iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ian Shepherd @ianshepherd.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

One. Last. Meme ! Catch all the replays here: www.dynamicrangeday.co.uk/live See you next year ! #DynamicRangeDay

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Ian Shepherd @ianshepherd.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

Join us for the final #DynamicRangeDay livestream at 9:30 GMT ! And catch up on all the livestreams here: www.DynamicRangeDay.co.uk/live

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Ian Shepherd @ianshepherd.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

Talking to Justin Gray, whose Grammy-winning album "Immersed" has GREAT dynamics in both Atmos AND stereo justingraysound.com/immersed/ for #DynamicRangeDay

Immersed in Dynamics - Dynamic Range Day 2026

YouTube video by Production Advice

Ian Shepherd @ianshepherd.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

Tomorrow is #DynamicRangeDay - help spread the word by sharing a meme or two ! Nab the pics here: www.facebook.com/DynamicRange... More info: www.DynamicRangeDay.com #musicproduction #audioProduction #audiosky #mixingandmastering #musicsky

Collection of meme thumbnails promoting #DynamicRangeDay 2026

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Ian Shepherd @ianshepherd.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

This years's #DynamicRangeDay Award nominees include... Bruno Mars - The Romantic Justin Gray - Immersed Halina Rice - Evolve U2 - Days of Ash Gesaffelstein - Enter The Gamma (Live) Brian Eno & Beatie Wolfe - Luminal Full list: www.dynamicrangeday.com/award Who do YOU think should win ?

Image showing cover art for Dynamic Range Day Award nominees 2026

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Ian Shepherd @ianshepherd.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

How much difference SHOULD mastering make ? New video - comparing the new master of a re-mixed album with the original. How do they sound, and why ? More info: productionadvice.co.uk/ember-rev/ #musicproduction #audioProduction #audiosky #mixingandmastering #musicsky

How much difference SHOULD mastering make ?

YouTube video by Production Advice

Ian Shepherd @ianshepherd.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

Loved @joemuggs.bsky.social’s perfomance collaboration thing with @timexile.com at the Timbers launch event last month, and really enjoyed reading this too…

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Ian Shepherd @ianshepherd.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

About to watch this for the 8th time… Amazing work by Gary Hustwit & @brendandawes.xyz

~ @tildesounds.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

Reposted by Ian Shepherd

Really appreciate the replies so far. One thing im hoping is that we can get more so that we can start looking at the differences between subsets of data. E.g. we only have 40 entries by full-time audio professionals so far. Take the survey: forms.gle/u2Wr9pezJPC2...

stat showing that 15.2% of the people entering are full time audio profesionals

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Reposted by Ian Shepherd

reaper.blog @reaper.blog · 20/02/2026

I don't think that announcement went as planned.

screenshot of iZotope subscription announcement with view count (27,000) and likes (15) highlighted. LOL

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Ian Shepherd @ianshepherd.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

OK #GameAudio BlueSky, if I’m interested in finding out more about the nitty-gritty of audio in games, should I look at tutorials for WWISE or FMOD ?

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Ian Shepherd @ianshepherd.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

I'm pleased to announce Version 1.5 of my Loudness Penalty Studio application ! The upgrade is free for existing users & adds multiple simple but powerful features - see video below 50% off for plugin owners and 30% off for new users ! Full details 👉 www.meterplugs.com/loudness-penalty-studio

Loudness Penalty Studio 1.5 Walkthrough

YouTube video by MeterPlugs

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Ian Shepherd @ianshepherd.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

I’m a lapsed trombone player, and always felt a bit sad that it wasn’t a very… cool instrument. I may have to revise this opinion

youtu.be

Natalie Cressman & Ian Faquini - March (Official Video)

YouTube video by GroundUP Music NYC

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Ian Shepherd @ianshepherd.bsky.social · 08/12/2025

The Equal LUFS Illusion Equal LUFS means it'll sound the same loudness, right ? Often yes, but it's not *always* that simple... More info: productionadvice.co.uk/equal-lufs/

Infographic showing the "chessboard illusion" - a chessboard with a shadow cast across part of the image. Two squares are labelled - a white one in the shadow has the same colour intensity as a black one outside the shadow. However they appear to be quite different shades because our brains understand the context of the shadowed area. The text reads: Expectation - Matched LUFS will sound the same perceived loudness (A LUFS = B LUFS) vs. Reality - LUFS targets aren't enough (LUFS work, but perception is complicated)

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Ian Shepherd @ianshepherd.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

I mastered this song for Patrick De Caumette back in 2023 - so cool to see it used as the soundtrack for an award-winning video !

YouTube video by Zero Now

GREED

Ian Shepherd @ianshepherd.bsky.social · 30/11/2025

Loving everything about this…

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Ian Shepherd @ianshepherd.bsky.social · 15/11/2025

Most music streaming services have a Distribution Loudness of -14 LUFS. So if you master above that, the level will be reduced so it’s important to check you’re happy with the results of that situation, IMO But also, many people in have questions about how loud things “should” be mastered…

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Ian Shepherd @ianshepherd.bsky.social · 15/11/2025

Interesting, I was thinking mainly of music but of course dialogue is another important use-case. And yes, in broadcast we have no choice but to pay attention 👍

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Ian Shepherd @ianshepherd.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

Love that you put the course to such great use, Steve !

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Ian Shepherd @ianshepherd.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

Do you find LUFS measurements useful ? If not, what's your biggest frustration or challenge?

