---
title: "Mixing guides for REAPER and home recordings | Mixroadie"
description: "Mixing guides for REAPER and home recordings, vocal EQ and masking, what AI mixing can do, how Mixroadie compares with iZotope, LANDR and RoEx, and how 25 AI models compare on real mixing decisions."
url: "https://mixroadie.com/blog/"
---

BLOG

# Notes from the workbench.

What changed in Mixroadie, and how it compares with the tools you might already use.

Most posts here are practical mixing guides for people who record and mix their own songs: how to mix in REAPER with its stock plugins, how to EQ a vocal and keep the band from burying it, how to clean up a muddy low end. The numbers in them come from the same measurements of finished records that Mixroadie mixes to. There are also plain comparisons with iZotope, LANDR, RoEx and other AI mixing tools, and a benchmark of 25 AI models on real mixing decisions.

1. GUIDE 22 October 2026 4 min read

   ## [Vocal masking: why the band buries your singer](https://mixroadie.com/blog/vocal-masking/)

   What frequency masking is, why a buried vocal is usually a level problem before it's an EQ problem, and the numbers engineers actually mix vocals to.

2. GUIDE 19 October 2026 3 min read

   ## [Free AI mixing and mastering: what's included](https://mixroadie.com/blog/free-ai-mixing-and-mastering/)

   What the free tiers of LANDR, eMastered and BandLab include, why free mastering can't fix a mix, and what uploading your song costs you besides money.

3. GUIDE 15 October 2026 4 min read

   ## [Best free REAPER plugins for mixing](https://mixroadie.com/blog/best-free-reaper-plugins/)

   What REAPER already includes, the free plugins that fill a real gap (dynamic EQ, reverb, saturation, metering), and how to get REAPER to find them.

4. GUIDE 12 October 2026 5 min read

   ## [Mixing in REAPER with stock plugins only](https://mixroadie.com/blog/mixing-in-reaper-stock-plugins/)

   A full mix with ReaEQ, ReaComp, ReaGate and ReaXcomp, in the order we'd do it, plus the settings that trip people up and what a mix template can't do.

5. GUIDE 9 October 2026 4 min read

   ## [Vocal EQ cheat sheet: what to cut and boost](https://mixroadie.com/blog/vocal-eq-cheat-sheet/)

   Which vocal frequencies to cut and which to boost, how far to go, and why a frequency chart can't tell you everything about your singer.

6. GUIDE 8 October 2026 5 min read

   ## [How to use Mixroadie with Claude or ChatGPT](https://mixroadie.com/blog/mixroadie-with-claude-and-chatgpt/)

   Connect Mixroadie to Claude Desktop, Claude Code or Codex and ask about your mix there. Setup takes one prompt.

7. GUIDE 5 October 2026 4 min read

   ## [What AI mixing can and can't do](https://mixroadie.com/blog/what-is-ai-mixing/)

   The three kinds of AI mixing tools, what a computer can measure in a mix and what it can only guess, and what to check before you try one.

8. RESEARCH 24 September 2026 9 min read

   ## [25 AI models tested on real mixing decisions](https://mixroadie.com/blog/ai-model-benchmark/)

   Built-in models, Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, DeepSeek and more, replayed on real mixing decisions. How fast they were, what they cost, and which ones gave the same answer twice.

9. COMPARISON 24 September 2026 2 min read

   ## [Mixroadie vs. Phantom](https://mixroadie.com/blog/mixroadie-vs-phantom/)

   Two tools that measure your session and let an AI act on it. Where free and open source wins, and where a finished app does.

10. COMPARISON 22 September 2026 2 min read

    ## [Mixroadie vs. RoEx Automix and Cryo Mix](https://mixroadie.com/blog/mixroadie-vs-roex-automix/)

    Automatic mixing from exported stems, compared with a plan you approve inside your own session.

11. COMPARISON 17 September 2026 2 min read

    ## [Mixroadie vs. LANDR and online mastering](https://mixroadie.com/blog/mixroadie-vs-landr/)

    Mastering a stereo file against working on the tracks. LANDR, eMastered and BandLab compared with Mixroadie.

12. COMPARISON 14 September 2026 2 min read

    ## [Mixroadie vs. iZotope Ozone and Neutron](https://mixroadie.com/blog/mixroadie-vs-izotope/)

    Plugin assistants against a session-wide plan. Where each one is the better choice.

13. COMPARISON 9 September 2026 4 min read

    ## [AI mixing tools compared: Mixroadie, iZotope, LANDR, RoEx](https://mixroadie.com/blog/mixroadie-vs-alternatives/)

    How the AI mixing tools compare, from Mixroadie and Phantom to iZotope, LANDR, RoEx Automix, Cryo Mix, MixingGPT and sonible, and which one to pick for your situation.

14. RELEASE 1 September 2026 3 min read

    ## [Mixroadie's first version: what it can and can't do](https://mixroadie.com/blog/introducing-mixroadie/)

    What Mixroadie is, what the first version can do, and what it can't do yet.