Posted on April 30, 2026April 30, 2026 by alternativeblueprint

Choosing The Finest Analogue Mastering Hardware

Close-up of audio equipment featuring various knobs and meters, including SPL Passeq, Tegeler Audio, and other sound processing units.

At Fat As Funk we have always preferred the sound of top-grade analogue hardware for our mixes & masters. They really do make a difference compared to plugins. I’ve been a fan of analogue processors & synths since 1995 (& I started Fat As Funk in 2006).

Don’t get me wrong, we use carefully selected plugins too for some aspects of the job. The precision of plugins is unmatched for some aspects, which is important, & I’ve tested so many to select the core few I do use regularly which stand head-&-shoulders above the rest. But the main tone of our mixes & masters is achieved with real valves, resistors, transformers, coils and metal. Kilograms of the stuff. Materials that get physically warm, channel audio through components that have been selected for their sound, not some fake version of them.

I’ve always thought of analogue hardware similar to fake ingredients in cooking – you can get away with a few bits used sparingly, but if everything is a substitute – sweetener instead of sugar, margarine instead of butter…. the end result just tastes…. wrong.

I’m also a believer in everything doing something different. I don’t need 3 different Vari-Mu compressors, I have the best one (the IGS Tubecore 3U has Mid/Side function & a wet/dry mix which are both game-changers & not found in other ones). The valves are chosen to be the highest quality, and it gives the sound such a lovely warm, rich quality. The wet/dry feature is so useful and means I can push it harder while letting some of the original transients though for a more natural thickness & chunk than available on other comparable units.

My SPL PassEQ is the most flexible passive EQ ever made, & weighs over 10 Kg – a solid chunk of sonic lushness. The build quality is unmatched, and each unit comes with a rigorous testing report included. Based on research & testing I have determined it is the best option. It subtly colours the sound beautifully, with rich deep bass & a high-end that can be described as “silky” or “creamy”. Phwoar.

My Bettermaker Mastering EQ brings a surgical precision, and is the most flexible analogue EQ I have found. It’s amazing for workflow too, as although it’s pure analogue it is controlled by a plugin (not sure how they do that, I think it may be actual magic). You can hear the components snap into place when adjusting the plugin. The most important thing is the sound of course, and that is clean but also rich and powerful. It manages to be transparent but also “fat” at the same time. The most subtle of colouration that is tough to pin down, but which just makes everything sound fantastic. It has a dedicated Pultec-style EQ section, plus several peak bands & high + low cut.

The latest addition is a Tegeler Magnetismus 2, which I just got yesterday and have been testing out. This brings a rich “tape-like” quality from the 3 selectable transformers, which colours the sound very subtly when used in mastering, but can also be used to give body & roughness to things like drums if desired when mixing. It also has a compressor which I feel could be more useful for mixing than mastering so far, but that’s not really why I got the device.

Equipment choice is among the most hotly debated topics in audio. All of these devices do something different & add a certain “something” to the sound without overlap. As a bit of a gear geek I’ve bought & sold tonnes of equipment over the years (including some very juicy vintage analogue synths) & I am always improving my studio.

You may see mastering engineers with multiple of the same types of pieces, & sure, it’s nice to have if you are a collector, but realistically they won’t be running your audio through 2 vari-mu for example, or 3 different Pultec-style EQ – there would be no point & this would probably do more harm than good, or just go back on itself in the workflow. This could also inflate their prices beyond what you think you get – you may be paying a premium for someone to have 20 different pieces & only have 4 used on your music. Food for thought.

Several years ago I had a bit of an epiphany – unless something is absolutely adding to my setup in a big way every day, I will get rid of it. I always keep an eye out on what else could replace it in a different AND better way, and if I see something I can’t resist I grab it.

My current setup is in my opinion among the absolute finest available for mastering. I am always looking to add new things IF it fills a gap AND is real quality based on, but as is the same with my attitude to life – nothing just for the sake of it.

Loz Gill Fat As Funk mastering — A young Loz of Fat As Funk about 20-ish years ago with the excellent Maselec MLA-2 & SPL Kultube. Both of which have been replaced now, along with some of Loz’s hairs for grey ones!

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Happy 18th Birthday To Us!

18 years today I registered my website & sent my first email as Fat As Funk.

I consider this the birth of my company.

I’d like to thank each of you for joining me on this quest for excellent audio.

Some of you have been working with me since right back in 2006. This is incredible, and a testament to how strong relationships can be in a very competitive & fickle industry.

People can stop making music for all sorts of reasons. Labels fold, managers retire, family life gets in the way. But the musical spark lives within.

So many times people come back several years later with a new project. “Remember me?” – of course I do!

Every record I’ve worked on has touched me in some way. I am extremely grateful, & especially that most new clients come to me from heartfelt recommendation (which is great as I’m rubbish at social media!).

18 years is a long time to be doing the same job, & I still love it every day. It’s always refreshing, exciting, fun, rewarding and interesting. I lost count years ago but must be up to about 16,000+ tracks mixed &/or mastered by me. That’s a lot of audio.

I love hearing your new music from literally all around the world.

