Glossary
The vocabulary behind the verdict — in plain language for producers, organized the way the app reads a mix.
How to read a verdict
A mix is a finite box in three spaces — spectral (low ↔ high), stereo (left ↔ right), dynamic (front ↔ back, over time). Every element lives somewhere in that box; fill a zone and you take it from something else.
Everything is read relative to your genre, never against a fixed target — the app points at the symptom, not a recipe.
The frequency spectrum
Sub
Bass
Low-mids
Mids
High-mids
Highs
Air
20–60 Hz
60–120 Hz
120–400 Hz
400 Hz – 2 kHz
2–6 kHz
6–12 kHz
12–20 kHz
The method
how a verdict is builtThe boxThe core image: your mix is a finite space in three dimensions — spectral (low↔high), stereo (left↔right), dynamic (front↔back, over time). Fill a zone and you take it from something else.
Information zoneThe region (spectral, stereo, temporal) where an element actually plays. Outside it, it only leaves “noise” you can clean up.
HierarchyThe order of presence of the elements: who comes forward, who supports. Without a clear hierarchy, everything masks everything.
SourceThe sound itself, before any processing. Most problems are solved at the source (its choice, octave, envelope) rather than with a plugin downstream.
Volume biasA louder sound always seems better. Match levels before and after a change, or you judge loudness instead of quality.
Gain matchingLeveling before/after a treatment to judge its real effect, without falling for “louder = better”.
ReferencingComparing your mix to a pro track in the same genre to place your level, balance, and width.
MonitoringYour listening system (speakers, headphones) and room acoustics — your only reliable window onto the mix.
ArrangementHow the track is organized over time: which elements play, when, and with what intensity.
Push-pullPush a sound (add harmonics with saturation), then pull its volume back down — density and presence without raising the level.
Loud aestheticTreating loudness as a sound you own (saturation, clipping, glue, stage by stage) rather than a final scare — legitimate in electronic music.
Spectral space
low ↔ highFrequencyA pitch of sound, in Hertz (Hz): low end = low numbers, highs = high numbers.
SpectrumAll the frequencies present, from lows to highs — the frequency “photo” of your sound.
Tonal balanceHow energy is split across the frequency bands (lows → highs).
BandA portion of the spectrum (the sub, the low-mids, the highs…) you look at or treat separately.
SubThe very low frequencies (~20-60 Hz) — the low, physical foundation of the track.
Low endThe low region of the spectrum (sub + bass) — the weight and foundation of the track.
Low-midsThe ~100-300 Hz zone: body and warmth. Overloaded, it makes the mix “muddy”.
High-midsThe ~1-4 kHz zone: presence and intelligibility. Too loud, it gets nasal or harsh.
HighsThe high frequencies (~5 kHz and up): detail, brightness, air.
AirThe very top of the spectrum (~12 kHz+) — the openness and sparkle that makes a mix feel spacious.
TimbreThe “color” of a sound, set by its harmonics — what distinguishes the same note played by two instruments.
HarmonicsFrequencies that are multiples of the fundamental; they give a sound its timbre and richness.
MaskingWhen two elements occupy the same spectral zone, the louder one hides the other — you only hear it.
MudA build-up in the low-mids (~200-400 Hz) that makes the whole mix thick and unclear.
HarshnessAn aggressive, fatiguing excess in the high-mids (~2-5 kHz).
EqEqualizer: it boosts or cuts frequency bands. It refines what already exists — it doesn't create material (that's saturation).
SaturationAdding harmonics through soft distortion: densifies a sound and makes it stand out without raising the volume.
Stereo space
left ↔ rightStereoAll the differences between the left and right channels — not just panning. It's the most underused space.
MonoA signal identical on left and right (centered). The low end must stay here to keep the foundation.
Mid/sideA way to treat the center (mid) and the sides (side) of a stereo signal separately.
PanningThe left-right placement of an element in the stereo image.
CorrelationHow aligned your left and right are: +1 = centered/mono, 0 = very wide, negative = the two sides fight and the center cancels — lost impact.
