Episode 2

Drums, Groove, and Controlled Brightness

The focus shifts to rhythm and energy.

Matt shapes the drum sound by:

- EQing the drum bus as a whole to preserve phase relationships

- Brightening drums without making them feel artificial

- Using saturation and parallel processing for size, not volume

- Balancing kick and bass so they share the low end naturally

This is about groove first, tone second and keeping the track grounded and human.