Music Mixing and Production

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: A local indie band called Brixton, a few EDM tracks from Eastern Europe and a couple of local artists I'm developing.

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

A: To work hard and do my best with every song or project.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I get to play with music all day, everyday.

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

A: Macbook Pro, UAD Apollo, SM57, Sennheiser HD650 headphones and the largest cup of iced coffee ever.

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

A: Mark Needham. The guy taught me everything I know about mixing. Will Brierre. He crushes. Jeff Ellis. He also crushes.

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

A: Q: What's your rate? A: Depends!

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Emotional intelligence. I'm good a bringing out the emotion and intensity of a track.

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

A: A few years ago I got to work on a yet unreleased Fleetwood Mac album as an engineer with Mark Needham. It was by far one of the coolest experiences of my life, and I learned so much working on the sessions.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Much like the answer to the age old adage of 'pie or ice cream?' the answer is undoubtedly both. I have tons of great outboard mic pre's, compressors and eq's. I love to use these when I track a project. Due to budgetary constraints for most modern productions I do most of my mixing strictly in the box, where I can work most efficiently. However if the client has the wish to do an analog, large format console mix I have excellent relationships with the best studios in LA and can definitely make that happen.

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

A: I can't make a really bad song great, even with a fantastic mix. I can certainly polish it, but arrangement and editing go a long way in making a great mix.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What is your goal for the project? Who is your target audience? Is there any additional editing (time alignment, vocal tuning, multi-track editing) needed or is the project ready to mix? Do you have a demo or reference mix? What format are your files in? Do you have stems? Multi-track files? Pro Tools Sessions?

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

A: It started with a Pro Tools based studio in my parents basement as a kid. Professionally, I came up through the historic Eastwest Studios in Hollywood, CA and spent five years working on staff as an engineer. While there I learned at the feet of the masters and forged my own style. I was constantly learning from the best artists, engineers, mixers and producers spanning nearly every genre and style. While there I met veteran mixer/producer Mark Needham, with whom I went on to work closely with for several years before opening my own mix room in Griffith Park, Los Angeles CA. Mark and I now have our studios in the same complex and frequently collaborate on projects and mixes.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Agro-Zen

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Less is more.

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

A: Rock/Pop, Alternative, Indie, Electronic, EDM and Metal

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I like to mix early in the morning when my ears are fresh and the world is quiet. Frequent ear breaks and walks in the park help me keep it fresh and exciting.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have my own private studio space located in Griffith Park. It's very comfortable, private, has gorgeous windows with tree views and is close to Hollywood. Pro Tools: Mac Pro Pro Tools 11 HDX Dual Slate Raven MTi 96io Apogee Rosetta for Master Clock and D/A for monitoring Plugins: UAD Waves Sound Toys McDSP Altiverb IK Multimedia Eventide Valhalla SPL Antares Melodyne Preamps and Gear: Neve 1081 (4) Daking Mic Pre (4) Manley Langevin Mic Pre (4) Daking 91579 Compressor (2) Urei Silverface 1176 Urei 1178 EAR 660 Limiter Furman Headphone Distrubution System Microphones: Sanken CU-41 (2) Sanken CMS7 Stereo Mic Heil PR20, PR30, PR40 Neumann TLM170 Audio Technica AT3060 Royer 121 Shure SM57s Shure SM58s Shure KSM313 Ribbon Shure Beta 91 Manley Gold Ref Tube Mics (2) Amps: 1977 Marshall JMP 1965 Vox AC50 Head 1964 Fender Deluxe Orange Rocketverb 50 Fender Super Champ Tone King Meteor 20 Magnetone Fender Deville Ampeg Micro VR Stack

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

A: Mixing and production.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Fresh perspective and a decade of experience learning from top industry pro's.