Hey everyone. I’ve just finished putting together my mastering studio and would genuinely love some feedback from producers and DJs who’ve worked with mastering engineers or have their own setups.
I went with a hybrid analogue/digital approach. The core of the analogue chain is built around SPL gear (Iron compressor, PQ EQ, Gemini mid-side processor) with a Rupert Neve MBT for transformer saturation and colour. I’m using a Dangerous Music Liaison patch-bay so I can reorder the signal chain depending on what the track needs - EQ before compression, or flip it - which has been really useful.
For monitoring I settled on the Barefoot Footprint 03s as my mains, with Focal Clear MG Pros for headphone checks and a pair of Rurak MR1s for consumer speaker translation checks.
The room is treated with GIK Acoustics panels (absorption + diffusion) which made a huge difference compared to before treatment.
A few things I’m still second-guessing and would love input on:
- Anyone here use Barefoot monitors? Curious how others find them for electronic/dance music specifically
- Is anyone else running the SPL Iron? How are you using it - as a primary compressor or more for colour?
- Any tips on getting the most out of a patch-bay for different genres?
Here’s the full studio page if you want to see the setup: https://orangepolygon.co.uk/audio-mastering-studio/
Cheers!