Uploaded April 2024 | Updated September 2026, 9 hours ago
In Phil Harding's excellent book 'Pop Music Production - Manufactured Pop and Boybands of the 1990s' Phil outlines his tried and tested 12-step top down mixing technique. But it's not top-down mixing as in starting with your two-bus processing first. No, in this two-hour mixing masterclass, Phil takes us through the top-down technique that has given him more top forty hits than just about any other British producer and mixer we can think of!
We headed off to J.A.M.E.S. accredited Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, to film the masterclass in front of a small audience of students. And here's the full two hour session in all its glory! Phil also mixes in his own personal studio on our MUM-8 monitors so, of course, we took a pair for him to use on the day. You gotta trust what you’re hearing 😉
We highly recommend you pick up a copy of Phil's book as it's a fascinating read, even for those not into pop music production per se. You can grab a copy directly from him at:
philhardingmusic.com
Find out more about J.A.M.E.S. accreditation at:
jamesonline.org.uk
We'd like to extend a huge thank you to Phil for giving up his valuable time to give us this masterclass, and to the fantastic staff, assistants, and students at ARU for hosting us!
0:00:00 - Phil's background
0:02:15 - Phil's background
0:10:19 - Top down mixing
0:14:15 - The project & template
0:21:30 - Guide pad for the vocal
0:23:45 - Vocal processing
0:36:50 - Backing vocals
0:45:00 - Bad drum recordings
0:46:30 - Additional keyboards
0:47:56 - Forming a team & Belinda's guitarist
0:52:24 - Organ
0:51:42 - Synth melody
0:53:32 - Guitars
1:01:18 - Mixing piano using the 'split' method
1:10:05 - The importance of leaving things out
1:14:37 - Bass
1:17:38 - Drums
1:24:00 - Referencing "Heaven Is A Place On Earth" and chorus at the front
1:26:35 - Play through
1:28:50 - Other artists on the project
1:34:08 - Q&A
Credits:
Belinda Carlisle - ‘Have You Ever Seen The Rain’
Guitars / Bass - James Nisbet
Keyboards - Julian Wiggins
Drums - Simon Dalton
Backing Vocals - Melissa Wiggins
Extra cameras - David Johnson & Oliver Horn
In Phil Harding's excellent book 'Pop Music Production - Manufactured Pop and Boybands of the 1990s' Phil outlines his tried and tested 12-step top down mixing technique. But it's not top-down mixing as in starting with your two-bus processing first. No, in this two-hour mixing masterclass, Phil takes us through the top-down technique that has given him more top forty hits than just about any other British producer and mixer we can think of!
We headed off to J.A.M.E.S. accredited Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, to film the masterclass in front of a small audience of students. And here's the full two hour session in all its glory! Phil also mixes in his own personal studio on our MUM-8 monitors so, of course, we took a pair for him to use on the day. You gotta trust what you’re hearing 😉
We highly recommend you pick up a copy of Phil's book as it's a fascinating read, even for those not into pop music production per se. You can grab a copy directly from him at:
philhardingmusic.com
Find out more about J.A.M.E.S. accreditation at:
jamesonline.org.uk
We'd like to extend a huge thank you to Phil for giving up his valuable time to give us this masterclass, and to the fantastic staff, assistants, and students at ARU for hosting us!
0:00:00 - Phil's background
0:02:15 - Phil's background
0:10:19 - Top down mixing
0:14:15 - The project & template
0:21:30 - Guide pad for the vocal
0:23:45 - Vocal processing
0:36:50 - Backing vocals
0:45:00 - Bad drum recordings
0:46:30 - Additional keyboards
0:47:56 - Forming a team & Belinda's guitarist
0:52:24 - Organ
0:51:42 - Synth melody
0:53:32 - Guitars
1:01:18 - Mixing piano using the 'split' method
1:10:05 - The importance of leaving things out
1:14:37 - Bass
1:17:38 - Drums
1:24:00 - Referencing "Heaven Is A Place On Earth" and chorus at the front
1:26:35 - Play through
1:28:50 - Other artists on the project
1:34:08 - Q&A
Credits:
Belinda Carlisle - ‘Have You Ever Seen The Rain’
Guitars / Bass - James Nisbet
Keyboards - Julian Wiggins
Drums - Simon Dalton
Backing Vocals - Melissa Wiggins
Extra cameras - David Johnson & Oliver Horn
