Mixing and Production

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

A: That it requires all the fanciest plugins and the most efficient DAW and the highest quality compressors, etc. Even the most basic stock (free) plugins are fantastic tools if you know exactly what they do and how to utilize them.

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

A: I grew up producing and writing music for fun, played music for church, then in high-school I started shadowing and interning for sound mixers and producers, then I graduated from the Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences, then started working for an audio post production company in Tulsa (where I still work), which lead me to finding even more work on SoundBetter! Fun fact: I have a few Location Sound gigs under my belt as well, but the filmset life is one that I am more than happy to leave behind.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: "Bedroom Pop" is a term I've heard from my brother use and it's one I feel best describes my niche. This is the kind of simplistic music that can be made using your school laptop. But of course, this doesn't mean the performance, production, writing, the mix and master can't be top quality. That is why I do what I do. A more simple answer could also be that I can emulate popular sounds like LANY, 1975, Jeremy Zucker, The Band Camino etc...

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

A: My answer to this question is always changing but writing a song with Sia would be great. I always lean towards writing in keys that I can't sing myself so there would be 0 boundaries working with her.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My sense of pitch is a convenient skill to have. I think I have something like perfect pitch but the last thing I want to be is one of those pretentious people who don't shut up about their perfect pitch.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I've been told more than anything else that I bring a lot of punchiness and clarity to the drums and low end in my mixes. I think as bedroom producers become more and more common, people discover how difficult it is to accurately monitor what's goin on with the low frequencies when in those uncontrolled spaces. Low end is everything and it can make or break a track IMO, so that it usually the first issue I tackle. Vocals are another thing that I take very seriously. They might even be more tricky than dealing with low end as it is the thing I probably spend the most time on when mixing a track. I love talking with people about what the best vocal mixing techniques are so feel free to ask me questions!

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Once I've gotten all of the stems from the artist and we've gone over what the end goal (sonically) is, I'll ingest those stems into my Protools rig, organize everything, and then I'll listen to the mix through my headphones and/or KRK's about 8 times while taking notes on the issues I'm hearing. From there I simply go down the list and attack each issue one at a time. Before I send it off to the artist I always make sure to listen to it in the car, a bluetooth speaker and iphone speakers, this way I know whether it translates across all systems or not. After the artist has heard it and is ready to give me their notes, I'll hop on a zoom call, send them a clean feed link, and together we will go through the protools session and make the adjustments they want. This has made the collaboration process so much smoother and gives the artist all the control in the world. Their song is like their baby so like a good baby sitter the mixer needs to call the parents every now and then.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: When I attended school I mixed on a variety of boards API, SSL and a few others. These days I am on the road a lot before I settle at my next and most likely permanent location. The setup I use now consists of my laptop which I use Protools, Logic and Reaper on, a pair of KRKs and my DT 880 Pro Studio Headphones. I use my Apollo and occasionally my Focusrite interfaces for recording. Instruments include a few Taylor guitars and Juno synth, as well as some Midi controllers.

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

A: Mike Crossey is someone I've looked up to for a very long time. He's one of those people who seems to be tied somehow to every song that has impacted me to an extent. I also love Dave Pensado. Him and Herb Trawick's podcast is a source of inspiration and knowledge that I go to now and then.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Simplicity is always the key term I tend to fall back on. The more simple we can make our song, the easier is for the listener to understand the ideas we’re conveying.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Depends on what you're using it for, but more often than not...digital is the modern way to go since plugins are so good at replicating the real outboard gear.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I always ask for a reference so we are on the same page as to where to take the song.

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

A: I work mainly in the Pop genre, ranging from Synth Pop or even Pop Rock. Weirdly enough most things I've worked on tend to have an 80s Pop inspired sound to it. Not really sure what that's about but I love the 80s so I dig it.

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

A: Mixing and Mastering are the most common, but any time I'm able to assist someone in the writing process is always a treat.