
12:38 - Breaking The Ground Path

https://www.groundology.co.uk/
https://artproaudio.com/

Paul White Biog
Paul 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 Biog
Hugh 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!

Eddie Bazil gives us more pointers on constructing beats, incorporating useful tools such as Drum Replacement Software and pre-constructed Loops, then adding enhancements using timing, pitch and other processing tips.

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
00:33 - Drum Replacement Software
01:41 - Example 1: Using Hit'n'Mix RipX DAW
05:41 - Example 2: Making Loops Your Own
11:36 - Example 3: Enhancing A Kick With Pitch And Timing

Track credit for example 1: Ice Box featuring Omarion, produced by Timbaland - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_Box_(song)

Eddie Bazil Biog
Eddie 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/

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.

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
01:18 - The Tools Of The Trade
03:13 - Choosing Your Sound Library
06:01 - Starting With A String Motif
10:39 - Allocating Orchestral Positions
11:58 - Humanising The Performance
14:57 - Fine-Tuning Velocity And Timing
17:15 - Adding MIDI Automation
19:56 - Placing The Orchestra In A Space
22:17 - Incorporating Articulations
24:39 - Creating More Dynamics
27:46 - Mixing And Mastering

Sam Boydell Biog
Learning 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/