Equipo imprescindible para la masterización: lo que realmente necesitas
So you want to know our setup?
Simple: two monitors and good ears.
We're hearing you.
— Tato
Just kidding… but it's simpler than you think.
You've probably seen photos of our studio with all that equipment and thought, "I'm never going to have that kind of gear." Let me tell you two things.
First: yes, you can. Set your mind to it, stay focused, and never throw in the towel.
Second, and more important: you don't actually need all of that to reach a professional sound. We use certain tools because we're… well, picky. But you can absolutely get a great result without spending huge amounts of money on equipment.
Like we've said before, it's about the whole system being aligned. Step by step, you build and develop your sound. That's what really matters.
Keep It Simple
Honestly, we only use the full studio for very advanced stages or specific situations in a song. We're not there 24/7 running everything through analog gear just because it looks cool.
First, because we can reach 90% of the result from home without traveling to the studio (and trust me — it's far). Second, because simplicity keeps you focused.
When you have a lot of gear, it feels like being a kid at Disneyland: you want to use everything. But that's not the point of mixing or mastering. At least not for us. Clarity and intention always come before complexity — a mindset most experienced mastering engineers share.
What Actually Matters
Before any gear list, this is the real order of priority for mastering:
Monitoring you trust — speakers or headphones you know inside out, so you can tell what's actually happening in the track.
A listening environment you understand — even an untreated room works if you've learned how it colors what you hear.
Honest metering — to check loudness and tonal balance against reference tracks you respect.
Your ears and your references — the final decision always happens here, not in a plugin.
Everything after this is refinement. If your monitoring and your judgment aren't solid, no amount of gear will save the master — which is exactly why we treat headphone and monitor choice so seriously. How to choose the right studio headphones
Our Core Setup
Our main tool? A really good computer.
Everyone has their preferred headphones, and again — it comes down to how well you know your gear. In general terms, here's what we reach for:
iLoud Micro Monitor — compact but surprisingly accurate.
Universal Audio Apollo — mainly to run high-quality plugins efficiently.
LUNA — it's free, and this isn't a promotion. It's a very solid DAW for recording and mixing. For beatmaking there may be DAWs with more specialized workflows, but LUNA works great for our needs.
That's the reality. No magic. No secret spaceship technology.
When Analog Matters
After finishing most of the work in the box, we go to the studio to check everything in detail. If it's needed, we run the track through some analog processes to add subtle depth, glue, or character.
But again — that's the final 5–10%. The foundation is always the ears, the monitoring environment, and the decision-making process.
Gear doesn't make the engineer. Knowledge and taste do.
One Last Thing
So that's our setup, in general terms. If you want to know something specific about a piece of equipment, or you want an opinion before buying something, just text us on IG.
And if you'd rather hand the final stage to someone who does this every day, you can explore our Mixing and Mastering services at NEUS.
Take care. We're hearing you.
— Tato
