Peter Duff on SoundBetter

I love making things sound good. Especially Pop-Punk and Indie Rock.

Peter Duff is a mixing engineer with decades of experience in music and audio. While he is well-versed in a wide variety of genres from folk to metal to hip-hop and works on all types of recordings, he currently specializes in making the recordings of DIY pop-punk and rock bands jump out of the speakers and come to life.

His background includes: learning under engineers Brian Reeves (U2, Billy Idol, Miley Cyrus) and Dan Viafore (Olivia Rodrigo, Bastille, NBC’s The Voice) at The Jungle Room in Los Angeles, owning and operating The Grey Brick Recording Studio in San Diego (2014-2020), playing and touring with Hard to Hit (a pop-punk band signed to Manic Kat Records), and a degree in music and recording from Cal Poly Pomona.

Peter has worked on countless songs and helped his clients achieve successes such as a grand prize from the John Lennon Songwriting Competition, and Rock Song of the Year from Akademia Music Awards. In addition, Peter has also mixed and composed for award winning podcasts and documentaries such as Drilled, The Minimalists, and Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things.

Peter primarily works out of his private studio in Atlanta, but is also available to travel for work or to engineer at other studios in Atlanta.

Tell me about your project and how I can help, through the 'Contact' button above.

17 Reviews - 1 Repeat Client

Endorse Peter Duff

by Halcyon C.
Verified
Second time working with Peter and the results were excellent, as expected. Truly a highly skilled professional, highly recommend to anyone looking to take their mix to the next level.
by Halcyon C.
Verified
We worked with Peter on mixing and mastering our new single and he knocked it out of the park - this is an engineer who knows his stuff and cares about his work product. The first mix Peter sent us was already release ready and better than what we thought the song could sound like, but Peter sent above and beyond to make sure we loved it by incorporating every single small note we had. We will definitely be working with Peter again on future releases and highly recommend his services!
by Smooth Brain
Peter is the best! High quality work, timely responses, thorough, detail-oriented, professional ... if there's a positive adjective, it describes Peter!
by Freeman Mastering
Peter is the real deal! I had the pleasure of mastering one of his recent mixes and WOW was it a strong mix. He made my job easy and was clear and communicative every step of way. If you make rock/indie/pop punk Peter is the guy to work with!
by dollsnake deluxe
This guy is a magician. Peter was the first professional I ever worked with and he did not disappoint. I worked with him on my to-be-dropped dollsnake deluxe solo project and he kept the integrity of my original ideas and enhanced them.
by Venessa
Peter is an incredibly talented and gifted engineer! He worked tirelessly to help me with my first song, and it turned out so wonderful. But above all, Peter is incredibly kind, patient, and willing to answer any question I had (and I had many). I am so happy to have collaborated with him and can't wait to do so with my next songs!
by Dave U.
Peter is an excellent mix engineer and in addition to his technical abilities, I think his "edge" is boosted by:

* A sense of musicality - Peter is able to understand the music as a whole and not just as a collection of tracks to be treated separately and then just combined. When listening to his mixes, you can hear how his background as a musician and producer influence his approach.

* A refreshing humility and a strong drive for excellence - Peter is extremely easy to work with and is always wanting to make improvements. A winning combination for success!
by Tristan
Fantastic Work Every time!! Iv'e come back to Peter Countless times for all of my Mixing/Mastering needs!! Professional Studio, Gear, and Most Importantly Ear!! His Studio is a fantastic outlet for creativity, comfortable and artistic. Do your self a favor and make your music sound as good as it gets!! ;)
by Jake
Coming from a “pop punk” sort of view, if you want your songs to hit hard and sound extra punchy, Peter does such an amazing job really bringing your tracks to life.
From heavy hitting breakdowns to smooth ambience or punchy grooves, Peters work with Lineup Rookie and Hard To Hit really showcase his skills. From distorted heavy madness to a clean and crisp sound, this guy is your ticket to making your music sound professional and fun, while still keeping your vision alive and well.
by Neil
Bassist here. So naturally I think one marker of a good mix vs a great mix is the bass blend. Bassists want to be heard, but everyone else is like "...ok but just a little." Peter finds that sweet spot of a great bass tone that fills a low end of a mix while also blending the sound with the track so it suits the song.

