// The Journal

Articles & Journal

Mixing tutorials, compression guides, and field notes from twenty years of recording, mixing, and production.

// Guides & Tutorials

Guides & Tutorials

01
AI · Mixing
The Best AI Mixing Assistants in 2026
Tutors, in-DAW assistants and auto-mixers solve different problems. The landscape, honestly, from an engineer who built one.
18 Jul 20268 min read
02
Compression · Free Tools
The Best Free Compression Tools in 2026
Interactive learning tools, the free compressor plugins worth practising on, and a free curriculum for using them together.
18 Jul 20269 min read
03
Compression · Learning
The Compression Code vs Mixing With Compression
Two compression courses under $70, two different philosophies. An honest head-to-head, bias declared.
18 Jul 20267 min read
04
Compression · Learning
The Best Compression Courses in 2026: An Honest Comparison
The real options for learning compression, what they cost, and who each one suits. Including mine, with the bias declared up front.
18 Jul 202610 min read
05
Compression · Mixing
Compressor Release Time: How to Set It by Ear
Attack gets the attention; release decides whether your compression grooves or chokes. The tempo connection, and how to set it by ear.
04 Jul 20267 min read
06
Mastering · Loudness
How to Master for Spotify: LUFS and Loudness Explained
-14 LUFS is a playback target, not a mastering target. What Spotify actually does to your track, and how loud to master.
03 Jul 20268 min read
07
Compression · Troubleshooting
Why Does My Compression Sound Bad? How to Diagnose and Fix It
Squashed mix, lost punch, lifeless vocals. Diagnose problems by symptom, not by guessing what you did wrong.
08 Feb 202615 min read
08
Compression · Mixing
What Does Attack Time Do on a Compressor?
Fast attack means less punch, not more. The front end / back end framework that finally makes attack time click.
08 Feb 202610 min read
09
Rights & Royalties · Business
The Brutal Money Conversation Musicians Avoid
Splits, publishing, masters, and getting paid what you're owed. What I wish I'd known early in my career.
07 Feb 20269 min read
10
Studio Craft · Recording
9 Ways to Waste Studio Time (And How to Avoid Every One)
The most common recording studio mistakes bands make, and the preparation that prevents every one of them.
07 Feb 202610 min read
// Production Journal

Field Notes

01
Production · Recording
Twelve Foot Ninja
Tracking massive bass grooves with Damon from Melbourne heavy-fusion outfit Twelve Foot Ninja for album two.
28 Feb 2016Field note
02
Production · Mix · Master
Red Light Sound · Latitudes
Producing, mixing and mastering Latitudes for Adelaide prog-rock band Red Light Sound: a hands-on, guerrilla-style EP.
29 Dec 2015Field note
// Go deeper

The Compression Code

The articles cover the what. The course teaches you to hear it: a framework for making compression decisions by ear, the way I teach it at university.

See the Course