Mixing Music | Music Production, Audio Engineering, & Music Business

Parallel Compression Explained: Why I've Been Using It More and How I Actually Set It Up

Lu is out on a gig, so Dee Kei is flying solo with something he's been thinking about a lot lately: parallel compression, why he's been reaching for it more often, and ho

How to Get More Mixing Clients by Giving More: The Go-Giver Philosophy for Audio Engineers

Two people asked Dee Kei the same question this week, one for a school project and one just out of curiosity: how do you actually get more clients? The answer he keeps co

Are Gear Clones Worth It? Expectation Bias, the McGurk Effect, and Why the Story Matters More Than the Sound

Lu brought a topic this week that sounds simple on the surface and gets complicated fast: gear clones. Are they worth it? Do they sound like the original? And does any of

I Tested 3 Preamps on My Own Mixes — Here's What I Actually Heard (And What It Means)

Dee borrowed some preamps this week. Not to review them — to test them. And what he found was equal parts technical and philosophical, which is exactly the kind of episod

How to Build Real Relationships in the Music Industry — Without Networking

This one started with a DM. A listener named Solomon wrote in describing something almost every engineer has felt but rarely admits to: he'd worked intensely with an arti

Building a 1176 Compressor From Scratch: What I Learned From the Hairball Audio DIY Kit

Dee Kei is building a compressor. Specifically, a 1176 Rev A blueface/silverface clone from Hairball Audio in Seattle — unsponsored, bought with his own money, and not ye

Are Audio Engineers Underpaid? What a Low Job Posting Reveals About Engineer Wages and Self-Worth

This episode almost didn't get released. Dee and Lu spent 20 to 30 minutes before recording debating whether to even touch this one. They went ahead — and it's one of the

What We Taught at the Mixing Masterclass: Pricing, Compression, LUFS, and the Value of a Mix Engineer

This episode is a recap — and an expansion — of the six-hour Mixing Masterclass that Dee Kei hosted live in his LA studio. Lu was in the room. The audience brought mixes.

Is Analog Gear Making a Comeback? Plugin Fatigue, Hardware Resurgence, and the Future of the Studio

Fair warning: Dee Kei opens this one by saying he doesn't know if he's going to release it. Congratulations — you found it. This is a looser, more speculative episode th

Why Talented Engineers Say No to Opportunities — Imposter Syndrome, Thinking Fast and Slow, and Career Confidence

Lu brought the topic this week — and it's one of the most universally felt things in audio that nobody talks about directly: the feeling of not belonging in the room. Not

Analog Plugins vs. Hardware: What Blind Tests Actually Show — And Why Engineers Still Buy Gear Anyway

This episode starts with a confession: Dee Kei wants a new compressor. Specifically, he's been eyeing the Heritage Audio Grandchild 670N — a $3,000 stereo Fairchild-style

Ozone Assistant, Auto-Tune, Dynamic EQ — Have We Always Been Using AI? A Solo Deep Dive

Lu's on vacation. Dee Kei is alone with a page of talking points and one of the most contested topics in audio engineering right now — and the result is one of the most t

What Your Personality Type Says About You as a Mix Engineer — The Big Five OCEAN Deep Dive

Before you do anything else, pause this episode and go take the Big Five personality test at https://bigfive-test.com/ — it's free, open source, and it's the entire point

How to Start a Music Career From Scratch: What Dee Kei & Lu Would Do Differently

What would Dee Kei and Lu actually do if they had to start their music careers completely over today — same age, same responsibilities, but zero industry knowledge, zero

How Limiters Actually Work: Brick Wall, True Peak, Clipping, and the Naturl Audio AL-1 with Andrew Rynhard

LINK TO 20% OFF! CODE: MMPOD Link and code expires 7/21/2026 In this episode, Dee Kei and Lu sit down with Andrew Rynhard — mastering engineer, developer, and founder o

Do Expensive Preamps Actually Matter? The Jim Lil Video, Neve vs. Scarlett, and What No One Got Right

SUBSTACK LINK In this solo episode, Dee Kei reads and expands on his Substack essay — a thoughtful response to the now-viral Jim Lil preamp video that sent the audio eng

The Best Computer Setup for Music Production in 2026 (Mac vs. PC, RAM, Storage Explained)

A listener-requested episode is back by popular demand! Dee Kei and Lu tackle one of the most common questions in the show's history — what computer should you actually b

My Mixing Session Routine: Start to Finish

In this solo episode, Dee Kei walks through exactly what a mixing session looks like from the moment he sits down to the moment the file goes out — no guests, no theory,

Why So Many Talented Engineers Stay Broke

In this solo episode, Dee Kei gets honest about something nobody in the audio world really wants to say out loud — talent is the most common thing in this industry, and i

How to Mix Vocals: The Mindset Pros Use Before Touching a Single Plugin

In this episode, Dee Kei breaks down how he actually thinks about mixing vocals — and it's probably not what you'd expect. Before touching a plugin, an EQ, or a compresso