The Mastering Show · The Mastering Show Podcast

The Mastering Show #89 - Sonic Fundamentals for Podcasters with Matt Boudreau

August 6, 2023·49 min·4 clips

Mastering engineer Ian Sheppard reveals how new plugins from Leapwing Audio are changing mastering, before welcoming guest Matt Boudreau, who works with Green Day and Alanis Morissette.

The premise is plain enough. Mastering, as the host frames it, has a simple shape but asks a lot from the person doing it. The hard part is judgement, not owning more tools. Modern DAWs already give engineers plenty. Still, the host gives real credit to recent plugins, especially Leapwing Audio's Stage One for depth and width control and Dyne One for parallel or upwards compression. Useful does not mean automatic. He likes being able to try a mastering-stage idea for a client, then keeps coming back to the better question: should it be used at all? From there, the conversation moves into Atmos. Justin Gray's four-hour workflow video comes up as a good sign for engineering culture, because people are sharing hard format knowledge so others can do the work properly. Matt finds that reassuring. After working in Atmos himself, he says part of the value is hearing someone else explain problems you recognize and realizing the format is starting to click. Film people are already ahead. For audio engineers, the format can still feel new, awkward, and uncomfortable, which makes patient public teaching more useful than clean certainty. The long game matters here, too. Matt ties that same patience to podcasting. He did not start with the current relationships in mind, but steady conversations opened doors over time. The point stays close to the work: learn formats, meet generous specialists, and let repetition add up. The ending is warm without overselling anything. The host points listeners to Matt's Working Class Audio, recommends episode 450 as a starting point, and closes with the usual production credits. Nothing gets treated like magic. The practical thread is clear: tools, formats, and networks only matter when an engineer brings patience, taste, and enough humility to keep learning.

As heard by us

Judgment stays central; the plugins matter only when they clearly improve the mix.

This episode frames mastering as a matter of judgment more than gear. A modern DAW already offers plenty, and the newer Leapwing Audio plugins are presented as ways to shape depth, stereo width, fullness, density, and richness with more nuance than basic mid-side moves.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want mastering advice that prizes judgement over tools.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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