Max Richardson is an experienced freelance audio engineer working across a range of projects. As a remote mixing engineer and mastering engineer, Max can transform your recordings to polished, radio quality tracks. His mixing and mastering services are offered at an affordable, value pricetag, accessible to independent artists and labels alike.
If you need music or audio mixing or mastering, you're in safe hands - and safer ears! I'm a full-time engineer with extensive experience working across a broad range of genres - from hip-hop, pop, and rock through to classical, jazz and electronica such as house and techno.
As a professional producer, I've worked alongside others in a range of contexts including both studio and live sessions. My work has previously been broadcast on BBC national radio, and a large aspect of my work is composing production music for use in major television series, so you can rest assured that my work is of the highest professional standard.
I work across a range of music projects on a full-time basis, specialising in mixing and mastering and composition work. As a mixing engineer and mastering engineer, I work primarily from my studio setup, equipped with a strong reference system, a selection of studio headphones, and industry standard plugins including FabFilter, Izotope, Black Rooster Audio, SoundToys, Native Instruments and more.
My prices are affordable, and reflect great value for money considering my education, experience, and professionalism. I simply love music, and want to help to get your releases sounding the absolute best they can. If you've got any projects you think I might be able to help with - feel free to get in touch! I'm always happy to help :-)
Send me a note through the contact button above.
13 Reviews
Endorse Max Richardson
I got chatting with Max through social media and even before I worked with him he was so lovely and even offered to help me and gave me tips and guidance for my new journey into audio engineering and production. I was very impressed with his portfolio and got him to master a track I recorded and mixed. The results were outstanding and Max even gave me feedback and help with the mix beforehand as well as offering more advice for future reference. Without a doubt I would highly recommend Max and I will continue to work with him in the future. First class service!
Max mastered a piece of mine (contemporary classical) and I was astounded at the professionalism, attention to detail, speed with replying and honesty that Max approached by work with. A true gem. I cannot recommend Max enough.
Max mastered my 8 track album that featured very sonically raw, not very well recorded material and turned them into full sounding professionsl tracks. Better bottom end and clarity, getting rid of some nasty distortion and tinny sounds. Fantastic job. Max's communication was thorough and clear, very understanding and sensitive to my creation regardless of the condition he received the originals in. I am now proud of my album and will be coming back. Thanks Max!
Max mastered my track (along with the other 40!) on Aetherwaves Vol. 3, most impressed as done to a high standard and published on the planned day even though there wasn't much time since the last submission date. Even though the music is varied it sounds cohesive as a whole and that is down to great mastering I believe. Recommended
I love the mastering Max did for the third installment of the AEther Waves compilation. Not a simple feat given the sheer sonic diversity in the different tracks. I am really pleased Max did the mastering of my Dēofol track, with respect for the source material and the artistic vision.
Max was in charge of mastering all of the tracks for the AEtherwaves Vol 3 compilation and (for my track at least) I can say without a doubt that he did a fantastic job.
Would recommend
Most recently, Max volunteered to master the AEther Waves Vol.3 compilation album to raise money for Musicians Without Borders. As others here have mentioned, the thing turned out to be 41 tracks and about 3 hours of music. Max just dived in and sorted it all out.
Max also previously remastered a live track of mine from the '80s, roughly digitised off a cassette. It was probably originally recorded on non-pro gear, so not a trivial mastering task at all. Max managed to bring it back to life. Listening to it is like like stepping into a time machine and meeting my 23-year-old self.
Max did such a wonderful job mastering 40 (!) completely different tracks for the Ætherwaves Vol. 3 record. He volunteered his time and energy to the AE Modular community, and the record couldn't sound any better. It truly shows he has a great, musical ear and gives each track very careful and special attention; making each track flavored consistently with the whole of the record and, at the same time, making each track stand out on their own. Bravo, Max - a true professional!
Max mastered three Lo-Fi hiphop tracks of mine, and I was very much impressed by the results. He managed to add a ton of extra character & feel, and really added some magic that I could not have added myself. Working with him was a great pleasure. Very highly recommended!
Max did a fantastic job while working on the AEtherwaves Vol. 3 collaborative album of the AE Modular synth community. When he put his hand up for this volunteer job, he couldn't have known that he would have to work on 41 tracks of almost 3 hours total! But he got it all done on time and made every single track beautiful in itself and as part of the whole compilation. Thank you so much Max, for your incredible help!
Really professional quality and communication! I would really recommend Max and plan to work with him again!
Max, recently mastered
an alt country track of mine. The upgrade was immense. He added so much sparkle and top end the track was missing. I didn’t even need to give him any notes. He seems to understand and have great sonic knowledge across different genres. Hoping he can
Master my album when it’s completed.
When I listened to Max's previous work I instantly liked his style. He helped me to see options for my project that I would have never found on my own. Yet he didn't insist on his vision. In the end he gave me options to improve what I had already made. Max Richardson is a fine artist and I am lucky to have met him and worked with him.
