mixing engineer

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

A: Last semester, I produced three songs for a friend. Two were for his wife's podcast Samantics, and one was a song he had been personally writing. They all turned out excellent.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Writing some music of my own.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I prefer a hybrid workflow, and if I had any analog gear that's how I'd work. I developed most of my mixing skills on a SSL AWS 948 Delta, using it in a hybrid format where I have full control over the DAW as well as full analog channel control on the faders.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Listening to new music every day. There are so many talented artists out there yet to be discovered.

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

A: That we don't exist. When a lot of consumers listen to a song these days, they don't even think twice about what all went into making that song happen.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What their deadlines are, what they expect to hear from a mix, and what are at least 3 ways to contact them.

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

A: Ask for as many work samples as they are willing to give you.

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

A: A Macbook Pro (with Pro Tools, Logic Pro X, and Reason), a UA Arrow, a solar charging station, an SM7B, and a Fender HSS strat.

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

A: I applied at Valencia in 2014, was accepted in 2015, did what I could while working a full time job, and in 2016 I quit my job to be a full time student. I've hit some bumps along the way, but I'm almost done with my degree. As soon as I'm graduated, I'll be looking for internships at the local studios.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Articulate. I try not to get hung up on any one step, but I do make sure that I take my time and do it right.

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

A: Misha Mansoor. He's just such a huge inspiration to me, and I'd love to be able to collaborate with him on something.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: If your room hasn't been analyzed and treated to get it as flat as possible, you're doing yourself and your clients a disservice. Treatment panels are very easy and affordable to build, and a calibrated measurement mic can be found for under $100.

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

A: I've worked on a lot of hard rock, punk, and ska.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Balancing. I can listen to a raw song and hear almost instantly where the levels need to go before I touch any faders.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring several years of training in a high end professional studio from some of the best in the business, I bring a sense of creativity and musicianship having been a musician since a young age.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: For mixing, I'll start with an overall balance. I'll then start adding reverb where needed, and rebalance accordingly. Then I'll go through and do any processing that needs to be done. I'll do a pass focusing on dynamics, rebalance, and do another pass focusing on EQ. Then I'll do my automation passes. Finally I'll do a thorough double check to make sure it's all healthy signal with no clipping, and I'll send a bounce to the client. Revise if necessary, and if it all checks out the final mix goes to the client.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: It's your standard 10x11x8 bedroom, treated with panels I built myself (except the corner traps, which I bought from a friend who had them in his high end mastering suite). All early reflection points are treated, and the rear wall has a double wide closet with no doors that is filled with clothes and other soft items so that it acts as a giant bass trap. There's a 6" bass trap on the wall next to the closet, and the back corners have corner traps. Monitors are a pair of Event 20/20 BAS V3's on stands. Desk is pretty close to the front wall, and my LCD screen is mounted on the wall so that it doesn't interfere with my center channel. Desk is positioned so that it doesn't create any early reflection points. Interface is a Focusrite 2i2, which will be replaced soon with a UA Apollo Twin Duo USB. No control surfaces yet, just a trusty keyboard and mouse. There's a Yamaha P-115 digital piano on the left side of the room.

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

A: Misha Mansoor, Gramatik, Omnitica, Bob Katz, Matt Davis, Polyphia, Celldweller, Streetlight Manifesto

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

A: Most of what I've done have been at my college as a producer or engineer. I've produced and mixed for The Pariah Complex and for Travis Haar. I've been a recording engineer for several metal, punk, jazz, and hard rock bands.