Mixing, Production, Recording

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: Where are you in your career? What would you like to accomplish with this project that you may not have achieved in the past? What are your goals? What are you listening to? Can you make me a playlist?

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

A: You hire the producer/mixer for their taste. Listen to their work and hire someone who’s sound excites you. If you are a fan of their work then you’re likely to trust the process and have a free flowing creative relationship. If you don’t trust the people working on your music the experience will be miserable for all involved. Life is too short!

Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?

A: My Bock 507, Stager ST1A, UTA MPDI-4, Neve 8803 EQ, and a distressor

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?

A: I’ve been mixing for an young artist in Nashville that’s getting quite a bit of attention. It’s fun to have worked with him to develop a sound that’s really helped him break through the noise. The latest single just got picked up on several high profile Spotify playlists. It’s exciting to be involved in projects like this.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I’m mixing 2 EPs for producers in Nashville at the moment as well as wrapping up a pop album that I’m co-producing as well as a country EP I’m co-producing. I’m wrapping up revisions on a singer-songwriter single as we speak.

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

A: Yes, there are a lot of great folks in here!

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both! I have a hybrid setup. Great projects can be done all analog but they will eventually hit a digital medium and that can’t be avoided in today’s music industry. My hybrid workflow offers the speed and affordability of digital with the sonic benefits of analog. I mean, is anyone actually cutting tape for editing still? If they are editing on tape and not on a DAW surely the project is astronomically expensive. Alternate answer. It depends on the song/style and what the artist is going for. Sometimes completely “in the box” production using exclusively midi and samples is the right thing for the project, that’s just not generally the kind of project I would be involved with.

Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?

A: It’s going to be great! We aren’t done until you are completely satisfied.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love watching an artist grow and being a part of helping that happen.

Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A: People tent to be concerned with cost. The first question is often about my rates. I let them know upfront that I’m not cheap and that if they need a less expensive option I would be glad to recommend a producer or mixer that fits their budget.

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

A: People often don’t understand the amount of work that goes into making a great project.

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

A: I’ve been producing full time since 2008. I started as a songwriter and bass player but when I first landed in a recording studio I knew that’s where I belonged. I learned mixing first by following my heart then the technical knowledge followed. I think that’s an advantage because I never go for a sound because it’s “right” but because it fits the song. Now I’m just able to get there a lot faster!

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Expansive. I like to stretch a song to make full use of the sonic landscape. I like a deep low end, a sparkly top, and a rich mid range. Organic. I never really understood midi so I just stayed the course with the live stuff while all my friends were making beats, I love well recorded sounds. Especially drums and vocals.

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

A: Snow Patrol. I love their blend of heartfelt songwriting and energy. I was really into Brit rock when I started producing so the impression made by them, Travis, Coldplay, The Doves, and many others will always inspire me. Also, when I get to heaven i hope I can produce or mix one Don Williams song!

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Experiment with key and tempo. Sometimes a song that isn’t quite working can be helped by speeding it up or slowing it down a bit in pre-production. Also, artists often have a sweet spot in their vocal range for a particular song. Move the capo around a bit and test their limits, sometimes you find magic in another key.

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

A: Singer/Songwriter, Country, Pop, Americana

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Power of intention. I care deeply about my work and see every obstacle as a welcome challenge. When the artist and team know that I trust myself and the process that gives them confidence and creative freedom.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: For mixing I bring a strong focus on story. I’m known for vocals that really shine, because I think the voice is often the defining characteristic of a recording. As a producer I have a knack for finding the weaknesses in a song and smoothing them out in the pre-production phase. Once that is done the song often asks for what it needs.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: It depends on the artist and the type of work. If I’m mixing I’ll talk with the artist or producer and discern how specific their taste is. Sometimes they have heard my work and just want me to do my thing, other times they are going fit a very specific sound, in which case we’ll talk about vibe, influenced, and references. If I’m producing I like to start by hearing the artist’s vision and listening to a lot of their favorite music. Then we listen through the songs they are considering recording, choose the best ones to move them toward their career goals, and dig into making those songs really strong through an in-depth pre-production process. Once the songs are really working with no production then we choose the right musicians for the project and crush it! I like to track live as much as possible because the chemistry and creative energy created when the right team is in the room is so inspiring and can often be felt in the finished product.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: Rupert Neve Design 5088 Shelford Console, Burl Mothership conversion, Neve, TubeTech, API, Chandler Ltd, Hendyamps, Aurora Audio, and much more outboard gear and a great assortment of high end microphones. Live room, 2 iso booths, 2 control rooms.

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

A: T Bone Burnett

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

A: Mixing and production