Interview with Max Richardson
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Both! It depends on the context. Analog sounds great, but can be a pain to work with - an LFO is an LFO, whether it's digital or not. In terms of mixing gear, I like digital - as I find that it gives me the ability to go back and make tweaks easier than analog gear does. With that said, analog gear adds such a great, warm character to the sound.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: I love working on so many different projects, it's great to be kept on my toes. I'm playing live one weekend, then working on a jazz album the next week. I love my job!
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: AE Modular system, Synthstrom Deluge, Deepmind 12, and most importantly - an iPod and a good pair of headphones!
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: It's not really a skill, but my ears! I'm very often able to pick up on things that other people miss, and know what's missing from a track. Aside from that, I'm a good pianist and a decent guitarist.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: Professionalism and high quality, all at an affordable pricetag!
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: I generally start by communicating with the client to ensure we're on the same page. I'll then take a long time to think about what they want from me, and if it's mastering work, listen to reference tracks and their music. If I'm composing, I normally sit at the piano and play around until it feels 'right'. I then think about orchestration for a project; whether to focus on electronic music or acoustic instrumentation.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: My work is mainly DAW centric, as I find it offers the most flexibility. My main setup for composition is a Deepmind 12 analogue synth fed into my audio interface, which also allows me to use it as a MIDI controller. I use the AE Modular system to give recordings some analogue sparkle, and polish with Native Instruments' Komplete effects. In terms of engineering, I'm solely in-the-box, as I find it gives me the most flexibility and precision to be able to tweak what I'm working on to a precise standard. I use FabFilter plugins extensively, alongside Izotope, Black Rooster Audio, Native Instruments, SoundToys and Arturia.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: I'm a big fan of David Bowie, and love the piano playing of Keith Jarrett and Bill Evans. I also love the production work of Rick Rubin!
Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: People often ask what's my mastering chain - there's no fixed answer. It depends on your project and what your track needs! If I need to push transients, I'll add compression. If it needs more air, I'll add EQ. My flow depends on your project!
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I went out of school into university, and then continued to do a postgraduate degree. I then got an internship working as part of the music supervision team for a popular TV show out of university, and went freelance earlier this year. I've been working full-time with music in some form or another since my school days really - gigging, recording, and producing every waking hour I had. I live for music, it's my passion!
Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: Undoubtedly my string quartet 'December', which was performed by members of the RLPO. I wrote the piece by myself, and spent hours looking at the sheet music - to hear it played back to me by world class musicians in a great acoustic space was one of the best moments of my life.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: I'm currently working on mastering work for some other artists.
Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?
A: I'm new here! Say hi and I'll always be glad to make friends!
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: I promise that you're getting my complete and whole attention on a project. I never deliver work I'm not truly happy with, and won't give you back a file until I feel it's done.
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: That mastering means you need to change a track. Often my mastering work is gentle, not making huge, sweeping changes where they're not needed. A good set of ears is crucial!
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: What are you working on? What do you think it needs? What are you planning to use it for?
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Whatever you're working on, I have the skills to help in some capacity. Drop me an email, and we'll see what I'm able to do!
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: My work is characterised by a 'full' sound, and often blends synths with real world sounds.
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: I'd love to work with either Trent Reznor or Radiohead - both of whom are artists I wrote about academically at university.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Reverb is a great tool in the right hands, but a very bad mess in the wrong hands! It's often a case of less is more, particularly if it's a stock plugin.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Whatever people want me to work on! My favourite genre is probably electronic, but I'm all ears.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: My usual line of work is bespoke composition work, composing and producing industry standard recordings. I also engineer tracks for other artists, and take pride in transforming their music to a professional standard.
I was the composer, mixing engineer, and mastering engineer in this production
- Mixing EngineerContact for pricing
- Mastering EngineerContact for pricing
- ProducerContact for pricing
- Film ComposerAverage price - $200 per minute
- Post MixingAverage price - $200 per minute
- Post EditingAverage price - $200 per track
- EditingAverage price - $40 per track
Negotiable - we'll sort all this out before we start working together! I'm flexible, and want you to be happy with the work you receive.
- Radiohead
- Daft Punk
- Ed Sheeran
- AE Modular analog synthesizer system
- FabFilter plugins
- Izotope plugins
- Black Rooster Audio complete bundle
- SoundToys complete bundle
- NI Komplete 13
- Logic Pro X
- many more.
Contact me for my best rates!
- It's a busy week!Sep 13, 2021
Hello all!
It's been a pretty a manic week for me. I'm currently working on an art project, and have been fortunate enough to work on mastering some amazing upcoming music from some artists - it's a real treat to work across such high quality projects.
I still have some availability! If you have any upcoming projects you need mastering or mixing, feel free to get in touch!