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Ian Shepherd @ianshepherd.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

Trust me, dither has no effect on POW 😛

Ian Shepherd @ianshepherd.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

For 24-bit the choice of dither doesn’t matter - just simple triangular is fine. For 16-bit it still doesn’t matter very much, there are so many exotic varieties at this point you may as well just choose one you like the name of 😛 Most DAWs have plenty of options & lots of people like Good Dither

ok.here

Ian Shepherd @ianshepherd.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

Great question - it depends if your goal is to match the loudness of the reference. If it is, I wouldn’t touch the level, I’d just set the limiter at -1, and still match the loudness (peaks tell us nothing about loudness) I’d suggest a different approach though - details in the next reply !

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Ian Shepherd @ianshepherd.bsky.social · 27/09/2025

Great advice from Steve as always

Ian Shepherd @ianshepherd.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

Last time EVER at this price... Heads-up - the current early-bird discount on my mastering course ends today, and then goes away forever! If you've ever thought of giving it a try, NOW is the perfect time. Use coupon code HMMINTRO - maybe I'll see you in there 👍 www.homemastering.com/hmm-open

homemastering.com

The Home Mastering Masterclass

Get mastering results you're proud of, using professional techniques that really work - even in your home studio. Gain the skills, understanding and confidence you need, using the tools you already ow...

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Ian Shepherd @ianshepherd.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

OK this could be legitimately life-changing

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Ian Shepherd @ianshepherd.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

Any OpenCore ninjas on here ? For some reason my Blue Yeti mic isn't being recognised under Monterey, even though it's visible in System Profiler. It still works normally booting back into Mojave though. (This is a 5,1 using Martin Lo) Thanks for any ideas !

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Ian Shepherd @ianshepherd.bsky.social · 19/09/2025

Finally succeeded in upgrading my ancient cheese-grater to Monterey this week, but it was even more painful than anticipated - and there were 2 sets of cables in this box that made it possible ! Never throw anything away…😂

Cardboard box full of old cables with text “My #boxofoldcrap saved me again this week, twice ! #upgradinganoldmac”

Ian Shepherd @ianshepherd.bsky.social · 11/08/2025

Very excited about the launch of Version 2 of my Dynameter plugin, which we announced last week ! I’ve had lots of questions about the new features, so here’s a short video showing you how they work 👍 Explainer vid: www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhQP...

YouTube video by MeterPlugs

Dynameter 2 Explainer

Ian Shepherd @ianshepherd.bsky.social · 24/07/2025

Discover the density and dynamics of your music – and why they matter ! I’m running a free livestream on Friday 25th showing you several different ways to increase the density of your music, why you might want to, and how to know exactly how much you need: www.homemastering.com/register

homemastering.com

Join the Livestream !

Ian Shepherd @ianshepherd.bsky.social · 05/07/2025

Such a great evening celebrating my amazing @andyshepherdwriter.bsky.social ‘s new book ! ❤️

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Ian Shepherd @ianshepherd.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

Great day on Tuesday at the @solidstatelogic.bsky.social Oracle desk launch at Real World Studios Catching up with people like Emre and Julian IRL (plus so many others !) and nerding out is always fun, especially in such beautiful surroundings ! Thanks to @recordprod.bsk.social for the invite !

Ian trying new SSL Oracle desk (digitally controlled analogue processing, similar size to AWS)

Ian with Julian Kindred and Emre Ramazanoglu in front of the mixing desk in The Big Room studio at Real World

Real World studio viewed from the garden - iconic studio design built out from the side of a converted water mill in green leafy surroundings with mill pond in front (and swans !)

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Ian Shepherd @ianshepherd.bsky.social · 25/06/2025

THIS. IS. AMAZING ❤️ (He’s my boy so clearly I’m biased but is really IS, isn’t it ?!)

Ian Shepherd @ianshepherd.bsky.social · 25/06/2025

Thanks to @mattboudreauaudio.bsky.social for asking me back on the @workingclassaudio.bsky.social podcast ! We talked about the current state of mastering, AI’s growing role, work/life balance, and in-the-box vs. out-of-the-box mastering. Full episode: www.workingclassaudio.com/wca-549-with...

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Ian Shepherd @ianshepherd.bsky.social · 21/06/2025

Because there’s much more to perceived loudness than the LUFS value. Things like the performance, arrangement and choice of sounds, EQ balance, density, intensity, internal dynamics, saturation, distortion, stereo image etc etc…

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Ian Shepherd @ianshepherd.bsky.social · 21/06/2025

Because we don’t have a target. *They* have a Distribution Loudness (usually-14) that *they* reduce loud songs (to prevent user complaints) but we don’t need to pay attention. Master it so is sounds great, and let them adjust the playback level.

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Ian Shepherd @ianshepherd.bsky.social · 21/06/2025

My Dynameter plugin is an attempt - version 2 almost ready to release… www.meterplugs.com/dynameter

meterplugs.com

Dynameter: Dynamics metering for AAX, AU and VST

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Ian Shepherd @ianshepherd.bsky.social · 20/06/2025

Thanks so much to @mattboudreauaudio.bsky.social for asking me fun questions for the 100th episode of The Mastering Show ! Make sure you check out his Working Class Audio podcast if you aren’t already in the loop !

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Ian Shepherd @ianshepherd.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

Great to see The Mastering Show listed as one of the Top 10 audio engineering podcasts by Feedspot ! 👍 podcast.feedspot.com/audio_engine...

Screenshot of mixing desk with text "Best Audio Engineering Podcasts on the Planet"