Song Production Masterclass with Andrew Scheps

Each year, we host the Song Production Masterclass with a critically acclaimed music producer and/or engineer. The masterclass takes place across two of London’s most iconic studios; Abbey Road and Angel. 

In April 2024, we ran our exclusive Song Production Masterclass with the prolific mix engineer and producer Andrew Scheps. Scheps has worked on award-winning and internationally recognised projects, including Beyoncé’s ‘Beyoncé,’ Lana Del Rey’s ‘Paradise,’ and Black Sabbath’s ‘13′ and more.

Scheps spent the four days guiding us through the creative and technical process of producing, recording and mixing a new single by Brighton-based post-punk band PROJECTOR. We went behind the scenes at Angel and Abbey Road Studios to capture some of the highlights. Check out what they got up to!

ANGEL STUDIOS

For the first day of the Song Production Masterclass, Scheps introduced the team to the intricacies of the studio, Angel One. Opening as a studio in the early 80s, Angel Studio has been home to many iconic recordings. Notable mentions include the soundtrack to Romeo and Juliet and The Lion King and last year’s Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice and Sonic 3. In addition to international artists The Cure, Florence and the Machine, Little Simz, Sam Smith, Kylie Minogue and plenty more.

Attendees settled in the control room which features an AMS Neve 88RS console and ATC monitoring (click here for full studio spec) to observe how Scheps runs a practical session producing and recording. He spent the day deconstructing a session, including recording Lucy Sheehan’s bass parts, Edward Ensbury’s guitar and Cal Marinho’s drum sections. At this point Scheps also made arrangement recommendations.

We returned to Angel on day two to record additional guitars, piano, lead and backing vocals.⁠

Scheps had an intriguing set-up that featured an old Marlboro cigarette packet as an amplifier mic’d with a Chandler Redd. “The tiny cigarette amp was one of the coolest gadgets brought to the session,” says SMP attendee Porsche (Pongsatorn Intasawak).

“The crunch from the amp added a nice tone to the track and was perfect for the song.”

– Porsche (Pongsatorn Intasawak) | attendee

Our team of talented technicians and Abbey Road Institute alumni Carmel Comiskey (Pro Tools Operator), Stanley Spilman and James Brennan (Runners) assisted Scheps through the recording.

ABBEY ROAD STUDIOS

We moved to Abbey Road Studios on the third day for a mixing session with Scheps and PROJECTOR in Studio Three. Here, we were given an insight into what a mix sounds like in a room equipped with state-of-the-art technology. Including a SSL 4000G+ console for premium stereo mixing (click here for full studio spec). Famous for the recordings of Pink Floyd, Amy Winehouse, The 1975, Stormzy among many others – it’s fair to say this was an incredible experience for everyone involved.

Andrew started the day by talking the attendees through his mixing template and the reasoning behind his thinking when putting it together. Throughout the day, Scheps discussed the mix and artistic choices with the band. 

FINAL DAY

We headed back to Angel Studios in the Dolby Atmos Studio for day four. Andrew took the attendees through Dolby Atmos and how he approached Atmos mixes. Starting with playing examples of previous Atmos mixes he had done for artists including The 1975. He then moved on to mixing the PROJECTOR track.

Scheps wrapped up the masterclass with Mastering Engineer Christian Wright. Wright is another talented music industry professional who has worked on many incredible projects. He has mastered tracks for groundbreaking artists, including Elvis Presley, LCD Soundsystem, Fontaines DC, and Laura Marling to name just a few. Christian spoke about the essentials and considerations required when mastering a track. 

The workshop concluded with a Q&A, where attendees had the opportunity to have their burning questions answered.

“It was not only educational but extremely fun being able to play around in the Dolby Atmosphere suite. It was a first for me, so to be able to see the visual maps of the sound be surrounded by speakers and write in the routes of each track was amazing.”
– Kristy Grant [attendee]

The Song Production Masterclass is an excellent opportunity for you to learn from some of the best producers and engineers in the music industry. In previous years, Sylvia Massy, Hans-Martin Buff and Haydn Bendall have all hosted Song Production Masterclasses for us. Fancy attending our next Song Production Masterclass with Marta Salogni? Book your place now!