Remote mixing and mastering

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

A: Mixing the debut album for my band Tripple Tree. It was damn tricky, with a singer who couldn't sing. That's why I am remastering, the guitarist and bass player took over lead vocals

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Remastering the debut album of my band Tripple Tree. That, and some live gigs in the Utrecht summer scene

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital - the analog emulations I use are expensive, too. I don't have the room and money for 20 acoustic drumkits - that's why they live inside my computer. Because I work in the digital domain, I can deliver at really low prices per mix - and fast, at that.

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

A: Your music will rock

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I make recordings shine in ways I didn't deem possible myself

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

A: Why is the mix so quiet? "It still needs mastering" Why is the mix so bland? "It still needs mastering" Why is mastering optional? "I like doing it, but I am limited in experience and ULTRA-EXPENSIVE gear"

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

A: Mixing is easy, anyone can do it. Mastering can be carried out by robots like LANDR.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What sound are you looking for (reference track)

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

A: Garbage in = Garbage out. Please, take care of a decent performance and record in-sync

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

A: Drums Computer Headphone All my plugins on a usb stick My never failing set of ears

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

A: Hey, I had quite other things at hand. This is a hobby gone dead serious :) Been mixing since 2011 (books, Youtube). Because my band's album needed proper mixing, I completed a full course in mixing in 2017

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Unconventional

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

A: The Prophets of Rage. Because I think Rock should be about strong messages. And because they are old, like me :)

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Used specialized plugins for vocals - otherwise, you will get lost with sub-par material

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

A: (Alternative/Indie) Rock

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: To add a strong live drumtrack if the original recording lacks one

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Punch and arrangement

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: First, get a great drum sound without compression on the buss Let the bass shine and cut through the drums. (subfiltering and amping) Then, find a place for all the instruments in the stereo mix, including (re-) amping Work on the vocals, for mid presence and air Finally, add necessary fx - and then, maybe, some more

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: ASUS i7: DAW = Acoustica Mixcraft 8 pro Studio Hybrid 7 piece e-drumkit (Roland, Alesis, Yamaha) running on Toontrack Superior Drummer 2.0 Many pro analog emulation plugins (from Plugin Alliance and other high end suppliers) KRK rokit 5 nearfield monitors AKG mkii K241 studio headphones Native Instruments Komplete 6 audio interface

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

A: Engineers: Andrew Sheps, David Pensado, Warren Huart, Matthew Weiss. Musicians: Stewart Copeland, Neil Peart, Les Claypool, Geddy Lee

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

A: Mixing and mastering multitracks