Mastering & Vinyl Cutting

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

A: Not at this time

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

A: Remastering the Fela Kuti catalog is one of the projects I’m especially proud of. It meant working with historically important recordings that have enormous energy, density and personality. My role was mastering, and the challenge was to improve translation and consistency while respecting the character of the original recordings rather than trying to modernize them into something they were never meant to be.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I’m currently mastering new releases for independent artists and labels while expanding the vinyl side of Timeless Mastering around my new SC99 cutterhead system. A major focus is keeping mastering, vinyl preparation and lacquer cutting connected as one process rather than treating the cut as an afterthought.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both. Analog and digital are tools, not philosophies. Analog equipment can provide tone, dimension and a very natural way of shaping a record; digital tools can offer extraordinary precision and solve problems that would be difficult to address any other way. I use whichever approach—or combination—best serves the recording.

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

A: I’ll treat your record individually, listen carefully and never process something simply because it is part of my usual chain. I’ll tell you when I think something in the mix deserves another look, communicate clearly and deliver a master that I would be comfortable putting my name on.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Hearing a record come together. There’s a moment when a collection of mixes starts feeling like a finished release, and that is still satisfying after all these years. Vinyl adds another dimension because I can take that finished master all the way into a physical groove and hear the result come back from the lacquer.

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

A: “How loud can you make it?” My answer is: as loud as the music can support without sacrificing what makes it sound good. There isn’t one correct loudness target for every record. I’d rather give you a master that feels powerful than one that simply measures loud.

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

A: That mastering is mainly about making a mix louder. Loudness is one consideration, but the real job is perspective: tone, dynamics, translation, continuity, sequencing and making sure the finished record holds together. With vinyl, mastering also becomes partly physical engineering because the music ultimately has to fit into a groove.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What are you releasing? How many songs are involved? What formats are you preparing for? Is there a release date or manufacturing deadline? Are there reference records you like? Is anything about the mixes worrying you? And for vinyl: what are the side lengths, format and desired playback level?

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

A: Listen to their work, but also look for experience and communication. A good mastering engineer should be able to explain what they hear without making the process mysterious. Find someone whose judgment you trust, tell them what you like about your mixes and what concerns you, and give them room to bring a fresh perspective.

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

A: My EgglestonWorks Andra I monitors, Sontec MES-432C/9 EQ, Fairman TMEQ, MCI JH-110C tape machine and a great converter. Though on a desert island I’d probably regret not using one of those slots for a generator.

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

A: I began at Sterling Sound in New York in 1998, working under mastering engineer Tom Coyne. I became heavily involved in vinyl production and disc cutting there and cut more than 2,000 records before leaving in 2001. I went on to build and operate my own mastering studios and have now been mastering professionally for more than 25 years.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Musical, detailed and relatively transparent. I’m not interested in imposing a recognizable “Timeless sound” on every record. I want the finished master to sound like the best version of that particular record—clearer, more confident and more finished without losing the personality of the mixes.

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

A: Radiohead would be high on the list. Their records combine arrangement, sound design, dynamics, electronics and traditional instrumentation in ways that leave a lot for a mastering engineer to respond to. I’m drawn to records where mastering can enhance an already distinctive sonic identity rather than manufacture one.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Don’t make a mix brighter, louder or more compressed simply because you think mastering expects it. Send the version that feels best to you. A mastering engineer can usually work much more effectively from a dynamic, musical mix than from one that has already been pushed beyond where you really wanted it.

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

A: A wide range, including rock, indie, electronic, R&B, soul, funk, hip-hop, acoustic music and Afrobeat. My credits range from Fela Kuti and Aloe Blacc to Slowdive, Beach House, Alex G, Cut/Copy and Tedeschi Trucks Band. I’m less interested in genre than in understanding what the record is trying to be.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Knowing what a record needs without forcing it into a predetermined sound. I’m comfortable making bold tonal or dynamic decisions when necessary, but I also know when the mix is already doing its job. That judgment comes from mastering thousands of projects and cutting thousands of records over more than 25 years.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Perspective. By the time a mix reaches mastering, everyone involved has usually heard it hundreds of times. I bring fresh ears, a highly revealing listening environment and decades of experience judging what will actually improve the record. Sometimes that means significant work; sometimes the best decision is doing very little.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I start by listening before touching anything. I want to understand what the mix is trying to do, how the record should feel and where it needs help. From there I choose the signal path track by track, master the project as a complete release, sequence it when needed, QC the final files and prepare the appropriate deliverables. Vinyl projects get an additional evaluation for running time, level, phase, low-frequency content and cutting behavior.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: The mastering room is centered around EgglestonWorks Andra I monitoring, Fairman and Sontec analog EQ, Lavry and Merging conversion, MCI analog tape, and carefully selected digital processing. Vinyl is cut in-house using a FlokaSon SC99 feedback stereo cutterhead with custom electronics.

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

A: I’ve always admired engineers who combine technical mastery with musical restraint—people like Doug Sax, Bob Ludwig, Bernie Grundman and my former mentor Tom Coyne. The common thread is knowing when to make a change and, just as importantly, when to leave the music alone.

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

A: I master singles, EPs and albums for independent artists, producers and labels. Most projects involve balancing tone, dynamics, level and translation while preserving the character of the mix. I also specialize in vinyl mastering and lacquer cutting, so projects headed to vinyl can stay under one roof from final master through the actual cut.