Von Hertzog on SoundBetter

I mix and master synthwave, darkwave, synthpop, electronic, and alternative records with weight, depth, and translation. Hybrid analog + digital workflow at The Social Club, with SSL summing and dedicated mastering capture. Send me your track and I’ll tell you what I hear.

I’m Von Hertzog, a mixing and mastering engineer at The Social Club in Pennsylvania, working remotely with artists and producers worldwide. I specialize in synthwave, darkwave, synthpop, electronic, and alternative music.

My approach combines precise digital control with analog SSL summing and dedicated Dangerous A-to-D capture. The gear supports the process, but the goal is always the record: more weight, clearer depth, better translation, and a finished sound without sanding off the character that made the production interesting.

I pay close attention to low-end control, vocal placement, width, dynamics, texture, and making dense arrangements feel bigger without becoming harsh or cloudy.

Mixing projects include a finished master, so you leave with a release-ready record. For mastering, send me your stereo mix, one or two references, and tell me what you feel is missing. I also offer stem-mastering, which utilizes the SSL Sigma to sum your master in analog, providing a more three-dimensional soundstage.

Not sure whether your track needs mixing or mastering? Send it over. I’ll tell you what I hear and recommend the right next step. I can also provide a short test master (60-second max sample) when appropriate so you can hear my approach on your own music before committing.

Send me a note through the contact button above.

Credits

Endorse Von Hertzog9 Reviews - 2 Repeat Clients

by Tom B.
Verified
Fantastic to work with once again!
by Dalton K.
Verified
There's no way to go wrong with Von from Social Club.
Great work as always.
Thanks for pitching the acapella and instrumental tracks, I'll definitely add them to the single as a bonus!
by Tom B.
Verified
Fantastic once again! Thanks for the great mastering service Von Hertzog!
by Tom B.
Verified
Fantastic to work with again, and a super high quality finished product. Von nailed the master on version 1 this time too, as he's picked up the style I'm looking for based on our previous jobs together - you can't really ask for more than that! Thank you for doing a great job :-)
by Tom B.
Verified
Excellent, as always! We got everything sorted by version 2 this time, the final track sounds incredible. Thanks!
by Dalton K.
Verified
Von was super professional and ultra responsive. Quickly replied to my initial request and to all back and forth inquiries during the process. The final result was great and the analog mojo really made the difference on the final mix. Will definitely reach out to Von and The Social Club studio before releasing any new track. Thanks Von! - Dalton
by Tom B.
Verified
Professionalism, quality of work and service were all excellent - 5 stars all round! I really enjoy working with Von Hertzog, and hope to do so again in the near future.
by Tom B.
Verified
Thank you so much for mastering my song Von Hertzog - you were a joy to work with! I'm so impressed with how it sounds, there's a real analogue thickness to it which is exactly what I was looking for. I really appreciate you taking on my crazy pitch shifting idea, and for being easy to communicate with throughout the process. Hopefully work with you again in the future! Thanks, Tom.
by liquidmodern
We were lucky enough to find Von Hertzog and The Social Club. He has mastered an EP and
single for us (and soon a full LP). He is our go-to guy to make the vision for our art come fully to life! He is kind, patient, and uber-talented.
Our favorite part about working with him is that he really cares about creating a final product that is technically and masterfully balanced but also one that we (the artists) are happy with.
His process is meticulous and creates a truly dynamic/smooth sound that sounds great no matter what system it's played on.
Look no further! Von is your guy!

Interview with Von Hertzog

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: What are you looking for the song to sound like? Do you have any references of tracks you really like as a baseline of what you're looking for? If so, I take those into account and start working.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I have a rack mounted Sweetwater Creation Station PC optimized just for the studio. I use Cubase Pro 10.5 for mixing and Wavelab Pro 9.5 for mastering duties. As for hardware, I use a Solid State Logic 2+ for preamps, monitoring is done via Drawmer controller, control surfaces are Console 1 and two Fader 1 modules. I map the Faders to control the Solid State Logic Sigma Summing Rack. That is where the magic happens. Outputting 32 channels from the Orion 32+ to the Sigma and returning a mixed 2 track is where it really comes together. Literally. For monitoring I use Amphion One18s paired with an Amphion Amp500, and a Dynaudio subwoofer. Secondary monitoring is Yamaha NS-10's with a Amphion Amp100 and an Polk 12" subwoofer. I also use a 1990 Panasonic Cassette Boom Box as a consumer grade reference. Finally I take a ride in the 5 to test on my Bang & Olufsen Sound System to listen for anything that fell between the cracks. This setup has served me amazingly well.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Use a frequency monitor! Make sure your sounds all fit without blowing out one frequency band. Try and make sure you used a nice balance of sounds.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: Fresh ears, a light hand on the faders, and an attention to detail. I don't gloss over a track, I put thought into the moves I make and why they're beneficial to the song.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: Chris Lord Alge is the mix engineer I admire most. I love how he manages to get a lot of volume out of his mixes without sacrificing dynamic range. I modeled my monitoring setup after him.
Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: I'm especially proud of my own two albums, Dearly Departed & Sincerely Yours. Dearly Departed was my first solo album which was also pressed onto 180g Limited Edition Vinyl. My second album which just came out May 2015, Sincerely Yours, has a Limited Edition Cassette Tape. Both albums were all written, performed, mixed and mastered by myself. If you want clean, clear music at the perfect volume, I'm you're engineer.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: I'm currently doing a few remixes for artists. I'm currently mixing & mastering songs for a few artists too.
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: I use plenty of digital plug-ins but for mixing, it always has to be Analog Summed. There is a magic that still exists in the Analog Realm that I like to tap into. Every song I do gets run through analogue gear/circuitry. It imparts a characteristic we've all grown to love but can't quite put a finger on.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: I will use all my equipment and experience to the best of my ability to get you the cleanest, clearest song around. I'll make it as loud as I can without losing quality or distorting. I won't push it into a territory where sound quality suffers, over here, sound quality is king!
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: SSL Sigma, Console 1, Antelope Orion 32+, Amphion One18s, Amphion Amp500
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: Every project is like a new puzzle. How can I get the best possible sound out of this song? To me it's fun to dig into a song and get to really flesh it out and help it become all it can be from a sonic standpoint.
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: That a computer plugin could do it for you. Mixing and mastering is an art and despite whatever new plug-ins are claiming, they're not able to make artistic decisions like a trained human ear can.
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: If you'd like me to mix your song, please have your stems ready. Ideally I like to mix with 32-bit 48khz stems, but if you have higher resolution I'll take it! If you're looking for me to master your song, please get it to me at a minimum of 24-bit or preferably 32-bit. Sample rate should be a minimum of 48khz, preferably up to 96khz.
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: My musical career path started in the mid 90's as a DJ. I began producing music in 1999 and continue to this day. I've been mixing and mastering since 1999 as well and that definitely took priority over DJing. Over the years I got a chance to work with platinum artists as a producer and mixing engineer.
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: Betamaxx. I think I could open his music up even more via mixing.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Synth based music or hip-hop have been my bread and butter.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: A highly trained ear for quality and space. It's taken a long time to train it, but they're working great for me right now.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: Once I get the song loaded into Cubase, I start will all the faders down and start bringing them up to make sure I don't overload the mastering buss. I get levels just about right in my first session. Then I usually step away and come back with fresh ears to see if anything stands out. If it does I rein it in and continue. Before long, I have a track ready to show to the client and start the rounds of feedback.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: I tend to find myself mixing and mastering more often than not. I have been known to provide sound design or soundtracks for video games and I also have a few feature length films under my belt. But mixing and mastering songs is typically the standard request.