Mixing and Mastering

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital. Recall-ability and control. I like the romance and art of having analog gear and controls in front of me, which I use very often, but at the end of the day, I get better results in the digital domain and have a faster/more creative workflow because of it.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: The music, the fun, the passion, and the people.

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

A: On the mastering side, people tend to think a bad mix can be fixed in mastering... It can't. On the mixing side, there tend to be people who think that mixing will change the song. In an ideal world, mixing is enhancing/bringing out the heart of the song, but not changing production.

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

A: Make sure your songs/production are good. No amount of mixing can make a bad song a good one.

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

A: I've been working in the industry since 1997. Started assisting at Berlin's top studio Pyramix Studios and 2 years later went to a greater position as a sound engineer, recording, mixing, and mastering world-class artists. Now I'm in Portugal since 2007 with my own studio, Sound Pressure Studios as a senior producer and sound engineering.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I'm running around pristine and competitive music as also indie styles and artists. I can do clean, pearl songs but I'm not opposed to heavy compression, distortion, or other lo-fi elements when appropriate. I tend to gravitate towards big/warm/full mixes though much more than thin/bright/crunchy.

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

A: I like to find the good in anything I'm working on and have had the pleasure of working with lots of great artists. I love the diversity I can have in a workday.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Here are two: 1 - Add parallel to the vocal with a high shelf eq on 10khz and then compress it 10db or more. Mix by ear! 2 - Do you wish to have a big Bass? Send the bass to an fx send. Add the Valhalla Space Modulator with: mix 100%, rate: 0.30hz to 0.50hz, depth: 3.00ms to 5.00ms, feedback and manual 0%, and finally mix to taste

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

A: Honestly a bit of everything. My clients tend to largely come for my pop, electronic, hip hop, and indie credits, but I love mixing rock and metal music, especially thrash, death, and black metal.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I'd like to think my ears, and attention to detail.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I like to think I bring the song to the song. I try to find the core of the music and make sure it's presented in the best light. Often it's the vocal, sometimes it's the instrumental, but I think my strongest asset is my ability to do what the song needs. Whether it's a bright polished pop mix, a lo-fi indie mix, or a clean acoustic song. If the song is there, production is god, then we can get a great mix every time. I of course am not a magician if the production has issues, or the song is lacking, I may be able to improve the mix, but it won't create something that's not there.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Mixing: After I receive files and funding, my assistant will prep the session and get it on my calendar, or let the client know if there's something missing or that needs to be fixed. I get the first pass to clients typically about a week later, and then if they have notes I recall and address them as needed. Turnaround depends on my calendar, and the scope of the project but is usually around 2 weeks from start to finish. Mastering: I generally listen to the song outside of the DAW, making sure it sounds like a decent mix, and that there are no major technical issues. Once I've confirmed everything is good to go, I schedule it in and hit it usually within a few days.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have a dedicated mix/master suite custom designed and built from the foundation up with select hardware from companies like Genelec, DBX, RME, NEVE, and extensive software and plugins, all centered around Genelec 1032A monitors.

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

A: Almost all of them!

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

A: I'm primarily a mixing and mastering engineer. I have clients spanning pop to hip hop, rock to metal but most of my "big name" credits are in pop and hip hop.