Mixing Mastering Production

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: We just finished our acoustic treatment to comply with the specifications of the EBU ( EBU Tech. 3276) for our surround setup. The next step would be to think about a dolby atmos setup.

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

A: I don't know someone personally. But there are so many cool guys out there. Like for example Tom Frampton. He is the owner of Mastering the Mix, who make great plugins.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Play the song with just one instrument and sing to it. If it works in a minimal Setup, it will always work as a complex arrangement.

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

A: Indie, Americana, Folk, Rock, Jazz, Singer-Songwriter. . . Actually, every type of music that has a real emotion and instruments that are well played. For example: I love Hip Hop. And I also love to produce Hip Hop Tracks combined with Jazz or Rock elements.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: There are 2 options. A song has to touch me or to move me. So I'm working to get every song there. Either it's getting goosebumps or it's recognizing that I move to the song without noticing.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I´m a kind of hybrid kid. I use analog gear. But when i use analog gear i always print the track. I want to recall a session years later without having an issue of not having a hardware any longer or setting up a mixer for 3 hours. So there are tons of amps, tape machines, preamps, pedals and so on to create sounds. On the other hand, I love good sounding plugins. There are so many out there and I stopped counting them.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: It's all about efficiency. So everything that helps me to come as fast as possible to the picture I'm seeing - or better - hearing, makes sense to me. For me, this is very important. I think you have only a short amount of time to get to the finished picture. Otherwise, it just becomes a blurred sketch.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: First, I'm editing the file names. Yes, you read it right - the file names. structure and overview means everything to me. Then I load everything in my mix or master template session and sort it in groups. color it and so on. Then i turn on my monitor and make as fast as possible a rough mix

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: The most important thing to me is mercilessly accurate monitoring situation. That's why I spent a lot of money and time with pros at this department to get the best out of my room. Now we have a reference room with a Neumann/Genelec surround setup that is like a audio magnifying glass.

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

A: Puhh there are many. But I love people who think outside the lines and break rules. For example, Rick Rubin or Daniel Lanois. They can produce different styles of music but it will always have their sound stamp. And of course there are The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Al Schmitt and so on which inspired my thinking and also my workflow.

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

A: Most of the time I do Mixing and Mastering project. Sometimes i also record and produce the project i afterwards mix and master. To give a project I recorded or produced to someone else to mix it, is, for me, like to give away my baby. That's why I can't step back once I got involved in a project. I also love to play around with sound design, foley, doing score and film music. This is like a playground for me. Find new sounds or new ways to create sounds. The limit is only your creativity.