Gain staging: what it is and how to do it
Gain staging is the process of setting the level at each point in your signal chain so your audio is loud enough to rise above noise, but not so loud that...
10 signs your vocal isn't ready for mixing (vocal pre-mix checklist)
Every mixer knows the feeling – you pull up a vocal and you swear it sounded great in tracking; but you slap a compressor on it, and suddenly...
A glossary of common and confusing mixing terms
Audio terminology can be downright confusing. Even familiar words often take on new meanings when used to describe sound. If you’ve ever been on an...
Vocal mixing 101: free vocal doubler plugin and tips for mixing vocals
Nobody said mixing vocals would be easy, but with powerful tools and some knowledge of tips and tricks to back you up, you’ll have everything you need...
How to repair a distorted audio track: the complete guide
Have you ever been mixing a great track that sounded fantastic – except for one glaring problem: a moment of unprofessional distortion? Audio...
Clean up your vocals: a step-by-step guide to a polished sound
Folks, it’s RX season – and that means there’s no better time to talk about cleaning up vocals for music and post production, including...
How to clean up audio for podcasts and audiobooks in 30 minutes or less
Here’s a common scenario in audio post-production: someone sends you a two-hour file. There’s gold in there – the perfect interview clips for a...
Fix it in post: How to reclaim the mix with RX 12 Scene Rebalance
"Fix it in post" is a phrase that can induce heart attacks – especially when you receive a stereo mix where the music is burying the dialogue....
From the pros: the reference tracks they use on every mix
Reference tracks are professionally produced and mixed songs that engineers use as sonic benchmarks during the mixing and mastering process to guide their...
Dare to fail: inside the studio with mix engineer and producer William J. Sullivan
When William J. Sullivan (Kid Cudi, Ty Dolla $ign, Selena Gomez) answers our video call from his studio, he’s knee-deep in a restoration project using...
The best reverb plugins for vocals in 2026
Have you ever tried to mix a vocal and it just felt wrong? Either it’s too forward and dry or it’s too wet and cloudy, but one thing’s...
7 secrets to achieving true analog sound in your digital mixes
Have you ever wondered what producers actually mean when they talk about "analog warmth"? While the term is often used as a vague industry...
How Joe Caithness mastered 260+ video game soundtracks with an in-the-box workflow
Joe Caithness is a UK-based mastering engineer who has carved out a unique niche in the audio world: video game soundtrack remastering and vinyl...
