CMP Studios, the first and only Dolby Atmos mixing studio in New Zealand that’s owned by multiple-platinum producer, engineer, mixer, songwriter and musician Clint Murphy, is equipped with a stable of plugins from NUGEN Audio.
Murphy discovered the Halo Upmix plugin at the beginning of his Dolby Atmos journey, noting, “It’s an essential tool for my Dolby Atmos mixing, and I would be lost without it. I use it on every single immersive mix. It has such an easy way of making things fit without having to utilize reverbs, delays or other panning techniques. The way it folds down into various formats is really ideal. Everything about it makes my workflow quick and painless. It also sounds fantastic.”
In addition, he also utilizes Aligner and AB Assist plugins: “I often use Aligner when I receive home recordings, especially those with multiple mics and guitar cabinets. While it’s not something I use on every mix, I immediately deploy Aligner whenever I know something is wrong with the phase. It’s so quick and easy to just correct the problem without interrupting my workflow – Aligner is a great utility tool to have at my disposal.”
Similarly, AB Assist has proven valuable in instances when he must compare old mixes to new ones. “Sometimes, I’ll have an artist that will record a single every few months,” he says. “In those cases, I refer to my old mixes to make sure there’s consistency and flow between them. AB Assist really helps me to accomplish that quickly.”
Aside from mixing, Murphy has been spreading awareness of the benefits of Dolby Atmos. He recently conducted a one-day Atmos seminar in New Zealand, where NUGEN Audio played a pivotal role. “We have found that a lot of the big labels are still apprehensive about this format, so many of my fellow Atmos mixers and I have been working on getting more people to adopt Atmos,” adds Murphy. “I use my mixes at these seminars to highlight the benefits of Atmos, and people get to watch and listen. I include Halo Upmix as part of my presentations, and I explain how beneficial it can be for immersive mixing.”
