Experienced Mastering Engineer

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

A: There are many. It would be unfair to pick one over the other. There is something good to take away from every project I have worked on.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: At the moment I'm working on 4 singles, 1 pop album and a film, which is a beautiful love story

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

A: I had approached Sefi for a mixing project and in my experience, he was extremely polite, comes out as a knowledgable and experienced engineer.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both have their pros and cons. True potential of analog comes through an end-to-end chain including the recording on consoles / processing / printing on tapes / vinyl / an analog listening environment. it is the sound we all are used to. That said, Digital has come far from where it was 15 years ago. Today we have simulate the harmonic distortion through digital processing, sampled as well as emulated through algorithms at "sweet spot" settings. Good engineers can deliver results using stock plugins. I comes from a school of thought that it is the experience & skills of engineer and the listening environments that matters the most. There are situations when my clients prefer the flexibility of instant recall and the speed of revisions offered through Digital processing. Sometimes they have a specific target sound in their mind and their production requires can really benefit analog processing. I take a pragmatic approach in my masters and my clients don't have to worry about the aspects of analog / digital. What I certainly avoid in all situations is the use of AI and temple-based mastering for obvious reasons.

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

A: You will get industry standard, radio-quality professional masters.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Mastering business enables me to work with producers / composers / artists of all age groups and expertise. I love helping people in making great music and contributing to their success.

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

A: How should we export files? disable master bus processing in your DAW, Keep -6b of higher headroom and (ideally) export your mix stems in in 24-bit / 48K or higher resolution. What inputs do you require from clients? In case there are any specific issues to be addressed, it would help if you could tell me about these and your expectations. Also you are welcome to share any reference songs that depict your end-state vision. How many revisions are supported? Your satisfaction is of paramount importance to me. I offer unlimited revisions free of charge over 1 week period upon submission of initial master. Most of my clients usually my initial submission and in some cases, they request one or two additional revisions. Which activities are not in scope of mastering? Anything related to production, edit and mixing is out of scope of mastering.

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

A: Biggest misconception is that mastering is a dark art and expensive equipment. It simply isn't true. The most important thing is the hands and the golden ears of an experienced / skilled engineer, an extremely well treated room, fit for purpose equipment and a passion to make great music!

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: Please tell me about your song, what genre you think it belongs to (this sounds odd but people have opinions of varying degree of genres their songs belong to, and it is important for me to understand which industry-standard references I need to match with in order to make your song stand-out within your genre.

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

A: Let's make amazing music together. When you work with me, you are in good hands! As a general guideline, never mix and master your songs through the same engineer. It is more about using different environments, bringing an objective approach and in general, the focus a specialised mastering engineer can bring which is simply not possible in a mix environment.

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

A: Haha that's a good one :-) In addition to my ears and room / headphones / an objective listening environment, I would carry SSL, Pultec, Clariphonic, API 2500 and Neve 33609, plus a few UAD cards!

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

A: It's been 20 long yet very fulfilling years of working as a musician and engineer!

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Collaborative, transparent / open and advisory with an element of responsibility. Mastering is the last step in the music production process and I'm cautious that my clients achieve their objectives through my mastering. When I put my hands on a song as a mastering engineer, it delivers results.

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

A: I like working with all artists/people who are passionate about making great music and no matter whether you are a big production house, an industry leading composer/producer or a young composer who's just starting, you are most welcome to collaborate with me and I will help you get the best out of your songs.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Probably the most valuable learning I would like to share with others is: Keep a sight on the end-state vision and always push back the process from "right to left", which is establishing a perspective in this order: Mastering -> mixing -> performance -> arranging -> composing.

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

A: I like and master all genres of music. I specialise in pop, rock, country, jazz, classical, film and EDM.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Mastering. It is what I am best at. I have graduated from being a musician, film composer, mixing engineer to a mastering engineer by acquiring many years of experience working on several projects. I am a Bachelor of Engineering discipline by education and am technically deep into audio engineering, which allows me to bring an objective perspective into my mastering process, without losing the sight of the element of musicality and appreciation of the composition & it's intended effect on the target audience.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring radio-quality, industry standard, professional representation to songs. It usually means, depending on the genre, bringing a good balance of loudness, punch, clarity, warmth without squashing, pumping harshness, dullness. All by keeping the musicality intact. Additionally, the usual operational aspects of album sequencing, fades / transitions, DDP image/ISRC and masters optimised for various digital platforms (Spotify, Apple Music, Soundcloud, Tidal, YouTube etc.) and vinyl media depending on the requirements of my clients.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Once I receive interest from my clients, I give a good listen to the input mix stems and share with my clients a honest view of what is the "art of possible" in the mastering process. I provide free production advice and mix evaluation, and work in collaboration with producers / mixers to bring the best out of their songs. My processing workflow includes EQ -> Compress -> Limit -> Finalise. I use a custom file-sharing platform where my clients can listen to the masters and provide their advice. I offer unlimited revisions over 1 week upon of delivery of masters. Most of my masters usually get approved first time upon delivery and in rare situations, it could take one or two revisions. This makes the process systematic, seamless, efficient and cost effective for everyone.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: Extremely well treated room with a nearly-flat response. I have access to Manley Vari MU, Manley Massive Passive, SSL G Master, Kush Clariphonic, API 2500, Pultec, Neve 33609, Distressor, FATSO, full UAD suite of plugins, nearly all leading plugins and more. I use Pro tools Ulimate DAW and have have 16 channels of Avid Artist Mix, plus Avid dock. Genelec 8250 and sub-woofer.

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

A: I am inspired by many composers and mixing/mastering engineers. I genuine don't think that there are good v.s "not so good" artists in a creative field such as music. There is something to like about all of them.

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

A: I like and master all genres of music. I specialise in pop, rock, country, jazz, classical, film and EDM.