Steve Albini’s four-hour Mix with the Masters lesson is now available to watch for free
Delve into the late legend’s signature approach to making records in the tutorial.
Image: Chicago Tribune / Getty Images
Update [24 May]: Mix with the Masters has since taken down the four-hour masterclass with Steve Albini, and in its place is a one-hour interview.
Earlier this month, the music world mourned the loss of legendary recording engineer Steve Albini, who passed away due to a heart attack at his Chicago studio, Electrical Audio.
In a tribute to Albini’s extraordinary life and career, online recording school Mix with the Masters (MWTM) has released the whole four hours of the engineer’s masterclass for free on their YouTube channel.
Filmed at Studios La Fabrique, the video offers an in-depth walkthrough of Albini’s work with the English rock band, Rat The Magnificent. In the demonstration session, Albini shares his complete recording process, best practices, as well as his philosophies on music and creativity.
“I’m going to show you my normal working methods and procedures for recording mixing and finally producing a finished stereo master for an analogue recording session,” the engineer opens the session.
Whether you’re a fan, musician, or studio professional, the tutorial offers amazing insights into Albini’s recording techniques, covering everything from guitars and bass to vocals and his distinctive drum sound. You get tips on microphone selection and placement, along with valuable advice on tuning and dampening drums “in a reversible manner ”. The producer also reveals some of the secrets to achieving the coveted ‘Albini sound’.
In particular, the session should prove highly useful for anyone looking to capture traditional rock band instrumentation using Albini’s ‘sound-in-the-room’ methodology. The video also includes a new Q&A segment featuring Electrical Audio engineer Greg Norman and longtime collaborator Tim Midyett.
Watch the full lesson below.
