Remote Mixing & Mastering

Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A: Younger customers ask if they will sound like Metallica, for example. I honestly answer, no. Metallica is Metallica. And you are you. Experienced customers just take the guitars and start their rock.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I think that the main thing is to catch the mood of the song. The mix should emphasize the mood of the song.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: First of all, I offer my clients to carefully edit a song if it is really necessary, of course. I'm sure attention to music performance is 80% of success. The mixing process is a reward for me after a tedious but necessary work to prepare songs for mixing.

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

A: It's amazing how tuneful and excellent the recording of AC/DС's Back in Black album is. As if it was recorded just yesterday. I can say the same about Queen, Pink Floyd, Def Lepard, and others. The best modern work is always based on the experience of the predecessors.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have a ProTools HD system. I also have Focusrite ISA 828, pair Universal Audio LA 610. Transformer based summing mixer. A pair of audio monitors "Tannoy Reveal 5 A" provide clear sound to me and a clear understanding of the process of mixing and mastering.

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?

A: There is a song of Metal Force, called Deceit on my Sound Cloud profile. Those guys are strong musicians, and they sound great, and my role was to hear it right and keep their sound in the mix. I worked on the recording of their song from A to Z, from recording to mastering, and everything that is included in the process. Although, back then, I had the equipment of a lower class.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I have a few minor projects, mostly mixing. I also received some requests to make music for karaoke, replicating the existing tracks. Recently, I've been working with a lot of rap and hip-hop artists. However, I am almost always involved with live music mixing and mastering (classic rock, heavy metal, etc).

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital technology is a very big step forward but the presence of analog components in the mix brings an element of magic.

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

A: I guarantee that I will make every effort to achieve the best quality. I like to be proud of my work.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Most of all I love when my mixes reach a wider audience and people like it.

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

A: The most important thing is to learn to listen to your music as if from outside. The most difficult obstacle is the so-called author's jealousy. It bothers you to treat your music simply. I know it because I made the mixing of my band.

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

A: The biggest misconception about what I do is when people expect that a sound engineer will fix the recording and make it sound awesomely with the POOR quality of the original recording. The sound engineer can improve it greatly to the utmost of their ability (and the equipment they use) but if the initial quality is bad, there are not many things to be done. One can't expect a poorly recorded song sound like Aerosmith, for instance.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What generation of Protools did you use to record your songs?

Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?

A: Funny question. It is necessary to survive on a desert island. I think I would take a fishing rod and something to make a fire. I think so... Anyone would expect me to take a mixing console?

Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?

A: I would like to work with such artists as Lemmy Kilmister, Ozzy Osbourne, AC/DC because I'm sure they could teach me something new. It's always interesting to watch the work of a genius.

Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

A: I usually work with live music. Live drums, live guitars, live vocals. Rock bands playing both old school and quite brutal music are more than half of the projects I work on. There are also bands among my customers playing soft and moderate music. The laws of sound and balance are the same for all genres.

Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?

A: At first, I was not quite satisfied with recordings of my band's first albums. Besides, it was pretty expensive. As a result, I bought professional equipment and recorded several albums of my band. After that, other musicians started to turn to me to record their music. This has been going on for 20 years.

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

A: I provide both mixing and mastering as well as editing, vocal tuning, and I have all the necessary high-quality tube amplifiers and mics for the guitar and bass reamping. Sometimes I'm asked to help with backing vocals.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My strongest skill is the ability to listen to music and musicians.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I work without fuss, that's why my work is quality.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: According to my experience, 80% of the success of the future song is: - A good musical idea, the very several main notes, and the rhythm that captures your attention. - The competent musical arrangement that conveys your good idea. - A good musical performance on good equipment that allows every band to have a powerful sound. - well-recorded stems. The rest 20% is mixing and mastering.

Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?

A: Not yet.