Recording Studio, Mix/Master

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: The two most important and easiest tips in the studio that will make or break a great recording that I can share... Always follow ABS and ATS. Always Be Saving. Always Be Tuning.

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

A: I've mainly catered to the college music and indie rock scene of Boston, but my work through the Boston Music Awards and my general live work has brought me in contact with so many amazing artists from so many spectacular and unique genres of music. I'm a metal guy at heart, but I'll belt out Roy Orbison or Tom Jones any night too!

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Miracles notwithstanding, but it's an important skill for any engineer to use what you have. Over the years I've collected much nicer and cooler gear that sounds great on record. But with real skill and experience under my belt, I like to say, "Give me a box of 57s and an 8 channel interface, and I'll make you a record".

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Home recording has never been more easy, but there's still, and will always be, that magic touch that a professional engineer can bring to your music. Stuck at home with your practice amp, neighbors who hate your guts, and your less than stellar guitar? Give me your idea, and I'll take you and your sound to a whole new level with my personal collection of guitars and amps.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: It really depends on the project! Ideally, I like to do any guitars first. I'm a guitar and bass player myself, so it's always fun when I get to focus on that. If there aren't functional drums available to track to, I can quickly whip up a midi drum track just so it's not a robotic click in your head while trying to play. I have been a part of several projects over the years where we've done the basic tracking live in the room together. There's just so many ways to go about recording, and I'm happy to do them all.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: Having gone to school for Pro Tools and worked in professionals environments run on Pro Tools over the last several years, I can happily tell anyone that my studio proudly uses Presonus Studio One 4 Professional as the DAW of choice. My small studio, currently an at-home project, takes up a 1000sqft former living space in a small town where we don't have to worry much about outside noise or nosey neighbors.

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

A: Sylvia Massy, Toft Willingham of Spiritual Rez, Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day, Dave Pensado, Bob Ludwig, Butch Vig, Dave Grohl, Geoff Emerick, Roy Thomas Baker.

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

A: One of the biggest things in recording is preproduction work. That means practice practice practice! If you have the ability to, also try to record a demo of your song. It doesn't have to be perfect, and it certainly doesn't have to be pretty, but it should be at least on time to a metronome. It's important for a demo to convey the basic idea and direction of a project, and it's much easier to start a full song production with the solid base of a demo.