Blog
Notes on finishing tracks.
Loudness targets with their sources, mix problems you can put a number on, Ableton Live sets, and the plumbing behind an assistant that edits a real session. Written by the people who make monody.
- MCPAbleton MCP: every way to let an AI edit your Live setThe open-source ways to connect Claude, Cursor and other MCP clients to Ableton Live in 2026, how each one gets inside Live, what it needs, how undo behaves, and which one fits.1 October 2026 · 8 min read
- Ableton LiveAI in Ableton Live: what exists in 2026 and what it actually doesA sourced map of AI and Ableton Live as of October 2026. What Live ships (stem separation, MIDI tools), the Extensions SDK, Claude's Ableton connector, MCP bridges like ableton-mcp and Producer Pal, and third-party assistants.1 October 2026 · 6 min read
- MCPClaude for music production: what it can do in a DAW todayWhat Claude can do for producers in October 2026, in a plain chat, through Anthropic's music connectors, through MCP servers for Ableton, REAPER, Bitwig, Logic, Pro Tools and FL Studio, and in a DAW that is its own MCP server.1 October 2026 · 6 min read
- Mixing and masteringDoes Spotify turn quiet songs up? What its own page saysSpotify turns quiet masters up only as far as their peaks allow, with 1 dB of headroom. What that means for a dynamic master, what the Loud setting's limiter does, and when it's worth limiting a quiet track.1 October 2026 · 5 min read
- AI in music softwareFL Studio's Gopher: what it can do in your project, and what it can'tWhat Gopher can control in an FL Studio project since FL Studio 2026, how its Approve/Deny step works, how to open it, and what it doesn't list yet.1 October 2026 · 5 min read
- AI in music softwareFour requests, one real session: what monody's assistant changed and how long it tookA bassline, a darker sound, chords and a melody, asked in plain words in a real monody session. The exact prompts, every change, the times, and how to undo it.1 October 2026 · 5 min read
- Mixing and masteringHow loud should your master be? LUFS targets for Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and clubsWhat each platform says about loudness, with sources. Which numbers are published, which are only repeated by blogs, what normalization does to a loud master, and what true peak to aim for.1 October 2026 · 6 min read
- Finishing tracksHow to finish a track: a checklist from loop to releaseA practical checklist for getting a track from a loop to a finished file, in five phases (arrange, balance, loudness, export, decide), with what "done" means at each step and how to stop polishing.1 October 2026 · 4 min read
- Ableton LiveHow to send an Ableton project to someone (so it opens with every sound)Collect All and Save, what to zip, what to do about plugins the other person doesn't have, Live version mismatches, and when to send stems instead. With Ableton's own instructions.1 October 2026 · 4 min read
- Mixing and masteringKick and bass clashing? Find the octave and the bars where it happensWhy kick and bass mask each other, how to find the exact octave and the bars where they collide, and fixes that only act there (EQ carving, dynamic EQ, ducking, arrangement, tuning the kick).1 October 2026 · 5 min read
- AI in music softwareLogic Pro's AI features, explained: Session Players, Stem Splitter, Mastering Assistant, Chord IDWhat each of Logic Pro's AI features does, when Apple added it, what it needs, and its limits. Plus whether Logic has a chat assistant that edits your project.1 October 2026 · 5 min read
- Ableton LiveMove an Ableton project to Logic, FL Studio, Reaper, Cubase or Bitwig: what carries overHow to take a Live Set into another DAW. The stems-and-MIDI route that works everywhere, with Ableton's own export settings, which DAWs open .als files directly, where DAWproject stands, and the converter tools.1 October 2026 · 5 min read
- Mixing and masteringMuddy mix? Check each track's share before you reach for EQWhat "mud" usually is, how to find which tracks cause it (by register, by octave, in mono), and the fixes that work, from arrangement and voicing to high-pass filters and EQ cuts, plus when the real problem is level.1 October 2026 · 4 min read
- Mixing and masteringStreaming master vs club master: how loud, and do you need two?There is no club loudness standard, and club systems don't normalize. What that means for how loud a club master should be, what Spotify does to a −8 LUFS master, and when two masters make sense.1 October 2026 · 4 min read
- Finishing tracksStuck in the 8-bar loop? How to tell, and six ways outWhy a great loop refuses to become a song, how to check whether your track really is one loop (with numbers, not vibes), and six practical ways to turn it into an arrangement.1 October 2026 · 4 min read
- AI in music softwareSuno Studio vs monody: making a song vs finishing yoursAn honest comparison. Suno Studio makes audio with Suno's model on a timeline; monody is a DAW whose assistant edits the notes, devices and automation in your own session. What each does well, and which fits what you want.1 October 2026 · 5 min read
- Mixing and masteringTrue peak vs sample peak: why −1 dBTP, and when −2 is saferWhat true peak measures that a sample-peak meter misses, why encoders and converters push peaks higher, what Spotify, EBU R128, AES and Apple recommend, and how to set a true-peak limiter.1 October 2026 · 5 min read
- Ableton LiveWhat is an .als file, and how do you open one without Ableton?An .als file is an Ableton Live Set. What's inside it, why "ALS to MP3" converters can't work, and the ways to open one without Ableton Live, with what each keeps and loses.1 October 2026 · 5 min read
- AI in music softwareWhat is an AI DAW? Four kinds, and which one edits your session“AI DAW” covers four very different products. Some make audio, some turn audio into notes, some edit your project, some add AI features to a classic DAW. What each kind does, with sources.1 October 2026 · 5 min read