Let's add spice to your sound.

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

A: Yes, I would highly recommend Denny Mishler: https://soundbetter.com/profiles/151080-denny-mishler---guitarist The guy is an absolute genius.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Such a loaded question! Nothing beats the sound produced by physical analog equipment. But, I absolutely appreciate the convienence of the digital work space. So, a combination of the two would be my preference.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love that I get to do something that makes me happy, and also makes other people happy.

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

A: The biggest misconception about what I do is that it's easy. There is nothing easy about creating, period. And in my chosen artistic field, the creation process requires so much patience and attention to produce something that will properly suit the needs of your client, while also having, and understanding, the technical ability to make it all happen. Some people are really good musicians, and some people are really good audio engineers. But, rarely do you come across somebody who is a really good musician, as well as a proficient audio engineer. I honestly feel that I fill both roles really well, and I'm glad that a website such as SoundBetter exists to allow people like myself to have a wonderful online space to work and share our abilities with the rest of the world.

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

A: I am especially proud of a project I did for an artist named Just Alliance, where we used just the client's voice and a decent condensor microphone to create a full album. My roles were producer, tracking engineer, mixer, and mastering engineer.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Currently, I am working on finishing several tracks for a return client.

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

A: I promise to provide my clients with a clean and clear recording in a timely manner, that properly meets the requested needs of the client and serves the music with a quality finished product.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I will usually ask if the client would like to have dry tracks, wet tracks, or both. I will also ask about the time frame to narrow down exactly how much time I will have to finish the project.

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

A: Be very direct and honest as to what you are looking to have added to your music, and provide as much technical detail as possble, such as time signature, BPM, and key signature.

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

A: Since there is no electricity on this desert island, I would bring all acoustic instruments: 1. Classcal guitar. 2. Steel 6 string acoustic. 3. Mandolin. 4. Dobro. 5. An accordion.

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

A: I have been in the music business, in some form or another, for over 20 years. My experience involves retail musical equipment sales, manufacturer experience, touring, live performance, and studio session work.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I'm a hybrid! My style is a mix of Texas blues, country, rock, folk, Cajun, bluegrass, 60's rock, 70's glam, 80's hair metal, 90's alt, and everything else in between, with influences ranging from Mark Knopfler, to Daft Punk.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring the spice! I give the song that special "x" factor with a strong musical touch to properly serve the song.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: After loading the client's file, or files, into my DAW, I will give the audio a listen a few times to get the feel, mechanics, time, key, and the scope, of the project. Then, I will start the process of coming up with the ideas that I feel will suit the project. I will usually do several test runs, always recording as I go along, to make sure that my ideas are coherent to the client's needs, and that the ideas properly serve the song. When I am satisfied with my recorded result, then I will mix down the file, or files, in whatever format that has been requested by the client and send them off to the client.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: Simple, yet effective. DAW: Logic Pro X. Computer: MacBook Pro, 2.66 GHz Intel Core i7. Interface: Behringer X32. Monitors: Yamaha HS7. Outboard Processors: Line 6 M9, Aphex 207. Plugins: Waves Mercury. Microphones: Sterling ST69, AT3035, Oktava MK219, BLUE Dynamic Ball.

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

A: Mark Knoplfer. I admire his guitar playing so much and I would love to learn as much as I can from him.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Treat your DAW as if you are recording in the 1970's. What I mean by that is, before computers and DAW's became as good as they are, recording was done through consoles onto tape machines. You didn't have all of the options like you have nowadays. However, some of the most impressive recordings were made around that time period, which I believe is because you had to be creative in the studio due to the limitations of the time. You couldn't just add a reverb or throw a delay on something real quick. You had to plan for it. And it made you think more about yor choices. So, by applying that concept to the modern studio of today, I feel like more could be accomplished with the overall sound.

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

A: Mostly country. But, as a studio musician, you adapt and play to the scenario.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Speed in the studio. I am very efficient at creating and tracking parts, especially guitar.

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

A: I am a huge fan of Daniel Laonis. His general setup and approach to recording is phenominal, and I strive to be similar in my own work. I am also a fan of Butch Vig, as he has a very similar production approach. As for musicians, I love Mark Knopfler's work, as well as Jeff Beck, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Dale Watson, Don Rich, Junior Brown, and James Burton.

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

A: I add the seasoning to the mix! Mostly guitar work, but on occasion I have recorded banjo, mandolin, lap steel, and piano.