Audio Engineer/Music Producer

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

A: None that I can say at the moment. Will update once we find some colleagues.

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

A: “Eastern Voodoo“, hands down. This project was not only my reintroduction to the engineering world but the reunion between my favorite artist and myself. 7 years passed by for that to happen. The project came together spontaneously, nothing was planned (mind you I was rusty) and we were just throwing things against the wall. By the time we finished the hour session, a project was born; one that I show anyone and everyone who asks what I’ve worked on.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Working on a collaborative project with the artist RobNGive2TheKidz. I was hired as a producer and engineer, currently a third of the way through.

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

A: Record and mix vocals; remote mixing.

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

A: That I will dedicate myself to bring the best version possible. Your mix will sound leveled, natural, balanced and most of all clean.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both. I love the sound of analog and the ability to touch the music yet love, just the same, the simplicity and approach of the digital aspect.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: The creative process, I love being in the zone and just vibing to the music.

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

A: Q: how long have I been mixing for? A: five years mixing, 3.5 as a novice and 1.5 professionally.

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

A: That I’m hard to work with. My goto approach is to have in-depth conversation to better understand what my clients wants.

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

A: Been in the music industry since 2007, been in the music business since 2011. My career began as a hobbyist producer and beat maker. Over the years I naturally transitioned into the business side if music and focused my time in-between to learn to be an audio engineer. It's been over two years since I became a full-time audio engineer.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What are your looking for? What are you trying to convey with the record? Is there an artist or song that inspired the record? What can you tell me about yourself and the song? Is there any other version of the song already mixed? Do you have the audio and vocal files/stems and/or the project file?

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: Computer: iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019) – MacPro (5,1 2010) Custom Configuration DAWs: Logic Pro X – Pro Tools 2020 – FL Studio 20 Signature Edition – Ableton Live 10 Preamp: Avalon VT-737 – Manley VOXBOX – UA SOLO/610 – Neve 1073 Dynamics: UA 1176LN – Teletronix LA2A – Empirical Labs EL8 Distressor Interface: UA Apollo X8 Mics: Slate VMS – Rode NT1 Plugins: Universal Audio Classics Bundle – iZotope Music Production Suite 3 – FabFilter Pro Bundle – IKMultimedia T-RackS 5 MAX – Waves Platinum and much more.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I listen to the entire session first and pay attention to the organization of session and the vocal delivery. Depending on the session and how the vocals sound, I either tend to organize and label the session to logical workflow (may or may not use a starting point) or work on the vocals to color them, correct them or adjust them. I start with an EQ first then move on to compression, I then route the vocals to bus where I work on breath control, de-essing, plosives, and whatnot. After I have the session organized and vocals adjusted, I move on to the premix and let the creative flow come natural.

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

A: Three people have influenced my work, style, and taught me how to be an engineer. Two of which I know personally and studied under at Barron Studios (SoundWranger and iDreamInStrereo) and the other (Lou Diaz) I researched and studied their style.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Super Natural. Nothing but gain staging, volume adjustments, fade control, automation, de-essing, and polishing up a vocal. You know the essential art of mixing.

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

A: Any talented artist who's serious about their craft. I want the artist to make me a fan of their music and what better way than to be the person that brings their sound to life?

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: If the vocals aren't recorded properly, you cannot fix it in the mix. I repeat: If the vocals aren't recorded properly, you cannot fix it in the mix. Get the right sound from the right take, doesn't matter how long it takes to record, nothing will ever come close to a damn good recorded session.

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

A: Hip-Hop, Rap, Boom Bap, Reggaeton, R&B, Pop, Trap.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: There's 20,000hz in front of me -regardless of the artist character, attitude, talent, and whatnot- my job is to focus and bring life to them hertz and make a damn good record. So what's my strongest skill? Focusing.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Life and clarity. My focus is to make the record as pristine as possible. I focus on the clarity of the mix and the life of the music. I focus on the audio and sound of the record and not on the creative side (where you play with effects to shape the mix), my style is a natural tone were the music sounds like it was performed live instead of in a studio.

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

A: Ask yourself three questions: "Do I like their sound? Does fit my style? Can I communicate with them effectively?" Depending on your answer, then you will know if the engineer is right for you and your style of music. The most important thing is the relationship and communication between artist and engineer; if there's no chemistry and you don't vibe then you're wasting your time and money.

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

A: 1. Solar-powered rechargeable battery pack 2. MacBook Pro 3. Rode NT1 4. Rode A1 5. Audio-Technica ATH-M50x