Mat Leffler-Schulman is a mastering engineer based out of Baltimore, MD, USA! In this episode, Mat shared his journey; quitting his government job in DC to open a recording studio in Baltimore. He told me about taking his family abroad for a year while niching down into mastering as well as his approach to mastering records and his favorite speakers. We even got nerdy about our favorite microphones and so much more! Check it out!You can find out more about Mat at https://matlefflerschulman.com/You can find Mat on Social MediaIG - https://www.instagram.com/mobtownstudios/Subscribe to the podcast and get my free guidebook "Music Production Essentials" here - https://mpe-ebook.benwallick.com/free-downloadJoin the Secret Sonics Facebook community here - https://www.facebook.com/groups/secretsonicsIf you'd like to help support Secret Sonics, you can do so by visiting https://www.buymeacoffee.com/benwallickReferencesKatie Tavini - https://www.benwallick.com/podcast-episodes/2021/1/24/secret-sonics-081-katie-tavini-mastering-music-with-intentFuture Islands - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Future_IslandsBob Katz’s Book on Mastering - https://amzn.to/3qO6uSWSoothe - https://oeksound.com/plugins/soothe2/Dangerous Compressor - https://www.dangerousmusic.com/product/compressorDan Coutant - https://srmastering.com/Alex Saltz - https://www.apsmastering.com/Sean Mercer - https://www.instagram.com/sacred_bacon/Tyler Acoustics - http://www.tyleracoustics.com/Hillel Reiner - https://www.benwallick.com/podcast-episodes/2020/4/19/secret-sonics-003-hillel-reinerMassive Passive - https://www.manley.com/pro/msmpVari-Mu - https://www.manley.com/pro/mslchpITI EQ - https://vintageking.com/iti-me-230-stereo-eq-109-usedThe Attack and Release Show - https://attackandreleaseshow.fireside.fm/Wavelab - https://new.steinberg.net/wavelab/Justin Perkins - https://justincarlperkins.com/Hofa DDP - https://hofa-plugins.de/en/plugins/cd-burn-ddp-master/Session Recall - https://session-recall.com/en/Church recording Mat recently made - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XL8CyIuAdus&ab_channel=EmmanuelEpiscopalChurchBaltimoreBeyerdynamic M160 - https://north-america.beyerdynamic.com/m-160.htmlSennheiser 441 - https://vintageking.com/sennheiser-md-441-uAEA R84 - https://vintageking.com/aea-r84-ribbon-singleRE 320 - https://amzn.to/2OxaNFhMusic Video with the RE 320 on the guitar - https://www.facebook.com/rodanzmusic/videos/256943238648513/Zoom Recorder - https://amzn.to/3bKzkj1Thanks for listening to this episode of Secret Sonics! I hope you enjoyed this episode :) Look out for new episodes weekly. Consider rating and reviewing our show on Apple Podcasts and sharing this or any of your favorite episodes with a friend or two.Thank you to Zvi Rodan, Mendy Portnoy, and Yakir Hyman for contributing to the new podcast theme music!You can find out more about Secret Sonics and subscribe on your favorite podcast app by visiting www.secretsonics.co***If you want the show to continue to improve, feel free to fill out a listener survey here: https://forms.gle/BWKmS4YmESYid5rh8 ***Follow along via social media here:Facebook: www.facebook.com/SecretSonicsPodInstagram: www.instagram.com/secretsonics/Feel free to email me at secretsonics@gmail.com with any questions and feedback you might have. I'm open to learning about what topics you'd like to hear about and which people you'd like to hear from. In pursuit of making this podcast truly helpful to anybody looking to improve at music production, all suggestions are truly welcome! Have a great week, stay safe, and dig in!-Ben