MultiHub Forum

I'm producing a narrative podcast as a passion project, and while I've managed to get decent raw recordings, my audio mixing techniques are letting me down; my dialogue tracks sound thin and disconnected from the background ambiance and music, and my attempts at compression often make the speech sound unnaturally squashed or bring up too much room noise. I'm working in Reaper with a basic understanding of EQ, compression, and reverb, but I struggle to create a cohesive, professional-sounding space where all the elements sit together comfortably, especially when layering multiple sound effects. For podcasters or audio engineers, what is your fundamental processing chain for spoken word to achieve clarity and presence? How do you approach balancing levels between dialogue, music, and SFX so that everything is intelligible without constant manual riding, and are there any specific plugins or metering tools that helped you train your ears for better mixes?