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In modern studio production, the technical side of monitoring can feel as demanding as the creative process itself. We recently sat down with Grammy-winning and multi-platinum mix engineer Aaron Mattes to discuss how he has been refining his workflow by integrating our immersive monitor controller, ORIA.
Aaron brings a wealth of experience to the table, having worked on tracks for major artists such as 50 Cent, Lil Wayne, Polo G and Young Thug. With a career spanning over two decades, he knows that maintaining a consistent and reliable monitoring environment is vital when shifting between complex projects. One of the most significant advantages he has discovered is how ORIA handles room calibration.
“I do not have to think about it. I just know it is ready to go” ~ Aaron Mattes
“One thing I love about ORIA is that my room EQ is locked into the unit itself,” Aaron explains. “I have been using Sonarworks SoundID for years, and being able to have all that tuning perfect for my room in a dedicated piece of hardware means I do not have to open up any software to change it. I do not have to think about it. I just know it is ready to go.”
This approach touches on a fundamental truth of studio design: regardless of how high-end your speakers or how well-treated your space might be, tuning is an absolute necessity for accurate monitoring. By offloading this tuning directly into the ORIA hardware, Aaron has achieved a level of integration that aligns perfectly with how a professional system should function.
“ORIA is very versatile”
Beyond the sheer convenience, there is a tangible performance benefit to this architecture. As the processing is handled by the ORIA itself, it avoids adding any extra Digital Signal Processing or CPU load to his computer. This keeps his workstation’s resources free to handle demanding sessions, ensuring that his studio’s monitoring foundation remains rock solid, even when his project files get heavy.
“The ORIA is very versatile,” Aaron adds. “It has allowed me to easily integrate the system I had already been running for years, and it has just made everything extremely easy.”
Want to see how Aaron manages his setup and hear more about the impact of hardware-based room calibration on his daily routine? We have put together a series of short, behind-the-scenes videos where he walks through his workflow in detail.
Watch our video series on Aaron Mattes’ studio workflow here:
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