AUDIO MASTERING & MIXING BLOG
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When you’re building a front-end chain for recording or adding colour during mixdown, a versatile channel strip can be a powerful tool. The TL Audio Ivory 2 5052 is one of those pieces of gear that earns its keep in both scenarios. It’s a dual-channel valve processor that combines preamps, compression, EQ, and limiting in a single 3U rack unit. While it shines during mix processing, its real strength lies in recording applications, where it provides everything you need to cap

When you move from the world of analog to digital, one of the first concepts you encounter is sample rate. It’s a fundamental element of digital recording and mastering, but it’s often misunderstood. Knowing what sample rate is and how it impacts your music helps you make informed decisions in recording, mixing, and mastering.

Spring reverbs are one of those audio technologies that never lose their charm. There’s something raw, unpredictable, and beautifully gritty about them. Maybe it’s their long-standing connection to Reggae and Dub. Maybe it’s the physicality of the springs resonating in a metal tank. Whatever it is, spring reverbs bring a unique character that digital emulations still chase after. Let’s dive into the history, mechanics, and sound of these fascinating devices.

When it comes to stereo bus compression, few names inspire as much respect as the API 2500+. Built on decades of API design heritage, this unit has become a fixture in top studios for its ability to glue a mix while retaining musicality. While it’s widely used across mixing and tracking, the 2500+ has some particular strengths in mastering, especially if you know how to harness its flexibility.

Whether you're producing, mixing, or mastering, you’ve probably found yourself deep in a session, only to realise hours have flown by and your ears are shot. That dull, worn-out sensation in your hearing? That’s ear fatigue. And if you ignore it, your decisions start to drift, and you may not even notice until the next day when the mix sounds nothing like you thought it did. Let’s dive into what actually happens when your ears get tired, how to avoid it, and how smart time m

There are pieces of gear that impress you with specs, and others that win your ears and heart the moment you turn a knob. The IGS 825EQ is firmly in the second category. As a mastering engineer, you come across plenty of tools that claim to enhance, sweeten, or refine your sound, but few deliver the kind of character, depth, and warmth that this valve equaliser brings to the table...

In the world of audio engineering, the concept of "true peaks" is an important one to understand. True peaks refer to the highest instantaneous levels of a digital audio signal, which can occur during a process called digital-to-analog conversion (DAC). Conversion from digital to analog occurs every time you play back a song with a digital device (laptop, mobile, iPad, etc.) In this article, we'll explore what true peaks are, why they matter, and how to measure and man

Distortion is one of the most fascinating—and misunderstood—concepts in audio production. On the surface, it seems simple: a gritty guitar tone, a saturated vocal, a tape-squashed drum bus. But under the hood, distortion is incredibly nuanced and deeply tied to how we perceive sound. In this guide, we’ll explore the different types of distortion, from tape and tube saturation to clipping. We'll look at how they work, how they differ, where they overlap, and most important

In the ever evolving world of audio production, tools that blend innovation with usability are rare gems. Enter Kraftur, the latest offering

A few months ago Sondtheory approaches me asking if I wanted to try their Gullfoss equalizer. I'm always keen to discover new plugins and ne

Being a mastering engineer involves preparing my clients' music for digital distribution. Nowadays, anyone involved in the production process must understand how digital platforms (Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Amazon, etc.) treat your music when broadcasting. In the last few years, it has been introduced a new system of loudness normalization based on what is called LUFS. But what is LUFS? How does the LUFS normalization work? Moreover, how do each of the different streaming

In this tutorial, we are going to see how to prepare your mix to be mastered. There are a few tips I would like to share...

In this article, we are going to see what stem mastering is and how to get the stems ready. There are a few tips that I would like to...

Here we are with the second part of the ten mistakes to avoid when mixing.

In today's article, I'd like to talk about some mistake not to do when mixing. I hope this can be helpful to beginners and a good recap for

Working with many artists, A&R, producers, mixing engineers, record labels and bands, I have noticed that usually there is a bit of...

After publishing the article about my favourite EQs for mixing (click here) I've received tons of questions about Pultec EQs. I decide so...

Today I am going to talk a bit more about equalisation. After talking about my favourite compressors for mixing, in this article...

In this article we talk about Apple Digital Masters for iTunes and Apple Music. Moreover, how Apple improve the preservation of the audio.

Today I'm going to talk a bit more about compressors. In this article I'd like to tell you what are my favourite compressors...

Today I'm going to talk about compressors. What are the main parameters? When do we use a compressor? And as usual, I'm going to give you so

Today I would talk about one of the main parameters that affect the sound when using a tape machine (reel-to-reel) is the IPS (Inch Per Seco

Continuing our "4 TOP TIPS" series I would give you some quick tip about compression. Compressors are normally used to tame the dynamic,...

In this article, I would briefly talk about mixing and give you some quick and practical advices that could improve your technique...