Aaron Bastinelli

Indie Pop Mixing Engineer

starstarstarstarstar
10 Reviews (6 Verified)
Aaron Bastinelli on SoundBetter

Having the experience of working with over 1,500 bands internationally, including U2, Marky Ramone and Tune Yards, I have developed a unique skill set that allows me to understand what you as an artist need for your song to succeed. Let me bring my love of music, knowledge, and A list client experience to your song so we can push the emotion and intensity of your mixes! See credits below.

With over a decade of studio experience, Aaron Bastinelli has traveled the world working with over 1500 international artists and worked on staff at several famous New York City studios (Downtown Music Studios, Converse Rubber Tracks, Reservoir Studios). Aaron prides himself on pushing the emotional aspect of every song he works on and is currently based out of Fun Sound Studio in Brooklyn, NY. He has had the pleasure of working with many well known artists, including U2, Marky Ramone, Grandmaster Flash, Matt and Kim, The Roots, Foster The People, Kaki King, The Hold Steady, Vacationer, The Suffers, Lettuce, Tune-Yards, and Noah Cyrus.

Contact me through the green button above and let's get to work.

Credits

AllMusic verified credits for Aaron Bastinelli
  • Beechwood
  • Beechwood
  • Lorenzo Wolff
  • Maggie Rogers
  • Maggie Rogers
  • Daddy Issues
  • Har Mar Superstar
  • Mirror Travel
  • The Suffers
  • Hollis Brown
  • Talib Kweli
  • Vacationer
  • Vacationer
  • Beast Patrol
  • Beast Patrol
  • Ben Hopkins
  • Ben Hopkins
  • Ill Doots
  • Ben Hopkins
  • Bent Knee
  • Ghost Wolves
  • Electric Palace
  • Ben Hopkins
  • Lynette Williams
  • Lynette Williams
  • Karikatura
  • Kristoff Waltz

10 Reviews

Endorse Aaron Bastinelli
  1. Review by Cory C.
    starstarstarstarstar
    check_circleVerified

    Aaron did a phenomenal job. Before he even began mixing, he took the time to listen to similar artists and get himself in the right headspace to really bring my vision to life. His mix truly brought out the best in my song. He also wasn't afraid to do what was best for the song, even when it was a little different than what I thought I wanted in the moment. Lastly, he's a super nice guy. 10/10 would recommend!!

  2. Review by Timothy M.
    starstarstarstarstar
    check_circleVerified

    Aaron was responsive, direct, and so accomodating to the suggestions I had to solidify the mix. His attention to detail exceeded my expectations and his friendly demeanor made it that much more of an enjoyable experience!

  3. Review by Danny I.
    starstarstarstarstar
    check_circleVerified

    Aaron was incredibly professional, intelligent, creative and generous throughout the entire mixing process. He took our song to a new sonic level and was very patient and open to feedback. Working with him was a pleasure, and we'd definitely do it again.

  4. Review by Gary P.
    starstarstarstarstar
    check_circleVerified

    Aaron is a very patient mixing Engineer, He knows a lot about the genre and took our song to a next level.

  5. Review by This R.
    starstarstarstarstar
    check_circleVerified

    My first experience with SoundBetter is a fantastic one thanks to this guy right here! Throughout the mastering process, Aaron has been highly professional, efficient and responsive. Best part - he was more than willing to provide feedback on the mix before accepting the job (we eventually revisited and improved the mix based on his comments). As far as mastering goes, Aaron nailed it on the first attempt and we couldn't be happier with the end-product. 10/10 will work with him again!

  6. Review by Brandon K.
    starstarstarstarstar
    check_circleVerified

    Aaron is one of the best to work with. With a great understanding of music, it's very easy to communicate with him and achieve the sound you're looking for. His studio is amazing and the gear he works on is top-of-the-line. Honest and direct with his opinions but always willing to collaboratively accomplish what the producer had in mind while still being able to stamp his brand on it. It's a brand I love and hope to work with for ages to come.

  7. Review by Stephen W.
    starstarstarstarstar

    I'll get straight to the point: Aaron Bastinelli is an unbelievably talented mixing engineer and I would absolutely recommend his services to any artist, big or small, looking to take the sonic quality and production of their music to the next level. Aaron brings an infectious level of enthusiasm and positivity into the mixing process, but most importantly, he GETS IT. Aaron's ear for mixing and production is completely on point and I've frequently found myself exclaiming "That's IT!" after listening to a final mix. Give him a shot at mixing your next project, he's the real deal.

  8. Review by Timothy Emmerick
    starstarstarstarstar
    by Timothy Emmerick

    Aaron is genuine triple-threat talent. He can engineer, mix, and produce at the very highest level and does so without ego or pretense. I have worked with Aaron on numerous projects with several different bands and the recordings we made together are some of the best in my career. He’s incredibly well versed in all different flavors of pop music and would be my first call on anything from hardcore to bounce. Maybe the most important thing I can say is Aaron is just an awesome dude. He’s the guy you want in the room when you’re in an expensive studio trying to make the most of it.

  9. Review by Andrew Neesley
    starstarstarstarstar
    by Andrew Neesley

    I’ve worked with Aaron on multiple projects. He was an integral part of my record The Morning Bell by Jesus On The Mainline for Ropeadope Records.

