Mix/Engineer/Mastering

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm working on my final album, and a couple projects for my artists. Also working on a demo project for a client

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I'm an analog guy, but I'd admit that analog's distortions, speed variations, and noise/hiss make it less by-the-numbers accurate, but digital sound can be cold, hard, and uninviting. So on one hand you might say analog's distortions are part of its appeal, but if that was all there was to it, why do so many analog lovers like higher-resolution (96-kHz/24-bit or SACD) digital, more than CD-quality digital? I think high-resolution digital goes a long way toward eliminating most of the problems I hear with CDs. It's just that there's very, very little newly released high-resolution digital music to choose from (most SACD and DVD-A titles are back-catalog releases).

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

A: The only 'promise' I give to my clients is I will try my best to help them achieve the sound they are looking for.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: The idea that I get to be surrounded by music. Music is an art, and I love all genres of music.

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

A: Do you enjoy your work? My answer would be, as with any job, it has it's days. I enjoy being my own boss, and helping other artists.

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

A: Most engineers are accused of using plug-in presets. While it is the norm to use presets, presets are a good start for an engineer to find the right sound he's/she's looking for.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: How long did it take you to work on this project? (Sometimes, time spent on a song, tells me how easy, or how hard my job will be)

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

A: Don't be afraid to tell me what you want and don't be afraid to take my constructive criticism. I want the BEST result for you, and I will also give my input to help you achieve that. But at the end of the day, you are hiring me, which makes YOU my boss. The final result will be what you requested.

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

A: MacBook Pro, Mic, MicStand, HeadPhones, iPhone (for lyrics)

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

A: My career path was to be CEO of my own label. I have been doing this for 16 years

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Humble and laid back. Stress free

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

A: Michael Jackson, because our creative juices would be immaculate.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: NEVER use TOO MUCH compression. Vocals will spike

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

A: R&B/Pop/Hip-Hop

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Songwriting

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring my strong creativity, and my sense of being a perfectionist. I will not stop working on the song until it goes through my ears and my other sound engineers.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I sit back and analyze the entire song, from every note sang, to every instrumental used in the song. I always start with the vocals and focus on EQ, Compression, and De-Ess.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: PreSonus Studio Monitors, Saffire, Pro Tools 12, Logic Pro X, Waves Certification Bundle, iZotope Nectar 2, iZotope Nectar Ozone 6, Saffire MixControl, WaveLab LE8, Adobe Audition CC 14

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

A: Biggest inspiration was/is Michael Jackson. I'm big into the old school scene of music ( The Beatles, Elvis, Marvin Gaye, Boyz II Men, Jimi Hendrix etc)

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

A: Mostly mixing and mastering