Rob Murray

Mixing and Mastering

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1777 Reviews (1743 Verified)
Rob Murray on SoundBetter

Mixing and mastering engineer with lots of top pop and indie credits

Rob cut his teeth at Downtown Music Studios in NYC, where he engineered for artists including Britney Spears, Mark Ronson, Mike Posner, Wiz Khalifa, Gavin Degraw and countless more. He transitioned into independent mastering where his clients included David Gray, Sia, Miike Snow, and Major Lazer. Wanting to escape the big city, he moved to Austin in 2012 where he operated Poolside Sound for more than half a decade before moving back to the his home state of Vermont and building his current musical home Wilderfox Studio. He continues to work with household names like ODESZA or Pussy Riot, but also spends most of his time working with up and coming artists. A classically trained jazz guitarist with a master’s degree in sound recording, Rob started his career recording live classical and jazz concerts, and previously worked restoring and remastering archives for the Metropolitan Opera and US Air Force before moving into major recording studios. Although known for his Pop and EDM work, Rob is equally at home in Country, Classical, Jazz, or Singer-Songwriter genres.

Rob has adopted a modern workflow, and prides himself on keeping his rates low by owning his own studio, keeping his schedule full, and only charging for services needed via a la carte rates, rather than charging for services and time not needed.

Contact me through the green button above and let's get to work.

Credits

AllMusic verified credits for Rob Murray
  • Gavin DeGraw
  • Vacationer
  • Britney Spears
  • Wiz Khalifa
  • 4Troops
  • 4Troops
  • Lizz Wright
  • Mark Ronson
  • Mark Ronson and the Business Intl
  • Falloe
  • Falloe
  • Falloe
  • Bronze Radio Return
  • Bronze Radio Return
  • Running Red Lights
  • Joe Miller
  • Pee Wee Crayton
  • 2000 Lbs. of Blues
  • 2000 Lbs. of Blues
  • George "Harmonica" Smith
  • Smokey Wilson
  • Jimmy Rogers
  • Johnny Dyer
  • Rod Piazza
  • Geneva
  • Geneva
  • Ros
  • LIVVIA
  • Ros
  • Brock
  • Phosphenes
  • Neon Hitch
  • Ros
  • Ros
  • Ros
  • Ros
  • Molitor
  • Lee Musiker
  • Mike Renzi
  • Leon Fleisher
  • Axel Tosca Laugart
  • Pwr Cpl
  • Pwr Cpl
  • Nathaniel Bellows
  • Air Apparent
  • Sam Ray
  • Sofia Karlberg
  • Air Apparent
Discogs verified credits for Rob Murray
  • Stevie Ann
  • Amanda Blank
  • Ryan Camp
  • Daiza
  • LEADR
  • Getiey
  • Getiey
  • Carlosh (3)
  • Carlosh (3)
  • Dorian Electra
  • Gual, Oliviya Nicole
  • Carlosh (3)
  • Carlosh (3)
  • Chandeen
  • Gual, Kenneith Perrin
  • The Vapor Caves
  • NOSAM, LostinVegas
  • NOSAM, LostinVegas
  • NOSAM
  • NOSAM
  • NOSAM
  • NOSAM
  • Lizz Wright
  • Pernice Brothers
  • Elli Gray*
  • Amanda Blank
  • Sqwonk
  • Mark Ronson & The Business Intl
  • Mike Posner (2)
  • Wiz Khalifa
  • Britney Spears
  • Curtis Macdonald (2)
  • Mike Posner (2)
  • Brasstronaut
  • Vacationer
  • Gavin DeGraw
  • Ryan Camp
  • Matt Blake
  • Sia
  • Marie-Laure Boudreau
  • Kiko Villamizar
  • Phosphenes (2)
  • Chandeen
  • Manila Killa
  • Dorian Electra
  • Carlosh (3)
  • Carlosh (3)
  • Carlosh (3)
  • Carlosh (3)
  • Carlosh (3)
  • Dorian Electra
  • Gual, Oliviya Nicole
  • Carlosh (3)
  • Carlosh (3), Man Without Country
  • Carlosh (3)
  • Pleaxure
  • Chandeen
  • Gual, Kenneith Perrin
  • The Vapor Caves
  • Little Boots
  • NOSAM, LostinVegas
  • NOSAM, LostinVegas
  • NOSAM
  • NOSAM
  • NOSAM
  • NOSAM
  • Phantoms (8)
  • teh end
  • Similar Kind
  • Britney Spears

1777 Reviews - 340 Repeat Clients

Endorse Rob Murray
  1. Review by William F.
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    Rob is a marksman with the laser aim!

  2. Review by Palina R.
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    Always pleasure to work with Rob!

  3. Review by Florian B.
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    My personal music hero

  4. Review by Ariel E.
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    Always great!

  5. Review by Lone
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    by Lone
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    Rob make sound gud.

  6. Review by Lawrence
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    I just completed my first project with Rob and I'm completely delighted! Rob is a fantastic engineer and musician as well as a very cool person. I especially appreciate his excellent and thoughtful communications. Looking forward to working with Rob again very soon!

  7. Review by Trevor C.
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    great as always working with Rob!

  8. Review by Danny O.
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    Came back to Rob to master my second album after he did a great job on the first and he nailed it again. Thanks Rob!

  9. Review by Jan Heymel
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    As always a great experience with Rob! If you want the best quality for both communication and musical output, choose him!

  10. Review by Adam K.
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    Rob is a great Engineer! Super pro and a pleasure to work with.

