ANALOG MASTERING

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: My style is mainly based on evaluating what each song or album needs. Be clear about the sound identity of each song and the desired outcome of artists, producers and record labels.

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

A: I was involved in a project called Employee of the Year (Vintrash). It was an incredible experience! Loved every tiny bit of it... from working with the producer to paying attention to the smallest detail when recommending modifications to the mix so that the mastering would round up the experience and make it shine!

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Analog equipment offers a depth that digital equipment IMHO does not have. On the other hand, today's mastering tasks also require digital tools. Likewise, the question does not go through whether the analog world is better than the digital one or vice versa. They are just tools. It is the job of the mastering engineer to know which, when, why and what for use each one of them. Decisions, decisions!

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

A: I assure my clients a quality finished product, a fluid communication so that their idea is reflected one hundred percent in the track to be mastered.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: What I like most about my job is to have the chance to meet artists and experience new music, and to be able to polish their songs to the maximum. I just love what I do. And as I said before, the greatest thing about my job is that I get to listen to music first than most people in the world!

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

A: The most common question: Can we get it real loud? You can make a song louder but you will be sacrificing dynamics. Even more, getting louder will also depend on who made the mix and the style of music. This is always a topic to discuss and reach an agreement!

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

A: The biggest misconception is to think that a good mastering saves a bad mix and a good mix saves a bad recording. These are three processes that work as a whole. One as a whole cannot be good if its parts are bad or mediocre.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: Are you satisfied with your mix? What would you like to accomplish with the mastering?

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

A: My advice is to fully trust my mastering criteria and experience. We will together bring the best out of your art!

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

A: If I was on a desert island I would choose: 1- IBIS CRANE SONG DISCRETE CLASS A EQUALIZER A really transparent equalizer, we use it for both subtractive and additive EQ. Incredible COLOR function to give warmth to mixtures that require it. Again, David Hill surprises us. 2- BAX EQ Amazing musical EQ. Just Love it. 3- MYTEK CONVERTERS Crystal clear. Extremely low jitter. Deep bass, enhanced stereo field. I would not change it for anything. 4- Elysia Xpressor - Elysia Nvelope Extremely useful tools when it comes to mastering. I cannot live without them. 5- DYNAUDIO SPEAKERS After a long time of testing audio monitors these are my first choice. Amazing design and sound quality!

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

A: I've been doing this for 10 years now. The good thing about this profession is that you always learn new things and get to listen to real good music first!

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

A: I would really like to work with glorious Massive Attack.

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

A: Pop, Rock, Electronic, Trap, Reggaeton and Jazz.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: The setup of my studio is based on always having different tools available. It is not a closed path, I am choosing what is best for each track and style of music. I believe what makes a great mastering are not the tools themselves but the decisions you make based on what each song or album REALLY needs.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: The best advice I can give for musical production is to study and listen to a lot, lot, lot of music. Not only the type you like but those songs you would never ever dream about of hearing. That will broaden your musical spectre and your creativity. Nowadays, the amount of information is enormous. Everything is available at just a couple of clicks! That is great but unfortunately, it has also its drawbacks. The excess of information might lead you to misinformation. The excessive amount of new tracks a day available everywhere is shocking and might make us stay with our well known lists, our comfort zone. I invite you to transcend this limitation. Study everyday, listen to new stuff, explore, go beyond your comfort zone!

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I believe I have a very well trained ear that quickly understands a song and its sound identity. This is really useful to deliver a good mix report prior to the mastering so when it comes to that point, my job is to give the song the exact amount of processes that finally make it shine.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring to a song my 26 years of experience as a musician and producer and a decade of hard work as an engineer at Casa Rara. Throughout all these years I have developed an attentive ear and I believe I have a very good judgement and ability to realize what the track needs for it to shine. And to tell you the truth, I'm an obsessive person. I really enjoy my job and I do my best to excel and deliver the best so that the artists end a thousand percent happy!

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

A: I am a really good listener! I emphasize the importance of a good communication with the producer or the artist prior to listening to the song, as to know what kind of sound they are looking for and how I can help them improve the mix. Apart from being a sound engineer specialized in mastering music, I am a musician and a music therapist so everytime I listen to somebody's work I pay special attention to how details express the identity of the song, all along the track. After an attentive listening, I deliver a report advising about the mix and what could be done to get the best out of it at the mastering stage. Once the suggested modifications are made, we can finally start our analog mastering work.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Currently I am working on trap and pop songs.

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

A: Pablo Rabinovich.

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

A: Massive Attack, Sufjan Stevens, GNR just to name a few as I really enjoy almost all music genres. Each style has its value and uniqueness, I have got to learn while studying at the Music Conservatory.