The Campus
Where mixing engineers train, from first steps to expert.
Seven levels named after record plaques. Lessons first, then 186 tests to train your ears and prove your skills: listening, quizzes, real decisions and hands-on mixing in your browser. Start free with the whole Vinyl level.
- 26 tests
Level 1 · Vinyl: Hear the big moves
The frequency map, level, panning, reverb, compression on or off. The basics, heard clearly.
- 28 tests
Level 2 · Bronze: Octaves and the basic tools
Octave bands, EQ shapes and sizes, compressor controls, reverb types, saturation flavors.
- 28 tests
Level 3 · Silver: Diagnose problems and pick the right fix
Diagnosing problems and choosing the right fix: resonances, room sound, chain order, restoration.
- 27 tests
Level 4 · Gold: Dynamics and character
Compressor types (FET, opto, VCA, vari-mu), saturation in depth, vocal space, release that breathes.
- 26 tests
Level 5 · Platinum: Balance, depth and width
Balance, depth and width: mid/side, bus processing, automation, genre references.
- 26 tests
Level 6 · Diamond: Precision and speed
Precision and speed: small moves, loudness and delivery, mastering readiness, advanced vocal chains.
- 25 tests
Level 7 · Icon: Expert judgment
Expert judgment: critique like the panel, client notes, revisions, deliverables, Atmos basics.
How the Campus works
Learn it. Practice it. Prove it.
You don't need any experience to start. Every level follows the same four steps.
- 1
Read the lesson
Every level starts with lessons: plain-language text and sound examples you can switch between while they play.
- 2
Practice
Take any test as often as you like. After every answer you see what was right and why. Nothing counts yet.
- 3
Pass the ranked exam
When you're ready, take the ranked version: one try per test per day, in full screen. Pass it on 3 different days and the test is cleared.
- 4
Earn the plaque
Clear every test of a level (and from Gold up, a mix reviewed by people) and the plaque is yours. The next level opens.
The way we teach
There are no good or bad frequencies.
Most tutorials teach you to boost a band by 10 dB, sweep until something sounds horrible, and cut it. With a 10 dB boost, everything sounds horrible. You end up cutting what was fine and tiring your ears.
Here you learn to listen to a track the way it is, hear what's out of balance, ringing or fighting, and make only the moves the song needs. That's how experienced engineers work, and it's what every lesson and test trains.
Six kinds of tests
- ListeningHear a change and name it: which band was boosted, which version is compressed, how big is the room.
- QuizKnowledge you need behind the console: what a control does, where an instrument lives.
- DecisionA real situation and several possible moves. Every answer is graded: best, acceptable, weak or harmful, with the reason.
- Hands-onReal faders and EQ in your browser: rebuild a balance, match a boost, set safe levels.
- MemoryPure tones and references you learn by heart, like 100 Hz, 1 kHz and 10 kHz.
- ProjectA real song to mix in your own studio, with your own plugins. Compared with expert mixes, and reviewed by people from Gold up.
The rules, in plain words
- Practice is unlimited
- Repeat any test as much as you want. That's how ears are trained.
- One ranked try per test per day
- You can't brute-force a plaque by retrying fifty times in a row.
- Three different days
- Passing on three days proves the skill is real, not a lucky guess.
- Full screen, no other tabs
- Leaving the exam (another tab, an analyzer) cancels the question.
- Loudness-matched sound
- Versions are level-matched, so you can never answer by picking the louder one.
- Mixes reviewed by people
- From Gold up, plaques also need a real mix reviewed by the panel.
7 levels · Vinyl → Bronze → Silver → Gold → Platinum → Diamond → Icon