  11. Review by Jake Speikers
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    Rob not only delivered a great end result, but worked extremely efficiently and even offered specific technical advice on how to streamline recording processes to get better results. Great to work with and love where we ended up!

  12. Review by Florian B.
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    Always able to make me happy with this work !

  13. Review by Keenan S.
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    Always great working with Rob. Super timely and professional, and a pleasure to work with

  14. Review by Palina R.
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    As always, had an amazing time working with Rob. He is extremely skilled and was very patient with all of my requests. I am very satisfied with the result.

  15. Review by Naomi A.
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    Love what Rob did with my vocal!

  16. Review by Rob K
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    by Rob K
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    Really good attention to detail. Great results. Happy to work with Rob again.

  17. Review by Carter Y.
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    Rob is the best. Great communication and fast revisions. Super grateful for his work and dedication to the craft! Solid 5 stars.

  18. Review by GEER C.
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    Thanks, Rob! Working with you was so nice; I reallly appreciate your mix!

  19. Review by Florian B.
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    The best !

  20. Review by Jin
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    by Jin
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    really good stuff as usual!

Interview with Rob Murray

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

  2. A: As far as close industry friends, two-time Grammy award winning classical engineer Brian Losch. That's who I call when I need a friend to critique or offer advice, and he's the one who told me about SoundBetter. I love producer/guitarist Tyler Cain's work, as well as composer/producer Nate Kohrs. Lots of great folks on here!

  3. Q: Analog or digital and why?

  4. A: Digital. Recall-ability and control. I like the romance and art of having analog gear and controls in front of me, but end of the day I get better results in the digital domain, and have a faster/more creative workflow because of it.

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

  6. A: On the mastering side people tend to think a bad mix can be fixed in mastering... It can't. On the mixing side, there tend to be people who think that mixing will change the song. In an ideal world, mixing is enhancing/bringing out the heart of the song, but not changing production.

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

  8. A: Make sure your songs/production are good. No amount of mixing can make a bad song a good one.

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

  10. A: I have a masters in sound recording where I cut my teeth largely doing classical and jazz, and many internships including an analog studio, classical festivals, and a mic company to name a few. I assisted at world class studios like Galaxy in Belgium and worked restoration and remastering for the metropolitan opera and US Air Force. I really got my top-tier engineering start as house engineer at Downtown Music Studios, and then went independent after 5 years there.

  11. Q: How would you describe your style?

  12. A: All-Fi. I can do hi-fi but I'm not opposed to heavy compression, distortion or other lo-fi elements when appropriate. I tend to gravitate towards big/warm/full mixes though much more than thin/bright/crunchy.

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

  14. A: I like to find the good in anything I'm working on, and have had the pleasure of working with lots of great artists. What I love about my job is the diversity.

  15. Q: Can you share one music production tip?

  16. A: Here's 3: 1 - "over"-brightening followed by a high frequency limiter can really help add air to a track without making it harsh. 2 - Avoid using phase based stereo processors, while there's a time and place for everything, you'll get a wider/cleaner stereo image through discrete panning. 3 - Fight the urge to make everything brighter, give everything it's own space (both spectrally and stereoscopic) and make the supporting elements do just that.

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

  18. A: Honestly a bit of everything. My clients tend to largely come for my pop, electronic and indie credits, but I love mixing more acoustic music, especially country and roots rock and I have a history getting my start in classical and jazz.

  19. Q: What do you bring to a song?

  20. A: I like to think I bring the song to the song. I try to find the core of the music and make sure it's presented in the best light. Often it's the vocal, sometimes it's the beat, but I think my strongest asset is my ability to do what the song needs. Whether it's a bright polished pop mix, a lo-fi indie mix, or a clean acoustic song. If the song is there, production is god, then we can get a great mix every time. I of course am not a magician if the production has issues, or the song is lacking, I may be able to improve the mix, but it won't create something that's not there.

  21. Q: What's your typical work process?

  22. A: Mixing: After I receive files and funding, my assistant will prep the session and get it on my calendar, or let the client know if there's something missing or that needs to be fixed. I get a first pass to clients typically about a week later, and then if they have notes I recall and address as needed. Turnaround depends on my calendar, and the scope of project but is usually around 2 weeks start to finish. Mastering: I generally listen to the song outside of the DAW, making sure it sounds like a decent mix, and that there's no major technical issues. Once I've confirmed everything is good to go, I schedule it in and hit it usually within a few days for a single, or a week or two for an album.

  23. Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

  24. A: I have a dedicated mix/master suite custom designed and built from the foundation up with select hardware from companies like PMC, Antelope, Avid, API and GKL and extensive software and plugins, all centered around PMC IB1S-AIII monitors.

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

  26. A: All of them!

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

  28. A: I'm primarily a mixing and mastering engineer. I have clients spanning classical to hip hop, country to jazz but most of my "big name" credits are in pop or dance.

  29. Q: What do you like most about your job?

  30. A: The Music!

  31. Q: What's your strongest skill?

  32. A: I'd like to think my ears, and attention to detail.

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Terms Of Service

Mixing:
Limit of 3 revisions
Editing and tuning not included

Mastering:
Limit of one revision
Alt mixes $25

Recalls are $25 each, or $35 for mix+master

GenresSounds Like
  • Ed Sheeran
  • John Mayer
  • Ryan Adams
Gear Highlights
  • PMC IB1S-AIII
  • Antelope Pure2
  • 4200cu. ft acoustically ideal room
More Photos
SoundBetter Deal

$450 single mix with mastering