Guitarist, mixing, composing

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

A: The first EP I did with my band Troup. It was and incredibly fun experience both because of the people I was working with and because of the music. I was the lead guitarist.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I get to do what I love. Unfortunately most people don't get to say that. I really like to work with other artists and help their vision become reality.

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

A: If I can do what they want. My answer is "Yes I can" :)

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

A: A good detailed explanation of their vision goes a long way.

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

A: I started as a self thaught when I was ten. I started playing live shows at 15 and in the meantime I started taking private lessons from a local teacher in my hometown in Italy. At 20 I moved to Los Angeles and studied at Musicians Institute in Hollywood. While in LA I've been playing constantly live and in studios and received a few guitar related awards.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: My style can be very bluesy at times, though I know when to tone it down. Generally speaking I tend to stay on the soulful side of things rather than trying to be flashy.

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

A: I'd love to work with The Tedeschi Trucks Band. I'm a huge Derek Trucks fan and I absolutely love that band

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Creating space in a song is really important. This can be achieved not only by having every instrument not play at the same time but also making sure that multiple instruments are not playing in the same register. Example: if I get a song where there's already a low-end heavy piano track I'm gonna try to stay away from that same register otherwise frequencies will fight each other in order to be heard.

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

A: Many genres. Pop is one of the main ones but I also work on rock, blues and indie.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Understanding what a song needs.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: My job is to make a song better than what it is with my parts. I always try to bring out emotions, whether it's through playing gently making my parts breathe or playing aggressively to emphasize the energy.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I usually gather all the files from the client, start a new session and listen to the track a few times to get my ideas all together. Once I have a good understanding of the song I'll start laying down rhythm parts and also find the right tone for the song. After that I lay down the tracks and move on to solos or other parts.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I own 8 guitars (Lsl and Fender strats, Gibson Les Paul, Martin OM28E...) my main amps are a Two-Rock BI-ONYX and a Fender Deville. Sometimes I use a isobox loaded with Eminence Tonespotter speaker. Shure SM57, KSM44 and matched pair of KSM137. For preamps I use Golden Age Pre 73 and Focusrite.

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

A: I'm a huge blues fan so anything from older blues legends like BB King, SRV, Jimi Hendrix till the ones from today like Derek Trucks, John Mayer, Gary Clarke Jr.

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

A: I will record all the guitar parts a song needs including rhythm, solos, EFX tracks both acoustic and electric. I also offer reamping through my setup, this means that you can send me a DI recording of your guitar and I can run it through my Two-Rock or Deville amps!

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm composing music for a few TV shows and producing a pop artist. I'm also working for a client here on SoundBetter.

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

A: Yes definitely, Holly Henderson and Brandon Davis!

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

A: My Lsl strat, a 64' Fender Super Reverb, Vintage Tubescreamer 808, Neve 1073, Shadowhills Compressor

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: In an ideal world I'd go with analog because of it's warmth and variables that make music sound perfect.

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

A: That they will have the best sounding and most appropriate guitar tracks for their songs.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I always ask them to be detailed with what they're looking for