Audio Mastering

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

A: very hard question as I take a lot of pride in each project ! if I have to pick a few : Rosalia with Raul Refree (Flamenco Pop nomitaded at the 2017 latin Grammy) We Pray from Dre Island X Popcaan for their message and the quality of their production, ANIMA, a south African/Cali pop band for the extreme care Tutty the producer took during the production. Earthkry - Survival Lp done with a very low overall budget under adverse conditions showing the determinations of those Jamaican artists that nothing can stop ! and the rest of the 3500+ projects i mastered thru my career

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: some Flamenco pop from Spain, produced by a Grammy Winner Producer, another Flamenco Project produced by uber talented Spanish producer Refree, some dancehall tunes from Jamaica, some black metal from Turkey, Cyprus and Germany, NYC Hiphop, French Hip Hop, Spanish HipHop, Mexican electronic music, Colombian electronic, Barbadian and Trini Soca, Spanish EDM and some US pop (this past week)

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

A: some people think mixing and mastering are the same... they are two very different process and most often done in two totally different studios by two totally different engineers.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I like to know what are their expectations as far as mastering goes, color, loudness, and which platform the song will be sold/streamed... deadlines are also important.

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

A: don't chose your engineer for the rate! chose her/his for things they have worked on that you enjoy listening to, then try with one song and study how the process is going as far as the engineer reactivity, communication, and the final results.

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

A: my speakers, my PC, my mastering console, my monitor controller and my Maselec EQ

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

A: I started at 14 deejaying, at 17 recording and 19 working as an assistant in a professional studio. since then music brought the food on my plate and more. some of my current project involve 20 years old working relationship. I opened my first commercial recording/mixing studio in Bordeaux France in 1997, during this time I was recording and mixing although often the client would ask me to also mastered since they were not happy with the results coming back from the surrounding mastering studios which i found strange at first but i accepted more and more ''mastering gigs'' in 2003 i moved to Barcelona Spain to open my first Mastering studio Hit Makers Mastering, which i ran very successfully , in fall of 2010 i decided to change of air and embarked on a lomg sailing trip after selling the biz, trip that brought me to MWorks mastering in Boston, when the studio had to relocated i was offered a room at Sterling Sound NYC in February 2016 where I stayed until june 2017, I now run Alex Psaroudakis Mastering located in Brooklyn NY USA.

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

A: there are a lot of very talented engineer i would be pleased to recommend on Sound Better for any given genre!

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: hybrid, best of both world, analog can do things that digital can't and digital can do things that analog can't period.

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

A: their products will be enhanced no matter what in the least amount of time! their Master won't be lower than most others releases and most often clearer and more punchy.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I interact with lovely people (most of the time) and spend my day listening to great music while helping others piece of art coming to life !

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

A: when and how much can i do it for ? : - as soon as possible depending of the deadline, singles can be done the same day, LP will take much longer to fit in the schedule. - how much depends on the scope of work.

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

A: anyone that really take pride in her/his product !

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: be aware when writing and arranging the song, emotions are often transmitted thru clarity and punch, do not stacks sounds on top of each other , chose wisely your instruments, make sure everyone is on time and plays the right note.

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

A: I work on a lot of different genre ranging from Reggae, Soca, Dancehall to pop, one day can be latin or NYC' HipHop, the next could be a German Death Metal or a Japanese trash metal Band, some others days sees Salsa, latin pop or Flamenco and Electro pop.... I specialize in making music sounds as best as it can !

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: understanding what the client want and giving it to them.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring life into music

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I like to get a few insights from the clients as far as their expectations for the final products I then listen to the mixes a few time to chose the best approach and then do a couple pass, after the Producer/artist/A&R/mixer have given their feedbacks I move on with the final master.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: for my new room in Brooklyn NY I chose state of the art brands that I trust for decades, my console includes Dangerous Music Mastering transfer Console, Maselec MEA-2 EQ, Maselec MLA-2 Compressor, Dangerous Music Bax EQ, Dangerous Music Compressor, Mytek Brooklyn AD, DA, Dangerous Music Custom Monitor, Grace Design headphone Preamp, Eggleston Works Rosa full range speakers, McIntosh MC252 class A amp, twin Velodynes 12'' subs, Samplitude ProX3, UAD and the rest of the usual suspects Plugins.

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

A: I was inspired by mastering legends like Greg Calbi, Tom Coyne, Ted Jensen, Doug Sax, Bob Ludwig, Bernie Grundmann not only because they would offer the very best in the biz but also by the way they would approach a session with humor and kindness, I am very thankful and grateful to have been able to work alongside 3 of those special human beings while I was at Sterling Sound from beginning of 2016 until june 2017.

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

A: I bring life into their music, making sure it will translate everywhere perfectly while being clear punchy and loud

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: bringing life into music