Right now (6/6/2024) I am working on a returning client’s album from Russia. They asked if I was still working on Russian music – worried I would boycott them due to their government’s war. They don’t want it. They just want to live a good life & make tunes. Music transcends politics & policies. Of course I’ll work on it! It was a major hassle getting the money over, and eventually they had to send it via a friend in Kazakhstan, but we got there in the end. It’s a great album too, a little bit Nirvana / Pixies vibe. I’m on track to deliver it tomorrow.

I’ve made some good friends along the way, and had the pleasure of meeting quite a few of you in person. Seen babies born & grow up, marriages, divorces, deaths, wins & losses all soundtracked by authentic, visceral & interesting music.

It’s a real honour being a part of your musical journey, and I look forward to hearing your next material.

All the best,

Loz.

Posted on September 5, 2020October 2, 2023 by alternativeblueprint

Zen Mastering – Using Flow State in Audio Engineering

zen mastering in audio engineering article by fat as funk

In this short article I’ll delve into a non-technical side of my audio mastering work – how meditation can help achieve flow state, therefore leading to a more “on-point” mastering result on difficult, or highly varied source material.

If you meet me, you would never guess I was into meditation or anything esoteric. I show no outward affectations of being into the “woo-woo” stuff, as my sister calls it.

When mastering albums where there is a lot of variation in genre, timbre or dynamics, finding the sweet-spot to work outwards from is key. It’s a rookie mistake to make the fattest track as huge as possible first, then have to push mellow tracks up to match it – totally missing the point of the mellow song, and essentially burning the pudding, so to speak.

The opposite is also true. Optimising the mellowest track first will lead to underpowered anthems later on.

Finding the ideal middle ground to start from is like laying the foundation. It all builds from there. Some albums are easier than others to find the best start point. For trickier ones, I often turn to a more esoteric approach.

I am an audio Mastering Engineer. Music producers send me their mixes, and I make them sound better, in a nutshell. I feel very qualified to write about audio mastering, as I have been a professional mastering engineer since 2006.

I would never be so bold as to think I was qualified to write about Zen. However, it has come to be an important part of my life over the last 17 years, including my mastering work, so I am writing a short piece on how it helps me in my job of making music sound awesome.

Zen is directly experiencing life without colouring the moment with our own emotional filters.

My 12 year old son asked me if “flow state” was a real thing (he had seen a YouTube video of someone playing the video game Fortnite in flow state). I had to answer an emphatic “yes”. This sparked one of the most interesting conversations I’d had with my son, and gave me a push to write a little bit on the topic.

I imagine all of us enter flow state on a regular basis without really identifying it.

When you are really into playing a musical instrument, pushing through some exercise, driving on autopilot or even doing the washing up without thought, that’s flow state.

I find my best mastering work happens when I enter flow state, and work on autopilot until I come round after the song nears completion.

The luxury of not over-thinking if an EQ setting is right, or if the compression bumps beautifully comes with experience. Even so, some albums are trickier than others and require more in-depth work. For this I often try to attain a “no-mind thinking” approach for the artistic sides of the job. The technical sides is like painting by numbers, but the creativity of making tracks sound “right” together requires more than just going through the motions.

I’ve heard some opinions that say mastering is purely technical. My opinion is very different. This is why experienced human mastering is better than automated mastering, because in music there is an infinite amount of subtlety and part of the job is getting inside the artist’s head and translating their vision. That needs a human with empathy.

“Thought without thought” is a great state of mind to be in for anything creative. Meditation doesn’t need to be sitting still going “ommmmm”. Personally I never meditate like that.

Moving meditations are key to being able to slip into the “no-mind” thinking while achieving a task. The aim is to push out all extraneous interrupting thoughts and give a purer level of concentration to whatever you do.

Moving meditation can be achieved with mindfulness – the most simple way to do this is to feel deep within every minor thing you do for a while. It gets exhausting at first, but these are the keys to the door, and after a while it will always be open to you and you rarely need the keys.

Practical examples:

Typing? Feel the pressure of every key stroke on your fingertips, the texture of the keys, if there is any dirt buildup on lesser-used ones versus the smoothness of the most used keys.

Walking? Feel the breeze on your cheek, the stones pressing under your feet, the differences in texture of the ground beneath you, the temperature of the air, the difference in pressure and texture of everything you touch, the sound of the leaves in the wind, hear the position of the birds.

Washing up? Feel and focus on the suds running over your hands, the differences in textures on the plates as the grease gets rubbed off, the temperature, the way the sponge presses on your fingertips versus the hardness of the cutlery in the other hand.

The point is to feel and focus on every minor detail in basic actions. This silences the inner monologue and stops distracting thoughts from entering. Once this state of mind becomes familiar, it is easier to enter it. Then it becomes easier to enter flow state generally.

Then it becomes easier to work in flow state.

Overcoming being overcome

Sitting at the computer all day, staring at a monitor and listening to music in a concentrated form for hours is wearing. It is easy to become over-done.

One of my favourite ways to regain my peace and decompress from the digital world is archery. There are so many other methods, but this is my favourite.

If I get into the headspace of feeling like work is getting too intense, I take 10 minutes and shoot a few arrows while using the process as a moving meditation. This always helps refresh me and allows me to finish my mastering job faster and better than if I didn’t take a break.

Of course, archery isn’t for everyone, but you can integrate moving meditation into so many activities that I’m sure you could find something to refresh you quickly in your own way.

Enjoy your music making and audio engineering!