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MIXING & MASTERING BLOG
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SPRING REVERBS: The Mechanical Magic Behind the Boing
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.


THE API 2500+: Precision, Punch, and Musicality in Mastering
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.


EAR FATIGUE & TIME MANAGEMENT IN STUDIO
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


IGS 825 MASTERING EQ: Where Musicality Meets Precision
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...


INTER-SAMPLE PEAK EXPLAINED
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


UNDERSTANDING SATURATION AND DISTORTION: THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE SOUND
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


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


SOUNDTHEORY - GULLFOSS EQUALIZER
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


MASTERING FOR STREAMING PLATFORMS (LUFS, Normalisation and True Peaks)
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


HOW TO PREPARE YOUR MIX FOR MASTERING
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...


STEM MASTERING: HOW TO PREPARE THE STEMS
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...


10 MISTAKES TO AVOID WHEN MIXING (PT2)
Here we are with the second part of the ten mistakes to avoid when mixing.


10 MISTAKES TO AVOID WHEN MIXING (PT.1)
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


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


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


MY FAV EQ PLUGINS FOR MIXING
Today I am going to talk a bit more about equalisation. After talking about my favourite compressors for mixing, in this article...


WHAT IS APPLE DIGITAL MASTER?
In this article we talk about Apple Digital Masters for iTunes and Apple Music. Moreover, how Apple improve the preservation of the audio.


MY FAV COMPRESSOR PLUGINS FOR MIXING
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...


TOOLS: 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


TAPE MACHINES: HOW THE IPS AFFECTS THE SOUND
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


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


HOW TO START MIXING (GENERAL TIPS)
In this article, I would briefly talk about mixing and give you some quick and practical advices that could improve your technique...


VOICE: RECORDING AND MIXING ADVICE
In this article I would give you some general practical advices when dealing with...


USE A REFERENCE TRACK TO MIX THE LOW FREQUENCIES
In this tutorial I would talk about the low end of our mixes and how to use a reference track to get in the right ball park...
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