Coast Mastering

Over the past 30 years, Michael Romanowski has successfully built his career in the music industry mixing and mastering records for some of the top artists in the world. Currently Owner and Chief Engineer at Coast Mastering, the five-time GRAMMY Award-winning engineer knows exactly what audio solutions he needs in his toolbox. This includes various plug-ins from NUGEN Audio, such as Paragon, Halo Vision, Halo Upmix, Halo Downmix and more

“Music mastering is all about translatability, and I think it’s really important that a studio has the tools needed to help make more informed decisions and produce quality audio,” says Romanowski. “In my mastering process, while I don’t decide which tools I’ll need until I hear what I’m working with and consult with my client, NUGEN Audio plug-ins have long been included among the many solutions in my arsenal.”

For mixing projects, Romanowski often finds himself deploying the brand’s Paragon reverb plug-in. “I’d say I rely on Paragon on a fairly regular basis; I absolutely love it,” he says. “It has an impulse response that’s tweakable, which I think is great, and I like the ability to set up different parameters and weigh or eliminate certain channels. I use it to take the reverb out of the center if I want better vocal presence—and I’m able to do that without everything getting gummed up. Other times, I might have someone mixing on headphones, which gives off a false sense of space, and I need Paragon to help correct that in the mix.”

For immersive projects, Romanowski will also call upon NUGEN’s Halo Vision, Halo Upmix and Halo Downmix plug-ins. “Halo Upmix, specifically, is really good in times when I only receive stems and I need to have more control of the individual content,” he explains. “In those cases, I separate instruments a little more, so I can just manage specific parts. For example; the bass or keyboard, rather than both. There have also been situations where I’ll need to check my downmixes, and that is of course where Halo Downmix comes in. Outside of music mastering, when I’m mixing immersively, Halo Downmix is always my go-to.

“Halo Vision is fantastic; it is my go-to immersive metering plug-in,” adds Romanowski. “Actually, the more accurate word instead of metering in this case is ‘Vision.’ It shows me so much information at a glance. I instantly know so many aspects of my audio just by looking at the screen. The plug-in is also extremely customizable. It gives me confidence and is a timesaver, which is awesome.”

As a long-time NUGEN Audio user, Romanowski has incorporated a plethora of the brand’s plug-ins and continues to incorporate them into his workflow, depending on the project. These include Aligner, ISL, Monofilter, SEQ-S, SigMod, Stereoizer, Stereoplacer and Visualizer. “When it comes to NUGEN, I appreciate the attention to quality,” he adds. “I’ve always felt NUGEN to be a very professional company that addresses the needs of its users and finds solutions for them, and all of the company’s plug-ins help to produce great audio.”

Based in Berkeley, California, Romanowski is a pioneer in immersive audio. He designed and built his first surround studio in 2001 and went on to release his first Atmos music albums in 2017, before Dolby Music was a separate entity—making him one of the very first Immersive Audio Mastering Engineers on the planet. In addition to accolades in immersive audio and music mastering, Romanowski has extensive credits on records for artists like Alicia Keys; Bonnie Raitt; Prince, Lyle Lovett; Earth, Wind & Fire; Kane Brown; Grateful Dead; Tom Petty; The Bee Gees, George Strait and many more.

For more information about NUGEN Audio products, visit: nugenaudio.com.