Guitar Player/Producer

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: As I was saying I like very much to get to know the person I’m working with to really understand what he or she’s is trying to achieve, and what kind of sound they’re looking for, and what they like, so that is like the first step in both processes (producing a track or recording guitars), from there if I’m producing I look for the better key for the song considering if its instrumental or if its sang, the format of it, what kind of arrangement it will have etc,.. If it’s just to record the guitars usually I work pretty fest after I get the “feel” of the song. When I finish recording I’ll send my track and hear the comments and feedback and - if that’s the case - make the proper adjustments. When I’m producing it’s a bit different since I don’t wait till the project is finished to send and hear the artist opinion, it’s a pretty much “ongoing” process, and each step I’l be probably showing what I’m doing and working along.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have a very sturdy setup with a Mac Pro desktop running both Logic X and Pro Tools 10 and a Apollo interface with tons of plugg-ins. To UA 710 preamps and both Mackie’s HR824 and the classic Yamaha NS-10 for monitoring. I also have a bunch of anagogic stuff if it’s needed like vinyl pickups, tape deck, DAT tapes, a Roland RE-201 Space Echo Tape Delay and vast assortment of tube amps (Vox, Mesa-Boogie, Hiwatt, Fender) guitars (acoustic/electrics, solid/hollow/semi-hollow bodies, vintage, modern, bass, nylon string, steel string, lap-steel, dobro, baritone, mandolin, ukulele and a very own brazilian “cavaquinho”), and TONS of guitar pedals!!

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

A: I grew listening to Beatles and Led Zeppelin, and I believe that trough this day they are still on top edge on what concerns music production and the way a track should sound and “breath”, but the same concept can be used to different types of music, like even mellower things like brazilian music (not only Bossa Nova) and all sorts of styles. It’s all about the “space” and the dynamics. As a guitar players go, besides the “classics” (Hendrix, Page, Jeff Back and so) I like the work of U2’s Edge, not so much by his famous known use of the delay but mostly from his boldness and gut to not be afraid of using odd/strange coices for sound.

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

A: Mostly what I do is produce singles. General the singer/artist comes with a song (or “songs” for me to choose, what I prefer) and we start working on it. I do almost everything on my own on many cases (including the drum tracks) but that will differ from one situation to another. I do that almost as much as I do recording guitar (and playing it live, which is my bread and butter) on demand, and that I do over the internet or together in the studio.