Mix & Mastering Engineer

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

A: I have done the mixes and mastering of the artist called "Nader Hamid" from Spain. He is a fantastic and creative guy. The tracks' recording was not good at all as he did them in his home with glasses everywhere. It was kind of a "challange" for me and really enjoyed it. The artist also let me to use my creativity and very happy with the result. I still like his album when I listen to :)

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I have just finished the mixes of the artist called Gokhan Ozen... And need a few days rest :) After that, I have some ethnic/rock and alternative mixes and mastering.

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

A: Nope. I am new here :)

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both of them because both have goods and bads...

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

A: I guarantee the best possible sound always and have a very few complaints in my career about what I have created.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I like to be "in" the music... That is fantastic. It is like travelling in some other people's brain.

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

A: They mostly ask me "will it sound louder?" (especially for the mastering) and I say "don't worry, it will sound louder to the limit only it can take" :)

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

A: I think to be a mix & mastering engineer is hard but the best instead of being only a mixing engineer or mastering engineer. Because you can only know what will happen after the mix if you really know the mastering well... I believe that is the biggest misconception in the market.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I listen to them carefully instead of asking questions and if I understand what they want (and in most of the cases this happen), I do not need to ask them anything at all...

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

A: They need to check the works of the engineer and must analyze him well.

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

A: PMC MB2i, Yamaha NS10m, Summit EQF-100, Weiss EQ1, SPL DMC...

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

A: I had a rock band and playing keyboards and released an album on 1993. With that album, we had supported Bon Jovi in a stadium concert in Istanbul and that was fun :) I was the engineer while we were recording our album and have decided to study in UK. I have finished and get the HND on Newcastle College, Music Production (1995 - 1997). Then I have returned my country back and formed Sari Ev Music Production. I have then worked on most of the top projects in my country as a mixing & mastering engineer / producer... And still doing the same job :) Upsss, neary 20 years passed...

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Musical...

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

A: I would love to work with the open minded and talented artists who trust their music and themselves...

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Do not kill the dynamics of the music (by using unnecessary compressors), instead use automation if needed...

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

A: I do mostly pop/dance/rock/alternative.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I think I can immediately hear a song's final version in my head when I hear it for the first time and have the ability to make that sound happen...

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I think for a mixing engineer to play an instrument is a must!..If you do not play an instrument as a mixing engineer, in most of the cases your mixes will be "boring" -or let's say too technical. If you are not a real pro mixing engineer and do not play any instrument (which means that your technical side is also not really good), then the result will be even worse. I play keyboards. I listen all kinds of "nice" music from classical to rock, ethnic to blues... This is also very important. If you do not listen to music enough, you can not improve yourself. I can say my mixes are "musical"...

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Mixing; I want to hear the "demo" (or rough mix) of the song so that I can get the idea of the artist. Then, I listen to it carefully and get some notes. After listening the song a few times, I always get an idea of what I can do for the song to improve it -and sometimes I suggest some ideas to the artist for improving the song... Mastering; I listen the mix. If I hear some big mistakes (generally it happens on the bottom end), I tell to the mixing engineer to correct some frequencies in the mix and then I master the song. If I feel like it is hard for the mixing engineer to correct it, then I want some stems of the mix (such as kick drum, bass, vocals, etc). Then I first correct the mix and after that I do the mastering which really helps to improve the final sound.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have optimized my room for mix & mastering. That really helps me while mixing as I can listen how it will sound after the mastering process which changes the balance of the instruments. For the monitoring, I use PMC MB2i with Bryston 7B amplification and Vovox Textura speaker cables, Yamaha NS10m with Bryston 3B and Avantone Active MixCubes. My mastering mixer (is also my volume controller on my mixes) is SPL DMC with the MasterBay2. My main outboard gear list; Summit EQF-100 x2, Manley Vari-Mu Mastering Version with T-Bar Modification, SPL Tube Vitalizer, Weiss EQ1, Waves L2 Hardware, Benchmark ADC1 and DAC1, DBX900 Series compressors & deessers, Orban EQ, TC 1210 Chorus/Flanger, Distressors with Brit Mode x2, Bricasti Reverb with controller, Protools HDX with Waves Mercury, Autotune, Revoice Pro, Oxford EQ, etc... All of my room's cables are made by Vovox and have the certificate from Vovox.

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

A: To be honest, I have worked in all kinds of projects from rock to pop, ethnic to hip-hop, jazz to EDM... I listen all kinds of music and that really helps me to focus on any genre and work in any project easily.