Mixing, Producing

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

A: My own band, The Outview, has an EP that was recently released that I co-wrote, produced, and mixed. Each track has a unique style of its own and the entire production process was incredibly challenging and exciting. One of the tracks was featured on a Showtime original docu-series and an original MTV series, and another one of the tracks has been featured in a Target commercial. Everything about it makes me proud.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm currently working on two separate projects: an experimental metal/rock EP called "Watch Your Tone" that I'm mixing and producing, and an upcoming hip-hop/pop EP for Seth Hirsch which I'm mixing.

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

A: I work a lot with a rapper/writer Seth Hirsch, and he is incredibly creative and talented as a writer and producer. Anyone looking for help with hip/hop or pop music could benefit from having his input.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I think both are really great, honestly. While there is a thrill to turning knobs and pushing faders on analog equipment, I have no doubt that an equally amazing record can come out of an all digital (in-the-box) workflow. Andrew Scheps is an amazing example of someone that has done both (he currently is an all digital in-the-box mixer), and at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is what comes out of the speakers.

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

A: My promise is always that I will do my best to deliver a product that the client will be so excited to release that they'll want to share it immediately and listen to it 100 times on repeat. I always strive to realize a client's vision and help improve any aspects with my own feedback when appropriate.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: It's incredibly satisfying to take a great song's raw tracks and polish them into a final record. It can be technical and creative, requires problem solving and artistry. It's everything I like to do and it's so regarding to deliver a finished mix to a client and have them be so excited to release it and share it.

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

A: Typically technical or organizational questions, like if they can hear some things I've worked on, turn-around time, asset resolutions/type. I always have portfolio readily available for potential customers to view and am super flexible with technical needs in regards to file type/resolution, turn-around times, etc.

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

A: That we can work miracles to make a low quality recording sound like it was recording in a world class studio, or that we can make poor performances sound amazing. There are a lot of things that can be done to make things sound better and sometimes crazy tricks can fix big problems, but we can't fix wrong notes, we can't make out of tune guitars sound in tune, and we can't make poor takes sound like they were recorded by the world's best musicians. Each problem like that we encounter as mixers lowers the ceiling as to how good a final mix can be, so as an artist do everything you can to make sure your instruments are in tune, strings are fresh, parts are played correctly and as in time as possible, and that every take is the best that you can do! Everything starts at the source.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I always like to get as much detail as possible about the project. What type of song is it, how many tracks are there, how long is the song, where did you record it, what resolution are the files, when do you need it completed, what's your budget, what are you look for from me as the mixer, are there any bands or songs that you want me to reference to help understand your vision, etc.

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

A: Please know as much as you can about what you want and be organized with your assets!!! The mixing process is a very detailed process that requires a lot of organization and communication so we can know exactly what the artist's goal is. It can be a very smooth, easy, and fun process, but it can also be a real headache if the artist doesn't know how to communicate their vision, feedback, and goals to us mixers. It's really frustrating when we block out time for a project and it comes time to import a session and tracks are missing, or we have the demo vocals when we should have the comped vocals, or get 75% of the way through a mix and the artist decides to add in more tracks. All of these things can be avoided with proper planning and preparation and knowledge of your material! Also don't be afraid to give honest feedback. Even the greatest mixers can't read minds, so if you want a specific sound, coloring, effect, whatever don't be afraid to let us know! And if we do something in a mix that you don't like, don't be afraid to tell us! We want to do everything we can to give you the result you're looking for.

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

A: My iMac, Fender P-bass, Slate ML-1, a midi controller, and a guitar.

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

A: I've been playing music since I was 8, but I went to school and got a Bachelor's Degree in Digital Audio, which was kind of an all-encompassing degree for all things in the digital audio realm: mixing, mastering, sound for games, film post-production and sound, radio, audio restoration. It allowed me to try my hand in a lot of different fields and ultimately know that music production was what I thrived at most. I've been actively mixing and recording artists for a little over 4 years now.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Very straightforward and focused on creating the best possible result with what I have.

