David Kohn on SoundBetter

Studio engineer for The War on Drugs and on Sam Fender's People Watching. Now taking on mixing and production for indie, rock, funk and pop artists: in person in LA or fully remote.

Los Angeles–based engineer, mixer, and producer. I've worked as a studio engineer for The War on Drugs and on Sam Fender's People Watching, and have engineered, produced, or mixed for Lo Moon, Craig Finn, Sophie Thatcher, and my own band Sir, Please.

I mix out of my home and work most days out of a private LA studio with a deep outboard collection: a UREI 1178, STA-Level, Neve 31102, Pultec, and a 2" 16-track machine when a song warrants it. Monitoring is Neumann KH120A with a KRK sub.

My approach is to get you a rough at 60–70% early so we can confirm we're pointed the same direction before I go deep, then take your notes from there.

Send me a note through the contact button above!

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

Credits

Discogs verified credits for David Kohn

Sir Please
Sam Fender

Endorse David Kohn1 Reviews

by Austin Asvanonda
David is the man!

As a mixer, drums is always the most difficult part of the song to get right. In my opinion drum tone can make or break a record. You don't need to worry about that with David. I've worked with him over the course of 4 years and every production thrown his way he has never failed to present quality work.

His ideas have always elevated the track

If given the chance, I recommend choosing him for your next record. Won't regret

Austin Asvanonda

Interview with David Kohn

Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: Full mixes for bands and singer-songwriters, usually from tracked stems. A lot of my work is rhythm-section forward: live drums, real amps, records that need to feel like a room rather than a grid.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: I promise that I will give each mix my all and do everything I can to make sure you are satisfied with my work.
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Listen to how someone handles the parts of a song that are closest to yours. A mixer who's great at sparse vocal-forward records isn't automatically the right call for a dense band arrangement, and vice versa. Ask for a reference mix in your lane before you commit.
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: I would say a TASCAM MSR 16 track, U47, Acoustic Guitar, Pultec, and Fairchild 670
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: The past year I have spent countless hours working as an engineer for The War on Drugs as well as my own band Sir, Please. I have worked on pop records as well as metal records.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: I like to think I bring a tonal lift to the music I work on. My goal is to make the right judgment calls on what aspects of the track should be accentuated.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: I tend to run a rough mix where I get the song 60%-70% done at which point I will send to the artist to make sure we are on the right track. I will take any notes and work them in to get a mix that everyone feels proud of.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I mix primarily out of my home setup which includes Apollo A/D conversion and all UA Plugins. I currently mix on Neuman KH120A monitors and a KRK 10.4 subwoofer. I built a fun 1176 style compressor that I enjoy using for parrallel sends. I work most days out of a private studio in LA where I have access to tons of sweet outboard gear to run my mixes through. (Gear is listed above)
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: I am extremely inspired by all the work Shawn Everett has done and I feel like he has really pushed the boundries of what mixing can do to elevate a recording.

Mixing EngineerContact for pricing
Recording StudioContact for pricing

After the initial mix I will do 3 revised mixes and if more mixes are needed I charge $50 per mix. Once the mix is done, I will upload stems, as well as an instrumental and tv mix to Dropbox.