Remote Mixing and Mastering

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

A: I am proud of all the projects I get to work on. I get to learn something new, here some new music. It's why I love to do this work.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Various mixes for a few clients. Sometimes a bit of podcast cleanup

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I like both. Digital has come a long way since when I started. Digital is repeatable, it sounds the same every time which is good in its own right. Analog is great because it can give color or a sound that is specific to that one piece of gear. 2 pieces of the same analog gear do not always sound the same which can be good too. I am mostly digital right now.

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

A: To put everything I can into your mix until you are satisfied with it

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: The new music, people being creative and trying new things.

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

A: Can you remove this section from the track? Yes I can. Can you make me sound like James Hetfield? Maybe, let's see where you are starting from.

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

A: Since right now I am mostly mixing, some people think you can take their 1 guitar track and make it sound like a record in which several different guitars were recorded on.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What do you think you sound like? What do you want to sound like? What do you want to get out of this mix?

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

A: Find someone who likes the same types of music as you do. They will have more interest in getting you the best result.

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

A: A PC of course with ProTools. An Audio Interface, a good Mic, and Mic-pre. That gets you going, you can record all sorts of sounds and mix things together. Maybe both a condenser and dynamic mic just because.

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

A: I started mixing 20 years ago at a local college radio station. Live bands would come in weekly and I would mix like to 2. No gear other than a mixing board and microphones. I later went to school in Boston for Audio Production and learned a lot more. I interned in studios in both Buffalo NY and Boston Ma. I have kept up with mixing on the side in small studios or at home. Covid forced me to focus more on mixing since we were all stuck at home.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Me personally I am pretty laid back and take life as it comes. In terms of my mixing. I start with a less is more attitude. Start with the basics and get a good foundation to a track down, then start pulling in all of the extras. If there are 10 guitar tracks, find where the rhythm is and then add the others in where needed. Don't make everything big, make the big parts big, find the flow of the song as it carries the listener.

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

A: Indirectly this happened this year. Converge is a band known for aggressive music, very intricate parts and much more. They released a few of their multi tracks this year for people to work with while at home during lockdowns. Getting to peel back the curtain and see more into how they recorded, the sounds they got showed how good of musicians they are.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Get good sound when tracking in the beginning. The more time you spend on getting the sound you want, the less we have to do and can just mix the track. When we have to fix things because someone was off the beat, it takes more time to get you what you want. You do not need the most expensive gear! Just get the best sound out of the gear you have.

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

A: Rock, Pop, Metal, Punk

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Listening, to the client, to the song, etc. Taking the notes and wishes of the client and exceeding their expectaions

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring years of experience mixing, listening to the world around us, etc. If I see an area that I think could hit a little harder or ways to bring out a vocal, I always feed that back. Sometimes it results in a few extra tracks laid down, sometimes it is just to say, I'm going to add this based on what I hear, what do you think. I know the tools, I know music, I know how to help you create something you are proud to put out in the world.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: First is working with the client and listening to what they want to get out of the mix. Who influence them, what do they think they sound like etc. I will listen to any reference material they provide or past recordings of theirs. After that once I have their multi tracks I will load them up and set up a session with all the tracks in the right order and they way I like to see it. Then it is on to the mix! Set levels, panning, EQ, compression, reverb etc. Once everything is where it should be I always do a final check on out put levels, check it in mono, and usually bounce a few test tracks as I check them on other audio players, my phone, etc to make sure it sounds good. Then I will send it over to the client and get their feedback and notes. There will always be a few edits and tweaks that the client will ask for and we will go through a round or two like that. Once complete, I send all the final mixes off to the client.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: Right now I am in my home studio due to Covid and I am working in the box in ProTools. I use Plugins from Waves and Izotope as well as w few others. I run everything through Yamaha HS7 monitors and have a few pairs of headphones for reference checking.

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

A: I like Chris Lord-Alge and Andrew Schepps of course. I like listening to the guys and girls who have been doing this a long time like I have.

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

A: Mixing and some Mastering