This Week at Audio University: How To Identify and Fix Masking in a Mix
When two instruments occupy the same frequency range, your mix can lose clarity and balance. In this video, Gabe Herman demonstrates how to identify masking by listening in mono and using EQ to carve space between instruments like piano, guitar, and vocals. You will learn how to spot the subtle signs of masking and how to use practical EQ choices to create a cleaner and more efficient mix.
Using a mixer to send multiple microphones into one interface input is clever, but it comes with limits. Once those signals are summed into a single track, you lose the ability to EQ, compress, or process each mic independently. By using an interface with multiple inputs, you can record each mic to its own track in the DAW and keep full control in the mix.
Noise shows up everywhere in the recording chain, from room sounds to cable interference. This video explores how engineers reduce noise with mic placement, balanced connections, low noise gear, and proper gain staging, plus how modern interfaces like the Neumann MT 48 help keep recordings clean.
Enter to win a Novation FLkey 49, the ultimate MIDI keyboard controller for hands on music production in FL Studio. With seamless integration, step sequencer control, 49 keys, 16 pads, nine faders, and eight customizable knobs, the FLkey 49 gives you instant access to your sequencer, channel rack, mixer, and plug ins. It even comes with a six month trial of FL Studio Producer Edition.
In this clip, professor Gabe Herman explains how to use gentle compression with a low ratio and low threshold to keep signals consistent. He shows how attack, release, and knee settings shape the effect, when this approach works best on sources like voiceover, bass, or vocals, and how it can add subtle harmonic saturation.
Watch here in the membership to get practical tips for shaping dynamics with transparency.
