Mixing and Mastering Blog
Tutorials, tips, and industry insights from a professional mixing and mastering engineer.
How to Separate a Drum Loop
How to Separate a Drum Loop (The Smart Way) When you’re knee-deep in production and stumble on the perfect drum loop—but wish the kick wasn’t buried under a pile of hi-hats—you’re not alone. I’ve been there. Whether you’re making…
How to Make Your Mix Sound Professional (2 Things That Actually Matter)
By Matty Harris | Updated 2025 After over 15 years of mixing records for artists across genres—from major label pop to gritty independent hip-hop—I can tell you this: the flashiest plugins won’t save a mix that doesn’t feel right. When people ask me…
Creating Drake’s Marvins Room Reverb Effect
Introduction: Why This Effect Still Hits Hard There’s something hauntingly timeless about the vocal reverb on Marvin’s Room. Drake’s delivery is already intimate, but the way that vocal trails off—echoing in the distance, almost like a memory—elevates the emotion…
How to use Parallel Compression on Kicks
If you’ve ever felt like your kick sounds good solo but disappears once everything else comes in — you’re not alone. Early in my career, especially working on EDM and pop sessions, I ran into that problem all the time.…
How To Use Pro Tools Automation
Pro Tools automation is something I touch on literally every mix. Even the simple ones. Even when I’m not thinking about it, I’m still riding levels, tweaking sends, automating something. If a mix feels polished and alive—like it’s breathing with the…
How to Create a Radio Edit of Your Song
Updated Jan 2026 Whether you’re preparing your track for radio airplay, streaming playlists, or wider audience reach, creating a clean radio edit is an essential skill. While you could simply replace explicit words with silence, there are several creative techniques…
Setting up a Pro Tools Mix Template: A Beginner’s Guide
Updated January 2026 Starting every mix from scratch can waste valuable creative time. A well-organized Pro Tools mix template streamlines your workflow, letting you focus on making music sound great instead of building routing from zero. This guide will walk…
How to Create the Phone Effect
How to Create a Phone Effect in Any DAW Introduction As a professional mixing and mastering engineer, I’ve used the classic “phone effect” on countless records—whether it’s to add a lo-fi vibe to a vocal, create a transition moment in…
How to Fly a Hook
Introduction A powerful hook can be the difference between a song that lingers in the background and one that captivates listeners from the first note. A hook is the catchy, memorable element of a song that grabs the audience’s attention…
How to find the Auto-Tune Key
How to Find the Auto‑Tune Key Last updated: January 2026 Auto‑Tune hasn’t gone anywhere. If anything, it’s more common now than it’s ever been. Whether you’re producing pop, hip‑hop, R&B, or modern rock, getting the correct key into Auto‑Tune is…