“It Just Falls Apart” – Mix Engineer Breaks Down Dynamic Grading
February 19, 2026
DYNAMIC GRADING – DYNAMICS PLUGIN FOR MIXING
One dynamics plugin for every track.
Dynamic Grading is a dynamics plugin for mixing that controls punch, body, and floor in one coherent model, so tracks and buses sit naturally in the mix without side effects.
A modern dynamics plugin designed for mixing tracks and buses.
14-day trial · iLok required
Already own Dynamic Grading? Download the latest version
Why mixing dynamics feels harder than it should
Traditional dynamics tools force you to translate musical intent into indirect parameters like threshold, ratio, and attack. That translation is where guesswork begins, especially when you’re trying to make tracks sit naturally in a mix.
Dynamic Grading removes that translation step. Instead of abstract controls, you work directly with punch, body, and floor, shaping different regions of a signal’s dynamics with clarity and intention. You see where dynamics happen and adjust them where they matter.
The result is faster, more confident mixing decisions on tracks and buses, without sacrificing control or versatility. Dynamic Grading isn’t another compressor. It’s a coherent dynamics model designed to keep you focused on sound, not settings.
A Walkthrough in 3 Minutes
Watch Dynamic Grading shape punch, body, and floor.
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Here’s how Dynamic Grading fits into real mixing workflows.
Dynamic Grading is a smart take on dynamics. I appreciate having proper manual control and a familiar curve display, but being able to work the middle as well as the top and bottom is what quietly sets it apart. It does take a bit of getting used to, but that’s often the sign of a tool worth learning.
If you don’t fancy stringing tonnes of plugins together to get what you want, or you’re ready to go into unchartered dynamic territory for that standout sound, Dynamic Grading 2 has you completely covered. HIT.
Even if you think you have a lot of dynamics plug-ins, this one is special. It’s modern, has a unique approach, and I’m putting it in my mix template.
The result is that you can very easily add more energy to a track, with very granular control. You can just as easily tame the transients or add density to a track. For stereo music mastering, where it’s sometimes not possible to revisit the mix, I found the results to be superb. Highly recommended!
This could well become the tool I reach for from now on to breathe new life into the over-compressed audio files I sometimes receive for mixing.
Dynamic Grading is unique in that it doesn’t act like anything else you have in your arsenal. The results are often unexpectedly provocative. Honestly, it’s just fun to play with it to see what happens.
This lets me approach a challenge in mixing in a way that I haven't been able to approach it before.
A Threefold Dynamics Engine
Dynamic Grading goes far beyond traditional dynamics processing by taking control of three distinct parts of the dynamic range, each serving a specific purpose.
Independently adjust compression or expansion ratios in the Punch, Body, and Floor of your signal for nuanced control.
Land A Punch
Think of it like a transient shaper. Make instruments more present and upfront, or push them farther away to create depth in your mix.
Get The Body In Shape
Here’s where a lot of the action happens. Apply compression or expansion to only the core dynamics of the sound, without affecting transient clarity.
Swipe The Floor
Make your mix shine and clean out unwanted noise. Or use this to increase or decrease reverb or room. It’s simple and almost like magic!
What Else Makes Dynamic Grading Different?
Dynamic Grading comes packed with features designed to achieve great sound and intuitive control without leaving you lost in a forest of knobs.
Dynamic Histograms
Stop guessing threshold and ratio values. Gain real-time visual insight into your audio’s dynamic range. View the input and output signals side by side to shape your sound intuitively.
Spectrum Control
The easy to use sidechain tilt filter guarantees natural-sounding results by properly accounting for the spectral balance of your audio. Our Magic Eye guides your way to the sweet spot.
Precision Timing
Achieve accurate and smooth dynamics with Auto-Lookahead and Natural Release Ballistics.
Multichannel Support
This is one of the few dynamics plugins offering support for multichannel audio formats like Atmos. Shape, mix and master everything from mono tracks to 3D Audio beds and masters up to 16 channels. All with continuously variable channel link.
Source Learn
Automatically detect a signal’s body range to jumpstart your workflow.
Try Dynamic Grading on your next mix
Hear how punch, body, and floor work together in one coherent dynamics model, on real tracks and buses.
14-day trial · iLok required
Already own Dynamic Grading? Download the latest version
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