How to master electronic music with HOUZY

Two minutes from opening HOUZY to a dense, even track. The same guide is built into HOUZY, in the ACRONA card.

Mode

Pick HOUZY — it gives the best sound quality.

1. AMOUNT

Start with the AMOUNT knob. For a well-mixed track, 15 to 30 usually gives soft, moderate compression. For anything else, set it by ear.

2. INPUT

Once the compression feels right, raise INPUT while watching the LUFS meter. For a soft sound, −10 to −9 LUFS is enough.

3. CYCLES

For a soft kick, set it between 3 and 4.

4. RELEASE

Leave AUTO on: the plugin measures how fast the sounds in your track decay and sets the release for you.

5. BEAT or SMART

Choose by ear.

• BEAT holds the release exactly as set: a steadier sound that pulses with the beat.
• SMART treats the release as a maximum: a sound that fades out sooner is let go sooner. Airier and more natural.

Fine-tuning

• DASH — if the compression sounds good but the track still isn't even enough, add some DASH.
• UPWARD — lifts the quiet parts: reverb tails, air, the top end.
• CLIP SHAPE — light saturation across the whole track. Loudness is matched automatically, so you hear the colour, not a volume boost.
• ALL MIX — if the track sounds dense overall but, say, the highs or the mids stick out, switch on ALL MIX and pull that band down with its knob. To see which frequencies a band covers, rest the pointer on its knob for a couple of seconds — a tip shows the range.

Clipper: HI-Q or ACR

We recommend ACR, our own clipper. It moves the distortion to where the hit masks it, so the attacks stay clean. Still, it's a matter of taste — try both.

OVERSAMPLE

16x is plenty while you work; use 32x for the final render.

TRUE PEAK

The TP button sits on the OUTPUT knob. Turn it on when you export for streaming: it removes the inter-sample peaks that crackle after conversion to MP3/AAC.