Audio knowledge base
EQ & Dynamics
How equalisers, compressors, limiters, clippers and gates actually work, and how to set them by ear instead of by preset.
6 visual articles
One plugin instead of EQ plus a compressor: the dynamic EQ workflow
One plugin can carry the corrective cut, the level-dependent cut and the tonal shaping — if you set the bands in the right order.
EQ: cutting vs boosting, and when each one is right
Cut to remove a problem. Boost to add something that exists but is too quiet. Neither is morally superior.
What is a clipper? Loudness without the pumping
A limiter turns peaks down. A clipper removes them. That difference is why clipping keeps punch where limiting loses it.
What is a compressor? A producer's guide to every control
A compressor turns down loud moments. Everything else it seems to do is a consequence of that one action.
What is a limiter? Peak control without wrecking the mix
A limiter is a compressor with one instruction: nothing gets past this ceiling. What matters is how it achieves that.
What is a noise gate? How gating works and when to use it
A gate is a switch driven by level. It removes silence between sounds — it cannot remove noise underneath them.