Mastering Engineer

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

A: Every project gets 100% of my attention and I will always treat your songs with the greatest care, as if the music were my own.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My setup is focused on the most accurate monitoring environment possible. The most crucial pieces of gear in the studio are my ears since mastering is fundamentally based on critical listening. I use world class converters and speakers inside an acoustically treated room so I can identify every detail of your mixes and bring out their best potential.

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

A: Every day I'm sent mixes from artists, producers, mixing engineers, and recording studios from around the world. Some projects are independent, some are major label, and the music involved can be anything from country rock to experimental ambient. I listen very carefully and provide detailed feedback whenever necessary - this is where any quality control issues that may have been missed in the mixing session can be addressed. When I’ve done my thing and the final master is ready, I deliver the audio as a high resolution master, a CD quality version, and a reference MP3.

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

A: Mastering isn’t about slapping some mix buss processing on the final bounce to make it loud; it is first and foremost a process of quality control - which means the mixing engineer should never be the same person as the mastering engineer. If someone is advertising mix and master packages, it's likely that they're not a specialist in either discipline. By definition, mastering engineers should be objective as we are here to catch and fix errors, make enhancements when possible, and prepare your mixes optimally for distribution. These steps require completely fresh and unbiased ears, specialist knowledge, and an optimal listening environment.

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

A: Listen to people’s past work and ask lots of questions; make sure you can have a personal connection and discussion with your engineer about exactly what you want. Avoid engineers who communicate through booking agents or who are surrounded by less experienced assistants. Likewise, avoid engineers who pad their credits with assistant roles on high profile projects. I can’t emphasize those last two points enough. I have made my discography playlists public and easy to find on all the major streaming services because I mastered every single song myself and because I encourage comparison. I think it’s important to familiarize yourself with the work of your engineer as well as their philosophical approach to the craft.

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

A: I have been playing instruments my whole life and I started producing electronic music at the age of 14. A decade and a half later, I have been a DJ, band member, songwriter, supporting musician, session musician, recording engineer, mixing engineer, and eventually mastering engineer. I find that being the final pair of ears to refine a song is a really rewarding process; for me, nothing beats the feeling of sending a master to an artist and getting feedback that their initial vision for the song has been fully realized with my help.

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

A: Honestly, everything. I’ve mastered techno tracks that were finished in the morning and needed to be ready for the club that night. I’ve helped rappers connect with mixing engineers and producers to bring a collection of voice memos to the point of a finished album. I also collaborate with a lot of indie singer / songwriters and rock musicians recording through large format consoles and doing things the old school way. So I’ve learnt to be flexible and to always be sensitive to what each project uniquely needs to make it shine.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: After mastering over 1,000 songs for hundreds of different clients I have developed an intuition for knowing what will enhance a mix without inadvertently causing damage. My motto is always “do no harm,” which comes from a place of deep respect for the music.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: In addition to being a musician myself, I have a huge amount of hands-on experience in some of the world's finest recording, mixing, and mastering studios. I am a graduate of Berklee College of Music's prestigious Music Production and Engineering department where I was mentored by some of the most respected names in the music industry. My passion for sound has always been my greatest asset; I live and breathe music like nothing else.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: My style, method, and choices of equipment are always tailored to the song. I believe that the mastering process should custom-fit the track, and that my work on your music should make it sound better in the least invasive way possible. At its best, mastering is about enhancing what is already there and not drastically changing things.