Mix & Master Blog
Insights, Tutorials, Reviews, oh my!
My Hybrid Mixing Setup
Exploring Hybrid Mixing: The Best of Both Worlds In the ever-evolving world of music production, the debate between analog and digital mixing continues to be a hot topic. Today, I'm excited to delve into the realm of hybrid mixing, a method that I believe offers the...
Studio One 4.5 Review
Today we're going to review studio one 4.5. As an audio engineer and mixer, there've been features in studio one that I've missed since switching over from pro tools. In this update, they've seemed to give all the features we missed and made them better, which is...
3 Compressors You’ll Actually Use: Arturia Compressors
I've had the opportunity to work with a plethora of tools in my 20 years of mixing and mastering music. In this comprehensive blog post, we'll delve into Arturia's "3 Compressors You'll Actually Use" bundle, a collection that has garnered significant attention in the...
Best Vocal Frequencies To EQ
Mixing Vocals: My Go-To Frequency Spots for a Perfect Mix Hey everyone, Matty Here. I'm thrilled to share with you some of the Best Vocal Frequencies To EQ that I always turn to when mixing vocals. If you're into mixing, you know how crucial it is to get those vocals...
Pro Tools 2019.5 Review
Many of you know my feelings when it comes to Pro Tools. However, it is still a piece of software I have to use every week. Does the new 2019.5 update make it any better? Find out in today's Pro Tools 2019.5 Review! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tL43-szEzq4 ...
Top 4 Vocal Plugins Of 2019
Today I show you the 4 plugins I've been using the most to mix vocals in 2019 You can find the plugins here: Waves CLA HUB Kush Audio Clariphonic Slate Digital Gate Fab Filter Pro-Q3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYtBuJVunHw
Analog vs Digital Summing
It's one of the biggest battles on any pro audio website. Some swear by it, and some say they hear no difference. Whatever side of the fence you're on one thing is for sure. Everyone has an opinion on analog summing. In today's video, we listen to some music examples...
Mastering with Studio One 4
Many people use Studio One 4 for mixing and mastering, but what you don’t hear about is Studio One’s mastering capabilities. Studio one has what they call “projects” that are a full-fledged mastering program. It’s almost two like having two pieces of software in one....
Mixing Vocals In Studio One with Stock Plugins
Introduction Mixing Vocals in Studio One with Stock Plugins: My Professional Techniques for Beginners As a seasoned audio engineer, I've often leaned on high-end tools like UAD and Waves plugins to mix vocals. However, I've discovered that the stock plugins in Studio...
Can you make a Bad Recording Sound Good?
One of my subscribers on youtube asked me if I could make a video on how to make a bad recording sound good. I'm always up for a challenge so I asked him to send over a bad recording. Which Max graciously did. Today I show you how to make a bad recording sound good...
Thicker Vocals: Doubles vs Duplicates
Many new producers and songwriters believe that duplicating the vocal track will make the vocal a double track. However, this isn't the case. All you end up doing is making the vocal louder. You can use effects to give the impression that the vocal is doubled, and...
The 5 Plugins I Need to do a Full Mix
I am a plugin junkie. I can't stop buying them. If I had a dollar for everytime I said "this is the last reverb I will need" I would be rich. That being said, if you are new to mixing, having too many plugins can really make a hard job even harder. I always suggest to...
Do You Need a Drum Bus?
Producers and Artists spend weeks getting their song right so the last thing you want to do as a mixing engineer is change the feel and emotion. Having a Drum Bus with parallel processing gives you the ability to make the drums sound bigger, thicker and louder without...
Antares Auto-Tune Access Review
Antares new Auto-Tune Access plugin is a stripped down version of there flagship Auto-Tune Pro Plugin. It may be small, but it can still pack a big punch. I think singers and songwriters who are looking for quick access to the Auto-Tune sound...
How to Mix Hip-Hop Ad-libs
Having your ad-libs stand out from your main rap vocal is a necessary step to making your song sound unique and different. I use a few different techniques to achieve this. One is filtering the ad libs, so you have no low end. Another is to add more...