Stereo widthHow much the sound spreads between left and right. To dose: too narrow = cramped, too wide = no foundation.
PhaseThe relative position of two signals in time. The lower a sound, the longer and more destructive a phase opposition.
Phase cancellationWhen two signals cancel each other out (one rising while the other falls) — energy loss, especially in the low end.
Mono compatibilityChecks that a mix doesn't lose energy once summed to mono (club system, mono speaker).
HaasA width effect based on a very short delay between left and right (1-30 ms). For rich/high sounds only, never on the low end.
Dynamic space
front ↔ back, over timeLoudnessThe PERCEIVED volume (an energy average over time), different from the instantaneous peak. That's what LUFS measures.
LufsA measure of perceived loudness, the streaming standard.
LraLoudness Range: the loudness gap between the quiet and loud passages.
CrestThe gap between the peak and the average level (RMS) — measures punch / dynamics.
TransientThe very short attack of a sound — the “click” of a kick, the “snap” of a snare.
SustainThe held part of a sound, after the attack — the body that lasts over time.
PunchThe sense of impact of a sound, tied to the strength of its transients (attack).
ImpactThe sense of hit in a mix — comes from transients clearly standing out from the sustain.
CompressionReducing the volume gap between loud and quiet. Set well it glues and stabilizes; too hard it crushes the attacks.
SidechainCompression triggered by another signal (often the kick) to dynamically free up space.
PumpingThe breathing effect when the sidechain brings the volume back up between kicks. Owned aesthetic in house/EDM, a defect if too strong elsewhere.
DuckingAutomatically lowering an element when another plays (often on the kick) — the basis of sidechain.
GlueLight compression or saturation on a group to weld its elements together.
ClippingClipping the peaks that pass the ceiling. In electronic music it's an owned loudness technique, NOT a defect.
LimiterAn extreme compressor that stops the signal from passing a ceiling — used to maximize loudness at the end of the chain.
Micro-dynamicsThe small volume variations at the scale of the note or hit — what gives punch and life.
Macro-dynamicsThe volume variations between sections (intro, drop, breakdown) — what creates contrast and impact.
HeadroomThe level margin available before digital clipping (0 dBFS).
ReverbReverb: simulates an acoustic space and places the sound in depth.
DelayEcho: repeats the signal after a short lapse of time.
Source & sound design
where problems startOscillatorThe heart of a synth that generates the base wave (sine, saw, square…) — the starting point of the timbre.
WaveformThe base shape of a synth sound. The richer it is (saw, square), the more harmonics and presence; a triangle or sine has few.
AdsrThe 4-phase envelope of a sound — Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release — that sculpts its volume over time.
EnvelopeA curve (often ADSR) that evolves a parameter over time — typically the volume of a note.
FilterA tool that cuts or passes frequencies (high-pass, low-pass) — sculpts a sound's spectrum.
CutoffThe frequency where a filter starts to cut — on a synth, the cutoff opens or closes the sound.
ResonanceA volume bump right around a filter's cutoff — it “whistles” or accents that zone.
LfoA slow oscillator that modulates a parameter (volume, filter, pan) cyclically — useful for a volume sidechain.
UnisonA synth mode stacking several slightly detuned copies of the same note — thickness and stereo width by construction.
DetuneSlightly detuning copies of a sound to thicken and widen it.
LayersStacked layers of the same sound (or close sounds) to thicken, widen, or complete its spectrum.
808A very sustained sub kick/bass (heir to the TR-808) that's both the kick and the bass in trap/hip-hop.
ReeseA wide, rich bass (typical of D&B), made of two detuned waves — keep its low end mono.
SampleAn audio clip (a kick, a loop, a vocal) you bring into the track.
PresetA ready-made setting for an instrument or effect — to adapt to your context, never to keep as-is by default.
Delivery & metering
the numbersPeakThe instantaneous maximum level of the signal.
True peakThe real peak level reconstructed between samples — what can clip after MP3/AAC encoding.
DbfsDecibels relative to digital full scale — 0 dBFS = max level before clipping.
Gain stagingManaging levels at each stage of the chain to keep headroom and avoid clipping too early.