A suite of loudness, mixing and mastering plug-ins from Nugen Audio is behind the loudness-normalised mixes presently coming out of the renowned EMAC Recording Studios in Canada.

Embracing a wide range of radio, film, and television projects, the move to Nugen is down to Robert Nation, studios’ co-founder and also professor of recording engineering at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario. Since 1979, EMAC Recording Studios has offered professional recording services including music recording and mixing, mastering, and audio postproduction. Clients include record companies, producers, artists, broadcast production companies, advertising agencies and corporate clients.

‘Today’s digital and software-based technologies, such as Nugen Audio’s outstanding tools, allow me to hone in more on the creative process than ever before,’ he says. ‘And as the music industry continues to move away from the “louder is better” era, these technology advances are enabling me to make a smooth transition to mixing and mastering for maximum dynamic range as opposed to maximum loudness.

‘Nugen Audio is dedicated to offering tools that are not only extremely easy to use, with superb visual interfaces, but also deliver a high-quality result. Clearly, the company’s founders have a deep understanding of the challenges of audio loudness as regulations become more widespread and the loudness wars continue to abate, and their tools give me powerful advantages that simply weren’t available just a few years ago.’

For loudness metering and management, Nation has adopted Nugen Audio’s Loudness Toolkit 2 including the VisLM visual loudness meter, LM-Correct loudness measurement and correction tool, and ISL real-time true-peak limiter. He uses LM Correct as a standalone, final check on loudness and true-peak levels as a file goes to sequencing or delivery to the client. Also, VisLM and LM-Correct play a role in delivering high-quality, loudness-normalised audio for streaming services, such as Apple Music, Spotify, and DAB Radio, which are continuing to adopt loudness normalization and true-peak limiting techniques.

In addition, he has adopted the company’s full range of mix and mastering plugins including MasterCheck, Visualizer, Stereoizer, Stereoplacer, Monofilter, and SEQ-S.

Since 2000, Nation has served the Music Industry Arts programme of the School of Contemporary Media at Fanshawe College. Here, the Nugen Audio tools play a role in his curriculum to emphasise loudness issues and incorporate loudness tools as part of the essential techniques necessary for mixing and mastering in today’s production and postproduction environments.

‘In our programme at Fanshawe, we’re stressing the use of professional tools that will keep mixing and mastering at the highest-possible quality and maintain the standards of our profession,’ he explains. ‘The Nugen Audio tools are integral in this effort.

‘For the better part of 40 years, Robert has been involved in music mixing, recording, mastering, and production – so he’s had an excellent vantage point on the technology revolutions that have taken place over the past decades,’ says Nugen Audio Creative Director Jon Schorah. ‘With the Nugen Audio toolset, he’s not only able to prepare his students for the coming world of loudness normalization, but his own business is prepared for the smoothest-possible transition as these changes begin to fundamentally change the way audio professionals work.’

More: www.nugenaudio.com