Mixing and Mastering Engineer

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

A: I typically provide mixing and mastering services, but if necessary, I can also create beats. I receive the vocal stems and instrumental for a track from an artist. The voices must be at 0 dB level and dry (i.e., without effects). In order to ensure that no strange noises interfere with the music, I clean voices, cut breathes where necessary, and passages where the artist doesn't even sing, and I ensure that there is no clipping, by always fading everything. I use fab filters, eq, and primarily waves plugins to create a vocal chain that is specifically tailored to the atmosphere of the music. The majority of my projects are hip hop or trap tracks, where I use autotune when necessary, after that in order to describe my basic mix chain, I would next turn on an EQ, then a compressor, then, once more, eq the voices using a plugin that also produces great harmonics, and then, once more, apply a compressor. For reverb, delay, and a parallel compression, I have three distinct buses. When the music is finished being mixed, I place a limiter or soft clipper on it, check the loudness meters, and then I leave headroom for mastering—typically between -3 and -6 dB. The procedure of mastering comes next. Although I can't reveal all that would be in my vocal chain because there are more things I do, when I work with artists I know how to make their music sound the way they want it to.

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

A: I had inspiration creating the music video for my song "Ganduri Baked," which has received between 20.000 and 30.00 views. I really like the song since it has a distinctive vibe and sound, but filming the video was great because I got to write the story and participate in its creation. I felt that this is how it should be because the folks I dealt with were all really professional and every scene from the video was documented. Additionally, I had a great time creating the "Lasa-ma sa ma rup" music video. Another of my releases involved true artists who raised film actors for the video, and together we produced an excellent product.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm now working on my next releases for the rest of the year

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

A: Currently, no one in particular.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Analog. There will always be a distinct sound flavor with analog equipment.

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

A: I guarantee to the musicians I work with that we will create a song of industry-standard quality and that it will sound the way they want.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I enjoy my work since I'm an artist who makes music. I love making music for other people just as much as I love creating my own, and I'm grateful that I can do this to support my music career.

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

A: If I offer discounts, I usually do it on bigger projects.

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

A: I'm not sure if there is a misconception of what I do because people are always informed about what we do, but aside from that, I would say that there may be some who believe that mixing and mastering are simple tasks that only require you to apply a preset to your voice. However, aside from that, I don't see any other misconceptions that people may have about what I do.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: To better understand my clients' needs, I always ask if they have any reference songs or a rough version of the song to send me.

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

A: Always communicate; I'm a talkative person and I'm looking forward to your comments. Anyone who believes they need someone to properly comprehend their music should contact me, in my opinion.

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

A: If I had unlimited energy on that island, I would definitely bring my laptop, my audio interface, my microphone, my headphones, and possibly my soundshield as I anticipate that we would need to record outside.

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

A: I've been recording music since 2012, and it all began with some neighborhood fun with pals. We established a "label" and continued to write songs while using gaming headphones to record them. We were three boys, but the other two stopped; I, on the other hand, became obsessed with music and kept going, recording songs, creating my own artwork, and even filming a music video at the time. I started out by performing old school hip hop. Since many successful musicians in my nation began their careers at a young age—or even later—than mine, I made the decision to do it in 2015. I also wanted to give myself a chance to put my faith in what I believed. Since there weren't any trap or new school rap vibes in my country at the time, I also modified my musical style around that time as more people began to enjoy them. Even when I was making old school hip hop, I used to listen to the vibes, but at the time, such music wasn't well-liked in my nation. Along with my musical evolution around that time, I cofounded another label with a citizen of my area and released a trap mixtape titled "Mad King" that was sort of a statement about how I was living at the time and about how I wanted to approach music. A music label from Bucharest contacted us after we released "Mad King." We were signed, I released "Reguli," one of my first songs to go viral, along with additional songs that reached the 300,000 view mark, and I debuted my debut studio album. After a few years, the label started to fall apart. At this point, I started down the independent path; I developed my own studio and learnt mixing and mastering.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Very experimental with plenty of ghostly noises and pitched voices, although if I had to state that while collaborating with someone, the music I'm working with would clearly define my style. I would first prioritize making the track sound as clear as possible, and then I would like to experiment with effects.

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

A: I want to collaborate with Dr. Dre, Asap Rocky, and Metro Boomin.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Before mixing, a song's rough version should already sound decent.

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

A: I typically work on hip-hop, rap, or trap tracks, but I've also mixed R&B songs, soft pop, country songs, and many other genres.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My biggest skill would be my patience, which I believe is a very valuable quality because mixing and mastering require you to stay and listen to things countless times. This would be followed by the fact that I enjoy what I do.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I amplify, blend, and make your tunes sound loud and clear. I can raise the caliber of your music from average to the best in the industry.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I like to start by giving the song a few listens so I can understand its mood. That is how I go about my blending technique. If an artist offered me a track as a reference, I would try to understand it and figure out what the musician thinks best complements his song. Because we are creating the music together, I prefer to communicate with the artist and recieve feedback. I typically take three to five days to complete a song, and I always need to wait at least one day thereafter to rest my hearing and listen to it again the following day with fresh ears to hear if there were any errors or anything that needed to be finished.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have a home recording studio. I have Akai MPK Mini, Neumann TLM 102 Microphone, Yamaha HS5 Speakers, and Apogee Duet Duo Audio Interface. Additionally, I have soundproofed my room and a microphone sound shield. I use a MacBook Pro to work on Logic Pro X .

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

A: As an artist, I could say Asap Rocky, Eminem, Joey BadA$$ Future, Lil Baby, and many more hip-hop artists have inspired me. I also like new wave and old school hip-hop. Specifically, aside from that I grew up listening to rock music in my home because my brother was in a band, hip-hop music (also from my brother) and my dad played me latin music. I can't identify any latino artists, but I enjoy the elegant sensations that music can communicate. I enjoy music and consider myself to be a "hip-hop head," but I work with all genres.