Stepping outside of just bass, Peter brings songs together. He has a deep knowledge across many genres and has made impressive mixes anywhere from metal to folk. I strongly recommend checking Peter out for any mixing needs as well as tracking if you're looking for that too.
by Jon
Plain and simple, Peter Duff is a godsend in smoothing out any type of project you may have, from pop indie to metal. I have made two records with him in the funk/soul category and he did the perfect job at very reasonable rates. If you need anything mixed, do not hesitate to reach out to him. He’s a fantastic person and an even better mixer!
by Brett K
When it comes to mixing and production, Peter is in a league of his own. He makes the recording process feel effortless and fun. Most importantly, his mixes sound impeccable- he could make a piece of crap sound like a grammy winner. I have worked in the music industry for over two decades and have yet to find another producer like Peter.
by Blake Imperl
World class mixing and mastering - honestly it doesn't get better than working with Peter. He's a true professional and makes the process fun and enjoyable from start to finish. I've got nothing but compliments from people on how GREAT my tracks sound after Peter finished mixing and mastering them. Do yourself a favor and work with Peter!
by Andrew Nelson (Enc-13)
Great mixes and masters and great gear. He's nice and always willing tow or with the person on what they're going for. The studio is clean and very professional looking. Love the grey brick recording studio!!!
by Pierce Watkins
I’ve been working with Peter on music production for years and have had nothing but good experiences. He’s an incredibly talented engineer and all around musician which makes it easy to know that I can turn to him when I’m struggling with an idea I have and know that he’ll help bring the vision to life and then execute it perfectly. He also takes as much pride in his work as the musician creating the music so you can always count on him to do his absolute best to fix any mistakes you make (or at least I make a ton) and then give the song a really amazing mix and master to cap it of. 10/10
by Alex Lievanos
Peter is one of the best producers I've worked with on my debut EP. He can make a bedroom recording (which is literally what I did to track guitars through my amp) sound professional! He makes sure that you are more than happy with your work and I'm really glad I chose to work with him. Everything is really laid back and his rates are affordable for what you get! Even if you're not happy with your mix (which you won't have to worry about since he nails it every time), he'll be happy to revise and fix whatever needs to be done! I highly recommend him and can't wait to work with him more!
by Cotee
Peter was great to work with. He took care of the mixing and mastering of my band’s entire E.P. All of my revisions for the final mixes were met with great attitude and efficiency. Would recommend for anyone looking for a professional audio engineer to help with your project.

Interview with Peter Duff

Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Listen to the engineer's work. That should be your #1 determining factor. Have a conversation with engineers about your project to see if they share your vision. Make sure you find someone who will be reliable and organized. You get what you pay for.
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I have been a full-time audio engineer and music producer since 2014, but I started recording and producing bands and singer-songwriters in 2009. I got started with trombone and saxophone in school bands in the Sacramento area where I grew up. After falling in love with electric guitar in middle school and playing in rock bands during high school, I decided to pursue music professionally and moved to Southern California to study Music Industry at Cal Poly Pomona. During my time in college I got additional experience interning at a studio in Burbank under Brian Reeves (U2, Billy Idol, Miley Cyrus) and Dan Viafore (Sam Smith, Bastille, NBC’s The Voice.)
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Know what you're trying to accomplish, and what you want it to sound like, before you EQ, compress, balance, pan, effect, etc. Do things intentionally and make sure you're using the right tool for the right job.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: I work on a wide range of genres, rather than focusing in on a specific genre, because I love variety and I find I'm most creative when I'm trying new things. I've worked on everything from folk to metal-core to hip-hop to electronic, all of which have taught me things that have been applicable to other genres. However, my main passion and strength lies in working with bands and singer-songwriters, so I no longer work on hip-hop or electronic music. Most of my projects these days are rock, pop-punk, indie rock, indie-pop, metal-core, post-hardcore, blues, funk, country, singer-songwriter, and folk.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: I start a mix by making sure everything is edited and organized the way I want it to be. I like to take care of all those kinds of more technical tasks before getting into the more creative work. Then I'll get a rough balance of the song going using only faders and pan, this rough balance gives me the context in which to make all the mix decisions. Once the rough balance is established I will do some basic work on the mix bus and/or sub group buses. This lets me address big picture things across the board, and also sets up things like compression and tape and console emulation which will give the song some initial vibe and start creating some character. Then I'll do what I call my "instinctive mix." In this step I will work on whatever tracks/instruments are sticking out to me most as needing work. This helps me get the big stuff taken care of early in the process before getting into too many details. At this point I'll normally compare to some references to make sure I'm on the right track. Once I have most big picture stuff working well I will work through each individual track left to right in the session to fine tune everything. Once that is done I will listen back and make notes of things that I hear that need to be addressed and do a little more general mixing. Then I move into the fine details of lots of automation, adding additional effects, working on transitions, etc. Then I'll do another round or two of listening and making notes. Then once I've address all those things I'll send the mix to the client and make revisions based on their feedback if needed.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I believe the most important part of a mix engineer's setup is monitoring - monitoring that provides an accurate representation of the music and monitoring taste and ears. I use three pairs of monitors in my studio as well as headphones, my main monitors are Adam A7Xs, in addition I use Avantone Mix Cubes for focusing in on the midrange, and Mackie MR8-MK2s, which were the monitors I started on, for a different perspective on the low end. My workspace is a large, well treated room, in which the monitors sound great. I work in Pro Tools and use a Universal Audio Apollo as my interface which sounds great. I use some of the highest quality plugins available from UAD, Waves, Slate Digital, FabFilter, and more. While I do mix "in-the-box" (aside from the occasional outboard compressor or EQ,) the majority of the plugins I use are modelled on classic analog hardware. I use amazing virtual tape and console emulation to achieve the warmth, saturation, and body associated with an analog mix. In addition to mixing my studio is also equipped for tracking, complete with a top-of-the-line booth from VocalBooth.com , which means I can really turn up when I'm reamping guitars through my tube amps and pedals.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: Most of my work is mixing and tracking bands and singer-songwriters.