Mix & Master Blog

Insights, Tutorials, Reviews, oh my!

Brainworx Masterdesk Review

Brainworx Masterdesk Review

I'm a sucker for all in one mixing and mastering plugins. So when the Brainworx Masterdesk came out, I was one of the first to download the trial. This plugin is an all in one Mastering chain. I think its geared towards the home studio owner who needs to polish off a...

25 Inspirational Music Quotes for Musicians

25 Inspirational Music Quotes for Musicians

Working in the music business can bring its fair share of ups and downs. I need more than one hand to count the times I wanted to give up. However, the love of music has always won out.  If your going through one of those periods or wanting to give up, here are 25...

How to Prepare your Vocals for Mixing

How to Prepare your Vocals for Mixing

Mixing your song can be an overwhelming challenge. It's hard to know where to start. Should you mix the drums first or start with the vocals? What effects should you put on?? Ugh! I think it's best to try a minimalist approach. The less plugin and...

How to Pick a Online Mixing and Mastering Service

How to Pick a Online Mixing and Mastering Service

One might think I'm a bit bias writing this article seeing how I run an online mixing and mastering service. However, I started this company five years ago with the idea of helping upcoming artists, not trying to scam them. I've had clients tell me about some of the...

The 3 Best Mastering Plugins

The 3 Best Mastering Plugins

Plugins. Plugins, Plugins.... So many to choose from these days, I can't even keep track! However, I seem to always come back to a few workhorses over and over again. The Fab Filter ProQ is an all-time favorite, as well as the UAD 1176. ( Or any 1176 plug for that...

Mixing and Mastering with Acustica Audio’s Water Tutorial

Mixing and Mastering with Acustica Audio’s Water Tutorial

As many of you know, I am a big fan of Acustica Audio's Plugins. So, of course, I had to review the Water plugin. The Water plugin is an emulation of the German WSW (Wiener Schwachstrom Werke) equalizer and compressor. It was the Austrian branch of Siemens Audio. It's...

How To Mix Crisp Vocals

How To Mix Crisp Vocals

Have you heard about the vocal barbeque? We need it brighter, more air! Those vocals need to cut through!! Deep fry those vox tracks!! Nowadays in popular music, the vocals are bright, trebly, and the most in dominating part of the song. But how do we get such a...

Acustica Audio Ruby Tutorial

Acustica Audio Ruby Tutorial

Acustica Audio's Ruby is an emulation of the D.W. Fearn VT-5. According to their website, the equalizer uses passive LC circuitry with class-A triode vacuum tube stages for the input and output. I found this EQ to be super musical and loved the...

Trinnov ST2 Pro Vs Sonarworks

Trinnov ST2 Pro Vs Sonarworks

The Trinnov ST2 Pro and Sonarworks are both room correction equalizers. The Trinnov ST2 comes as a piece of hardware whereas Sonarworks works on your host computer. They both are great products but the Trinnov costs about $5000 more than the...

3 Hits and Misses in Studio One 4

3 Hits and Misses in Studio One 4

We all know that I am a super fan of Presonus Studio One. ( You can see the reason I switched from Pro Toos to Studio One Here.) So when they released Studio One 4, I was like a kid waiting for Christmas. But after it was released, I felt like the kid who didn't get...

3 Pultec EQ Tips With Acustica Audio’s Purple

3 Pultec EQ Tips With Acustica Audio’s Purple

The Pultec EQP-1A is quite possibly one of the most used EQ's in history and for good reason. The Pultec EQP-1A has a character and a touch of class that will leave your source material sounding super expensive and well...better than before. I use the Pultec plugin...

Top Stereo Width Plugins

Top Stereo Width Plugins

Making a mono instrument stereo can help add new dimensions to any song. It can be guitars, keyboards or even percussion instruments. In mastering a common technique is to widen the side information to make the overall mix sound bigger and larger than life. Two of my...

Acustica Audio Cream Tutorial

Acustica Audio Cream Tutorial

Acustica Audio Cream is an amazing plugin. It gives the classic console sound that was made famous at studios such as Abby Road's back in the 1960's and 1970's. This is a great plugin to use for both mixing and mastering. The plugins divided into 3 sections: The...

Auto-tune Pro Tutorial

Auto-tune Pro Tutorial

Mastering Auto-Tune Pro: A Comprehensive Guide for Music Producers Auto-Tune Pro by Antares has become the number one pitch correction software; I've been using it for years across genres, from pop to hip hop to easily manipulate and correct a vocalist’s pitch and...

