Lucas ‘Luke’ Pimentel Achieves Accuracy and Impact with the Austrian Audio Composer

Grammy and Dove-nominated engineer on finding sonic consistency across genres and being inspired by tools

LOS ANGELES, CA, October 2, 2024 — Mastering engineer Lucas ‘Luke’ Pimentel has spent the past three decades building up an impressive body of work that spans nearly every genre of popular music worldwide. Lending his expertise to multi-platinum releases by artists such as Jeremy Riddle, Gabriela Rocha, Un Corazón, and Marcos Witt— his experience as a songwriter, musician, and recording engineer has informed a creative approach to mastering that enhances the impact and dynamics of every track that he works on. Luke’s mastering workflow is dependent on his choice of headphones, tools he chooses with care to ensure the proper balance of accuracy and emotional impact in his work. Seeking to maximize both of these, he has recently made the Austrian Audio Composer his new mastering headphones of choice.

"When I first heard the Austrian Audio Composer it was an immediate sense of — wow!" - Luke Pimentel

Diverse sounds and mastering for impact
The choice of precision tools for mastering engineers has become much more important in the stream era, as the diversity of popular music has blossomed and artists and engineers have begun to challenge status quo production techniques. For Luke, who finds himself at the center of all of this music, the key is not losing sight on what is most important — an impactful, emotional experience. “For me, it’s just finding that visceral thing that you have when you experience great music,” he explains. “I work in so many genres but it all has to come back to how all the elements work together to create that feeling.”

“Quality has also really improved with streaming audio now and there’s so much more detail and stereo low end that you can hear in these mixes,” he continues. “Given all of that, you cannot be underwhelming on the mastering job when delivering a product for people to listen to.”

Luke relies heavily on headphones in his mastering process to provide him with the critical information he needs to deliver an impactful track. Equating them to a magnifying glass, he uses them to zoom in on all the details that need fine-tuning. “It’s like giving the track an MRI — a surgical approach where you’re really just looking for all the problems,” he says. “You can’t afford to second-guess yourself on decisions when mastering — the right headphones should slap you in the face and tell you exactly what you should be doing. I’m very assertive as a mastering engineer and I’m always seeking the tools that empower me to be that way.”

“When I first heard the Austrian Audio Composer it was an immediate sense of — wow! It was an instant connection when it comes to what I’m always looking for in headphones, and I don’t say that lightly. I could immediately see how they would work for me.”

Inspiration, consistency, and extended low-end
Luke has cycled through dozens of popular models of open-backed headphones in his search for the perfect mastering tool that combines both the surgical precision he requires and the emotional impact that keeps him engaged in the music. With the Composer, he says he’s found both. “I’ve used so many different high end headphones over the years and the struggle is always that balance between the need for accuracy and consistency and the desire for something that sounds inspiring,” he says. “The Composer instantly had all of that — it allowed me to feel and be inspired by the sound, but I had total confidence that I was hearing every detail in the mix and would be able to deliver tracks that would consistently translate anywhere.”

One specific aspect of The Composer that caught Luke’s attention was its treatment of extended low-end. In a production environment where producers and artists are frequently pushing the lows even lower — something especially important in Modern Pop music which is constantly evolving to other genres landscape — having detailed, low-end accuracy is critical to his work. “We’re in a new era of the market where creatives are really exploring and breaking the rules regarding the bass and low frequencies in music,” he explains. “You can’t afford to miss those details and with closed-back headphones the sound pressure is too intense to ensure a good translation. You miss things.”

“What’s special about The Composer is that there isn’t anything else like this on the market that can deliver that extended low-end in terms of open-back headphones. The presentation and overall soundstage is all there, all of your frequencies are audible and accurate. It’s the closest thing I have to my speakers in my treated room and I’m incredibly happy with that.”

“The thing with most engineers is they’ll usually alternate between two or three sets of headphones on the desk to check different frequencies. I’ve never wanted to be that guy — I just want to be able to trust one set and make the right decisions from there. With The Composer, I don’t feel like I need to use any of my other headphones. It gives me that consistent response, and more importantly, it takes me to the point of inspiration where I can just flow.”

For more information about Luke Pimentel, please click here.

For more information about the Austrian Audio Composer, please click here.

About Austrian Audio

Austrian Audio opened its doors in 2017 following the closure of the AKG offices in Vienna and set out to create something new, challenging, and respectful to its heritage. The new company started with a core team of previous AKG personnel from management, acoustics, electronics, test and measurement, mechanical design, RF/wireless, and software/firmware, bringing 350 years of cumulative engineering experience to the new company.

For more information, visit austrian.audio.