Mike Mettler

David Crosby spoke extensively with music editor Mike Mettler just a few months before he sadly passed away at age 81 on January 18. The voice of a generation, Croz discusses his knack for recognizing the chemistry he had with certain musicians, how the song “Compass” helped recalibrate his songwriting acumen, what album of his he’d like most to be listened to a half-century into the future, and much more.

Jeff Beck was the guitarist’s guitarist. He came of age during the British Invasion, and he created sound after otherworldly guitar sound that would cause you to both tap your foot and bob your head in appreciation while concurrently boggling your mind. Sadly, Beck passed away in his native England on January 10 at age 78, following a brief illness. Luckily for us, his recorded legacy spans seven decades, and whether the playback format was mono, stereo, or surround sound, Jeff Beck could always be heard playing on a three-dimensional plane. S&V music editor Mike Mettler looks back on the stellar career of a singular artist who influenced generations of listeners and musicians alike.

Tom Petty always, always knew how to ensure the music he made over the course of his long and storied career would sound the absolute best it could during playback in any format. Petty’s longtime engineer and production partner Ryan Ulyate continues to both carry that torch and up the ante, as evidenced by his stellar mixing of all 18 tracks found on Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers’ November 1993 Greatest Hits collection in Dolby Atmos. Recently, Ulyate and I got on Zoom together to discuss how he created the stems for these Atmos mixes by accessing the original masters, which songs on Greatest Hits are the most immersive and why, and what Tom himself would have said upon hearing his music in Atmos—perfect topics all for deep-dive coverage in this month’s Spatial Audio File, methinks, so read on. . .