What is Phantom?
Phantom is an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that gives AI coding assistants professional audio analysis tools. It runs locally on your machine and connects to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible assistant.
When connected, your AI assistant gains access to 17 audio analysis tools — spectral analysis, loudness measurement, dynamics profiling, stereo imaging, phase coherence, problem detection, stem separation, and reference comparison.
What does it actually do?
You talk to your AI assistant about audio. It calls Phantom’s tools to measure your files and returns results with interpretation.
You ask Claude:
Analyze the frequency balance of my vocal track at vocals.wav
Phantom returns:
Spectral Analysis Centroid: 2,847 Hz Rolloff: 8.2 kHz (95th percentile) Flatness: 0.0012 Contrast: 28.4 dB Dissonance: 0.23
Interpretation: Centroid at 2.8 kHz indicates a bright vocal — typical for pop/rock leads. Rolloff at 8.2 kHz suggests controlled high end without excessive air. Low flatness confirms tonal (not noisy) content.
Your assistant reads this data, understands what it means, and gives you actionable mixing advice based on actual measurements — not guesswork.
Who is it for?
- Audio engineers who want measurement-backed decisions during mixing and mastering
- Producers who want quick diagnostics on tracks without opening a metering plugin
- Musicians who want their AI assistant to understand audio technically, not just conversationally
What tools are available?
Phantom provides 17 tools organized by workflow stage:
Pre-mix analysis — Understand your material before touching faders:
- Spectral analysis (frequency balance, centroid, rolloff)
- Loudness measurement (LUFS, true peak, range)
- Dynamics profiling (RMS, crest factor, dynamic range)
- Phase coherence (per-band correlation, polarity)
- Problem detection (clipping, DC offset, sibilance, mud, resonances)
- Full diagnostic and batch diagnostic
During mixing — Make informed decisions while mixing:
- Stereo imaging (width, balance, mid/side ratio)
- Frequency masking analysis between stems
- Multi-stem masking comparison
- Phase comparison between sources
Mastering prep — Compare and match to targets:
- Compare against genre profiles (EDM, hip-hop, acoustic, etc.)
- A/B comparison against a reference track
- Automated spectral/loudness/width matching
Utilities:
- Stem separation (vocals, drums, bass, instruments via Demucs)
Pro tip
You don’t need to memorize tool names. Just describe what you want to know about your audio — your AI assistant picks the right tool.
How is it different from a plugin?
| Traditional plugins | Phantom |
|---|---|
| Visual meters you interpret | Numbers your AI reads and interprets for you |
| One track at a time | Batch analysis across 50 files |
| You decide what to measure | AI picks the right measurements for your question |
| Manual comparison workflow | Automated reference matching |
| Requires DAW open | Works from your terminal/editor |
Next steps
Ready to try it? Install Phantom and run your first analysis.
Want to see every tool in detail? Browse the tools reference.