Fundamentals

  • Mixing & mastering
  • Fundamentals

How to use a compressor: settings that actually work

Threshold, ratio, attack, release and makeup gain — what each control does to the sound, a method that works from the gain-reduction meter, and starting points for vocals, drums, bass and guitar.

  • Fundamentals
  • Mixing & mastering

What is mastering in music?

Mastering is the last stage before release — the pass that makes a track hold up on phone speakers and festival systems alike, and sit consistently beside the other songs on a record. Here is what it changes and what it can’t.