Mark Aguilar on SoundBetter

You've put your heart and soul into your music, and I want you to sound like it.

Mark began teaching himself the art of recording and mixing at the young age of 12 in San Antonio, Texas for over 10 years. In just 4 years out in Los Angeles, Mark has developed quite an impressive resume stacked with A-List clientele through working as a staff engineer at the legendary Henson Recording Studios (formerly A&M). Mark also has 1 Grammy nomination as recording engineer for Terrace Martin & James Fauntleroy's "Nova"
Credits Include:
Paramore, Taylor Swift, Green Day, Lana Del Rey, Coldplay, The Linda Lindas, Elton John, Orville Peck, Lamb of God, Liily, Kerry King, Terrace Martin, Robert John & the Wreck, Netflix, Warner Brothers.

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Credits

5 Reviews

Endorse Mark Aguilar

by Ann Stapel-Kalat
I met Mark at Berklee and he has been one of the most solid, professional and creative collaborators I’ve known since the day we met! He’s engineered, produced and co-written work with me and I couldn’t be more happy with everything done. Absolutely fabulous professional and great person.
by Lizzie
Whether he’s producing, engineering, or mixing, I’m convinced everything Mark touches turns to gold.

Mark is prompt with his responses and revisions, precise with his work, patient, professional, personable, and ridiculously talented.

He is a dream collaborator. A DREAM!! He has excellent sonic instincts and I’m always impressed with his ability to breathe new life into my tracks.

Mark has provided the best production experience I’ve had by far! I cannot stress how highly I’d recommend working with him.
by Elise
Mark is an incredible producer, engineer, and mixer. He has produced and mixed several of my songs and I have consistently been blown away by the quality of his work. He is communicative, patient, detail-oriented, and insanely talented. He is an outstanding collaborator, and brings innovative and exciting ideas to my projects while listening to and acknowledging my own plans and thoughts. His turnaround time is very quick and always delivers extremely high-quality and professional work. He elevates everything he touches and I recommend him highly! Thank you, Mark!
by Archie
Best mixer I’ve had the pleasure to work with. Super professional and amazing final sound. 10/10 mixer.
by Bella
Mark is a phenomenal engineer!! I have worked with him on several projects both mixing and editing and it has always been a perfect result. Incredibly quick delivery turnarounds and attention to detail. Can’t recommend him highly enough! A-class!

Interview with Mark Aguilar

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: I am so proud to have worked as an engineer on Paramore's "Burning Down the House" cover. It was a dream come true to be in a room with a band and producer - Carlos de la Garza - that I had spent so much time studying and just being a super fan of.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: More productions and mixes for independent artists!
Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?
A: Bella Corich is a fantastic vocal producer, engineer, editor, tuner & Mastering Engineer!
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Analog for recording - the distortion is nicer on the ear, there is a different soundstage you cannot get with digital equipment. Digital for mixing - 100% recallable every time, templates, and as many 1176's as you want.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: We will get your music to a place that you are 100% happy to share with the world.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: Mixing feels very much like playing a familiar video game that is completely different every time you come back to it.
Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: "What is your turn around time?" Anywhere between 3 -10 days depending on work load and availability
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: That mixing is a quick and easy process. Mixing takes a lot of time organizing - physically & sonically, lots of lostening and referencing on different devices and lots of bounces before sending off a first pass.
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: What do you want your music and image to say? What elements of my work are you thinking will pair best with what you are looking for?
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Get all your ideas down in a clear and concise list so that I can address so that i make sure to get all of our notes and ideas heard.
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: I would take a 251 Mic, Neve 1084 preamp/EQ, 1176 Blue Stripe compressor, a Quad Cortex and my Fender Telecaster
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I started teaching myself the art of recording when I was 12 years-old on a TASCAM DP-02 Portastudio that I got for Christmas one year. I started to record the songs I made with my friends and fell more in love with the "Behind the Glass" side of music making. I played in a band for 5 years in high school, we recored an album during that time and then I went on to study Music Production & Engineer at Berklee College of Music. After graduating in 2020, I worked at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles as a runner and then staff engineer for 3 years before going freelance.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: I don't like to over complicate my decision making & usually follow my first instinct. With that said I am always open to new ideas and new directions especially when working with artists. The best producers in the world give all ideas a try to find the best ones.
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: I would love to work wth the Foo Fighters. I've been lucky enough to work with Green Day & Paramore - both of which shaped my taste in music growing up. The Foo Fighters are the last bucket list band I would love to get to pull the curtain back on & I think they would be such a fun group to be in the studio with.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: When approaching a mix, I take in to account genre & typical mix attributes for the style and start from there. Normally on Pop mixes i will start with the vocals and bass & fill in from there. On a rock track I'll normally start bottom up and get as much energy as possible out of the track.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Do what feels right, and don't overthink it. Your Instinct means something.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: I usually produce, engineer, and mix rock music, and am no stranger to mixing popular style music.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: My strongest skill is recording and mixing acoustic and live instruments. In an era where most music is made in the box, being able to add a different flavor will help you stand out in a sea full of amazing music.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: I bring a groove oriented background to a song. I know what a good song feels like, and I know how to get the listener to move.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I mix and do home recordings on my Universal Audio Apollo 8p and Apollo twin. I Monitor with Adam A7X's as well as a pair of reference monitors that I built myself. I have a large library of Arturia Synthesizer plugins for modern production sounds.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: I'm most inspired by producers and engineers like Joel Hamilton, Jaime Sickora, Jack Douglass, and Nile Rodgers; All of whom I have had the pleasure of working with as an engineer or assistant engineer.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: I most frequently work as a mixing engineer and/or recording engineer for my clients. I have experience making records and mixing in large format professional recording studios, as well as in private home or bedroom studios.