Producer's Corner with Hans-Phillip Graf

Hans-Philipp "H-Peh" Graf is one of Germany´s most sought-after freelance mastering engineers. After qualifying at the School of Audio Engineering in Hamburg he went on to study cultural sciences to degree level, with music as his main subject.

In 2005 H-Peh found his way into sound engineering through music production, setting up his own studio specializing in mastering. It didn´t take long for word to get around and soon he was adding his magic touch to projects by successful artists as Jan Delay, Glashaus, Adel Tawil (Ich+Ich), Sido, Seryoga, Samy Deluxe, Nneka, Rad, Herb Geller and many more.

www.h-peh.de

When it comes to his mastering work, Hans-Phillip Graf is a regular on the German sales and club charts. Here is some of the gear he uses throughout his recording process:

1. Chandler Limited EMI TG12345 Curve Bender
Great sounding and very punchy EQ. The low end is amazing on this one! I also love using the EQ to open up a mix.

2. Vertigo Sound VSC-2 Compressor
The VSC-2 has become my "Go-To" compressor. The compression is open and the frequency spectrum stays fully intact even under heavy compression. But the most important point is that the Mix stays your Mix - while just sounding better.

3. Drawmer S3
This unit has a really cool h-ifi sound. It does not fit everywhere, but it is great for making some cheaper sounding ITB-Mixes sound more "expensive."

4. Algorithmix Red EQ
My favorite digital EQ. I especially use it for very natural sounding cuts in the whole frequency spectrum. Also great for some clean boosts. When I work with M/S I do it with this one.

5. Dangerous Monitor ST / Dangerous DAC-SR
Dangerous quality! Really great monitoring tools - clean, precise and amazing features on board.

6. Barefoot Sound MicroMain 27
First time I really felt at home on a speaker!