John Pennington on SoundBetter

Mixing engineer with 40 years behind the desk, from Strawberry Studios under Martin Hannett to FOH for Moby, New Order, Run The Jewels, Robyn, Röyksopp and X Ambassadors. I mix records the way I mix shows: punchy, decisive and built to hold up on any system. Stereo and 5.1, recording, mixing and mastering. Based in the LA and the UK.

Pro Tools
Logic Pro
Ableton Live
Reason Suite
iZotope RX
Melodyne
Native Instruments Suite
Spectrasonics
Ample Sound guitar instruments

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Credits

Endorse John Pennington3 Reviews

by Brennan Haleski
John is a master of his craft. A pleasure to work with and be around!
by Roger Lyons
John is a great mixer! I’ve worked on shows and in the studio too. A great sculpted of sound, professional and very funny too. The type of chap you would want on your team
by Paul Wheatcroft
John was always great fun to work with and a real enthusiast who really knows his way around a studio. Recommended

Interview with John Pennington

Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: A Generator, a Midas Pro x, and Genlec self-powered speakers. Neumann U67 and a Chair.
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I started in Manchester in 1986 and was an assistant engineer for a year until I had the chance to work on my own session. After 5 years of recording some of the finest English artists, I went freelance and worked with many different artists in the live and studio domains. I worked with Moby from 1993 and stayed with him for 20 years. I now work with many other electronic and pop bands, in the studio and live.
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: U2, because they are always innovating and using new Tech. Plus, they have all the Money. :)
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I have a Behringer X32, Protools 25,
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: There are lots of Artists and musicians who inspire me. Mostly, the new EDM stuff is fun, but I also love the Traditional rock avenues, which involve Guitars and Real Vocals.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: Royksopp, New Album
Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?
A: nope
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Digital. Easier to Manipulate and less Connections to set up anywhere.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: Professionalism.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: the Product. and the Journey.
Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: How Long Will it take. As long as you want it to take.
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: Auto Tune will Sort it out...
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: What is the Budget?
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Look for someone Who has enough Experience in the Field You need.
Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: The Smiths "Queen Is Dead." Album It was part of my Formative Years as and Engineer. I was still learning but I learned All I needed from Working with them and Hearing the results of My work 25 years on and it still stands up.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: Organic but Powerful
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Go for feel not Tuning perfection. and Don't Record tracks too hot.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Electronic based rock pop.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Production. and Sonics.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: I bring Depth, Power and a sense of energy.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: I work up the songs in a rehearsal format and then I plan how I will record the song/s. then set up the drums to sound how we want, then we record with everyone playing together. (drums being the main focus but listening to the music and keeping what isn't rough.) then Work up the Backing track and then Vocals. then I'll go through and clean up (if I haven't already (While tracking)). then I'll mix. and listen back. then do a final mix.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: I have recently been Recording my clients Live Shows via My Midas FOH desk in Multitrack format into Protools and then Mixing them out to Stereo Audio Files and selling them at shows. producing a huge profit for the artist. (No record Company involvement.)