Mixing, Mastering, and Beats

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

A: Can you do the T-Pain effect on my voice and yes I can. That's become a commonplace effect.

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

A: I am very proud of the work I did on "How Ya Live" by Major Makk. That was the first song I released NOT as an artist and I produced, recorded, & mixed that record.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: The Sound Investment Recording Studio and Oshay Music Group, LLC.

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

A: Not at the moment

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both. They both serve their purpose. For example, analog sounds great for warmth, even if you're just running your bus mix through it but I would hate it I still had to edit on analog tape. Digital offers the convenience of Command-Z and access to more for less but more isn't always better. I like the option in my DAW to hide plug-ins that I don't use on a regular basis so that I'm not slowed down by "overchoice".

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

A: I promise to listen, seek to understand, and set clear expectations.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love the ability to bring to life what a client imagined their record to sound like. I love creating from scratch just using the ingredients of my imagination, software, & technology.

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

A: The biggest misconception about what I do is making the mistake is thinking that it's easy and anyone can do it.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: Within any personal or professional relationship transaction I first ask "what are your expectations". I believe that disappointment is the result of unmet expectations and my mother always told me that you make an @$$ of U and ME when you assume so to avoid disappointment and being an @$$, stating and understanding expectations clearly are paramount to any successful relationship

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

A: My only advice that I would have for anyone paying for a product or service, don't apologize for being assertive in clearly communicating what you want because no one can read minds :-)

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

A: Off the bat, I definitely would have to have my AT4047 mic, Sennheiser HD280 headphones, my UAD Apollo interface, my computer, and my hard drive. If I could add a 6th thing it would be a Neve 1073 preamp!

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

A: I went to school for Audio Engineering in undergrad at Temple University and then after grad school at SAE Institue of Technololgy. I began making beats right before I started at SAE in 2005 and it was only as a means to an end in that I wanted to be the best engineer in my class and I knew I needed to practice but I didn't have access to multi-track session so I started making my own beats so that I could practice mixing them. I freelanced for about 7 years and then in 2012 I began teaching Audio Production full time at a high school in town which allowed me the opportunity to further sharpen and reinforce my skill set by learning things so well that I could break it down and build it back to teach it to others. All in all I have been producing and engineering professionally for almost 15 years.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I would describe my style as a conservative version of "reconciled sequence". I developed this term because to reconcile means to "make up" or to cause things to come together and sequence simply meaning the order of something so when I'm producing I like to create a fusion of different types of sounds and bend them to my will or the will of the client and whatever they are looking for. When I mix I am to do as a little as possible and when you have a great record that is a lot easier to do. I don't think that just because you have access to every plug-in or hardware unit in the world you necessarily need to use it. I just apply as little of processing as needed to complement the record, not remake it.

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

A: I would love to work with Lecrae. I love how he has stretched and grown with his choice in sounds and his delivery in terms of content. I believe working with him would cause me to be stretched and subsequently grow as an engineer and producer.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: One tip that I really like is changing all my faders from unity gain to between -9 and -6dB as my starting point for my mix and treat that as my unity gain. Once I think I'm finished with my mix i bring all my faders up collectively and the result is usually better warmth and dynamics.

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

A: If I'm not being commissioned by a client for something specific I usually create hip-hop, r&b, and urban pop if I sit down at the computer, keyboard, and drum machine with a blank canvas.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My strongest skill when in the studio is the ability to make the drums and vocals both cut through the mix without fighting with each other for attention.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring myself to a song! I have taught audio production to high school students for 7 years so I believe that anyone can learn the technical side of things. But I bring my personal taste, instinct, and discernment combined with my technical expertise to make the song the best that it can be.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: When I'm mixing a record I typically listen to it in the car first to get a feel for it and make notes on my iPhone at red lights. I listen again once I'm back in the studio 1 more time before I dive in. I do basic edits and clean ups first to make sure there are no clicks or pops with any of the audio regions. Next I rearrange the order of the tracks to my liking and color code tracks. Once I have done that I add arrangement markers and begin doing a static mix, just adjusting faders and pan knobs. Once I have a good static mix I will begin applying processing with EQ and Compression along with Reverbs and Delays. Next I subgroup my tracks by rhythm, melody and harmony, and vocals. Lastly I apply any necessary automation. When I'm making beats I usually start by flipping through samples on my hard drive or playing around with patches on the keyboard. Once I get a good idea that I like I try to complete the 8 bar section for my hook first with all the instrumentation that will be in the song and then I build the arrangement for the rest of the song and strip away musical elements to create contrast and dynamics with the other song sections.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: When I am not tracking in 1 of the commercial studios that I have access to, I enjoy the modest setup of my home studio. Everything is within arms length reach. I mix primarily in the box in the home studio using thousands of dollars worth of plug-ins along with my UAD interface, Yamaha HS8 monitors, Maschine MK3, and my Komplete A25 MIDI keyboard. My studio is acoustically treated with bass traps, acoustic clouds, and acoustic wall panels that I designed and put up myself.

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

A: I draw a lot of inspiration from Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins and Ryan Leslie. I love both of their versatility and musicianship and ability to demonstrate excellence within any genre or with any client.

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

A: Most often I am making a beat, producing and recording client vocals, & mixing completed songs for clients.