Pro Tools AudioSuite Editing in Studio One
As a former Pro Tools user for over 10 years, Audio Suite is one of it's most reliable features. It was one of the features I missed most when I switched to Presonus Studio One. The ability to select multiple tracks and process them all at once was a huge...
The Best Tape Stop Plugin for Studio One 4
One of the features I've missed most since switching from Pro Tools to PreSonus Studio One is the tape stop. I have seen some videos on ways you can achieve this but all of them seemed a bit "clunky" to me. However, I recently found this plugin form...
Better Mixes Series: Vocal Delays Part 2 of 4
In part two of this four-part series, we will talk about basic vocal settings. This includes 8th. quarter and half note delays. As well as feedback, and setting your filters correctly. Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJAxwDh6_FU&t=115s Kick Your...
Better Mixes Series: Vocal Delays Part 1 of 4
I am a huge fan of Digital Delay and in particular vocal delays! This is the first part of a new series I will be doing called Better Mixes Series. In each series, we will go over all the ins and outs of a specific topic. I figured since delays...
3 Tips for Recording Better Vocals with Cam Meekins
I have been working with Cam Meekins for quite some time now. He's much more than a client, I consider him a brother. He has done really well for himself and I'm super proud of his progress. He came by the studio the other day to work on some...
Acustica Audio’s El Rey Review
Acustica Audio's El Rey Compressor is an emulation of a famous compressor from the 1950s. My guess would be that it's an RCA compressor. Not only is it a recreation of an RCA compressor, but it's a recreation of superstar producer Greg Wells compressor. To...
Acustica Audio Taupe Review
There are a million and one tape plugins nowadays. All of them have their unique abilities and characteristics. In today's video, I show off the lastest, Acustica Audio Taupe. This plugin has over 40 samples of different analog tape machines. Including iconic ones...
Overloud TAPEDESK Review
Overloud's TAPEDESK is a unique plugin in a sea of tape plugins. The idea of the Overloud TAPEDESK is to be much more than just another tape emulation. It recreates the full path from recording console to tape back to the master output of the console. Thus giving you...
Acustica Audio Viridian Review
Acustica Audio's new Viridian Module is amazing! It is an analog emulation of a few different units. The Mic Pre's emulate the sought after V72 Pre's as well as the Pre's of the EQ and Compressor sections. The EQ Emulates a Helios 69PK EQ, a Helios 69TR EQ...
Travis Scott Reverb Effect
The heavy reverb effect you hear on a lot of Travis Scott records has gone viral. You now hear it all the time, and it is such a cool effect to use. It can help fill in space on records that need more energy. I tend to use the Valhalla Vintage...
Overloud Echoson Review
Overloud is an audio plugin company based in Italy, best known for making emulations of sought-after analog hardware. They are somewhat new to the audio world, but their plugins sound fantastic. When I saw that they released the Echoson I was super excited. The Echson...
Acustica Audio Coral Tutorial
Acustica Audio Coral plugin is an all in one mastering channel. It includes a stereo and M/S Equalizer as well as a compressor with a plethora of options. The Equalizer is based on a classic Baxandall configuration, a design which is highly prized for its clarity. ...
How to Use External Hardware with PreSonus Studio One 4 Pipeline XT
I love using External Hardware with PreSonus Studio One 4. The Pipeline plugin makes it super easy. In studio one 4 they released Pipeline XT which improves upon the already great plugin. New features include: Automatic latency compensation: instead of sending a...
Recording Vocals at Home
Everyone is recording vocals at home now. Even the artist I work with who are signed to Major labels are recording at home. I think it's the best way to record too. You don't have to stress out about the studio bill, and you can start recording whenever the...
iMac Pro Vs PreSonus Studio One V4
Purchasing a $5000 iMac Pro was a big commitment for me. However, my 2016 iMac was having a hard time keeping up with heavy demand I was throwing at it every day. It constantly had audio dropouts, and for me, that creates a big problem. I still master completely in...
