RSR556 – Steve Genewick – The Majesty of Turning Spinal Tap Up to Eleven in Atmos

What happens when you finally get to mix Spinal Tap in Dubly Atmos? You turn it up to 11, of course! My guest today is Grammy-nominated engineer and mixer Steve Genewick, joining us from his Atmos room in Los Angeles to walk us through the wild, hilarious, and surprisingly heartfelt process of capturing and mixing the new "Spinal Tap II: The End Continues" soundtrack and album. In this episode, Steve talks about working directly with Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer; recording their live vocals; tracking the band as a real rock group; and assembling a full dubly Atmos experience that honors the original film while pushing the new one into immersive territory. We dig into the whole workflow - from the Beyerdynamic M500 ribbon mics he labeled as Nigel, David, and Derek… to tracking full songs live at The Village… to mixing the concert sequences for the film… to remixing "Break Like the Wind" in Atmos using the original 1990s analog tapes that had to be transferred from tape box track sheets. Steve also talks about Spinal Tap's actual backstory, the improvised nature of the films, working directly with Rob Reiner, and why the guys are not in character in the studio - except when it's time to sound "more Nigel." We also go deep into Atmos and orchestral recording, Steve's work on classic jazz records (Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Freddie Hubbard), his remixing of the "Jaws" and "Jaws 2" soundtracks, and how immersive music translates between speakers, earbuds, and soundbars. Steve explains LFE strategy, subwoofer layouts, mixing bass into objects, and why a great Atmos mix is not about flying things around the room — it's about clarity, space, and emotional impact. And yes, we do talk about Stonehenge… the pizza pedal… the cheese guitar… and whether mixing break like the wind is allowed in the control room. Get access to FREE mixing mini-course: THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS! The next program starts May 11, 2026 Use code ROCK10 to get 10% off! Use code ROCK30 to get 1 month free of NI 360! Listen to the podcast theme song “Skadoosh!” Listen to this guest's discography on Apple Music: If you love the podcast, then please leave a review: CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE SHOW NOTES AT:

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RSR556 – Steve Genewick – The Majesty of Turning Spinal Tap Up to Eleven in Atmos is an episode from Recording Studio Rockstars by Lij Shaw.

This episode is 02:02:56 long.

This episode was published on May 1, 2026.

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