Mixing and mastering

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Testing recording equipment constantly.

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

A: Why do you use so many mics? Drums are a bit self-explanatory. I use a lot of mics on guitars and bass for blending purposes. Sometimes a 3 mic setup can be overkill, but the option to take a mic away after the fact is always there.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: How do you want your recording to feel? Do you have any sonic inspirations to base the record off of?

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Sometimes, perfect takes aren't necessarily perfect and imperfect takes are exactly what the song needs. Don't be afraid of imperfect recordings.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My main converter is a Quantum running into a pair of Adam A7X's, a pair of Mixcubes, and a sub. My home setup is treated very nicely and my mobile setup is a pair of custom-molded in-ears. My tracking studio is setup with 32 channels using a Studiolive 16 and a Studiolive 32R. Mic collection includes 421's, R121, wa87(modded), wa84s, Telefunken M80s, 906's, and is always growing.

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

A: I promise not to sample your drums.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I like to help people express themselves through their art.

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

A: "Fix it in the mix" You want to be mixing, not fixing.

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

A: Some of the best recordings have limitations. Assuming I have my computer, I would bring a 4 channel interface with 4 mics. The 4 mics being, 2 U87, R121, 414,

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Colossal

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Comprehension

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

A: Jerry Finn, James Whitten, Ryan Hewitt, Ryan Green, Bill Stevenson.

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

A: Tracking, Mixing, and Mastering. This involves live tracking or isolated tracking. Depending on how the customer prefers to work.

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

A: Gil Sharone. He has an incredible ear and style. One of the most versatile, knowledgeable, and genuine musicians to grace a studio.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Listen to what the artist wants, and then start building the foundation of the track based on that feeling.

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

A: Christworm - Breeding Weakness Tracking Engineer, Mix Engineer, and Mastering Engineer. This record came together so quickly and was so fun to record. It's only two people and they tracked the entire thing live. Vocals were done in a closet. I think the outcome was incredible.

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

A: If you are looking for Digital amp sounds and drum replacement, I am not your guy.

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

A: I've been recording myself since I was about 13, that was 2006. I started making videos in High School and eventually started a band. That band led the way for my development as an engineer. I had to teach myself how to run our sound and how to record with what little equipment we could scrape up. Eventually, the band started making enough money to get a Studiolive 16.4.2 and that was the piece of equipment that caused me to become a live sound engineer at the local dive bars. I did that for a few years until leaving for a small studio with no pay. Once I moved to Baton Rouge, I was able to get a job in Tech Support at PreSonus Audio for audio interfaces and software. Currently, I am a QA tester and spend every day with interfaces and controllers.

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

A: Mostly heavier music. Some of my best work is with Doom bands, but I like to mix anything that grooves hard.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I try my best to bring the most character out of the song as possible. Understanding the sonic nature of a group is part of my entire production process.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both. The analog world contains fundamental information needed for the expansion and exploration of the digital world.