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

A: My dream is to work with Kevin Parker or George Daniel (drummer for The 1975, also a producer). Both of them are phenomenal artists and producers and I would love to see how they approach a song and have an opportunity to create with them.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Don't be afraid to take risks and do whatever you need to get the result you want! I spent a lot of my early mixing projects being afraid to boost a frequency 12dB or slam a vocal with a compressor because someone on GearSlutz said not to. There's an amazing presentation by Andrew Scheps called "What Comes Out Of The Speakers", and I remind myself constantly that in the end the only thing that matters is what comes out of the speakers to the listeners, it doesn't matter what it took to get you there. If you need to boost 15dB at 8kHz to get that kick drum attack out, then do it!

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

A: These days I'm split pretty even between pop and punk rock/metal. There's a lot of crossover between those two genres and I think that definitely shows in the mixing approach.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Definitely mixing, specifically drum mixing. I always want my drums to sound perfect. I feel like having a tight and punchy drum mix can save a mix from a lot of other things that aren't as good, say weaker guitar tones or poorer performances. Obviously you want everything to be good! But I feel like most people notice that if drums are weak, the song isn't exciting, and I've spent a lot of time crafting my skills at mixing drums.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I pride myself in being incredibly detail orientated. I get down to the finest details to make sure a mix is incredibly clean and tight, making sure timing is locked in, separation between instruments is clear, and that ultimately the mix just demands your attention. I'm a big fan of large production and "in your face" mixes, and I can bring that to an artist. I also listen to a ton of music, and come from a punk/metal engineering background to now a lot of pop, so I love using techniques from different genres into other productions to create something unique.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: My typical work process consists of setting up a session and importing the tracks (if I didn't engineer the session myself), and spending an hour or so routing everything to their own groups, sub-mixes, and setting up all of my sends and everything. I almost always start mixing with drums first and then bass. I'm a drummer and bassist by trade so the rhythm section of any song is super important to me! I really want that section to slap so I'll spend a great amount of time and attention to those parts to make sure the anchor of the song is thumping. Then I'll move on to keys and guitars and vocals last; that's where I feel a lot of the higher end energy and "sparkle" on the track lies. Once I've got a basic mix down 75% of the way or so then I'll move to automation and effects to polish the track out and make it more interesting.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I work in my own home studio that I've built out, and I mix primarily in the box (i.e. digitally on the computer with plugins, Andrew Scheps is a huge inspiration for in-the-box mixing!). I have a lightning fast 27" iMac (3.8gHz 8-core i7, 32GB RAM, 5K display) that I recently acquired that has drastically improved my mixing process because I no longer worry about CPU overloads and Pro Tools crashes. This allows me to mix much, much faster. I use GIK Acoustic Panels for room treatment; they are the best! I mix on Yamaha HS8 monitors which I also love.

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

A: Anything mixed by Manny Marroquin, Serban Ghenea, or Andrew Scheps is always inspiring to me as a mixer; their productions always just jump out of the speakers to me. Kevin Parker (Tame Impala) is a phenomenal producer and mixer to me on the creative side of things; I'm endlessly inspired by his production and mixing choices and I reference his work a lot when I'm trying to make a mix for creative or interesting.

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

A: The most common work I do is mixing. A basic mix process for me consists of organizing a session, quantizing anything that needs timing fixed, tuning vocals if needed and comping for best vocal takes when necessary. I will then spend the majority of my mixing time shaping the instrumental with EQ, compression, saturation, etc. to get everything to sit right and really pop out of the speakers. I typically work on vocals last since they're one of the most important parts (sometimes the MOST important depending on the genre) of a song and really want to have everything else sitting nice before I polish those. I view a lot of the editing process (quantization, tuning) as mixing too though, and it's fun to be really creative in that part.