    His knowledge and expertise of his craft are of the highest order.

    Aaron has the rare quality of fully investing in a project without sacrificing his honest and well-articulated opinion. I relied heavily on this expert opinion and his cool-tempered delivery made it easy to make tough calls.

    I recommended him without qualification.

  10. Review by Rob F
    starstarstarstarstar
    by Rob F

    Aaron is a fantastic engineer. He makes your musics sound huge. He is really creative, and he makes your stuff sound better than you could imagine it being. He is super responsive to client needs and very personable. Having worked at many studios with many engineers I can confidently say he is about the best there is to work with!

Interview with Aaron Bastinelli

  1. Q: What's your strongest skill?

  2. A: As a producer I'm very good at trimming the fat on songs and making the song the best it can be. As a mixer I'm very good at creating space and room, and making sections dynamically flow into each other.

  3. Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

  4. A: My studio was professionally designed by John Brandt and is flat down to 15hz! I have a comprehensive monitoring set up where I mainly use a pair of Adam S3H's and Amphion Two15's. The Amphions are tied to a pair of subs which allow me to monitor sub frequencies extremely well (also thanks to my rooms design!). I use a hybrid mixing set up where I mix mostly with in Pro Tools, but also use a variety of outboard gear including Distressors, 1176, SSL 4000 bus compressor, Crane Song STC-8, and lots of fun outboard reverbs and delays. One of my favorite outboard reverb units is a 1960's tube spring reverb unit that has such a cool sound. Outside of my mixing set up I have a ton of guitars, amplifiers, keyboards, and percussion items I use when producing. My keyboards include vintage pieces from Moog, Roland, and Yamaha. Two of my favorite pieces are a real NES that's been converted into a synthesizer which gives VERY authentic 8-bit sounds, and a Roland Juno-106 which is such a classic sound and fun synth to use. Originally I'm a guitar player, so I have some fantastic guitars and amps that I've curated over the years. I have several guitars including a custom 59' inspired strat, a 72' Pawn Shop, custom shop 51 Nocaster (Telecaster), as well as a custom franken-fender bass, and a 1959 reissued Les Paul with PAF pick ups. For amps I have a Fender Bassman, mid 70's Twin Reverb, handwired Vox AC-30, and Marshall.

  5. Q: What do you like most about your job?

  6. A: I love being able to emotionally impact listeners through music. It's a dream job being able to sit in my studio every day and work on art that I know will help to improve peoples lives.

  7. Q: Analog or digital and why?

  8. A: They're both tools! It's like asking if you prefer a hammer or a screw driver. There are benefits to both, and appropriate times to use them.

  9. Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?

  10. A: I promise to push myself and your song as far as I can go with it. I also promise to listen to what you want and your desires, and then do what is best for the song.

  11. Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?

  12. A: The number one thing that will make a mix great is having a great arrangement. So with that in mind a mix will only be as good as the song allows it to be. I've certainly worked some magic in the past, but the better the song the better the mix.

  13. Q: What do you bring to a song?

  14. A: People tend to hire me because I'm constantly searching to make my mixes more explosive and interesting. When your fans listen to your songs I want them to be affected by the emotion and impact of the song.

  15. Q: What's your typical work process?

  16. A: After having an in depth conversation with the artist and/or producer, receiving the files, and organizing my session I first push up all the faders and start getting a sense for the song and what elements inspire me. After that I push everything down and start building up the mix starting with the rhythm section. I start my focus on getting the rhythm and lead items to work together and feel good, that usually involves starting with the drums and building a foundation with that, the bass items, and vocals. From there I start to fill out other rhythm items and build around the groove and feel I've established. At that point it's all about adding the rest of the elements and keeping things feeling good and dynamic.

  17. Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

  18. A: I always like to know what their influence was for the song or songs we're working on. I often ask them to put together a Spotify playlist of the songs they were using as guides for the production, which helps me get into the same head space.

  19. Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

  20. A: Have your files cleaned up and organized, keep effects on that are crucial to the sound, but take off any unnecessary compression, EQ, or reverb/delays that can be easily recreated by your mix engineer. On top of that understand the time and effort that goes into mixing or producing a song!

  21. Q: How would you describe your style?

  22. A: Vibey, explosive, and interesting!

  23. Q: Can you share one music production tip?

  24. A: Less is more!

  25. Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?

  26. A: As a mixer I'm heavily influenced by Manny Marroquin and Serban Ghenea. As a producer I admire the work of Blake Mills and Kevin Parker.

  27. Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.

  28. A: My full time job as a freelancer centers around providing either mixing and editing work, or producing and artist development.

loading
play_arrowpause
skip_previous
skip_next
Watermelon Sugar (Cover) by Zable

I was the Producer and Mixing Engineer in this production

Terms Of Service

Turn around is usually with in the week files are received, though it depends on current work load. Projects are completed in the order they are received.

GenresSounds Like
  • Tame Impala
  • The 1975
  • CHVRCHES
Gear Highlights
  • ProTools 12 HD
  • Professionally designed room
  • Full range monitoring down to 15hz with Adam Audio S3H
  • Amphion Two15's
  • Stereo Rythmik Audio Subs
  • and Yamaha NS10's. Outboard gear by Universal Audio
  • API
  • Crane Song
  • Emperical Labs
  • and Lexicon.
More Photos