How to use Parallel Compression in Studio One

How to use Parallel Compression in Studio One

Mastering Parallel Compression in Studio One: A Professional's Guide Introduction Hello, I'm Matty, a professional mixing and mastering engineer with years of experience in the music industry. Today, I want to share with you an essential technique that can transform...

Get Big Sounding Drums with Distortion

Get Big Sounding Drums with Distortion

Sometimes adding a bit of distortion can really help your drums pop out of a mix. I like to use Soundtoys Decapitator quite a bit. It can be a game changer on the snare drum. I also like to use it on parallel compression chain. I will send the kick and snare to a bus...

Use Digital Clipping to Make Your Song Louder

Use Digital Clipping to Make Your Song Louder

Everyone always thinks that louder is better. It's not always the case but you do need to have your song loud enough to compete with songs on the radio. Most people use a limiter. But using a limiter alone can make your song sound squashed. I use the technique of...

CREATE A REVERSE REVERB IN STUDIO ONE

CREATE A REVERSE REVERB IN STUDIO ONE

Introduction: Reverse reverb, a unique and ethereal sound effect, has been a staple in music production for decades. Used to create a swelling, atmospheric lead-in to vocals or instruments, it adds a dreamy, otherworldly quality to tracks. Studio One, with its...

How to get Thicker Sounding Vocals

How to get Thicker Sounding Vocals

Mastering Wide and Impactful Vocals: A Professional's Guide to Thicker Vocals As a seasoned mixing and mastering engineer, I've spent countless hours in the studio refining the art of vocal production. My name is Matty, and I'm here to share my journey and insights...

How to Mix Acoustic Guitar

How to Mix Acoustic Guitar

Advanced Techniques for Mixing Acoustic Guitar: Insights from Industry Expert Matty Harris As a seasoned mixing and mastering engineer, I've spent countless hours in the studio perfecting the art of bringing music to life. One of the most nuanced and rewarding aspects...

My 3 Favorite Delay Plugins

My 3 Favorite Delay Plugins

Digital delay is one of my most favorite effects. You can do so much with it! From light slaps to huge distorted delays that can change the energy of a song. In this post, I show you my 3 favorite delays. The Manny Marroquin Delay, the Relayer and the Echoboy. All...

The Best Music Mixing and Mastering Sites

The Best Music Mixing and Mastering Sites

I love learning about music, and I find all kinds of great info from different sites around the world. I thought it might be useful to share some, so here is the great list! http://www.pensadosplace.tv/ -This is the show created by world famous mixing engineer Dave...

Solid State Logic Sigma Tutorial

Solid State Logic Sigma Tutorial

Summing is something that is highly debated in most pro audio circles. I personally like it and choose to use the SSL Sigma. To me, it adds a little more width and a high-end extension that makes the music sound a little more "expensive".  In this tutorial, I will go...

IK Multimedia T-RackS 5 Review

IK Multimedia T-RackS 5 Review

I was recently at the AES convention in NYC and I got to see all the new plugins and gear that is coming out. I saw a ton of amazing stuff, but the new plugins from IK Multimedia really sparked my interest. They have some great new mastering plugins that I found super...

Creative Vocal Effects with Antares Harmony Engine

Creative Vocal Effects with Antares Harmony Engine

Most of us know Antares for their Auto-tune plugin. However, they also make a bunch of other really useful and creative plugs! One of them being the Harmony Engine. You can hear the effect on many of Travis Scott and Kanye's songs, but it's also used subtly in many...

Mixing Fundamentals 2: Gain Staging in Studio One

Mixing Fundamentals 2: Gain Staging in Studio One

The next installment in our mixing fundamentals series is gain staging. Gain staging is simple. When done correctly it will give you more headroom to work with when mixing and mastering. Our session is loaded up and ready. All sounds are in there place, labeled, color...

The Weeknd’s Vocal Chain

The Weeknd’s Vocal Chain

I must say that Jaycen Joshua is one of my favorite mixing engineers. I have learned a lot from listening to his mixes as well as watching him on Pensado's Place. In his current interview on Pendsado's Place, he talked about the vocal chain he used on The Weeknd for...

Mixing and Mastering Engineer Matty Harris

Hello, I'm Matty Harris, and I've been professionally mixing and mastering music for over 20 years.

Throughout my career, I've had the privilege of working with many major labels and contributing to numerous #1 records. Some of the artists I've worked with include Kelly Clarkson, Travis Barker, and Sammy Adams.

My extensive experience in the industry has equipped me with the skills and knowledge to help musicians elevate their sound to a professional level. Whether you're a seasoned artist or just starting out, I can provide you with the techniques and insights you need to overcome any challenges in your mixing and mastering journey.